Last Tuesday the day finally arrived when I started my long drive back to Canada. Tony and Maureen were a little slow getting ready so it was almost 9am by the time we pulled out, me in the little corolla following Tony's big V8 super cab truck. I was itching to go but when I actually said goodbye to Gail and Lea the reality of what was ahead hit me. I was a little teary for the first ten minutes driving north but figured I had to get it together pronto.
It was actually not too bad. The worse part of the entire drive was the first couple of hours getting through the mountains to Tepic where the toll roads start. We made really good time, stopped briefly for a snack at one of the toll stations then on again. I was surprised by the number of times we were stopped for fruit checks. I'm glad I declined taking some of the fruit Gail wanted me to bring along.
We pulled into a little town called Guasave around 6pm. I parked the car, Tony parked the truck and in we went to the hotel. Maureen was delighted! "Oh, Tony, it's a CASINO!!" Once I got to my room I discovered that I had left my toiletries bag behind in Bucerias. Agghhh. I had to go for a walk and was relieved to find a dollar store where I found a toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, deodorant etc. Tony and Maureen had to smuggle Poppy (their sweet little cat) into the room. We had a few snacks, went downstairs for a bite to eat then I hit the sack. Maureen hit the casino and Tony went for a walk.
Guasave is almost halfway to the USA border. The next morning we figured we would get as far as Hermosillo. However, we all just wanted to get through to Nogales though so even though it was tiring, we voted to keep driving. We made it through immigration and customs by 6pm and were in the motel on the other side by 6:30. I was frankly amazed that we did it so quickly.
Thursday, I only had to get to Phoenix to wait for Dale to join me for the remainder of the journey. The three of us went shopping in Nogales once the stores opened. I love to shop at Ross, especially for linens and household things. I found an awesome deal for the bedroom in Bucerias that I could not refuse . For $45.00 I got a King Size comforter, two pillow shams, bedskirt, neck roll and decorative pillow all packed in a matching ottoman. I love it! We also stopped in a super discount place just outside Tucson that Tony loves to explore. It didn't take long for me to start to fill the car again.
After that, I said goodbye to Tony and Maureen on the parking lot. I followed them for another 45 minutes or so, then waved so long till next year and carried on to Phoenix by myself. Once again "my dear" GPS kept me company until I found a hotel to pull in and wait for Dale.
Unfortunately, there was a terrific wind storm in southern Arizona on Thursday. It was actually hard at times to keep the car from swaying as I was driving. Dale's flight was supposed to arrive at 9:37 pm but on the internet it said there was an hour delay. Bummer- but at least there was a shuttle to the airport from the hotel. I left around 10pm to meet her and just when her flight was due, the arrivals board in the airport changed to announce it would be now arriving at 12:15. The airport had been closed most of the day because of the high winds. Dale's flight from San Francisco left an hour late and couldn't land so they were redirected to Las Vegas for refueling. Agghhh again. By the time she arrived, collected luggage, waited for the shuttle to come back and got to the room it was 1:30 in the morning. No matter, I was so happy to see her and still quite overwhelmed that she did this for me.
Off to bed for phase two of the journey Friday morning.
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