Texas, the biggest state in the union, they say that everything is big in Texas. The first thing we found out on entering is that it is 880 miles across using the I10 interstate highway, all exits are numbered as mileage markers, and we entered at exit 880, we are now just off the highway at exit 847.
It has been an eventful and rewarding 3 days. We had telephoned ahead to make an appointment with a place to have the bike fixed, and as we were checking into the campsite, Jane asked the receptionist for a yellow pages to find more bike shops, Mary, (the receptionist) said she knew someone personally that would maybe fix it, so after setting up shop on the pitch she gave him a ring. Turns out he is her managers husband, he lives on the site and he could come and look at it the following morning, so we had a good laugh about that. He arrived in the pouring rain on Thursday morning as we were just about to start our free breakfast. He changed the plugs again and the damn thing fired right up, made me feel a right prat.
We were chuffed but perplexed as to why that worked again, so we eventually got our breakfast, not a full English, (diy fresh made) waffles, bagels, cheese, jam and cereals. If you want decent bacon and eggs, it has to be cooked in the RV, and we cook bacon properly anyway, Americans cook bacon crispy and it ends up like shrapnel all over the table.
I mentioned on the blog how we look small compared with most vehicles out here, well we were well chuffed when a Honda pulling a 10 foot caravan pulled into the next pitch, the people were very tired from a long haul, so we only exchanged pleasantries that evening. Thursday, the day the bike was “fixed”, the guy got chatting and stated the obvious that the bike was going again, then asked to hear it. Turned out he was fourth generation motorcycle shop owners, and used to race bikes at one time. He said it was running rich, which I knew, and that he could fix that. Before you knew it the bike was under the awning out of the rain, and we were stripping it down and removing the carb’s. He, Danny, then stripped the carb’s down, cleaned, adjusted and reassembled them.
The different is amazing, sounds better, idles better and goes like the proverbial off a stick. So now we can get out and about again without packing up the RV, and went into Beaumont to get the heater pipes for the RV and a few essentials like beer.
We took them out to dinner that night and have become quite good friends, so much so that if we get close to them, we were virtually ordered to visit them in Colorado after March 1st when they will be back home.
Friday 11th Jan. I couldn’t sleep so got up a 3am to make a telephone call to the UK. The previous day I had received an email from my daughter telling me I had overdrawn on a prepaid dollar card from the Post Office, which I knew to be incorrect. It turns out that the card had been skimmed, and we think we know where, so just have to leave it in the hands of the Post Office Fraud Squad and see what develops. Went back to bed at 5am and the day dawned bright and sunny with a chill in the wind, although there was still frost on a few cars in the lee of buildings. I went out on the bike to an adjacent Visitors Centre to find out what paperwork you needed to get into Mexico, turns out we need the original documentation for the vehicle transfers, ie Titles which are in Apollo Beach, looks like a DHL jobby. Had a smashing ride and just as I came to park the bike on our site the clutch cable snapped, I suppose it could have been worse, could have been on the interstate, or in town.
Having got the piping the previous day, I started on connecting the heater, hoping that the matrix was OK, did that and we went into Beaumont again looking for a clutch cable, and to do the larger shopping. We found the Yamaha shop, to a smell of antifreeze, and when the passenger door was opened, a large amount of coolant ran onto the floor, “Oh Dear” the matrix is shot, (I exclaimed or words to that effect), we will have to find a new one. Find one we did at a Napa store, but we didn’t get a clutch cable, we will have to telephone ahead today to see if they have one in Houston, other than that it will take a bout a week to order and arrive.
If anyone has ever changed a heater matrix, they call them heater cores here, you will know what it is like. They suspend a heater on a piece of string and build the car around it, well it is similar with this beastie, virtually the whole dash panel has to come out just to see the darned thing. Now have to find the bolts that hold it to the bulkhead, and put it all back together so we can move on to Houston area.
That is the story so far, at present it seems to be just one thing after another, and it is rather annoying. Oh yes one more thing, a screw has come out of my VDU glasses, and they only have one ear’ole hanger at the moment.
BUT - Hey Ho (don’t worry be happy) – we are still laughing and enjoying ourselves, swearing a lot but still laughing!!……………don’t know where all them screws gonna go
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