Monday, April 12, 2010

Poor Lil' Blue

Suzuki Dearlership in Austin, Tx Hub Cap Annie in Austin, Tx

Our little, blue Suzuki Swift took a bit of a beating in Mexico. All of those back country dirt roads, speed bumps and vados (inverted speed bumps or dips) plus failed pavement and pot holes make quite an impact on the wheels.

On the drive to Austin we noted that the car was pulling a bit to the left and there was a shimmy in the steering wheel. My first thought was that the alignment was off. In Austin, since we were to be there for 5 days, I took the car into a Suzuki Dealer for a check-up. Well, the Swift model is not sold in the U.S. so they do not have any specifications against which to check anything. Their alignment machine does not have a setting for the Swift so they could not check the alignment.

The mechanic took the car for a test drive. When he returned he said that since it wobbles at slow speeds the problem may be the tires themselves. To test this theory he switched the front tires to see if the car still pulled to the left. Well it then pulled to the right. He also pointed out that all 4 rims were bent out of shape. I was not surprised because I hit so many speed bumps at high speed and also dropped into many pot holes. I was more surprised that the tires had not blown out.

So I ordered 4 new rims from Hub Cap Annie's which I had to pickup and bring back to Suzuki. These rims were US$120 each. Whoa! In Canada the rims were C$60 each. Very curious.

The new wheels got rid of the shimmy but not the pulling. This will have to be looked at back here in Canada where the Swift model is supported. We were lucky during our 6 months in Mexico. In Oaxaca there was a Suzuki Dealership for motorcycles and not cars. We had to supply our own oil filter for oil changes. If we had required serious repair, would the Swift model have been supported out of Mexico City and Puebla or would it have been the same as in Austin.

Lesson Learner: Consideration for our next vehicle will include research to ensure that it is supported in the U.S. and Mexico.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

The Texas to Ohio Drive

We left Austin early Thursday morning to beat the morning traffic. Andy gave us driving directions that took us around any bumper to bumper spots. We cleared the city and headed north. Tanya and I continued to do the driver switch every 2 hours so that we did not get overly tired.

We took a different route north because we were stopping in Dallas for lunch with Tanya's vendor friends at HP. We were given a quick tour of the HP campus then off to lunch with Debra, Jeannette and John. Missy was left to roam inside the car with water, food and her litter box readily available.

Back on the road we continued north. Because of the extra stop in Dallas we were only able to get as far as Little Rock, Arkansas. On the way south we had stopped in West Memphis. We stayed at the Galloway Inn in Little Rock and paid the $10 premium to have Missy stay in the room. While Missy was getting comfortable in the room Tanya and I went over to the Iron Skillet for supper.

Friday morning we got on the road about 9:00 am after our continental breakfast of juice, danish/bagels and coffee. We had lunch at Subway somewhere on the road in Tennessee. We even stopped for an afternoon snack at Dairy Queen somewhere in Kentucky. The flat land and straight roads started to change in Kentucky where hills started to appear.

On our trip south we had stayed in Fort Wayne, Indiana but this time we are on a different route and were targeting Dayton, Ohio for the night. However, it was getting dark as we were passing through Cincinnati so we stopped in Sharonville at an Econolodge just north-east of Cincinnati. So here we are, getting ready for the final charge north. The last time that I will have to load the car which we unpack every night.

Our crossing will be Detroit. The crossing was picked by our GPS as the fastest way home. I hope it has taken into account the actual time to cross the border. But we are ready. We have a list of the things we bought and are bringing back. In all it totals less than $400. I only have 4 cigars left and 1 bottle of Texas wine. We should not have a problem.

And friends. We are looking forward to seeing our Toronto friends again. See you all soon.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

The Alamo


This morning we awoke from our cinder block hotel room to a mat of bugs outside the front door. They seemed to be a type of June bug, or large beetle, they were all on their backs, dead or dying. In spite of this ominous greeting, we packed the car and headed to Austin, with a short stop at The Alamo.


Understand I know very little of The Alamo, other than my nephew Colin is a huge Davy Crocket fan, who was actually 49 years old when he fought at The Alamo. I can say that the visit was a bit underwhelming. I had expectations of the great Canadian forts, high, thick stone wall, huge grassy plains and old support buildings. The Alamo was at best a lovely inner city park, with one building filled with large placards describing the US version of the great Mexican/Texan conflict. The area is ripe with Texas and Mexican history, which was I suppose an appropriate end to our six months in Mexico.

We have now arrived at our friend’s house, where we stay for 5 sleeps, and then back in the car to finish the last leg of our journey home.

Friday, April 2, 2010

The Sun Sets Over Texas - That's Dilley, Texas

Day 2 on the road, and we just "made" Texas this evening. We drove from Oaxaca to Queretaro, Mexico the first day, and stayed at the lovely Real Minas hotel. It seems Expedia hotel policies are not always accurate, and after some discussion, Missy (our Siamese cat) was allowed in as long as I brought her in discreetly. Well, for those of you who know Missy, discreet she is not!
This morning we rose early and ordered room service, which was a great start to the day. We then drove about 12 hours into Texas, crossing the border at Laredo.   As much as Matamoros, in October, was immediately Mexico, Texas in April was immediately Texas. Denny's. H.E.B. KFC. Domino's Pizza. Sign after sign of the American Dream - food. Gringo Food.
Gone were the signs of not driving while tired, no more signs asking me to not leave rocks on the road. My favorite road signs were outside of Queretaro, fake federal police cars! They look pretty real, too.
The road side stands today were filled with copper pots, garlic, strawberries and some weird long things that looked like snake skins, but we decided not to stop and find out for sure! Next time...