Month: November 2012

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Supplemental Health Coverage

I always get supplemental health coverage when I go to the States, even if it’s just for a Walmart run. I buy my coverage through CIBC since I can purchase it from their website and have them debit my chequing account. But when I looked at the cost of six months’ worth of coverage, I decided I needed to shop around.

I used Kanetix to get a few quotes, which ranged from $313 to $650. The only difference I could see between the least and most expensive was that the least expensive one had a $250 deductible. So it made sense to buy that one and only pay the difference in policy price if I actually need to use the coverage. There was also the issue that policies are non-refundable, so it made sense to pay less in case my plans change.

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Decent Pulling Out Weather

This morning, I backed Miranda out onto the street so I could take her out for a spin. She was a little tough to start, but once we were under way, she ran smoothly. I had no trouble restarting her after each stop. I had a lot on my list, but the morning wasn’t stressful in the least and I felt very comfortable behind the wheel.

The weather is damp and cold with a promise of weak sun. Not ideal weather for outdoor activities, but better than the pouring rain I had in Lethbridge!

First stop was the dump station. An attendant came out to tell me they had turned off the water, but I could still dump. Thankfully, I had several gallon jugs of tap water on board for rinsing my hose and the dump site.

I let the attendant know that I filled up my truck there this week as a thank you for offering this dump site. The station isn’t that well situated for gassing up an RV so I had already decided to get fuel elsewhere.

Next, I drove to Richelieu to get propane, which cost $80 for a fill at almost 90 cents per litre. More expensive than out west, but still cheaper than in the States.

Then, it was time to find a gas station and the Esso in Chambly was the best choice even if fuel was just over $1.30 a litre. Gas in New York state is over $4 a gallon right now, so it wasn’t worth having to stress out about getting gas with my new longer rig the second I crossed the border. I’ll top up around Saratoga.

I got back to my mother’s and parked in front of the house, then borrowed her car to go to the bank. There, I deposited a cheque and took out 200USD.

This afternoon, I need to buy my supplemental health coverage. I got quotes for this ranging from $300 to $600 for the same coverage! I’ll write up a post about that once I’ve purchased a policy.

I haven’t heard from the shop, so I assume my baseplate installation is going well. I may get out of here tomorrow…

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Everything Is Going Off With a Hitch

I didn’t get Miranda out of the driveway today, but I’m otherwise on schedule for a Wednesday departure.

Three things delayed me today:

1) needing to figure out how to load my new toad (could be improved)

2) having to pass a wire from the back of the rig to the dash (will explain this when I show off the tow bar set up)

3) the shortness of the day (it’s dark at 4:00 here now)

The very warm weather was a real blessing. I would have liked comparable weather for my running around tomorrow, but I’ll take what I can get.

I dropped off my truck off at the shop at 3:30 and gave instructions for the tow bar stuff. Most of that will be done first thing Wednesday when the RV is there, too. They say the baseplate setup and electrical installation will take a full day.

If all the work is done by noon Wednesday, I’ll leave from the shop and head for Saratoga Springs. Otherwise, I’ll delay departure for Thursday morning.

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Broken Promises of the Driving in Montreal Sort

All summer, I managed to avoid any serious driving in Montreal. Today, I made up for that in spades!

I had a lunch date with one cousin and a dinner date with another. Lunch was on the east side of town and dinner on the west side of town. The west side drive wasn’t scary; I barely consider Lasalle to be in Montreal even if it’s on the island and officially part of the city. But the east side drive was a little worrisome as I would be taking the Jacques-Cartier bridge and going into the heart of the city to the Plateau sector, an artsy and bustling part of Montreal with lots of narrow one-way streets that is one of the mostly densely populated neighbourhoods in Canada. Great place to live. Horrible place to drive and park!

Surprisingly, my GPS cooperated and took me straight to my cousin’s. Her street had cars parked on both sides. The road was so narrow that a delivery truck the width of my RV could not squeeze through and ended up having to back out. My truck had about a foot clearance on each side. I was kicking myself for not having looked for municipal parking on a busier street when I found a nice clear section of open street that looked very tempting. I tucked myself along the curb and then went to read every single parking sign on the block. They were confusing, but it looked like I was clear to park where I was till 3:00PM, which was ample time. Great! I found parking, I was early, and now I just had to find my cousin’s building. I glanced at the address in front of which I was parked to get my bearings. Oh! This was her building! I had found parking right at her door! Something had to be wrong and I reread the parking signs one more time to be sure. I was fine! Talk about good luck!

It was nice to catch up and meet my cousin’s daughters. They have a menagerie of animals and I found myself accosted by one of their friendly cats before having a ginormous bunny plopped into my lap! I had rabbits when I was really, really young, so I couldn’t remember what they were like. Basically cats with giant ears and back paws. Very cute!

Our visit done, I carefully navigated my way out of my suddenly tight parking spot as someone had parked behind me, then I almost painlessly drove out of the neighbourhood and onto the autoroute to cross town. Almost because it’s illegal to turn right on a red light on the island of Montreal and people behind me were adamant that I risk a ticket to save them a few minutes. *shakes head*

I was a little early for my dinner engagement, so I stopped at the Angrignon Walmart to pick up some cat litter and salad fixings for dinner. Lasalle is now part of Montreal, but it feels more like suburbia, so driving around there is a non-issue. Parking on her street was another matter, however, as both sides were crammed with cars. I squeezed into a gap then had a glance at yet another confusing parking sign. It looked like I was clear. Great, now find the address, which surely had to be the only one with a lit porch that just happened to be across from my truck! I must owe the parking gods a goat by now!

Dinner with this cousin and her son was another lovely catching up affair. She does something I find very interesting; hosting foreign exchange students. I wouldn’t have the personality for that if I had a settled life, but it seems like a nice fit for her and she gets to meet students from all over the world.

I thought that getting home from her place would be a cinch as she is very near the Mercier bridge and I could get to my mother’s from that bridge with my eyes closed, but I forgot about that wonderful Montreal construction. The bridge had only one lane open in each direction and there was a detour to access the open lane. I missed one of the detour signs, but in trying to inexplicably reroute me to the Champlain bridge, my GPS got me back on the detour route. It might be slightly longer in mileage to take Mercier than Champlain from that area, but it’s an easier drive and generally quicker timewise.

It’s been a rich full day. Now that I have seen just about everyone I wanted to see on this trip, it’s time to get into packing mode. The plan is to pull out with Miranda tomorrow and then park her on the street. My truck goes into the shop in the afternoon. Things are going so smoothly, but I’m not waiting for the other shoes to drop. I think I’ve earned an easy pull out…

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Using My Verizon Cell Phone With a US Number in Canada

I remember when Donna told me she was using a US number in Canada. It sounded very complicated and messy. Well, I’ve been using my beloved little pink phone with its North Dakota number all summer in Canada with it’s been a non-issue.

Coverage has never been a problem, not in Quebec, not in Alberta when I was buying my truck, and not in Ontario. Most folks who call me from a landline have a long distance plan that includes the US. A few people got into the habit of calling me, hanging up after one ring, and having me call them back to avoid incurring international long distance charges. A few folks have cell phones that get the huge fees for international calls even if I call them, so I agree to text but let them know I pay 15 cents per message, so I don’t get blasted (I’m not convinced yet that I need the $10 text add on to my plan as I’ve never had more than $5 in text surcharges).

It took a little while, but my mother finally believed that this number is going to stick and that I am regularly using a phone now (a first in 14 years) and has actually programmed the number into her phone. She calls me from the house instead of walking out to the rig now. In fact, she just called me from the hardware store to get a measurement, confident that I’d have the phone open. It took me a minute to find it in my gigantic purse (note to self: sew a phone pocket into the lining of the purse), so I missed the call, but I was able to call her right back; no biggie.

When I get to Saratoga on Wednesday evening, I’ll call Verizon to reactivate the data plan that will let me tether my computer to the phone to get online. I’m also not going to let them tempt me with their really sweet deal on an iPhone. I really want one to replace my outdated iPod Touch, but I’d have to get an unlocked version so that I can switch out SIM cards depending on the country I’m in. That would mean having two phone numbers and too much confusion for folks who are just getting used to being able to reach me. So I will probably hold out as long as my LG is working well and compatible with my OS.