Tech

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Cutting It Close

I got a 7GB internet package for this month and I’m at just over 6.9GB this morning! I’m pretty sure that I will be over by a few MB. I’m shutting down the computer shortly and will be calling Verizon to turn off the data plan before I cross the border.

Speaking of the border, I hate border crossing day. 🙂 The rig really isn’t in very good shape right now, not at all the way I like to have it in preparation for an inspection, but I can’t help the chaos in here. I tidied up as best as I can and am crossing my fingers that the crossing back to Canada will be as easy as was the crossing into the US. I’m going through a major border point (Lacolle/Champlain).

I was surprised by how much I have to declare; $450. That’s $200 in clothes, $200 for a new computer battery, and $50 in assorted sundries for the rig. I’m still well below the limit and only have 12 beers on board, so I should be fine provided I don’t get accused of braying.

I hoping to arrive at my mother’s between 4 and 6. The big question marks today will be propane, dumping, and the border. The drive will be fine, except maybe the bit around Candiac depending on whether they’re still working on the 30. I should have asked my mother about that.

Google Maps says 15 to 30 to 112 to get to my mother’s, which is a terrible route since 112 would take me through St. Hubert and tons of traffic lights and slow speeds. Instead, I will take the 10 and then the back roads for a much easier/smoother trip. Anyway, once I get back on the road after doing the propane and dumping, the GPS is only going to serve to give me an ETA!

I’ll check back in tonight once I’m squared away. I’m also going to share some pics of where I’m parked this morning. I’ve been getting really lucky with my overnighting spots!

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Thanks, Verizon!

WOW. US telecom companies are not as evil as their Canadian counterparts!

Because of all the insurance matters, I was going to go over my 450-minute voice plan. My friend told me to call Verizon and ask to be moved to the next tier so that I wouldn’t get a huge overage bill. I couldn’t imagine Verizon agreeing to that, but I called them anyway.

I explained to the gal that my usage this month was exceptional because of the accident, bla, bla, and asked if it would be possible to be moved to the next tier, 900 minutes, for this period and then brought back down to the 450-minute tier next month.

“Gee, your billing cycle ends in five days. I can’t imagine you using up 450 minutes in that amount of time! How about I just add 200 complimentary minutes to your account and leave your plan as-is?”

They can do that here?!

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A Day in Richmond, VA, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (and Amuse Restaurant)

Ooh, it’s been a long day and it’s not over yet. I’m at a Starbucks somewhere in Virginia, maybe Hopewell. I’ve got some pictures at the bottom of this post.

A nasty couple of leg cramps during the night meant that my early start today was on about an hour of sleep. Gah. I headed north out of Petersburg, stopped for breakfast, and then pointed the car towards Richmond for my appointment.

Minutes after leaving the Starbucks where I posted this morning, the phone rang. I was shocked that it was my adjuster at Aviva; it was 7:30 in Vancouver! She confirmed that they will be filing a claim with the moron’s insurance company to cover the repairs, my deductible, and the tow bill. The repairs are coming in at $5,600… HOLY MOLY.

She, of course, couldn’t resist chastising me again for continuing without having a thorough inspection made of the rig. I maintain that discovering the damage during an inspection is a big what if. One of the guys at the salvage yard in West Virginia actually got under the rig with me and said that there was no visible damage. Who’s to say that an inspector would have even thought to look for a weak axle? I maintain that the moron’s insurance company got off lucky because I would have put them on the hook for kennel fees, a rental car, a hotel, and three square meals a day, minimum, to salvage my vacation had I been stuck in West Virginia.

I asked her how long I can have a hotel room (thinking that I might need it again Monday) and she said that as long as I’m within the prescribed limits, it can be until Miranda is road ready. She was concerned that I’m staying at home this weekend, saying that if I cause extra damage to the axle by living in the rig, the extra repairs won’t be covered. *shakes head and reminds herself that not everyone RVs*

Anyway, she gets points for calling me early! 😀

By the time I hung up with her, it was about 10:50. I couldn’t believe I was now concerned about being late for my appointment! I knew I had plenty of time to get to the address, but was worried about parking. The options got more dismal the closer I got to Capitol Mac, so I was relieved to find a spot right across from the store. I popped in, handed over my computer, and was out of there in less than 10 minutes. I guessed, correctly, that I’d need to charge the new battery, which justifies ending the day at another Starbucks.

From Capitol Mac, it was just a couple of blocks to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia’s answer to New York’s Met. Now, nothing compares to the Met, but this was a fine museum and the perfect place to kill several hours. Best of all, it’s free! I had fun leisurely roaming through the exhibits, which cover the span of human history. I did pretty much skip over the modern stuff, however.

Many of the reviews I read said that lunch at the Amuse restaurant on the top level is a must. I was leery about eating at a museum, figuring the prices would be astronomical, but a couple of reviews claimed the prices were reasonable. I decided to give it a shot. I got a nice table on the balcony and glanced through the menu, relieved to find that just about everything was $15 or less. The offerings are very fancy/gourmet.

The first thing that caught my eye was a tuna tartar, but I already had raw tuna this week, so I kept looking. Ooh, crab cakes with a horse radish sauce and fingerling potatoes! And then I came to seafood chorizo. Hmm. Now, that sounded different. I decided to try it out. While I waited for my food, I was brought a hunk of delicious herb bread.

A picture of my lunch is below. As I said to the server, “There are no words to convey how delicious this is.” The seafood chorizo was, of course, a sausage, thickly sliced and deliciously caramelized. It smelled strongly of the sea, but the taste was much more mild and quite sweet. The sausage was served with cubed and herbed Yukon Gold potatoes. Finally, there was a slaw made of julienned apples, red onion, radish, and fennel, topped with Parmesan shavings. I’ve always avoided fennel since I don’t like licorice, but it turns out that the plant is completely inoffensive, offering a bit of bite with a lot of crunch and not that much licorice flavour. All for $14.

I’d had my fill of the VMOFA by about 2:30. I decided to find a mall since I needed an outfit to wear to the party next Saturday. I picked the first one my GPS listed, drove all the way there, and discovered it had been razed. This is when I remembered that my phone has internet so I Googled ‘Richmond Mall’ and got a hit for the Regency. My GPS got me there without incident.

In Canada, I would have headed for a Reitmans, but I didn’t know what stores in the US would have clothes in my price range. So I was happy to see a JC Penney at the mall; it was the perfect place to start looking. I wound up finding a ton of things I liked, so there was no need to go anywhere else. I spent about an hour putting together an outfit then headed to the Payless next door for some dressy sandals. I wandered through the mall for a bit, but was quickly reaching burnout so I returned to the car.

I asked the GPS to take me to the nearest movie theatre, but when I arrived at the location, there was no cinema. I’d just about had enough, so I decided to drive by home and see if Miranda was level. It was only 5:00, so I was actually a little relieved to see that she was still tilted. This gave me the impression that perhaps work wasn’t done for the day. I decided to try the movie theatre idea again. The GPS took me here, where the cinema has been shut down for some time. *sighs* At least, there was a Starbucks right there.

$5,600 worth of damage

$5,600 worth of damage

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

now, this was interesting: that lady is sculpting a statue that is part of a series, one of which is at the Mariners' Museum in Newport (the one where I thought the men were wrestling a penguin)

now, this was interesting: that lady is sculpting a statue that is part of a series, one of which is at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport (the one where I thought the men were wrestling a penguin)

I just wanted to hug this little fellow; notice that his tongue is sticking out

I just wanted to hug this little fellow; notice that his tongue is sticking out

hilarious!

hilarious!

lovely view (which I would revisit at lunch)

lovely view (which I would revisit at lunch)

this image of a futuristic Marine World (with all the animals being deformed) was rather disturbing!

this image of a futuristic Marine World (with all the animals being deformed) was rather disturbing!

"An Athenian woman asks a Spartan woman, Why are you the only women to rule your men? In which the Spartan woman replies, Beause we are the only women who give birth to men."

“An Athenian woman asks a Spartan woman, Why are you the only women to rule your men? In which the Spartan woman replies, Beause we are the only women who give birth to men.”

these are more than more than 2,300 years old!

these are more than more than 2,300 years old!

more than 2,300 year old jewelry!

more than 2,300 year old jewelry!

this impressive sarcophagus was on loan from the Met!

this impressive sarcophagus was on loan from the Met!

statues like these could stand in for the person if the mummy was damaged

statues like these could stand in for the person if the mummy was damaged

deliciousness

deliciousness

a view is always good for digestion

a view is always good for digestion

I don't like the Art Deco style, but now I understand it. This clock is based on an Egyptian head dress!

I don’t like the Art Deco style, but now I understand it. This clock is based on an Egyptian head dress!

that window is the next best thing to a view!

that window is the next best thing to a view!

I was impressed that I could spot the Monet among the imitators

I was impressed that I could spot the Monet among the imitators

I adore Tiffany lamps

I adore Tiffany lamps

love the dragonflies

love the dragonflies

I'd never seen this Van Gogh, but recognized his work immediately

I’d never seen this Van Gogh, but recognized his work immediately

unmistakably a Renoir

unmistakably a Renoir

I was impressed that I could recognize a Matisse

I was impressed that I could recognize a Matisse

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Grateful For My Little Pink Phone

I’ve never never had much use for phones, except when they act as a modem to get on the internet. I’ve been very lackadaisical about keeping an active cell phone unless I have a very specific reason for needing it on (eg. my PR person at the RV show needed to be able to keep in touch with me). I lived most of my life without 24/7 access to a phone and I just don’t rely on the technology that much. When I’ve needed a phone in an emergency, it was just a matter of minutes to get it reactivated. I don’t remember missing access to a phone when I was traveling through the US last year.

On this trip, I wanted to have internet access, so I was very grateful that Donna gave me her LG phone that can be tethered to your computer and act as a cellular modem:

I was irked that I had to buy a voice plan so that I could get the data plan, but jumped through the hoops and got the smallest phone plan, 450 nationwide minutes. A few days later, I decided to pay the extra $20 and get the nationwide+Canada plan. This means that I can make calls to anywhere in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada, and receive calls from anywhere in these locations, without being billed beyond my monthly amount as long as I don’t use up more than 450 minutes.

Needless to say, I have been very grateful for my phone since the accident! I haven’t had to worry about being able to reach people or to be reached. I do only have about 120 minutes left, but at least I will have used up all my minutes, making the expense worthwhile.

I did find it fussy for going online, but suspected the cable was bad. I spent all of $2.50 on Amazon for a genuine LG cable with a cell phone port at one and and a USB port at the other and, voila!, problem solved.

This phone has a touch screen and QWERTY keypad (the phone opens up like a book to reveal the keyboard), which is useful for texting, although I have to pay for each text (it was $10 to add a texting plan). I will confess that I have used the phone to check my email and to do internet research! The phone also has a pretty decent little camera.

I love my easy-to-remember North Dakota number and am thinking about keeping the voice plan active when I get back to Canada, although I will be turning off the data plan to avoid incurring huge charges. I am amused that I am considering keeping a $70 cell phone plan active when I’ve resented paying the $17 minimum fee to keep my Virgin mobile phone active. I think that part of it is that I will be able to use this phone everywhere I travel and that I’d need it active anyway in the US to get the data plan. Might as well keep it going all the time.

Verizon seems like an okay company to deal with, but they are a little clingy. I just made a payment online using my credit card and I immediately got both a text and an email thanking me! I won’t even get into the mountain of paperwork they sent me thanking me for signing up, for changing my plan, for switching to paperless billing (as my friend says, oh, irony, it burns!). Hopefully, that will calm down a little.

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Overcast Morning in Iowa

It’s warm in Council Bluffs this morning, but the sun hasn’t come out yet. I’ll be heading out shortly, going southbound to Kansas City and then shooting eastwards to Columbia. This will mean another fairly long day today, but a short one tomorrow as I plan to stop for a couple of nights in St. Louis. It’s my friend’s hometown and I promised her I’d ride the Arch. 🙂

I can’t believe how much better the internet here is than in North Dakota; much better signal and faster. I haven’t had a hard time getting on at all down here. I must say that having internet on this trip, even though it is costing me an arm and a leg, is making a huge difference. Last spring in the Pacific Northwest without it was really frustrating!