Search Results for: Travel Documents

Checking and rechecking…Errors are to be expected from governmental agencies…Waiving Part B Medicare…

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New sprouts on a coffee bean plant.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Although this Flame Tree appears to sprout bananas, these yellow pods are the flower before blooming. It’s a favorite spot for birds that stop for a visit, including another variety of the popular Flycatcher.

Three weeks ago, Tom contacted the Railroad Retirement Board (opposed to Social Security or Medicare) as required for retired railway workers. The intent was to inform them of his intention to waive Part B Medicare which would automatically kick in on his upcoming 65th birthday on December 23rd.

If he didn’t do this, there would be a deduction from his pension on the first of every month in the amount of US $109 (CRC 62,113), which may vary based on certain circumstances. But, unfortunately, Medicare doesn’t provide us with any benefits outside of the US (with a few rare exceptions).

Nor do we purchase the additional “supplemental” insurance to cover that which Medicare doesn’t cover. Please keep in mind. This is a generalization. Individual cases may vary. Please contact Medicare via this link if you have questions.

I was driving along a mountain road.

Many tourists can purchase “trip insurance” when they travel. However, this type of insurance is not available to us on an annualized basis since we don’t go on “trips” per se but are continually moving from one location to another outside of the US.

We’ve spoken to other long-term travelers who’ve stated they have purchased trip-by-trip “trip insurance” to receive the benefits of the more comprehensive coverage than we have on our “major medical” annual policy. For us, this would be an outright fabrication. But, this requires informing the insurance company that we are taking individual trips instead of living outside the US.

The problem with doing this is, if they discover a traveler has been traveling non-stop, they could refuse to pay a considerable claim, leaving the traveler with a monstrous bill to pay out of pocket. So we chose not to “lie” to the insurance company or run this type of risk.

In Costa Rica, many homes are located beyond entrance gates.

Instead, we have less coverage that doesn’t pay for doctor visits, prescriptions, or vision care. In most countries, we’ve found doctor visits usually run under US $100 (CRC 56,985), if not less. This works for us. 

If we needed to visit an emergency room or stay in a hospital, have surgery or treatment, our policy covers 100% of the cost. To date, thank God, we’ve never filed a claim, although we’re well aware it’s entirely possible at some point in the future. 

Our policy provides no coverage while we’re in the US, which leaves us with only Medicare Part A, which covers only a portion of a hospital or emergency visit. However, we choose to take that risk when visiting family rather than pay thousands of dollars per year for coverage in the US we cannot use in other countries. I hope this all makes sense to our readers. 

Arriving at the end of a paved road, we turned around and retraced our tracks.

In any case, we called and asked Railroad Retirement to send us the appropriate form to waive Part B. This is a government agency. They were unable to email us the single-page form. Instead, they stated the only way to receive the blank form was to receive it via snail mail. Go figure.

So, three weeks ago, when our mailing service in Nevada received the snail mail from Railroad Retirement, they scanned it and sent it to us via our file in their system. We printed it on the villa’s printer, and Tom promptly signed it. At that point, we used our portable scanner and sent it back to the mailing service via email. Within 24 hours, the mail service had snail-mailed the signed form to Railroad Retirement. Thus, the envelope would take one or two days to arrive from Nevada to California.

Yesterday, three weeks after the snail mail was sent, we called to see if the waiver was processed with our usual mistrust of any governmental agency and certain other types of businesses. Alas, not surprisingly, they had no record of it. 

With no shoulders on most roads, we’ve had to search for a spot like this when attempting to turn around.

A similar scenario occurred when Tom applied online to renew his Nevada driver’s license. All the documents we’d sent never showed in their email. We’d forwarded them a copy of the email we’d sent with all the records, and still, they explained it was never seen and subsequently never processed. Go figure. Eventually, the second batch of documents resulted in Tom receiving the renewal.

Yesterday, we contacted our mailing service asking them to fax the document to Railroad Retirement, at an expense to us, since Railroad Retirement would allow a fax in this particular case instead of waiting for “another” snail mail. Later in the day, the mailing service notified us to say the fax was sent, and they received a confirmation stating it was received.

On Monday, we’ll call Railroad Retirement again to confirm it’s done. But, of course, one can’t ever be sure without confirmation. Over the past five years of world travel, I can’t possibly describe all of the scenarios when errors have been made in handling our “business-related” transactions. 

This fast-growing tree on the coffee plantation shot up this tall in only a few years.  Variety unknown.

Antiquated systems and incompetency are often the cause of such extra work we experience in handling everything from afar. When one dreams of traveling the world for years to come, it’s always essential to consider handling transactions of any type.

Whether we find PayPal is blocked in a particular country, have forms to be signed for financial matters, or are required to change passwords periodically. In addition, on certain accounts, they require we have a text number to send us a code. 

We don’t have a cell phone contract with access to a US phone number that allows texts other than through Skype or Facebook Messenger for these purposes. Businesses don’t use these mediums for communication. We often have to figure out a frustrating, time-consuming workaround.

Mountains are prevalent in most areas of Costa Rica.

In years to come, this may be easier, but for now, as we continue on our otherwise blissful journey, we remind ourselves we chose this lifestyle, and with it comes several challenges. 

Once such a cumbersome task is re-done or completed, we sit back and smile for a second time, grateful we figured out a solution and get back to swimming in the pool or searching for photo ops.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, October 20, 2016:

In Bali, the view changed dramatically as the tide rolled in.  For more photos, please click here.

How much do we pay for health insurance?… Technology issues… Patience prevails…

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Elephant topiary on the church’s grounds.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

We can’t take our eyes off these adorable tiny birds.
Early this morning, we were sighting of a hummingbird partaking of our sugar water.

Regardless of how far away we may travel from the US, there’s no escaping the responsibility of paperwork required for life in general and more related to our lifestyle of world travel.

With Tom’s 65th birthday fast approaching on December 23rd, it was time for him to waive Part B Medicare, which would result in an automatic deduction from Railroad Retirement for his monthly pension income if he didn’t handle it on time.

Pretty ceiling and chandeliers in the church.

Medicare doesn’t pay for medical care outside of the US (with a few exceptions, here and there) long ago; we purchased  “major medical” international insurance coverage through Healthcare International in the UK.

No more expensive annually than paying the required amount for Part B Medicare and a supplement, our plan doesn’t cover doctor visits. So in the past almost five years, we’ve spent very little for the few doctor office visits we’ve made, the most for physical exams and tests we had over two years ago in Trinity Beach, Australia.

Shrine on the grounds of Iglesia Catolica de Zarcero church in Zarcero Costa Rica.

In total, over this extended period, including the comprehensive exams in Australia for both of us, we haven’t spent more than US $2000 (CRC 1,150,510), averaging at US $400 (CRC 230,102) per year.

Our annual insurance payment to Healthcare International is US $4,000 (CRC 2,301,020) plus the average US $400 (CRC 230,102) for doctor visits, totals US $4400 (CRC 2,531,122) per year.

Faces in the shrubs.  Amazing.

The required payments for Medicare Part B plus a supplement plan, plus all the necessary co-pays, would ultimately be much higher than what we’re paying annually. But, of course, we hardly ever go to a doctor, reserving those for situations where we feel we have no alternative. Thus, it’s difficult to compare “apples to apples.”

As a result, Tom won’t be signing up for Medicare Part B, which required he contact Railroad Retirement (as opposed to Social Security) since he worked for the railroad for over 42 years.  Instead, Railroad retirement (and Medicare) require that the potential recipient complete a form requesting to waive Part B.  I’d done this almost five years ago when I was approaching 65.

More faces.

A few weeks ago, Tom called Railroad Retirement and requested the necessary documentation to sign to waive this option. Unfortunately, it took several weeks to arrive at our mailing service in Nevada, Maillink Plus.

When we receive snail mail at the mailing service, we’re sent an email message that snail mail has arrived. So we log into our account at their site and see who sent the mail but not its specific contents. At that point, we can request the mail be scanned at US $2 (CRC 1151) per page.

This spot may be used for weddings and other celebratory occasions.

Of course, receiving mail from governmental agencies may result in the necessity of having many pages scanned to get to the page(s) were looking for, as was the case here. 

Once the document is scanned (always within hours except for Sundays), we can view or print the copy (if we have access to a printer), which we do here in Costa Rica in this fine villa. Since the document required completion with a signature, printing it was a necessity. We also needed to print the cover letter, which included coding and secure ID numbers. Thus, we ended up with two pages to print.

Not every topiary was indicative of a specific animal or item but, it is still interesting.

Once Tom completed the form, the next step was to get the two pages back to Railroad Retirement. Unfortunately, they don’t accept email for such conditions. That means we’d have to pay for a taxi to go to a post office, pay the postage to the US and also plan it could take upwards of a month to arrive.

But not for us! Our mailing service will handle that for about another US $2 (CRC 1151), preparing an envelope with our return address and a stamp. Then, all we’d have to do is scan the two pages and email both of them to the mailing service. 

Colorful stonework on a wall near the entrance to the church.

This morning I printed the two pages, after which Tom filled out the form, handing them back to me to scan and email. Sound easy, eh? Not so much. For some goofy reason, the software I’d downloaded for the new Brother Scanner we’d purchased from Amazon and received while in Nevada wasn’t working.

The application I needed and had used extensively when I’d done tons of scanning while in Nevada had somehow disappeared from my laptop, nor could we find the actual installation disk I’d used at the time to install it. 

Rainy day view from the church entrance to the topiary.

Sure, I could go online to Brother and install what I needed to complete the process, but I was bound and determined to figure out a solution to avoid doing this. Furthermore, I’d yet to start today’s post and didn’t want to spend an hour fooling around with an install.

Patience was not high on my priority list, but a determination was often the case. After about an hour, I figured out a workaround and got the documents to scan and into my email. Finally, I prepared the email message to Maillink, which they’ll receive and process tomorrow (Monday), confirming that the task has been completed.

Painting of Jesus in the interior of the church.

Today, while Tom watches the Minnesota Vikings game, I’ll work on installing the software if we have a good enough signal for streaming the game and performing a download. We shall see.

Have a wonderful Sunday or Monday wherever you may be in the world.

Photo from one year ago today, September 24, 2016:

In Sumbersari Bali, we met neighbors who invited us for a visit. This is their infinity pool. For more photos of their lovely property, please click here.

After five years of experience…Even we can be fooled!…Car rental warnings….More Atenas Farmers Market photos…Stunning sighting from the veranda…

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A farmer with several coolers of homemade sausage cooked us a sampling of his Italian sausage, which we have trouble finding in many countries. After tasting the delicious, perfectly seasoned sausages, we purchased six packages to use for our next batch of low-carb pizza.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

From this website: “The owl butterflies, the genus Caligo, are known for their huge eyespots, which resemble owls‘ eyes. They are found in the rain forests and secondary forests of Mexico, Central and South America. Owl butterflies are enormous, 65–200 mm (2.6–7.9 in), and fly only a few meters at a time, so avian predators have little difficulty in following them to their settling place. However, the butterflies preferentially fly at dusk, when few avian predators are around. Therefore, the Latin name may refer to their active periods; caligo means darkness.”   
This morning’s sighting of this Owl Butterfly sent us both to the moon with sheer delight! Can you imagine the magic of this amazing creature with spots that appear to be eyes resembling an owl to keep predators away? Wow!
After tasting the above Italian Sausages, as shown above, we purchased six packages from the farmer.

When we spotted this butterfly on the front veranda this morning, I couldn’t grab the camera quickly enough. Tom witnessed it flying, but by the time I grabbed the camera, it had landed in this spot by the sliding glass door.

The small but fun-filled Atenas Farmers Market.

We’ll be sharing more photos of butterflies over these upcoming months in Costa Rica due to the fact we’ve seen more butterflies here than in any other part of the world. So please check back for future stories.

There are plants for sale along with produce and handmade goods.

Speaking of our remaining 85 days in Costa Rica, yesterday’s experience at the car rental facility in San Jose will be emblazoned in our minds forever. Never once in the past five years of world travel, having rented cars for approximately 50% of the time, have we ever had such an outrageously awful experience.

Sure, we anticipated the US $9 (CRC 5,169) a day rate (included all taxes) would never end up at that rate when we went to pick up the car. In addition, we anticipated add-on charges for our age which were listed at US $5 (CRC 2,871) per day, per person. But even at the US $19 (CRC 10,912), we could live with that with both of us able to drive. 

We were impressed with the elaborate displays.

In many countries, we’ve rented cars for around US $600 (CRC 344,574) to $700 (402,003) for a monthly rate which we’ve always felt has been fair. But, the discovery we made after our taxi ride from Atenas to the Europcar facility (franchise owned) next door to the Walmart store in San Jose, where we planned to pick up a few items after getting the car, threw us for a loop.

Huge bananas picked in giant bunches caught the eye of many shoppers.

It all started fine when the rep behind the counter began processing our booked rental, asking for our passports, driver’s licenses, US address, etc. Of course, we’d brought along the printed documents with our confirmation number and pertinent information to ensure nothing would infringe upon our getting the decent rate we’d derived online at our usual rentalcars.com, a reputable company.

Belts, wallets, and other leather goods.

And, we’ve used Europcar at least 10 times over these years, expecting they’d honor the online pricing without gouging us. But, after finding they were franchise operations and subject to any peculiar laws in a country (so they say), we were shocked over the “bait and switch” tactic we were presented.

Local farmers and butchers have a wide array of beef, pork, and poultry for sale.

Aad has warned us about “bait and switch” type rental situations frequently occurring in Costa Rica, the reason why we’d chosen to do the five-day rental through his regular guy from “Thrifty.” Having used Europcar many times over these past years, we didn’t anticipate any problems.

Refrigerated cases with traditional and uncommon cuts of meat.

Here’s the prices we’d have had to pay, had we taken the tiny car yesterday:

1. the US $9 daily rate, plus the US $5 (CRC 2,871) for one driver over 64 years old (Tom) PLUS…an additional US $44.95 (CRC 25,814) per day for insurance (we already have insurance through our credit cards and a separate liability policy) for a total of US $58.95 per day (CRC 33,854) for a total for US $5,070 (CRC 2,911,444) for our remaining days in Costa Rica.
2.  Plus, they wanted a letter from our bank stating we have sufficient funds to pay for the car in the event of an accident (what the heck was the US $44.95 (CRC 25,814) per day supposed to be for?
3.  Plus, they required a US $9,000 (CRC 5,168,610) deposit!!!

Specialty flavored sea salts.  We purchased a similar item in Tasmania, smokey Himalayan salt which we continue to use and enjoy.

Why in the world would we pay any of this? But, of course, none of these above three would send us walking out the door in a huff, which I did, this time, not so much Tom. Yep, I was the “overly grumpy” traveler this time, appalled by this unbelievable trickery. 

I couldn’t resist buying one of these containers of two dozen quail eggs.

Sure, if someone were renting a car for a one-week holiday, it wouldn’t seem so bad, but still, they’d required the outrageous deposit! Who’d be willing to put a US $9,000 (CRC 5,168,610) deposit on a credit card?  Not us!

Over a period of a few days, I boiled these tiny quail eggs and had them in my taco salad. They’re tiny and fun to pop in one’s mouth for a tasty treat.

We left…no car…as frustrated as I’ve ever been in our years of world travel.  We walked across the road to the Walmart store, our yellow Costco bag in hand with a shortlist of items we needed to find, some of which we did find and others we did not.

For illustration purposes, I placed one large regular chicken egg atop the boiled, peeled quail eggs. About four quail eggs are comparable to one chicken egg.  I ate all 24 of them over a period of three days. Tom didn’t care for them, although they taste almost identical to a regular egg.

Until tomorrow, folks, when we share the story of what transpired at the pharmacy at Walmart that left me with a dilemma for which there’s no logical solution. However, by the time we paid for our few items, we were both in a better state of mind, and we found a taxi outside the store that drove us back to Atenas. 

Since Tom’s been eating fruit, we purchased this watermelon which he hadn’t eaten since we left Minnesota. So today, I used this cauliflower as an ingredient in my favorite meal; Chicken Sausage and Cauliflower Bake. Could you email me this amazing recipe?

Round trip taxi fares from Atenas to San Jose?  The total came to US $54.83 (CRC 31,485), which actually wasn’t as much as we’d expected. That was one pricey trip t0 Walmart!

We used these small purple onions in taco salad over these past few days.

No one ever said it was ever easy. So we’ll be back with more.

Photo from one year ago today, August 29, 2016:

Final photos of Chalong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, are preparing to depart on September 1, 2016. For more final photos, please click here.

Accomplished another task…Plus, sightseeing in Costa Rica..

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Tom shot this excellent photo of a leopard high above the ground on a perch.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Early last evening, before the most powerful rainstorm since our arrival in Atenas, this fire was burning on a hill. We took this photo from the veranda. Only moments later, thunder and lightning filled the sky, and pouring rain put the fire out in a matter of minutes. Our pool was almost overflowing from the rain.

When the shipped package from our mailing service became lost in the mail while we were in Tasmania, one of the main reasons we were worried was the fact that Maillinkplus.com, as requested, had placed our paper mail and tax documents into the shipped box along with many other essential items.

Ducks and lots of turtles.

When we didn’t receive the package in time to do our 2016 taxes (it was later found and shipped to us in Sydney), our new accountant in Nevada filed an extension for us. Our prior accountant had decided to quit the business that eventually led us to Donnie Castleman who proved to be fast, efficient and reasonably priced in getting our return completed. 

With the extension, we had until October 15, 2017, to file the return. But, with a plan to put anything weighing heavily on our minds behind us, I got to work over this past week and sent Donnie everything he needed to complete the process.

We’ve seen these “flowers” in many botanical gardens throughout the world.  Thanks to friend Louise in Kauai Hawaii, she’s identified this as Pine Cone Ginger.  Thanks, Louise!

This morning at 5:00 am, I received an email from Donnie that he’d completed the return and all we needed to do was print the signature page, sign it, scan it and send it back to him. By 6:00 am, we’d reviewed everything, completed the few tasks, saved the documents to our external hard drive and cloud, and paid his bill via PayPal. Whew! That’s a significant relief.

The only significant items to accomplish between now and the next few months are extending our visas for Costa Rica by 23 days. Tom is waiving Part B Medicare when the documents arrive in the snail mail in Nevada before his 65th birthday on December 23rd. 

 As in my case, Part B does Tom no good outside the US which results in the necessity of us having International Health Insurance.  Neither of us has made a health insurance claim of any type in almost five years. We’ll write more on these two topics as it transpires. 

There are six varieties of Toucans in Costa Rica.

Also, by November, we’ll need to select our clothing for the Antarctica cruise and have a physical exam by a local doctor certifying we are fit to travel to this remote location. Neither of these items causes us any concern and we’ll be diligent in getting them done on time.  

 In the interim, we can begin to relax a little and check out some sightseeing venues here in Costa Rica. We’re not going to go crazy and go out every day. However, we do plan to do something special at least once a week while spending plenty of time exploring on a variety of road trips.

We’ve yet to see a Toucan in the wild, but indeed, over these next many months.

Many have the perception that Costa Rica is run rampant by wild animals, birds, and colorful frogs. This is not necessarily the case when staying in a vacation home, resort or hotel.  No doubt, there are plenty of colorful birds flying about but we’ve yet to see a colorful frog.

Many tourist activities include hikes through the rainforests where one may be more inclined to encounter unusual wild animals. Right now, as I continue to recover from this outrageous gastrointestinal thing, I’m not feeling like hiking in a rainforest.

I gushed over these baby rabbits as they crawled out of a hole in the ground.

Instead, yesterday we embarked on a two-hour hilly walk at what is called Zoo Ave located not too far from Atenas. As many of our readers know, we aren’t big fans of zoos.  We prefer to see native fawn and flora in a natural setting, not behind bars. 

However, when a facility advertises itself as a rehabilitation center we’re more inclined to check it out. As it turned out Zoo Ave (ave means “bird” in Spanish), located in La Garita, Costa Rica was well worth the trip, especially when we observed signs that depicted they’d rescued over 1000 animals in the past year.

White and black bunnies were hanging out together.

It doesn’t appear that Zoo Ave has its own website so we’ve included tourist’s comments from TripAdvisor here. With positive reviews of 4.5 of out 5, it seems others have enjoyed this facility with its intent to return rescued wildlife back to the wild when they are sufficiently healed and able to do so. 

Of course, some native animal can’t ever be returned to the wild when they’ve become dependent on human supplied food sources, making them incapable of foraging on their own. This is an unfortunate but necessary reality of rescue facilities.

We had the opportunity for numerous Iguana sightings at the facility including some not in cages with one walking across the path we walked.

The hard part for me was being unable to take good photos of delightful creatures who were ensconced in cages. Although none of the animals were housed in small or inadequate cages they had plenty of room to wander, fly and navigate. 

Taking photos through chain link fences is impossible for an amateur photographer like me. So I apologize for any of the less-than-clear images we’ll be posting over the next several days. We enjoyed ourselves and easily managed 10,000 steps on my FitBit, a goal I try to reach as often as possible.

This bird is giant, about half the size of an Ostrich.

It’s funny how during our two-hour walk through the facility, I kept thinking of Africa and how practically face-to-face encounters with wildlife has become so crucial for both of us. And yet, we’re still drawn to the opportunity to see what each country has to offer in the way of its native wildlife and we often seek rescue facilities when we’re unable to spot them any other way.

Actually, even in South Africa, we visited a few rescue facilities finding them dedicated and exciting in their commitment to returning as many animals as possible to their natural environment. 

Any suggestions on what this bird may be?

Now as I look back, I could kick myself for ever going to a facility that “trains” its inhabitants to perform for humans. We’ll never visit such a facility again if we can help it.  Over the years, we’ve become more educated and informed about wildlife which has had a tremendous impact on our views.,

After last night’s massive rain storm today is damp and humid. We plan to stay put, continuing to work on small tasks and perhaps relax and enjoy ourselves a little now that some more significant tasks are behind us. 

A green Parrot, comparable to the one that had flown into the glass on our veranda and survived.

May you have a pleasant day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 24, 2016:

Many residential streets are narrow with room for only one car to pass without a bit of maneuvering. The previous night there was a bombing at a nearby location. At this point, we had nine days remaining until departure and we were anxious to be on our way. For more details, please click here.

The reality of a paper-free lifestyle… Check out last year’s photo of Tom at the Cu Chi Tunnel in Vietnam…

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Our new Brother color scanner we purchased to replace the five-year-old Doxie model we used in the past.

When we first began traveling the world, we’d already been working toward becoming as paperless as possible in our old lives. As a result, no spot in our house had stacks of papers waiting to be handled.

In part, I suppose becoming paperless was due to my somewhat compulsive desire to avoid clutter in our surroundings. But, as it turned out, this bit of obsessiveness proved helpful when it became pertinent for us to avoid carrying papers in our luggage, adding to the weight.

Long ago, we’d chosen to receive everything we could online.  Once we decided to travel the world, we excited the process by ridding ourselves of all junk snail mail and spent weeks scanning photos, important documents, certificates, and anything else we may need along the way.

Subsequently, we don’t receive more than a dozen or so pieces of snail mail each year at our mailing service in Las Vegas and only receive packages for items we need to refill our supplies inventory.

As a result of this decision, we needed to carry a portable scanner with us. In this process, we also decided not to print cruise documents, boarding passes, and other travel-related confirmations when we so easily can present them on our phones after we’ve extracted them from our travel sites and those arriving by email.

This bag is filled with receipts we need to scan in the next few days.

When we first began our travels, we’d purchased a portable printer.  But, within a few years, it quit working. We decided we could live without a printer if we became more diligent about keeping all necessary documents on our phones to display appropriately. In addition, carrying the difficult-to-handle rolled paper was weighty and inconvenient.

Since we keep copies of all potentially tax-deductible receipts, having a scanner proved to be a must. Some may use their phones or cameras to take photos of receipts, but we’ve found the image clearer and more manageable when we can slip it through a paper feeder in a scanner. For example, if the receipt is wrinkled, we slip it inside a clear plastic sheet and then feed it into the scanner.

When our most recent Doxie portable scanner died while we were n Minnesota, we ordered a  Brother DS-620 Mobile Color Page Scanner for $85.99 with free Prime shipping.  For some odd reason, Amazon notified us that it had been lost in the mail, gave us a refund, and ordered it again.  It arrived two days later.

When I looked up the scanner this morning for the above link, I discovered the price had gone up to $10 since we purchased it about 10 days ago. I suppose it pays to keep an eye on such items for a few days to check for price changes. In our case, we needed it right away.

For those less than savvy computer folks out there, setting up a scanner to work with a computer can be tricky. It took me about 20 minutes of monkeying around to install the software and get it working. When Tom tried to do the same on his laptop, I helped. It was very tricky.

Also, an important note for iPad, Apple, Kindle, and other product users; A USB plug-in on your device is a must to use such a device.  There may be some Bluetooth scanners out there, but we never have a shortage of USB outlets as PC users. 

Box of photos we’re scanning today.

Plus, the necessary software is on a CD. We hadn’t used a CD on our laptops in so long; I’d forgotten we had the drive. Sure, the necessary software could be downloaded online, but this also may be cumbersome for less adept users.

Once I downloaded the software and got the scanner working properly, I immediately followed the instructions to “register the product” for the one-year warranty. 

Much to my shock, Brother tried to “get me” to sign up for a monthly $3.95 fee to store my scanned items on their cloud or, if I preferred, they had a one-time $9.95 fee to download a storage file on my device. Of course, I didn’t fall prey to such “trickery” in trying to get me to “buy more” since we each have our own cloud storage. 

Also, all the files are automatically stored in the “Pictures” file and can be moved to the desktop on any named file if one prefers. We each did both… I made a file in the cloud and kept a local copy for easy access at any time.

Beginning today, since I visited Susan yesterday, and we’re staying in today until our Meet & Greet tonight at 5:00 pm at The Elephant Bar in The District in Green Valley Ranch, I’ll begin scanning the massive bag of receipts, documents, and photos we found in the bins we’d left in Richard’s garage. 

Once we’ve scanned everything, we can toss it all, and when we leave Henderson in 11 days, we’ll do so with nary a personal item of ours left behind in Richard’s garage.

The scanner weighs less than one pound, and although we didn’t bother to purchase the carrying case (more weight), we’ll wrap it in clothing for safe traveling.

A scanner isn’t for everyone, based on our above comments. But, should you be in a situation similar to ours or don’t like paper clutter in your home and surroundings, you may find it valuable and worth the few minutes required to figure it all out. Again, free tech service is readily available by phone for those needing assistance.

With lower temperatures today, with a high of only 104F (40C), we plan to spend some time outdoors and in the pool. With such high heat since we arrived two weeks ago today, it will feel good to be outside today.

Have a great day, and we’ll be back with you soon!

Photo from one year ago today, July 21, 2016:

It’s hard to believe that Tom managed to climb out of the tiny opening at Cu Chi Tunnel in Vietnam. I was scared he’d be stuck after all the carbs he ate on the two-week cruise. But, instead, everyone in our group cheered when he made it out! For more photos of our visit to the Cu Chi Tunnel, please click here.

A day centered around Ancestry.com…A trip to the mailing service….Whoa!

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Drive down a quiet street in Henderson.

Yesterday when Tom planned to visit my sister Susan with me, he knew it was essential to bring along his laptop. Over these past years of world travel, he’s pieced together many exciting facts about my family’s ancestry and, of course, including ongoing information on his own family.

As a long-time member of Ancestry.com, paying the annual fees of approximately $300 per year since March 2006, he’s considered a heavy user. However, during idle times, while living in various countries throughout the world, he’s continued to research records of his ancestors, my ancestors, and the ancestors of other family members, including in-laws and others who may not be directly related via bloodline.

Many records seem to have begun once the ancestor(s) immigrated to the US in the 19th and 20th centuries. Unfortunately, many countries, due to wars and strife, don’t have public records available online that an enthusiastic amateur genealogist would be able to add to their repertoire of facts. 

It’s hard to believe that pine trees can grow in the desert.

A few years ago, Tom and I both had our DNA profiles done via Ancestry.com, resulting in a few surprises for each of us. This added further to Tom’s interest in continuing his research for both of us. In addition, seeing one’s actual history via a DNA report further verifies that which one may have assumed about their heritage, including many new morsels of information that may be surprising.

In many cases, traveling to the country of origin may be the only recourse to extending the quality of the information going back many generations. Tom and I continue to discuss the prospect of spending time in Ireland furthering the search for his ancestors. But, unfortunately, my family history is more scattered and would present more incredible difficulty in finding information.

For myself, I have less interest in the topic. After all, it’s Tom’s hobby, not mine. Besides, once I’ve completed the post each day, I prefer not to spend much time on my computer to research future travel-related topics and others.

Scene along the highway on our way to the Centennial area of North Las Vegas.

As we’ve discovered in many conversations with people, we’ve met over the years, some have little interest in pursuing information about their ancestors, while others are fascinated and curious.

My sister Susan has been intrigued by the prospect of learning more about hers and my ancestry. As a result, Tom joined me yesterday in visiting her, bringing along his laptop and HDMI cord so she could watch the data on her TV monitor rather than on the small laptop monitor.

Susan couldn’t have been more thrilled to see what Tom had discovered over these past years about our family history. It was delightful to see her enthusiasm and interest in the data he’d collected, including copies of documents, photos, and permanent public records. 

Dust storm gathering in the desert.

When we headed out later in the day, in hopes of beating rush hour traffic, we drove directly to our mailing service located halfway between Susan’s home and Henderson. 

With two tasks to be accomplished at the mailing service; one, pick up all of our mail, including supplies we’d recently ordered and: two, mail the bins of Christmas memorabilia to son Greg, Camille, and three grandchildren in Minnesota, we were able to get out the door and back on the highway within 30 minutes.

The cost to ship the five large totes of decorations to Minnesota totaled $178, less than I’d expected. We collected about 20 packages, along with some long-standing paper mail of no significant signs that we’d left in our mail slot until our arrival this month.

New styles of homes, condos, and apartments have cropped up in the Las Vegas area.

After we left the mailing service, we ran into inclement weather while on Highway 215 heading toward Henderson. Winds above 60 MPH, with wafting sand and debris, covered the freeway. For a short period, it rained in buckets, resulting in flash flooding in certain areas, which we later watched on the evening news. 

Today, we’re working on unpacking our mail, taking care of more business-related and financial tasks, and continue to gear up, once again, for leaving the USA for an extended period.

Last night, we cooked dinner on the grill for the second evening in a row, finished watching the Netflix series El Chapo, and enjoyed a quiet evening. Tonight, we’re dining out with Richard, and no doubt, will once again have a pleasant evening.

May you have a pleasant day and evening today and always.

Photo from one year ago today, July 18, 2016:
There was no post one year ago today due to a poor signal aboard the Mekong River ship.

Reminded of stresses in our old lives…Am I complaining?

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Susan’s chubby and very funny Chihuahua, Owen, poses like this several times a day, totally unprovoked.

On occasion, people may ask, “Did you run away?” We always answer with the fact that my health returned and I was pain-free which inspired us to travel “while we can.” It could change on a dime, and we’d be forced to modify our lifestyle seriously.

From time to time, the question still lingers in the minds of family, friends, and readers, “Did we run away?” In part, we may have. But, being back in the US for the past seven weeks, we’ve begun to feel the stresses of the fast-paced life while in Minnesota and now, here in Nevada.

It’s not only the traffic, the people, and the waiting in lines for various services. It’s the self-induced process of a strong sense of responsibility that drives us while in this environment. One can’t erase a lifetime of living even when spending almost five years away from it all.

Now that I’m cooking again, which I don’t mind, I find myself busy grocery shopping, chopping, and dicing and spending each morning until 11:00 or 12:00 am preparing a post and laboring over which photos I can add.

Then, with more clothes to launder in the hot weather and the sorting and with the repacking of the boxes of photos and documents we left in Richard’s garage in plastic totes and, the every other day visits to my beloved sister Susan with two total hours of driving each trip, I must admit I’m feeling a little pushed.

I pulled over while driving to Susan’s distant location while is relatively unpopulated along the way.

Surprisingly, I’m not tired. I’ve slept better here in Richard’s home than anywhere in the past year, getting as much as seven hours a night, mostly without waking midway through the night. 

Undoubtedly, the home-cooked meals with less likelihood of contamination have been instrumental in assisting in my feeling better physically. In addition, my chronic and the annoying gastrointestinal condition continues to improve daily. I never expected it to go away quickly, but the continuing improvement has left me hopeful that it will completely resolve in time.

So why do I feel pressured? Perhaps, being in the US is merely a reminder of our old lives and the constant sense of responsibility. Undoubtedly, many of our readers can see themselves burdened with many more tasks than we have at present. 

I don’t mean to whinge (Aussie word). But, I‘m observing how the fast-paced life “in the big city” (and it could be any city in the world) is not necessarily for us. But, place us in a remote area surrounded by vegetation, mountains, sea, gorgeous scenery, and of course, an abundance of wildlife, and we’re calm and at peace, free of all stress and worries.

Also, we should probably stop watching the news. That in itself reminds us of the troubles in our country, which seem to escalate by the moment. I won’t get into that here, but no doubt, it affects us. 

In many countries, we don’t have a TV, and if we do, we don’t have access to US news other than that which may be from international outlets. So here again, it may be biased based on their media sources’ point of view. Who knows how accurate that may be?

Also, with our upcoming departure to Costa Rica on August 1st, we still have to figure out the added supplies we’ll need to bring for our three-and-a-half-month stay and purchase them before we depart the US. No doubt, many items we use regularly won’t be readily available in local shops.

There are some homes, condos, and apartments in the distant location, but not Henderson and Las Vegas.

On top of that, we’re working on how we’ll extend our visa beyond the 90 allowable days Costa Rica provides for US citizens entering the country. We’ll be contacting the Costa Rica Embassy today with our list of questions. which includes:

1.  Do we have to have proof of an exiting flight upon entering Costa Rica?
2.  Can we visit an immigration office while in Costa Rica to apply for the 23-day extension?
3.  What is the minimum number of days we can leave and then return with another country’s stamp on our passports?  At what point during our stay should we do this?

Why we’re behind on a few of these tasks has been predicated by the pace. After almost a week in Nevada, we still haven’t tackled everything we’d planned to do. So now, with only 18 days until we depart the US, we have to “pick up the pace!”

In any case, it has been wonderful spending time with Richard and my sister.  Tomorrow, Tom will join me in visiting Susan, and we’ll make a stop at our mailing service to pick up many items awaiting us there. After that, it is more stuff to sort and figure out how to pack.

OK, enough of that. In our continuing desire to “tell it like it is,” sometimes, it’s not pretty, it’s not exciting, and it’s not relaxing. But, once we get settled in Costa Rica, we can look forward to “downtime” except, of course, figuring out the visa extension. We don’t want to be “illegal aliens” again as we were in Australia in March!

May you have a happy day, free of stress!

Photo from one year ago today, July 13, 2016:

Local danger and musicians greeted us with a ceremonial dance as we entered the hotel in Cambodia. For more photos, please click here.

Interesting technology in USA these days….All new to us!…

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Lighted cupholder in the sofa in the event one can’t find where to set their drink in the darkened room while watching a movie. 

It’s been so hot, neither of us has felt like going out for a drive to look for photo opportunities. It’s hardly outdoor weather with temperatures ranging from 110F (43C) to 118F (48C). 

Last night after we dined on a tasty homemade low-carb dinner, we watched the sweet movie “A Dog’s Purpose,” in Richard’s sophisticated “viewing centric” audio/video setup in his living room, typical in many homes US today.

Between shows, we took a break while I made a low-carb cheese plate, and then we watched the recent Amelia Earhart documentary bringing up excellent fodder for conversation. With the two-hour time difference from the six weeks in Minnesota, I started nodding off by about 10:30 pm.

Tom did his usual, waving his hand over my face to see if I’d respond and when I admitted I’d dozed off for a minute or two, I knew it was time to head to bed. We’ve both slept reasonably well these past three nights since our arrival, although we both tend to wake up a few times during the night.  

A panel drops down in the sofa where there are numerous plug-ins for electronics.

Awakening during the night seems to be an ordinary course of action for us as we’ve aged. Luckily, we’re both able to fall back asleep fairly quickly. Overall, we tend to get no more than about six hours of sleep each night.  It doesn’t help that we aren’t very active right now staying indoors in air-conditioned comfort.

It felt good to cook a meal after an almost three-month hiatus finally. Richard doesn’t have the utmost in cooking accouterments in his kitchen, but his appliances and Keurig coffee maker are over-the-top in quality, design, and digital function. In no time at all, we had it all figured out.

His shortage of bowls and variety of cooking utensils leaves a little to be desired. For us, living this life of world travel, that’s nothing new. As always, we improvised and made a nice meal with great leftovers for tonight.

This type of plant is typical in the desert, which can withstand a long hot, dry summer season.

Today, Tom is going through a few boxes of tax records we’d left in Richard’s garage, and since enough time has passed, we’ll have them shredded. Our forms are now kept in a cloud with no necessity of maintaining paper documents and receipts.

While Tom works on the totes of papers in the garage, I’ll drive north to visit my sister Susan, whom I also hadn’t seen since 2012.  Like Richard, we’ve stayed in close touch over these years thanks to the magic of the Internet, but there’s nothing like seeing those we love face-to-face. 

We’re still reeling from the beautiful time we had with family and friends in Minnesota and look forward to continuing similar levels of enjoyment while here in Nevada.

We hope all is going well with all of our readers throughout the world and that your lives are filled with love and “purpose.”

Photo from one year ago today, July 10, 2016:

Entrance to the Temple of Literature in Vietnam. For more photos, please click here.

Comforts in this temporary life…A dose of Vitamin D…Final Mississippi River photos continue…

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Southeast Steam Plant, aka Twin City Rapid Transit Company Steam Power Plant.

The days and nights whiz passed us in such a flurry of activity they tend to blur collectively in our minds.  Although I have an excellent memory, I had to think twice about what we did yesterday this morning.

Startled by the momentary memory lapse, I reminded myself of how busy we’ve been and how little sleep we’ve had some nights over this past almost month in Minnesota. 

The water-filled lock comparable to water rising in a bathtub, as we explained to the kids.

Not that I’m complaining (or “whinging” as they say in Aussie or British speak), but it’s easy to find ourselves a little flustered with this new pace of activity, so “foreign” to us compared to our generally slower pace of “living in the world.”

We rarely watch the clock or set the alarm (except for travel days). The pace of our current daily activities in itself has required a certain degree of adaptation which surprisingly came back to us more quickly than we expected. 

At one point, we could reach out and touch the lock wall comparable to our experience on a much larger scale when we entered the Panama Canal.  See this link for a live cam of traversing through the Panama Canal. See this link for our traverse through the Panama Canal in January 2013. We’ll be going back through it again in five months.

Then, of course, there are certain comforts we’re enjoying; using a phone and able to text (not possible outside the US, to the US); air conditioning; no venomous insects inside; a comfortable bed; a new SUV with voice-activated commands and navigation which recognizes my phone and uploads my contact list for hands-free calling; no meals to cook, no dishes to wash, no cleaning; free, fast WiFi while at the hotel; and it goes on and on.

An enjoyable aspect of our visit to Minnesota (of course, besides spending delightful quality time with family and friends) has been the ability to replenish our wardrobe with well-fitting, durable clothing at outrageously affordable prices. 

University of Minnesota Medical Complex, located along the Mississippi River.

Surprisingly, Macy’s has been one of the most practical of resources, when I was able to purchase $98 capris (that fit properly) for less than half price and dressier type shirts for Tom (brand name) for under $20 each, regularly priced at $68.

Yesterday, his shipment of five pairs of shorts arrived, all fitting perfectly, all on sale for around $20 each, regularly priced in the $60 range. We’ve never been able to find such bargains or properly fitting items outside of the US.

Formerly, the Northern Pacific Railroad #9 bridge is now used only for walking and bike paths.

All we have left to round out our wardrobes are a few more underwear items for me and insect repellent-infused shirts (BugsAway) for both of us, which we’ll most likely purchase while still in Minnesota since there’s no sales tax on clothing. 

Today, after uploading the post, we’re heading out to visit Tom’s brother Jerry at the nursing home in Coon Rapids, where he’s recovering from a recent hospital stay. We’ve made a point of seeing him several times since we arrived and hoped to do so again before we depart. 

Several Bald Eagles flew overhead during the boat tour.

Afterward, we’ll be picking up Vincent at the Cardboard Camp in Arden Hills (we wrote about this in yesterday’s post) and taking him to see the movie “The Mummy.”  This isn’t particularly Tom’s favorite type of movie. 

Then again, on Monday I watched “Cars” with Miles which he loved. Actually, it was rather adorable. I doubt Tom will say the same about “The Mummy,” but as a fan of action flicks, I’m sure Vincent and I will find it entertaining regardless of the poor reviews.

A white sandbar on the banks of the river.

Yesterday was an easy day when Maisie and I went to the massive pool at the Saint Louis Park Rec Center. I hadn’t sat in the sun in so long; I couldn’t recall, desperately in need of some Vitamin D and a touch of a tan.

While Maisie romped poolside with her friends, I stayed in the sun for about 45 minutes (without burning) and moved into the shade for the remainder of the day. She thoughtfully came and checked in with me every so often, giving me peace of mind knowing her whereabouts in the huge facility.

Today, another busy day is on the horizon. But, wait until you hear what tomorrow is going to be like! Whew! 

Have a great day, dear friends/dear readers!

Photo from one year ago today, June 22, 2016:

One year ago in Bali, we printed all the paperwork and documents we could need for multiple upcoming flights and visa applications required on paper at the various embassies. Placing each in its own unique envelope seemed to be the easiest way to find what we’ll need. Gee…we don’t like paper!  Also included were the necessary documents for both of us to apply online to renew our Nevada driver’s licenses. The blue envelope contains extra passport-type photos we purchased in Bali for applying for the three visas in Singapore. For more details, please click here.

No WiFi all morning…Late posting…Cruising along…Immigration issues at the port…

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The Promenade deck is a favorite of ours. It’s comparable to a long street in the ship with bars, dining establishments, and shops. Great people watching!

It’s almost 5:00 pm, and the first time today, we’ve been able to get online except for a few instances on our phones. It’s been frustrating, to say the least. No doubt, it’s due to the vast number of passengers of this ship using their phones and iPads.

We’d hope to get today’s post uploaded close to our usual time but based on the 3,825 passengers on this ship, the connection is and will continue to be sketchy, to say the least.

Our standard balcony cabin is small, but we’re fine with it.

We expected a little more after paying over US $500 for the VOOM high-speed unlimited WiFi for two devices for this 24-night cruise. However, there’s no point in bringing it up to customer service since it’s clearly outlined that the ship’s service may be unavailable at times.

Besides that inconvenience, we are doing FABULOUS! Although the ship, Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas, is old and a little dated (built-in 2000, refurbished in 2015) its in good condition with all the amenities a passenger could expect for this cruise line. 

Our toilet seat had a huge crack in it.  Last night they replaced it upon our request.  The bathroom is tiny with little storage space, but we make it work.

Yesterday’s boarding process was relatively easy except for one not-so-surprising glitch…immigration. With copies of all of our bridging visa documents on hand, we still got whisked away to be “reviewed” in a separate area. 

The agent mistrusted what appeared on the computer and refused to look at our documents. Weird. However, neither of us panicked when we were certain we had the correct documentation. Instead, we waited for over 30 minutes while the agent satisfied her curiosity that her superiors in Sydney had, in fact, done the documents correctly.

I offered the name of the supervisor in Sydney suggestion she contacts her for confirmation. But, instead, she plodded along, trying to read the laws while we waited to ensure it had been done correctly. 

View of the Sydney Opera House from our balcony before sailing away.

Finally, she let us board the ship, reminding us we’d have trouble if we wanted to get back into Australia at any time in the future. But, of course, with no plans to return, we weren’t worried.

Back on track, we boarded the ship to warm welcomes from staff, glasses of champagne (we declined) and a short waiting period until our cabin was ready.

In no time at all, our bags were delivered to our door, except for Tom’s suitcase containing two power strips (referred to as “power boards” in Australia). Later in the evening, he had to go to security to retrieve his bag after the power boards were confiscated. Unfortunately, they aren’t allowed to be used on ships. So instead, we’re supplied with extension cords.

I started shooting a few photos before we made a mess unpacking our bags.

Most passengers don’t have everything they own in their cabin, like us, and don’t have power boards in their possession. Yet, for our lifestyle, we need them and our adapters in our possession everywhere we travel. So we have to way to “leave them at home.” 

Once we unpacked, neatly folding and hanging our clothes, we began to feel settled and comfortable.  As Diamond Club members, we’re provided with free drinks in the Star Lounge each evening. Usually, this runs from 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm, but last night’s muster drill at 5:00 pm caused the happy hour to be from 6:15 pm until 9:00 pm.

Alas, we had so much fun, the time slipped away, and suddenly, it was almost 9:00 pm. By the time we made it to the dining room, it was closed. Immediately, we took the elevator to the buffet, the Windjammer Cafe, only to discover it was also closed. 

Most likely, this was the last of many photos we’ll have taken of the Sydney Opera House. Goodbye Sydney. Aside from a few glitches, it was grand.

Then, we headed back to our cabin to order room service only to find there wasn’t a single item on the menu that I could eat. Since I haven’t been able to digest raw vegetables these past months, salads were out of the question. The remaining options were sandwiches and wraps. Not good.

Tom refused to order anything with me being able to eat, which was entirely unnecessary as far as I was concerned. Who misses the first night’s dinner on a cruise?  Isn’t food what cruises are always about for many passengers? 

The perception that cruises have food available 24 hours a day is not necessarily true. Sure, there was food, but nothing either of us wanted to eat. We laughed. Only us! Fun over food!  We went to bed without a morsel after eating a few bites of cheese back in Fairlight before we left for the cruise terminal. 

Tonight, if we stay at the Star Lounge until happy hour ends, at least we’ll make it to the dining room well before the 9:00 pm closing.  Since we always select “My Time Dining,” we can eat anytime we want before the 9:00 pm closing.

Surprisingly, we weren’t starved this morning but, we each had a good breakfast in the main dining room. The head maitre’d met with me to review my food list and fully understood my restrictions. My usual meal consists of fish, chicken, beef or pork (no sauce), and two sides of non-starchy vegetables. It’s not filling, but the hunger abates in no time at all.

This afternoon when we couldn’t get online to post. So instead, we went to the main theatre, The Palace, to see the movie, “La La Land.” What a fabulous movie! If you haven’t seen it, we couldn’t recommend it more.

Now, we have to get ready for “formal night” with another upcoming happy hour and tonight…dinner in the main dining room.

Cruising is fun, and we’re not missing a beat. Today at noon, we experienced our first one-hour time change. After that, there will seven one-hour time changes plus one entire day. Ha!

Have a wonderful day or evening wherever you may be.

Photo from one year ago today, April 23, 2016:
The signal is too weak to post the one year ago photo.  We’ll add it tomorrow if we can.  Thanks for your patience.