Nearly Ready

Well, I have nearly completed all of the preparations for the adventure. There have been a few stumbling blocks, but with any luck, they will clear before we are set to leave in a couple of days.

Lyme's disease! Yeah...I got bit by a nasty tick the other day, and there is a chance that I have Lyme's. I really doubt it, as there are only 15 cases reported each year in Oregon, but to be on the safe side, I think that I will head to the doctor and see about a round of antibiotics to kill the little bacteria buggers off! We'll see. I have resisted the trip to the doc thus far, and may stand my ground over the next three days. In order to appease my mother, I will probably head to the doc and get the meds to ENSURE my health. The bitch of it is that I will have to stay off the sauce until I have finished my course of anti's...that means no beers as I cross the border, and probably no beers in Mexico all together...what a bummer!

The camper has really come together. I spent a few hours dealing with some wiring issues, and I think that I found the perfect combination. I branched off a wire that was feeding the trailer setup and now have a wire that will charge the auxilary battery that feed the camper. I also took the time to have the camper battery tested, and found that it was a bit below par. This caused a purchase of a battery, but I got a real horse to handle the trip. That means that I should be able to run the fridge off the battery when we are driving, rather than having to run the propane when on the road. I feel a bit more confident about this situation. As much as I can keep the propane shut off while in motion, the better...I have seen too many burned up campers and trailers going up the Siskiyou Pass to really have a whole lot of confidence in the systems. All I have to remember is to switch to propane when we stop, and remember to disconnect the leads from the truck to the camper battery to avoid draining the truck battery, leaving me with no starting power.

What else...I am heading to Bend tomorrow to get McKenzie all taken care of at the vet. She will be receiving more innoculations than she will know what to do with. DHLPP, which is a cocktail of everything that could possibly live within a dog, rabies, flea and tick meds, heartworm meds, and a bunch more stuff that I am forgetting...poor liittle girl. Directly afterwords, I have to head over to Salem to have her health certificate authorized. Finally, I have to blaze down to San Francisco the next day to have those same health certs "verified" by the Honduran and Guatemalan consulates. All this within 72 hours of leaving the country, as Mexico requires that you get accross the border within that time of the vet authorizing the health of the animal...details, details, details!

All things considered, though, I feel very ready for the adventure. Justin seems to be rearin' and ready to go, and finally has all his docs, so barring any serious mishapps, we should be accross the border, enjoying the sites and sounds of TJ sometime early evening on Friday! Yee Haw!