April 6, 2016, haulout: We had prepped The Fox very well for its seasonal haulout while we were in Marina San Carlos's slip. We had to (re-)learn that it required an extra 4-1/2 hours to cover The Fox's deck with landscape fabric and finalize our other dry-storage tasks. Problem was, once Marina Seca places one's boat in its dry storage yard, they want it secure which means they don't want all those pesky civilians puttering around their boats for more than, say, half an hour. Oopsie. The yard staff were clearly irritated by our prolonged presence, but it was obvious we weren't slacking off so they gave us a pass. Mexico is truly a great country.
After finally bidding goodbye to The Fox, we had a quick lunch. The next 2 hours were spent in increasing breeze and blowing dust, emptying our storage unit and loading Mr. Truck with various boat parts, assorted household items, and all that furniture we'd bought in Mazatlan the previous January. Back then, GB and I had loaded our treasures into our pickup truck, drove to a storage unit in San Carlos, and left both furniture and truck there, safe and sound, while we bussed it back to The Fox in Mazatlan to embark on a scant 2-month cruise of some of our favorite places in the Sea. The logistics had been fairly demanding but it all worked out very well.
So now, here we were in San Carlos. I don't know how professional movers get a load of stuff across the border, but here's our DIY version as it looked when we reached our destination in New Mexico:
Mind you, I am always careful when purchasing items large or small in foreign countries, to keep my papers in good order. I got yer receipts. I got yer pesos-to-dollars conversions. I got yer little plastic folder-with-multiple-sleeves to keep the boat papers, human papers, and stuff papers all separated. Anal-retentive? OCD? You be the judge. But I got my ducks in a ROW, baby. I knew I would have no problem exiting Mexico in a vehicle looking like ours, but I certainly expected issues on the US side of things. I was READY for Nogales.
So, we roll up to the US side, and got the expected checking of our citizenship. Likewise the expected diversion of Mr. Truck into secondary for a closer look at our cargo. Drug-sniffing dog circumnavigated Mr. Truck as expected, while - as expected - the Nice Customs Officer chatted with us amiably for distraction purposes. She took one peek under a tarp and was satisfied that we were carrying no Nicaraguans back there. She wasn't interested in any of my meticulous paperwork. Harrumph, I tell you. Ultimately she just wanted to take a quick peek in our glove box. Nope; no Guatemalans in there either. All told, the secondary inspection took less than 7 minutes and we were sent merrily on our way.
From this experience, my Protips to the reader of this here blog are: (1) Don't transport drugs. (2) Always carry meticulous paperwork, just in case. (3) Always travel while Old, Pink, and Fat.
YMMV.
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