I hate Peoplenet, where are you parked and recipes thread

2460 miles from the Days Inn in Barstow
but we have both coasts covered

 

Well... I have been absolutely busy here...

Left my dad's place last Tuesday night and took a bus at 00:30 Wed morning. Arrived in Fortaleza at 4:30 am and took a cab to the little hotel nearby.
Price was R$70.00 but they let me pay R$40.00 cause I was going to stay till 11:30 am. And considering the room, I think it was fair...



This was the one bed room...



This was all the space there was... I was absolutely exhausted, still feeling sick, I totally collapsed in bed...

Took a warm shower when I woke up...



And then had my breakfast at hotel breakfast veranda before I left to the airport...



At airport in Fortaleza took some time gathering info about folks with disabilities on wheelchair traveling by plane... That in case my dad needs to visit Rio in the future...



Had lunch at the airport for some EXORBITANT price... forgot to ask the price before putting a big pile of food on my dish... Well.... at least I ate enough for lunch and dinner...



Then, went to my gate...



And boarded in the plane at 15:00 local time.



We encountered some clouds on the way to Rio... as it has been raining in many areas of this country...



I love those views from above...



Then... I saw the beautiful full moon...



And we started to descend...



I arrived at Galeao Rio's International Airport at 18:42 local time and it was already too dark for a picture...

Spent almost one hr gathering more info at the airport for my dad in case he flies to Rio and then needs to go to a town about 3 hrs north of Rio. It's not easy for folks on wheelchair to travel in Brasil... their buses are not equipped like the ones in the USA...

From airport took a bus to Rio's main bus terminal, then another bus to Cabo Frio, about 3 hrs north of the city of Rio but still in the state of Rio.
And when I arrived in Cabo Frio, at midnight, took a cab to the hotel not very far...

What a VERY NICE surprise my room was...



This time I "hit the target"... All my hotel research and planning paid off...



They had a room on the first floor... the room is comfortable and it has everything that I need...



The bathroom is spacious and it has hot water...



This was the less expensive hotel I found in this area R$120.00 per night (dollar now is quoted at R$3.10)...

 

biggest secret to a clean windshield? Don't snap a pic while it's still pouring snow/sleet lol

the drivers side gets that way because you're constantly slap slap slap slapping the snow buildup on the left side with the wiper blade and it crusts up and freezes on the blade and loses it's bite on the glass. It's a self sustaining perpetuating buildup.

Biggest "secret"? Wipers on intermittent unless it's just coming down so hard you can't see. Reduces the amount of buildup on the left side and number of times the wiper comes in contact with it. Pay attention next time you're in snow to the trucks coming in the other direction. The ones with the cleaner windshields aren't working the wipers to death. The ones who can't see have the wipers constantly slapping the snow in the left corner. Good coat of fresh rain-x properly applied per directions don't just spray on and wipe off to include the wiper blades. It takes a few extra minutes to do it right but it's worth it not just in snow but for plain old rain too. As cranky said dump a pint of alcohol in the washer fluid and 75/25 in your window cleaner to keep it from freezing up when you clean your windows/mirrors.

If it's freezing rain, heavy sleet or it's down around 0 it doesn't really matter it's just gonna freeze and you gotta stop every so often and beat the ice off the blades but if it's just snow there are little things you can do to manage it in most cases.

 

Another little thing that helps, With your defrost on high putting your sun visor down kind of helps keeping the heat on the windshield

 

The only "negative" about the hotel is the view from my window... which is not very "fantastic"...



Oh well.... so be it... I didn't come here to stare at the window... The a/c works pretty well, but so far I have used only the fan...

The veranda from the second floor...



The location is exactly what I had planned... close to restaurants, small commerce (small market, drug store, laundry, ect) + clinics that I have been going to and everything else that I need... Besides, the beach is walking distance from here...



Praia do Forte is the first most popular beach here in Cabo Frio... I remember going there for the first time when I was 8 years old and there was absolutely nothing there... Now it's full of hotels and stores and restaurants, stuff for tourists...



I intend to go there some time... have been pretty busy so far... Hopefully the weather will not change to rain when I have time to enjoy the beach...

Every day I have my breakfast at the hotel...



A nice variety of fruits, deserts, cakes, cookies, cereals, granola, cheeses, ham, breads, omelet, teas, natural juices, coffee, milk... Sorry, but no bacon and eggs...



Most visitors come to Cabo Frio for vacation, boat cruising, beaches, sun, nature, restaurants and shopping... there are even nudist beaches around...



But I didn't come here for that... I have known this place from many many years ago when I used to come to this region to sell my art-craft and I have done all the touring that I wanted then...

On Thursday morning I took a bus to another town nearby...



Had to talk to a bank manager about some of my dad's business...



I really don't know what that statue is doing right there...



Most buses in Brasil have a live person receiving the money and giving passengers their change...



More not very exotic pictures from the bus...



On my way back to the hotel I stopped at my uncle's place to give him a heartfelt hug... my aunt died last year and he is still very depressed...
This is the entrance to his kinda condo...



Was busy till 20:00 local time yesterday and didn't have time to eat all day... The self-service restaurant near the hotel is close at night. So, had to walk somewhere else for some pizza... Got me a medium size spinach and margerita for R$43.90.... not a bad deal... Couldn't eat more than half though... too much salt...



Was busy all day today too.... and a lot of walking under hot sun... It will be more relaxing this weekend though... Will have a very thorough blood test tomorrow morning... so I can't eat for 12 hrs... and will be going to bed soon...

 

Thank you Mr. FM... Yes... I try not to use those wipers very much as I know they make matters worse... and I have also noticed that the slower I go, the slower the ice accumulates, I mean the ice melts some if I go slow... Unfortunately, I can't drive at 25 mph to avoid ice build up on the windshield...

 

Yes... I used to do that too... someone told me he stopped using the hot air in the driver area and left only the one in the sleeper on and that helped a lot to prevent ice build up on the windshield... I haven't tried that yet...

 

youre kinda handicapped driving the crapcadia too lol sorry I couldn't resist. I detest that truck. I drove a 2012, 2013, and 2014 before I got the Volvo I'm in now. There is something about that windshield design that just makes it worse.

When I was flying for a living the aircraft have heated windshields. What I wouldnt give for one in the truck.

 

Don't need to apologize man... I like your sense of humor... I agree with you about the heated windshields on trucks... IMO that would be a 50% improvement for winter driving in the "crapcadia"...