Tam n pups winter trip 2022

[Suenliam]

Donation done. Very easy to do.
Sue

 

[3DOM]

A Tenner sent for the Doggie and Donkey fund
Hope you both have a good time.

 

[rolosroller]

Might worth a visit

I think kinginit brought 3 dogs back to the uk from there.And they also have Donkeys

 

[Northernraider]

Finally parked up in kinetra, on another campsite.

It's been a long , stressful and emotional day today. I'll type up more details in a bit but I need to eat I'm starving and emotionally drained to be honest.

So I'll post up in a bit

 

[Langtoftlad]

another campsite

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[Northernraider]

OK dokey ...fed now and I'm consuming that bottle of vinegar I had open .

So we left assilah this morning, drove down to larache, we tried to park by the old Fort. But the wheels have no sooner stopped turning and you have someone right there hand out seeking payment ...I can't speak French which doesn't help but I wanted a minute to discuss with Jackie what we wanted to do ...but getting harassed by a guy keeping repeating monsieur, monsieur and thrusting his hand at me was insane so we gave up and just drove off. We then got lost and ended up on a bit waste ground next to what turned out to be a prison.... the amount of rubbish on the ground was unbelievable... again I was out the van trying to discuss with Jackie where we were going and this time it was a bunch of teenagers circling the vans like vultures lol , dogs were going nuts so again we just headed off and drove on through what was a very rundown and hard to see area , mostly pallet and tarpaulin type huts folk were living in , I felt really out of place driving through in a big bloody motorhome , eventually found my way back on to the n1 road and in to the marjene supermarket. That in itself was an experience, I have to confess I am an easy shopper , I just like to pick up prepacked stuff I know the price of , round the store in 15 minutes and out again but I found it quite hard work today. The easy part was grabbing 2 big sacks of dog food ... surprised it was more expensive here than any country I've been in , worked out about £23 per bag for just the basic adult biscuits. Anyway my shopping took me over an hour lol . Back to the van , filled up with diesel 12.6dh a litre so about £1

And then we headed on to moulay boussalam that CaptainPaul had recommended, I had decided to follow the non toll roads as I usually do ... the n1 was okay but we had to then cut off on to the p4214 ....if you're even in Morocco I do not recommend it , many parts were dirt road , its all pothole covered and there is nowhere really to change your mind , the drivers take no prisoners and I was in the ditch several times avoiding them , it seemed to go on forever. As we reached the outskirts of moulay bousalam there was a couple of dogs limping along the roadside , they looked in a bad way so I stopped .

It was a kind of wooded area and although I'm only going to post the 3 photos there were approximately 50 dogs in this woods , some in a terrible state others that didn't look to bad , we couldn't stop here for long as we were on the side of the road but partially on the road and as mentioned the driving was nuts .

Be warned one pic you may find distressing, the woods was also strewn with more rubbish than I've ever seen.

I left around a dozen large piles of food spread out at around 3 foot intervals in the hope they would not fight over it. I couldn't get any of them to come to me they were all backing away and incredibly timid but a few started to go towards the food if we backed away . After the 4th or 5th horn blast we drove on in to the town , the town itself is quite something but sadly not in a positive way , perhaps assilah gives people a false idea as the first town you stop in , while it's quite charming and rustic moulay is not and you just get the feeling it's a very poor community...again I just felt awkward and out of place being there in the motorhome , we had a little wander around and took a few photos looking out over the nature reserve and sand Bank and beach , basically I'm posting pretty pictures because I really don't want to post pics of the town itself....I couldn't even bare to take any I'm sorry .

I couldn't stay I was just feeling overwhelmed and out of place and by this time 17.30 I was feeling exhausted and hungry and just wanted somewhere nice to park up and blank it all out . Unfortunately there was nowhere around closer than kinetra so I just got on the toll road and drove to the municipal campsite. Hoping for an easy parkup but even that was a ball ache to start with as we arrived in the dark , I drove past it twice , then when I drove in the guy handed me a form to fill in and park anywhere . I pretty much stopped and put some rice and left over curry on to heat up as I was famished and next minute the guy was at the door wanting the form which I hadn't filled in ..so I turned off the pots and I followed him up to reception with it , gets there and he asks for my passport which of course was in the bloody van at the other end of the campsite ...after much underbreath swearing etc I sorted all that and finally got some dinner .


It has been a very long day , I've shed tears which isn't like me and I'm just hoping I have a better day tomorrow.

I guess maybe with assilah being nice and the dogs I met on the beach etc being friendly and in mostly good health I thought it would be similar in other places but there was just too much to deal with in one day.

The rubbish problem is incredibly hard to see, the amount of stray dogs is like nothing I've seen before and finding parking spots is challenging .

So my normal way of travelling might not work here so I need to try and plan differently.


I'm here now , not sure what kinetra is like yet , CaptainPaul was here the other day and there is a guy comes round this site and does paintwork on vans so he had sussed him out about perhaps spray painting my bumpers on this as they badly need doing , so I will look in to that tomorrow. And will see what there is here worth going to see.


As everyone knows I'm not one for toll roads or campsites so the fact I had to use them should give an idea of what lacks in photos.


I'm afraid that's all I took today

 

[jumartoo]

OK dokey ...fed now and I'm consuming that bottle of vinegar I had open .

So we left assilah this morning, drove down to larache, we tried to park by the old Fort. But the wheels have no sooner stopped turning and you have someone right there hand out seeking payment ...I can't speak French which doesn't help but I wanted a minute to discuss with Jackie what we wanted to do ...but getting harassed by a guy keeping repeating monsieur, monsieur and thrusting his hand at me was insane so we gave up and just drove off. We then got lost and ended up on a bit waste ground next to what turned out to be a prison.... the amount of rubbish on the ground was unbelievable... again I was out the van trying to discuss with Jackie where we were going and this time it was a bunch of teenagers circling the vans like vultures lol , dogs were going nuts so again we just headed off and drove on through what was a very rundown and hard to see area , mostly pallet and tarpaulin type huts folk were living in , I felt really out of place driving through in a big bloody motorhome , eventually found my way back on to the n1 road and in to the marjene supermarket. That in itself was an experience, I have to confess I am an easy shopper , I just like to pick up prepacked stuff I know the price of , round the store in 15 minutes and out again but I found it quite hard work today. The easy part was grabbing 2 big sacks of dog food ... surprised it was more expensive here than any country I've been in , worked out about £23 per bag for just the basic adult biscuits. Anyway my shopping took me over an hour lol . Back to the van , filled up with diesel 12.6dh a litre so about £1

And then we headed on to moulay boussalam that CaptainPaul had recommended, I had decided to follow the non toll roads as I usually do ... the n1 was okay but we had to then cut off on to the p4214 ....if you're even in Morocco I do not recommend it , many parts were dirt road , its all pothole covered and there is nowhere really to change your mind , the drivers take no prisoners and I was in the ditch several times avoiding them , it seemed to go on forever. As we reached the outskirts of moulay bousalam there was a couple of dogs limping along the roadside , they looked in a bad way so I stopped .

It was a kind of wooded area and although I'm only going to post the 3 photos there were approximately 50 dogs in this woods , some in a terrible state others that didn't look to bad , we couldn't stop here for long as we were on the side of the road but partially on the road and as mentioned the driving was nuts .

Be warned one pic you may find distressing, the woods was also strewn with more rubbish than I've ever seen.

View attachment 717022View attachment 717023View attachment 717024

I left around a dozen large piles of food spread out at around 3 foot intervals in the hope they would not fight over it. I couldn't get any of them to come to me they were all backing away and incredibly timid but a few started to go towards the food if we backed away . After the 4th or 5th horn blast we drove on in to the town , the town itself is quite something but sadly not in a positive way , perhaps assilah gives people a false idea as the first town you stop in , while it's quite charming and rustic moulay is not and you just get the feeling it's a very poor community...again I just felt awkward and out of place being there in the motorhome , we had a little wander around and took a few photos looking out over the nature reserve and sand Bank and beach , basically I'm posting pretty pictures because I really don't want to post pics of the town itself....I couldn't even bare to take any I'm sorry .


View attachment 717030View attachment 717031View attachment 717032View attachment 717033

I couldn't stay I was just feeling overwhelmed and out of place and by this time 17.30 I was feeling exhausted and hungry and just wanted somewhere nice to park up and blank it all out . Unfortunately there was nowhere around closer than kinetra so I just got on the toll road and drove to the municipal campsite. Hoping for an easy parkup but even that was a ball ache to start with as we arrived in the dark , I drove past it twice , then when I drove in the guy handed me a form to fill in and park anywhere . I pretty much stopped and put some rice and left over curry on to heat up as I was famished and next minute the guy was at the door wanting the form which I hadn't filled in ..so I turned off the pots and I followed him up to reception with it , gets there and he asks for my passport which of course was in the bloody van at the other end of the campsite ...after much underbreath swearing etc I sorted all that and finally got some dinner .


It has been a very long day , I've shed tears which isn't like me and I'm just hoping I have a better day tomorrow.

I guess maybe with assilah being nice and the dogs I met on the beach etc being friendly and in mostly good health I thought it would be similar in other places but there was just too much to deal with in one day.

The rubbish problem is incredibly hard to see, the amount of stray dogs is like nothing I've seen before and finding parking spots is challenging .

So my normal way of travelling might not work here so I need to try and plan differently.


I'm here now , not sure what kinetra is like yet , CaptainPaul was here the other day and there is a guy comes round this site and does paintwork on vans so he had sussed him out about perhaps spray painting my bumpers on this as they badly need doing , so I will look in to that tomorrow. And will see what there is here worth going to see.


As everyone knows I'm not one for toll roads or campsites so the fact I had to use them should give an idea of what lacks in photos.


I'm afraid that's all I took today

Oh dear. Not a good day at all. I hope tonight is quiet and you get some rest. Tomorrow should be better

 

[Lenny HB]

Oh dear you must be in a bad way two campsites in a few days.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Don't beat yourself up
You had a taste perhaps of the real Morocco, not the slightly polished tourist version.
When you tour like you do, not every location will be picture perfect.
I loved Vietnam but the rubbish was overwhelming but they obviously tried to dump in one place, but equally obviously there was no regular rubbish collection.
When I was last in a tourist resort in Zante Greece... The bins were overflowing, local authorities had no money for rubbish collection.
You can't save every hound.

After a long tiring, stressful day, there's nothing wrong with retreating to the relative security of a site, hardly budget busting.
Hopefully daylight & a good night's sleep will see you revitalised.

 

[Gina M]

I can't look at any more photos of the dogs now it is making me depressed. I can't handle it I'm afraid. I hope things get better for you Tam and you can cope with the stuff you are going to see on this trip. I hope someone can come on here and help direct you to better places. You need another CaptainPaul who knows the place inside out. How is Jackie coping with it? please tell me she got some wine at the supermarket. Jane And Rog never mentioned seeing any of this it looked so nice where they were. Did you follow their thread? they went on some lovely walks with their dog Flynn. Hope you haven't fallen asleep pissed after drinking that shit!

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[jannyman]

Don't beat yourself up
You had a taste perhaps of the real Morocco, not the slightly polished tourist version.
When you tour like you do, not every location will be picture perfect.
I loved Vietnam but the rubbish was overwhelming but they obviously tried to dump in one place, but equally obviously there was no regular rubbish collection.
When I was last in a tourist resort in Zante Greece... The bins were overflowing, local authorities had no money for rubbish collection.
You can't save every hound.

After a long tiring, stressful day, there's nothing wrong with retreating to the relative security of a site, hardly budget busting.
Hopefully daylight & a good night's sleep will see you revitalised.

This exactly Tam. It’s a sad sad world for many. Better day tomorrow hopefully.

 

[Northernraider]

Oh dear you must be in a bad way two campsites in a few days.

Aye it wasn't my plan , I had hoped to stay in moulay boussalam tonight and come to kenitra tomorrow mainly to see the guy about the bumpers . There's a Spanish guy with a hymer here that captainpaul had spoke to and he had his bumpers resprayed for what he said 150 dh ...which I'm sure can't be right but we will see what he says in the morning , I expect it not to be the right price but I had intended to have them done here if they could do a decent job cheaper than I can do myself. I'll be selling this so it would help to have them tidied up.

The campsite is only 60dh for 2 people with electric so it's dirt cheap really . Not much else around for parking here.

 

[Northernraider]

Don't beat yourself up
You had a taste perhaps of the real Morocco, not the slightly polished tourist version.
When you tour like you do, not every location will be picture perfect.
I loved Vietnam but the rubbish was overwhelming but they obviously tried to dump in one place, but equally obviously there was no regular rubbish collection.
When I was last in a tourist resort in Zante Greece... The bins were overflowing, local authorities had no money for rubbish collection.
You can't save every hound.

After a long tiring, stressful day, there's nothing wrong with retreating to the relative security of a site, hardly budget busting.
Hopefully daylight & a good night's sleep will see you revitalised.

Yeah I was prepared for it to be a bit like Albania and Romania was but I have to say the places we saw today was much much worse.

I like to see a bit off the beaten path and not just tourist places , I usually find good park ups there too but just today I didn't feel comfortable, not so much because I didn't feel safe as most people have been very friendly , lots of waves and smiles from folk....but it just didn't feel right parking up in a motorhome in some areas where they were living in not much more than garden sheds thrown together.


The rubbish is just unbelievable, it's everywhere bit when you see these wooded areas or picnic areas or the beaches etc where its clear that there are lorry or cart loads of rubbish just being dumped on a daily basis you can't help but think there's no hope for our environment, and then the dogs etc are all sleeping in and scrounging through this rubbish for scraps .

Of course I could just stick to motorways and big touristy towns and probably avoid seeing a lot of this but I haven't done that anywhere else so I just wasn't prepared I guess.

Litter picking here would certainly not be something easily done you would need an artic and as it is I feel 100 eyes on me most filled with amusement when I'm picking up after the dogs ...I had one guy standing staring today with his hand over his mouth in disgust as I picked up an ela poo ... its quite surreal considering the environment but I think they are simply uses to the streets being littered and filthy.


We will see how it goes , just a bad day today and hopefully those are less than the good ones.

 

[Lenny HB]

With third world countries you have to accept its there way of life. Most of the tourists stay in 5 star hotels and are shielded from real life.

We have always holidayed indpendantly we did India on our own we had extrems there from staying with Mi's relatives having a driver at our disposal, dining in the poshest restaurants to getting lost in old Delhi at midnight.

 

[Northernraider]

I can't look at any more photos of the dogs now it is making me depressed. I can't handle it I'm afraid. I hope things get better for you Tam and you can cope with the stuff you are going to see on this trip. I hope someone can come on here and help direct you to better places. You need another CaptainPaul who knows the place inside out. How is Jackie coping with it? please tell me she got some wine at the supermarket. Jane And Rog never mentioned seeing any of this it looked so nice where they were. Did you follow their thread? they went on some lovely walks with their dog Flynn. Hope you haven't fallen asleep pissed after drinking that shit!

No wine for Jackie, no alcohol In that supermarket. I'm glad I brought my own I needed a drink tonight.

I saw bits of Jane and rogs thread but I've been avoiding all other threads and Instagram of others in Morocco because I wanted to see it for myself


Maybe they just didn't post about the other side of things or maybe they just visited the polished touristy places who knows. ..

Not pissed lol I've only had 2 glasses , wine was still OK

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[Lenny HB]

Not pissed lol I've only had 2 glasses , wine was still OK

With the state that wine must have been in I'm surprised you are still alive.

 

[Gina M]

No wine for Jackie, no alcohol In that supermarket. I'm glad I brought my own I needed a drink tonight.

I saw bits of Jane and rogs thread but I've been avoiding all other threads and Instagram of others in Morocco because I wanted to see it for myself


Maybe they just didn't post about the other side of things or maybe they just visited the polished touristy places who knows. ..

Not pissed lol I've only had 2 glasses , wine was still OK

Tomorrow will be a better day for you both I am sure. What an adventure!! If it wasn't for the dog situation

 

[Northernraider]

Just for clarification too ,I only picked up 2 bags of dog food today as its obviously quite heavy and between those and the extra bottles of water I'm carrying for the dogs it makes sense just to pick up 2 bags at a time.

Due to the amount of folk who sent donations for that I do have a good fund there to last a few weeks feeding them . I'm hoping to actually be able to park up some places where we can actually make sure all the dogs about get a share , can't really pull in everytime we see the odd dog here and there as we discovered today there are often others in the background that also need fed but wasnt a suitable place to stop really.

But the amount of them is unreal .

It's a nicer experience if we can spend some time with them so we are going to try and do that mainly.

 

[Gina M]

Just for clarification too ,I only picked up 2 bags of dog food today as its obviously quite heavy and between those and the extra bottles of water I'm carrying for the dogs it makes sense just to pick up 2 bags at a time.

Due to the amount of folk who sent donations for that I do have a good fund there to last a few weeks feeding them . I'm hoping to actually be able to park up some places where we can actually make sure all the dogs about get a share , can't really pull in everytime we see the odd dog here and there as we discovered today there are often others in the background that also need fed but wasnt a suitable place to stop really.

But the amount of them is unreal .

It's a nicer experience if we can spend some time with them so we are going to try and do that mainly.

Give us a shout when you need some more money Tam

 

[Gina M]

No wine for Jackie, no alcohol In that supermarket. I'm glad I brought my own I needed a drink tonight.

I saw bits of Jane and rogs thread but I've been avoiding all other threads and Instagram of others in Morocco because I wanted to see it for myself


Maybe they just didn't post about the other side of things or maybe they just visited the polished touristy places who knows. ..

Not pissed lol I've only had 2 glasses , wine was still OK

Jane and Rog just walked in the natural areas, no touristy places. It was really quite lovely like walking in the Peak District in my opinion, but hotter of cause !!

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[Just smiffy]

You can’t polish a turd as the saying goes Tam, I for one like to see the real life of the places I go to and if it’s terrible then that’s life…
We live in a different world to most people and its acceptance that gets you through it….
Seeing the dogs situation is another matter though, I don’t like to see any animals suffer as they have no choice….

I think you will have to take the good and bad from this trip in Morocco as you’ve already seen there will be some nice little gems of places to stay but there will always be a flip side….

I want to go to Morocco in the near future and I’m hoping to gather all the info from your trip so if you can some how deal with it then I’ll want to see it… the good the bad and yes the ugly…

But I hope you’ve seen the worst of it and it gets better from here….

 

[Gina M]

You can’t polish a turd as the saying goes Tam, I for one like to see the real life of the places I go to and if it’s terrible then that’s life…
We live in a different world to most people and its acceptance that gets you through it….
Seeing the dogs situation is another matter though, I don’t like to see any animals suffer as they have no choice….

I think you will have to take the good and bad from this trip in Morocco as you’ve already seen there will be some nice little gems of places to stay but there will always be a flip side….

I want to go to Morocco in the near future and I’m hoping to gather all the info from your trip so if you can some how deal with it then I’ll want to see it… the good the bad and yes the ugly…

But I hope you’ve seen the worst of it and it gets better from here….

I'm with you. Humans can make their own choices but animals can't

 

[Just smiffy]

Just for clarification too ,I only picked up 2 bags of dog food today as its obviously quite heavy and between those and the extra bottles of water I'm carrying for the dogs it makes sense just to pick up 2 bags at a time.

I’m sure I speak for everyone that donated…. You don’t have to clarify or justify what you’ve spent or will spend Tam, I for one will know you will put it to very good use….


And like Ginam said let us know when more is needed…

 

[Carol]

Northernraider Tam I did touch on it in my post the other day, Eddie and I spent months in Morocco over different years as have quite a few other funsters. One of the things you can't really escape it doesn't matter how remote a place you think you in there will always be someone wanting money as a guardian for your motorhome just a few dirums they will sit all through the night and you will have no bother or in the day your van will be safe, as you say a lot have so very little and us in our big shiny motorhomes must seem like millionaire's it's the culture.

Unfortunately a lot of Morrocans don't like dogs they think they are dirty though they do like cats .
If you can I would have a read of some of the old threads on Morroco the likes of TerryL or Portland have been many times and not a lot they don't know about it,. Lots of information what to see . There are roads in Morocco really it's only safe to be travel on the inside lane and not the one by the shear drops the other side. They also have duel carriage ways as good as any,. Their internet is surprisingly good.

It's early days for you Morocco is an amazing country to explore but I think your normal travel rules of finding somewhere just to park and be left alone are very unlikely it's best to give the few dirums then be left in peace and safe.
Morroco is mostly a Muslim country so they drive thinking Allah will take care of the an if not it's Allah's will, we were told that by a few of the Taxi drivers there.

Your doing an amazing with the dogs, which does make a difference no matter how small.
Don't be despondent it really has so many different aspects from Marekesh to the High Atlas Mountains wonderful fossils wonderful markets with spices and mountains of fresh vegetables.
I hope you get a good night's sleep and can move forward tomorrow.

 

[Gina M]

I’m sure I speak for everyone that donated…. You don’t have to clarify or justify what you’ve spent or will spend Tam, I for one will know you will put it to very good use….


And like Ginam said let us know when more is needed…

Well said we don't need audited accounts to prove where the money is going we know you love these dogs

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[corconx]

With third world countries you have to accept its there way of life. Most of the tourists stay in 5 star hotels and are shielded from real life.

We have always holidayed indpendantly we did India on our own we had extrems there from staying with Mi's relatives having a driver at our disposal, dining in the poshest restaurants to getting lost in old Delhi at midnight.

India off track is something else. Although TajnMahal hotel was very nice the country is really poor outside. But I won’t hijack this thread. Sorry Tam

 

[Gina M]

Northernraider Tam I did touch on it in my post the other day, Eddie and I spent months in Morocco over different years as have quite a few other funsters. One of the things you can't really escape it doesn't matter how remote a place you think you in there will always be someone wanting money as a guardian for your motorhome just a few dirums they will sit all through the night and you will have no bother or in the day your van will be safe, as you say a lot have so very little and us in our big shiny motorhomes must seem like millionaire's it's the culture.

Unfortunately a lot of Morrocans don't like dogs they think they are dirty though they do like cats .
If you can I would have a read of some of the old threads on Morroco the likes of TerryL or Portland have been many times and not a lot they don't know about it,. Lots of information what to see . There are roads in Morocco really it's only safe to be travel on the inside lane and not the one by the shear drops the other side. They also have duel carriage ways as good as any,. Their internet is surprisingly good.

It's early days for you Morocco is an amazing country to explore but I think your normal travel rules of finding somewhere just to park and be left alone are ver unlikely it's best to give the few dirums then be left in peace and safe.
Morroco is mostly a Muslim country so they drive thinking Allah will take care of the an if not it's Allah's will, we were told that by a few of the Taxi drivers there.

Your doing an amazing with the dogs, which does make a difference no matter how small.
Don't be despondent it really has so many different aspects from Marekesh to the High Atlas Mountains wonderful fossils wonderful markets with spices and mountains of fresh vegetables.
I hope you get a good night's sleep and can move forward tomorrow.

Well said, Tam is used to parking in streets and that ain't going to happen there. It is so cheap to get guardians to watch your van, I say just pay it and enjoy this amazing experience. That said not for me but defo as a teenager back packing I would have loved it

 

[Northernraider]

Well said, Tam is used to parking in streets and that ain't going to happen there. It is so cheap to get guardians to watch your van, I say just pay it and enjoy this amazing experience. That said not for me but defo as a teenager back packing I would have loved it

So far I have found all the guardian parking to be somewhere I would not want to park. Especially overnight which is why I'm on a campsite again. The one in assilah was the same price as the campsite but packed in like sardines. My dogs would have barked at everyone who moved. The one we saw in larache was on a busy road and a steep slope and the only one in moulay I didn't want to stay there.

I also just find it very intimidating and stressful when I simply want to pull in for 5 minutes to discuss with Jackie where we are going etc and immediately someone is there asking for money ...the only other place I experienced that was in Albania and it drove me nuts. When you're solo travelling with someone else who is solo travelling you often have to pull in just to decide where you're going etc , especially here when I don't have sat nav . Tried using my phone but it isn't the most practical .

Even the toll roads are a pain driving solo in a rhd van with a dog on the passenger seat and one in the Footwell lol.


It's just stuff I'm not used to doing , individually it's a pain but all thrown together it just makes for a hard day.


I can't do sites or crowded parking everyday or I'll go insane unfortunately. So I do hope I can somehow manage to find some out of the way places .

 

[Carol]

Northernraider Tam I see it's your Birthday I really hope the day is better for you and you enjoy yourself a little more.
Sending hugs.

 

[Mikey RV]

Happy birthday Tam. Hope your days better.

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