The last item on our list of things to do at Lajes is shop at the commissary.  The weekly supply flight had come in on Thursday so the commissary staff was busily restocking the shelves.  With my car work done, there was extra space available in the Saab that had been filled with tires and other car parts.  We made three trips to the commissary: regular dry itesm, cold or frozen items, and another trip for items that we forgot.  The living room of our quarters is covered in shopping bags and food.  The freezer is completely full.  The closet has a tower of soda cases.  We beat our record commissary trip from last year.  Quite simply, we shopped.

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That's Klingon for success (yes, I'm a Trekker).  Today, I amazingly finished everything else.  By everything, I mean everything.  And by amazingly, I mean even I'm surprised that I got everything else done in one day.  I got: The rear disc rotors and brake pads installed.  The driver's front wheel bearing replaced.  The driver's front disc rotor and brake pads. The oil change.  And the rear tire changes with TPS sensor installation.  And let me tell you, the car now drives as smoothly as the day we first got it.  The guys at the Auto Hobby Shop, Victor and Travis, were just great.  They were helpful when I ran into problems or didn't know how to do something correctly - like the use of the tire changing machine.  I had watched several YouTube videos about how to dismount and mount a tire.  But I forgot a specific step and Travis stepped in to show me what I was forgetting.  While I won't be opening up my own garage any time soon, having the use of the lift was a godsend.  I do plan on having one in my own garage when I get my own home.  No question about it.

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We didn't arrive until after midnight and didn't even get off the boat till after 1am.  Unfortunately, our base passes weren't available at the gate so we had to pick them up this morning.  That's when we ran into problems with getting a pass for the Saab.  Seems the paperwork for the car is out of date: insurance documentation and Portugese registration.  Finally a supervisor recognized that the plates were diplomatic, apologized and told me to have a nice day.  Meaning I was free to go.  I thanked him and promised to get the proper paperwork in the car.  I now have the updated insurance documents and should have a copy of the Portugese registration faxed over tomorrow.

In spite of all these delays and problems, I did manage to get the passenger-side wheel bearing replaced.  One of the shop foremen, Victor, was invaluable in helping me.  My wheel bearing puller was too small for the Saab - so he showed me how to use the shop's 50-ton press.  When the wheel bearing broke apart as we pulled the hub off, he quickly figured out how to get the remaining piece off the hub without damaging it.  Putting it back together was a breeze.  I also got the new cross-drilled and slotted brake rotor and new brake pads installed on that side.  Tomorrow I'll do the driver's side wheel bearing, brake rotor and brake pads.  Since I have all day tomorrow (10am to 6pm), I should be able to get the rear tires swapped out with the new Pirellis as well.

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