Interesting times Day 1
I recall a phrase which was attributed to an ancient Chinese curse. While there is no proof this was actually a real Chinese curse, I get where they're going with it. The "curse" was "May you live in interesting times". I am of the opinion that our present situation qualifies. Times are complex and issues are many. Travel has always been an escape for us, but all the rules have changed, practically overnight.
I had a birthday trip planned for Laurie and every time I came up with a new incarnation of the trip and started planning, it fell apart. It started out on an island off the coast of Maine. From there I tried another trip which included flying to somewhere, but that fell apart as well. I wound up booking flights to Denver and a cabin up in the Rockies. When Covid-19 exploded, we finally reached the reality that we would have to scrap this trip as well. We cancelled flights, rental car, and accommodations at the height of the pandemic. (So far. Let's hope it doesn't get worse and have a phase 2.)
How do we deal with this? Traveling is our thing. We've changed a lot of things in our life so we could travel more. Basically the world is shut down, or so restricted that travel isn't even possible. With European travel, we would be looking at arrival quarantines (two weeks some places), closed borders, and areas just not ready to handle people coming to visit from somewhere else. Many were still under quarantine, and the possibility of going somewhere and being "trapped" with a flare up of Covid-19 just wasn't something I could figure out.
I had to figure out another way to travel that fit the "new normal", a phrase that is a total contradiction of the actual situation. We needed to be self sufficient, no public transit, control where we eat and sleep. We needed a way to have as much control over our environment as possible. We also needed to pick destinations where we would be welcome, could accommodate us, and wouldn't raise our risk of exposure. And if it all went to hell, we needed the ability to bug out and get home on our own. While not yet Mad Max, it's not what it used to be. We needed to radically adapt our travel to the reality of what the world has become.
Many people have asked why we did not travel in the states but instead went to Europe. I always said that we would travel there as much as possible and in the event Europe was no longer an option we kept the states as our backup. We expected some sort of terror related problem would be the reason we shifted to domestic travel, but never considered a pandemic. But here we are.
I had a birthday trip planned for Laurie and every time I came up with a new incarnation of the trip and started planning, it fell apart. It started out on an island off the coast of Maine. From there I tried another trip which included flying to somewhere, but that fell apart as well. I wound up booking flights to Denver and a cabin up in the Rockies. When Covid-19 exploded, we finally reached the reality that we would have to scrap this trip as well. We cancelled flights, rental car, and accommodations at the height of the pandemic. (So far. Let's hope it doesn't get worse and have a phase 2.)
How do we deal with this? Traveling is our thing. We've changed a lot of things in our life so we could travel more. Basically the world is shut down, or so restricted that travel isn't even possible. With European travel, we would be looking at arrival quarantines (two weeks some places), closed borders, and areas just not ready to handle people coming to visit from somewhere else. Many were still under quarantine, and the possibility of going somewhere and being "trapped" with a flare up of Covid-19 just wasn't something I could figure out.
I had to figure out another way to travel that fit the "new normal", a phrase that is a total contradiction of the actual situation. We needed to be self sufficient, no public transit, control where we eat and sleep. We needed a way to have as much control over our environment as possible. We also needed to pick destinations where we would be welcome, could accommodate us, and wouldn't raise our risk of exposure. And if it all went to hell, we needed the ability to bug out and get home on our own. While not yet Mad Max, it's not what it used to be. We needed to radically adapt our travel to the reality of what the world has become.
Many people have asked why we did not travel in the states but instead went to Europe. I always said that we would travel there as much as possible and in the event Europe was no longer an option we kept the states as our backup. We expected some sort of terror related problem would be the reason we shifted to domestic travel, but never considered a pandemic. But here we are.
Ready to head out
We quickly decided that another RV would be the best answer. We sold our motor home a year or so ago and no longer had one. We also didn't need one as large as what we had. It is down to just the two of us so we didn't need 33 feet of class A motor home. We started to investigate small pull type campers and opted for a 2017 Starcraft Satellite. We also bought before everybody else got the same idea so we got a good price. It is small enough to pull with my truck, has a bathroom, kitchen, sleeping accommodations, everything we need. And unlike hotels and public transit, we share it with no one.
Choosing destinations was a bit more complex than what it used to be. We considered what we wanted.....things to do and see. We also considered what we didn't want.....crowds, risk, and high percentages of exposure. We have decided on a trip to do star and landscape photography in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado. We will be gone around ten days, and if all goes well we will have very minimal contact with anyone else. We are going to areas with very few people and need to be totally self reliant. I think we have planned well.
We may or may not have cell service/internet but I plan on posting about our trip if we do. As always, you will receive a link via email to that particular post, and if you don't want to be included please let me know and I'll take you off the list. Our daughter Heather and her partner Ryan are in transition from New Orleans to a new life in North Carolina. They have graciously agreed to take care of our place and feed the animals while we travel. A huge thank you to Heather and Ryan!
We head west tomorrow afternoon. I hope you'll join us.
Choosing destinations was a bit more complex than what it used to be. We considered what we wanted.....things to do and see. We also considered what we didn't want.....crowds, risk, and high percentages of exposure. We have decided on a trip to do star and landscape photography in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado. We will be gone around ten days, and if all goes well we will have very minimal contact with anyone else. We are going to areas with very few people and need to be totally self reliant. I think we have planned well.
We may or may not have cell service/internet but I plan on posting about our trip if we do. As always, you will receive a link via email to that particular post, and if you don't want to be included please let me know and I'll take you off the list. Our daughter Heather and her partner Ryan are in transition from New Orleans to a new life in North Carolina. They have graciously agreed to take care of our place and feed the animals while we travel. A huge thank you to Heather and Ryan!
We head west tomorrow afternoon. I hope you'll join us.