Back in December we had taken the big step of deciding it was time to buy a new tow car to replace our 2009 white Ford Escape Hybrid. Fewer and fewer cars these days are capable of being towed with all four wheels on the ground behind a motorhome, so after a lot of thought and research, we decided to get the new 2020 (also white) Ford Escape Hybrid. Just to be clear… "Escapees" is the RV Club. "Escape" is the car. Both words seem to fit our lifestyle pretty well!
Ford hasn't made a towable Escape since 2012, so the timing seemed perfect for us. However, the company that makes the "base plate" (attached to the frame of a towed car behind the front facia) didn't yet have a base plate for the new model. That said, if we loaned them our car, they would use it as a template to build and install the base plate for free! Sounds perfect -- but we had to get the car to Nebraska.
After searching our schedule and contemplating our travel options -- one of which was buying the car in Florida, driving to Nebraska in winter, waiting the estimated 5 days for the fabrication work and then driving back to Florida (in the winter!). We decided instead to purchase the car remotely in Nebraska and have the car delivered directly to the base plate manufacturer there. After several weeks of not being sure they could even successfully complete the task, and then some fabrication equipment failure/repair, they completed the work and we had the new car delivered to us in Florida.
We came *this* close to having a car, in Nebraska, that we couldn't tow behind the motorhome. Ugh! We were very glad we didn't opt to drive it to Nebraska ourselves as the job ended up taking 3 weeks. We sold the old car to "Escapee" RV friends we met at the Tampa RV Show, and they were thankfully willing to wait until February when we could confirm we had a new tow car available.
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| Old and new Ford Escapes |
So luckily it all worked out!… and then the COVID-19 hit.
Before they shut down the Florida state parks where we spend much of the winter, we had moved to a private RV park near my dad in Gainesville. We had even embarked on a week-long car trip to meet up with Maren's mom Sheila in New Orleans. We were only there 3 days before the seriousness of COVID-19 became known and everything started to close up, so we cut the visit short. Then our private RV park stopped taking reservations, so we were lucky to have gotten in. We started social distancing, but we saw my dad almost daily and only risked grocery stores and an occasional take-out dinner. His dining room was already closed to visitors, but he could pick up takeout from his dining room for all 3 of us. His facility now has meals delivered to everyone's door.
Before they shut down the Florida state parks where we spend much of the winter, we had moved to a private RV park near my dad in Gainesville. We had even embarked on a week-long car trip to meet up with Maren's mom Sheila in New Orleans. We were only there 3 days before the seriousness of COVID-19 became known and everything started to close up, so we cut the visit short. Then our private RV park stopped taking reservations, so we were lucky to have gotten in. We started social distancing, but we saw my dad almost daily and only risked grocery stores and an occasional take-out dinner. His dining room was already closed to visitors, but he could pick up takeout from his dining room for all 3 of us. His facility now has meals delivered to everyone's door.
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| Dinner with dad at Leonardo's Pizza in early March |
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| Dinner at Antoines in New Orleans (our last meal sitting inside a restaurant in 2+ months) |
When my dad's facility shut down completely to visitors and they (briefly) started stopping people at the Florida state border, we decided to go north early. Our backup RV park plan for our Raleigh stay (the county fairgrounds campground) was then closed, but luckily our preferred park (which can never commit to us until a few weeks ahead) finally called to say they had room for us because temp workers left the RV spaces when their jobs when away.
Normally we go thru Gaffney, SC, in mid April to get the major motorhome chassis/engine/generator maintenance done on our way to Raleigh, but we skipped it to get to Raleigh for a guaranteed spot. Gaffney called us a week after we arrived to say they would be closing down for awhile, so we did a mad dash over and got their last appointment. If we hadn't already arrived in Raleigh we would have been too far away to do this. One more thing checked off!
We are still in Raleigh and, other than our dental cleanings being cancelled, Maren was able to get her important MRIs/doctor appointments done and I have been able to my allergy shots. We have risked visits with my brothers and wives while here in Raleigh and consider them our "safe bubble". Everyone is healthy and being very careful. Both brothers already worked from home. Our 45-day, Missouri-to-Oregon RV caravan with 20 other coaches, due to start Memorial Day, was canceled. We have pushed that plan to next year and will try again.
So, hunkered down in Raleigh, we wait for the country to reopen and work on motorhome projects (currently enjoying our new 43" smart TV). We hope to salvage some of the summer and have been working on a travel plan that will still get us to the NW, but who knows what we will be able to see or do along the way. Maren has hopes that the zoos along our path will start to open up so at least we can see a few of those (we feel fairly safe in outdoor areas). Maren has already sourced some giraffe print cotton to make us zoo-themed masks.
We haven't canceled the late summer and fall plans, yet. Austin in late September through October is still on, hopefully with a dental cleaning. Next winter's reservations are a big concern as big parts of November, January and February are again in state parks and they were pretty quickly closed when the virus troubles began.
We hope you and your families are all safe and sound.
Jeffrey & Maren
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Normally we go thru Gaffney, SC, in mid April to get the major motorhome chassis/engine/generator maintenance done on our way to Raleigh, but we skipped it to get to Raleigh for a guaranteed spot. Gaffney called us a week after we arrived to say they would be closing down for awhile, so we did a mad dash over and got their last appointment. If we hadn't already arrived in Raleigh we would have been too far away to do this. One more thing checked off!
We are still in Raleigh and, other than our dental cleanings being cancelled, Maren was able to get her important MRIs/doctor appointments done and I have been able to my allergy shots. We have risked visits with my brothers and wives while here in Raleigh and consider them our "safe bubble". Everyone is healthy and being very careful. Both brothers already worked from home. Our 45-day, Missouri-to-Oregon RV caravan with 20 other coaches, due to start Memorial Day, was canceled. We have pushed that plan to next year and will try again.
So, hunkered down in Raleigh, we wait for the country to reopen and work on motorhome projects (currently enjoying our new 43" smart TV). We hope to salvage some of the summer and have been working on a travel plan that will still get us to the NW, but who knows what we will be able to see or do along the way. Maren has hopes that the zoos along our path will start to open up so at least we can see a few of those (we feel fairly safe in outdoor areas). Maren has already sourced some giraffe print cotton to make us zoo-themed masks.
We haven't canceled the late summer and fall plans, yet. Austin in late September through October is still on, hopefully with a dental cleaning. Next winter's reservations are a big concern as big parts of November, January and February are again in state parks and they were pretty quickly closed when the virus troubles began.
We hope you and your families are all safe and sound.
Jeffrey & Maren
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