Sliding and "Masking" into 2021

First of all, let us apologize to the people we normally visit during our winter months in Florida.  Because of the pandemic and vaccine availability for our age group, we skipped visiting with many friends AND family this year because the risks were just too great. Because of that isolation, we felt much better risking visiting the few we did see; even if just across a table outside.

We really hope to visit with everyone next winter, fully vaccinated... maybe even awaiting time for the booster?

January finds us in the usual Florida campgrounds we like. It is getting harder and harder to get reservations as more people are interested in camping during the pandemic as an alternative to hotel rooms and airplanes. You would think campground reservations were the hottest rock concert ticket as they disappear in seconds as soon as they open up on the internet.

A photogenic pelican at one of our Florida RV parks

Normally in mid January we would be in Tampa for the Tampa RV SuperShow working the Escapees RV Club booth. We assumed an event with 70,000+ attendees over several days would be cancelled during a pandemic as it gets very crowded in the vendor areas and inside the latest RVs on display. But because this is Florida and the "powers that be" don't always follow common sense, many months ago we advised the Escapees Club show team we weren't comfortable working the show during a pandemic (just in case the "show must go on"),  Well the show did indeed go on and the Escapees Club, smartly, did not attend.

As we follow the mild temperatures in our travels, especially in the wintertime, we spend as many days as possible getting exercise walking around each campground. Often our walks get interrupted with stopping to talk with other RVers, but this year we (and others) just waved.

The good news is that, because of our isolation and sanitization protocols all year, neither one of us got sick or got anyone else sick; as far as we know. With that, we felt safe spending March near Gainesville visiting with my dad. Thankfully, he was fully vaccinated, but we were still too young to get ours. With 3 to 4 weeks between injections, our situation was complicated because we thought we would have to plan to be in the same area for both injections. Not so easy when we move around so much.

As March was winding down, the age requirement in Florida was getting lower and the J and J (one) shot vaccine became an option, so I was able to get vaccinated before we started north. Maren's doctor only supported an mRNA shot series for her and luckily North Carolina was willing to let Maren get her shots there, so as we set off on this year's adventure, we are both much happier that we are vaccinated -- especially because fewer and fewer people seem to be wearing masks.

Our dash to North Carolina had a few short stops -- 2 for zoos (no surprise!), a visit with niece Anna, and Max's annual oil/filter changes in Gaffney, SC. 

Maren getting a giraffe fix at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC

2-month old baby giraffe at Greenville Zoo

Us with niece, Anna in pretty downtown Greenville, SC

If you recall, last year's RV caravan from Missouri to the Pacific, following the Lewis and Clark expedition, was cancelled. This year we are making that up, but I bet the fuel prices will not be as good as last year! We still have about 200 pages of the Undaunted Courage book to finish reading before the caravan starts.

While we visit with our Raleigh family, we have been madly working on Max so he is in tip-top condition. Washing, waxing, lubing, sanding/painting, refinishing/retreading our entry steps, flushing the water heater, cleaning vents/drains, applying protectant to roof, and replacing roof antennas, rusty screws, window gaskets, leveling boards and batteries. Whew! That last item was over $1000 for the 4 "house" batteries. We had to hire a handyman to help Jeffrey lug them in and out of the Max because they are so heavy! There are 2 separate "chassis" batteries that thankfully didn't need replacing yet. 

One of our Max project days

The hole in the basement floor where the 4 - 60+ lb house batteries live

We hope you are finished with winter and spring is in the air! We also hope you are safe and life gets back to normal for all of us sooner rather than later! With luck (and hopefully no new pandemics), our next posts will be covering our Lewis and Clark adventure.

Us posing with Maren's blooming Valentine's Day waxed ball amaryllis

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