RV travels around the USA
The US territory of Puerto Rico marks the 8th day of our 21 day cruise. I still wonder at what we were thinking during a spike in the pandemic. But, I have to tell you, except for a couple of schedule adjustments, everything has been great. The Crystal cruise line has lived up to its reputation as a high end ultra luxury adventure. And I still feel safe. On Sunday, we took a walkabout tour of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
So far, so good! In fact, the luxury cruise of a lifetime has been great. How often does one have a 50th anniversary? All around, the vessel, the staff, entertainment, and obviously the chow have been great. And on top of that I feel very safe aboard. Actually, as a guy said yesterday, we feel safer here than going to a local Walmart. More on that later. St. John USVI was our first stop.
Happy New Year Everyone!! As I have mentioned in a prior post, this new year of 2022 will be our 50th wedding anniversary and wanted to do something special and a bit of a splurge. For this special event, we have been planning a Europe trip for several months now and have been watching the travel alerts. Currently Italy is at the state departments Level 4 or Do Not Travel. LINK But that may all change…
It has been over a month since my last blog update which has been somewhat of a challenging blur and then a generous portion of downtime. But alas, that can be life sometimes. But, all is now good and we feel thankful for our blessings. So, our plan was to make a wide loop from our Virginia home to see family and friends and then settle at our Florida RV park on November 1st. And then in the first leg of this tour we both tested positive for Covid…crud!
I do feel pretty fortunate to have now received my second dose of the Covid vaccine. Maybe this will begin the end of the grip that this virus has had on this country and the world. There is much information published on the reactions that people have from this dose, but I will give you what it was like from my perspective. What to expect…
We debated whether to travel at our normal slow pace (150 miles and stay a few days), or just bite the bullet and drive like a demon bat and get to the warmer climate. The slower pace won out since we can still get out for hiking and walking about in the 40-50 degree weather. Even with the virus running loose there must still plenty of things to do. So, our first stop was in the small friendly town of Asheboro, NC.
Final Days as Full-Timers – Our incredible last three years as full-time RVers is quickly coming to an end! We are now in the few final days to obtain possession of our home in Radford, Virginia. At some point, I will need to write a post about the highlights of our travels. That post will be very difficult since we have seen so much. Kind of like determining your favorite kid. Anyway, that is for another day.
Travel Prep to Begin Soon – We are continuing to enjoy our Florida oasis where we have been for about 2.5 months now. When all the mandates came out about sheltering in place we decided that Clermont Florida was the best of all our options. And it has proven to be that. Covid cases have been very low, excellent healthcare systems, and some great weather from March to mid-May. And then somewhere around mid-May it suddenly became hot and humid. It seems paradise does have a small downside. It’s about time to prep for travel!
The state of Florida is opening back up. Most businesses can now operate while following the new guidance, including distancing and wearing masks. Until that changes again of course. With our new found freedom, I was actually craving to just go out and explore the area. With that goal, we set sail to a small scenic town about a 1/2 hour away: Winter Garden Florida!
I’ll start out this update with the weather. That is always a good starter. The weather has actually been kind of boring. I start to take it for granted until we talk to family or friends Up North. Our days have been mostly sunny and in the mid 80’s. But the weather in the New River Valley of Virginia has been very mild with the exception of a couple nights down at freezing. Okay, the weather update out of the way…