Summer 2020…Strange Times Indeed

These are strange times indeed. Things have changed and we live in a temporary (we hope) new world of semi-isolation with terms like “social distancing” and “contact tracing”, working from home, grocery delivery, food and supply availability disruptions, civil unrest, and no sports on TV. We have gone from a growing vibrant economy with big plans to instant near depression unemployment, shelter-in-place orders, isolation from friends and family and a constant barrage of bad news of compounding infection and death rates. On top of that as the population became tired of isolation and uncertainty, civil unrest forced its way onto us as a captive audience, seemingly turning reality upside down. With time we learned how to manage our lives in this new environment and leverage ChILL to provide an escape from this strange new normal.

After making sure that ChILL was truly fully repaired and camping weekends in the winter and making plans for the spring and summer, we were shutdown by Coronavirus (CV19). It all started getting very bizarre on the week of March 9. We were headed out on a week-long, highly anticipated vacation to Port St Joe. CV19 was becoming more serious with the local, state and national regulations changing daily. At the same time, there was a reported case of CV19 at Camellia and we had visited there on Wednesday. Given a sense that the world was rapidly changing around us, we decided to cancel our trip and shelter-in-place for 14 days to make sure we were not infected and a carrier. We were so close to going that ChILL was loaded, the bikes were on the truck and we were leaving the next day.

It was surreal unloading ChILL without knowing when we would get to use it again. We took all of the food and paper products off to reinforce our stockpiles at home. Not knowing what was next and knowing that food and supply shortages were already impacting the grocery stores, we went home to shelter in-place. It was a bit like preparing for a hurricane, but different.

Now months later, stay-at-home orders are being relaxed and we are starting to venture out into the strange new world. Our first outing was to leverage our Memorial Day reservation at the Kissimmee KOA for the holiday weekend. This was to be an outing with our Grandkids to celebrate birthdays and family joy through togetherness. Instead it was a timid outing of avoiding contact with others at all costs and learning travel in the new normal.

To say that the trip was a strange experience would be an understatement. Our plan included taking all of our food and supplies with us to avoid exposure to others outside our social bubble. We started with a full tank of gas, gloves, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, and plans to use the facilities in ChILL rather than restrooms at rest areas. Once we arrived at the KOA we were greeted with a contactless check-in process and provided a map to our site. At this point in the pandemic, restrictions on travel had only recently been relaxed and cross-state travel was highly discouraged. 

The campground was about two-thirds full but the atmosphere was completely different. There was limited engagement from other campers as we walked around such as just a wave from a distance. Even more bizarre was the lack of traffic and family noise being in the heart of Disney. Most retail and restaurant establishments were closed and people were still sheltering-in-place. It was strangely quiet.

It turned out to be a nice getaway and set the format for our future excursions. Mostly we stayed at the campground and just enjoyed being outside and having different scenery. As it turns out, most of the rest of the country was in the process of discovering the benefit of RV’ing as a means of getting out and maintaining social distance.

Camping in June and July consisted of enjoying alternating weekends at Compass and Stagecoach RV Parks. It the early stages of this period it was quite easy to get a reservation and the campgrounds were very happy to have any business after the long shutdown. But as time progressed and more families joined the RV community, sites become much harder to find. Next up was to venture farther away, but staying within close driving distance to enjoy a week-long vacation in southern Georgia. Stay tuned for more on our next adventures in the next blog.

Thanks,

Captain Skip

Summer Vacation with ChILL 2019

What a fun whirlwind of first adventures we had in the summer of 2019 with ChILL. It was a two-week adventure of firsts including, our first pull through the mountains with this rig, long days of travel to get to a destination, upgrades at Jackson Center, riding the Creeper Trail, visiting Mayberry, Hilton Head, Savannah, and every type of summer weather.

Our primary mission was to visit Jackson Center Ohio to have solar installed as well as a few upgrades and minor maintenance. Since this would be quite a trek of over 1,000 miles for us, we elected to set aside two weeks for this journey. The first part of our trip was focused on covering the 1,000 miles to Jackson Center in three segments to make our appointment date with Airstream. We pressed through three days of five and six hour driving per day to cover the distance. As we suspected, this is just about our maximum effort in our current circumstances considering the stress of first-time experiences, our dogs patience (they are good travelers) and leaving margin for the unexpected.

The journey to Jackson Center was relatively uneventful in retrospect. At the time there was some level of stress and we worked our way through many first-time learning experiences. For example, we found that the truck and trailer work well together on the road. It is a comfortable ride without sudden surprises. The cruise control worked well going up and down the mountains. There were a few times when going down the mountains that we had to release the cruise and apply the brakes but most of the time the automatic downshifting did the job. Jeannie had her first experience towing with this rig in the mountains and did great. I unfortunately miscalculated and set her up to drive the most difficult point in the downhill portion of the route in the rain, but she managed it like a pro. Overnight stops without unhooking and managing refueling were new as well, though they proved to be manageable.

We saw some interesting sights as part of our experience. Some beautiful, some just plain KOA parking lots. We learned a lot about cooling the Airstream when traveling in the summer. Later in our travels we found that it helped a lot to use the Dyson fan inside while the A/C is running to try to cool things faster. We experienced temperatures over 105 degrees at times that simply overloaded the A/C until evening. Just hooking up the power and water in the direct sun would cause me to overheat. I found that getting back into the truck’s A/C was perhaps a better choice than baking in the trailer while it tried to cool.

With solar installed and maintenance completed, though it took an extra day, we started a more leisurely pace for the return trip. Initially just covering miles to get to the area we wanted to see and experience, we found an unexpected treasure at Camp Creek State Park. Though our GPS took us on a tour of rural West Virginia, we eventually found the State Park. Full hookups, ample space and quiet nature all around. Too bad it was only one night. I am sure we will find our way back at some point.

On to the Creeper Trail, Mayberry (Mt Airy), Hilton Head and Savannah. Each place had a unique charm and provided an experience to remember. The Creeper Trail was more and less than we expected. It was a fun experience, but was more of a mountain bike trail than a Rails-to-Trails experience. It was a rough ride for the dogs in their trailers and overall, I am sure they would not care to repeat that experience. Mayberry was fun and offered a unique perspective on the real and imaginary. Mt Airy was a real place that enjoyed their relationship with Andy Griffith through his youth and celebrity. Mayberry was that great imaginary place that we all wanted to live and to which we wish we could return.

Hilton Head and Savannah lived up to their previous visits. We found it easier to explore both of them because we had been there before. Both offered new experiences on top of the memories of our past visits.

Overall, it was a great trip. A once-in-a-lifetime experience all packed in a two-week period. But then again, every experience is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, even if we have been there before. Below you will find a link to a brief video slideshow of our experiences. Be sure to note how often we were surrounded by God’s beauty and the smiles on our faces. Beyond the stresses and strains of the moment, it seems we had a great time, the pictures are proof!

Thanks,

Captain Skip

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