Well friends, we hate to say it, but COVID-19 has ground our trip to a halt – like every other endeavor it seems. When COVID first reared its ugly head, we did what you did – watch with semi-detached dread as China went into lock down. As it progressed, we tried to behave responsibly through social distancing and obsessive handwashing. But at this point, we all need to batten the hatches which means abandoning the last leg of our trip.
Our original plans had us spending the lion’s share of the next 8 weeks in Florida, immersing ourselves in Florida’s three parks (Everglades, Dry Tortuga and Key Biscayne), enjoying the company of friends throughout the state and finishing off with a week at Disney (weirdly I was really looking forward to their RV park – all the fun of the park but near the comfort of my own refrigerator!). As it stands today, the Parks have largely closed. Some are inaccessible (Dry Tortuga, an island, has cancelled ferry service) and others are technically open but without ranger led tours, park services, etc. In theory we could go to Everglades and Key Biscayne but if we can’t fully experience the parks, it seems best to wait until we can. The go big or go home approach hasn’t failed us yet, better to let that philosophy guide our current decisions than take a “check the box” approach to the final parks on our journey.
This morning, we are parked in Biloxi, MS, working to reroute and re-plan the next few weeks. Our original timetable put us back in Charlotte by mid to late May. At this point the plan is to continue heading east focusing on state parks and avoiding large population centers. Then we will angle north and head for Pawley’s Island S.C. My mom and Greg are fortunate to own a rental home near the beach that is empty this time of year – a perfect place to hunker down and wait this out. We plan to arrive in Charlotte on May 1st.
We will keep the blog going for a while. My guess is that once we slow down and think about it, we will have additional thoughts to share about the journey and our experiences. Hopefully something to keep you entertained and feeling buoyant.
For all of you out there reading this, hunkered down in your own home, remember that this too will pass. It’s hard to imagine right now, wrapped up in our own uncertainty, but this virus will wear itself out eventually and we will gather once more in each other’s homes and in public spaces to celebrate life and community.
Best of health to everyone!
Post script – we typically ask another family member to edit our blog posts. Ava, upon reading this post said, “mom, its a little deep there at the end, you need to lighten it up with some exclamation points or emojis.” Clearly my daughter has more perspective than I do! So, in honor of Ava !!!!!!!!!!!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤪😷😍😍💥🐢🐢!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🌈🏕️🏕️🏕️😁😁😁😁😁