60 days in the hole....

Good morning!

I have been trying to come up with something interesting to post for several days now, but nothing has seemed worthy. Life is just moving forward and we are all doing our best to hang on and wait it out. We have been hunkered down and sheltered in place for 10 days in the same location. Ten days is longer than our wanderlust can handle. At day seven, Mike and I both start getting antsy. So, we are now on day 11.

60 DAYS! We have officially been on the road for 60 days!

When I wrote my post about 30 days, things were just starting to pick up in the pandemic arena. We were in Fort Meyers, Florida, still able to swim in the pool and lounge in the hot tub. Since then, we have been skittering from one place to the next, as things close and we are asked to move on, trying to find a safe place to stay. All of our Texas plans were placed on hold or outright cancelled. We have no plan for our next step, because we can't plan. No one knows how long this is going to last. I know, you are all in the same boat. I'm preaching to the choir. At least it's warmer here in Texas. We are very lucky.

On the one hand, it looks like the Texas Governor and our Commander in Chief want to re-open the world on May 1st. If that happens, we will be forced to leave our current hideaway, but possibly unable to move beyond Texas, because other governors may not agree with that decision and do something different in their own states. ((And by the way, look what is happening in China and other countries who re-opened too quickly...))

On the other hand, it seems quite possible that this pandemic will not be leaving our lives for a very long time to come. If the world remains closed, we are hoping we can remain where we are, because where else would we go? Traveling home is still a tough option for many reasons, but most importantly, because many areas are still far sicker than where we are now, so traveling through them is either illegal or just an unsafe option. ((Mental image - the mass grave being filled in New York City...))

So, for now, all is status quo. We get up, we do our school work, our chores, we have lunch late, we relax in the afternoon, take walks, read, nap...Dinner is between 7 and 8pm (it's still light here), then we watch a movie, sit outside, or play a game. Bed around 11pm. That's it!

So, 60 DAYS! Look where we've been...

That's pretty cool I think. Markers 1-9 are pre-pandemic, 10-16 are mid-pandemic.

We've stayed in 9 states. We've driven through 18 states. Our state map on the camper is filling up... Our Experience Board is also filling up (with some additions from RedBubble for the places we couldn't find stickers for and places we couldn't experience based on COVID-19 (see the red circles?).

Recently, we've explored our campground a little more using their trail system. It was a beautiful walk. I am still amazed how this area does not look anything like what I thought Texas would look like! It reminds of us camping in Maine... trees, birds, deer... The landscape is hilly, we're in Texas Hill Country. Cold at night, warm to way too hot during the day.

Last night we played Yahtzee and Run Rummy. It was everyone's first time with Rummy, but we really enjoyed it. The dogs really enjoyed Yahtzee...

Today, we are taking a scenic drive to the Swiss Alps of Texas. We're not sure what to expect. It is a 2 hour round trip drive, about 100 miles. A big loop from where we are, stretching west then back again. Don't worry, this is a car trip only. We don't plan to break social distancing. But we really need to get out of this little camper and our little site. It feels like the world is crowding in on us. Hopefully there will be "scenic vistas" and other interesting things to see out the windows.

Ok, time to hit the road... Have a great day everyone. Stay healthy, stay in touch, stay tuned!

val