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Old 01-25-2021, 02:06 AM   #1
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Curious - how safe do you feel planning a spring or summer road trip?

Wondering what you folks are thinking or experiencing in regards to the upcoming RV travel season.

Our planned trip for spring 2020 obviously got deep sixed as the world shut down. We had everything except the actual campground reservations all lined up. We were going to be coming from northern Michigan, through the national parks in Ohio (Dayton Aviation, Hopewell Culture, First Ladies, and a few others in between), to Cape Lookout & Cape Hatteras, Guildford Courthouse NPs in N Carolina, then return through Virginia and several founding fathers homes such a Monticello, etc.

We've considered trying it this spring, but many of the sites remain closed or only with limited viewing/programs.

I'm a bit concerned about how safe it would be, even if we had just the limited version.

We did take a fall trip to Ft. Donalson, Land Between the Lakes, Arkansas NPs - Little Rock Desegregation and Hot Springs - and the southern Ozarks. It was a lot of fun and we felt surprisingly safe because there were very few people around at any of the places we did visit. It was off season though (late Oct-Nov) too.

Now that DH has retied and we think about a spring trip, we are actually a lot more nervous than we were this fall.

Even with the hope of a vaccine (we'd love to have had the shots in the arm by then, but judging by the long wait or even a chance to get on the list around here, it's looking rather unlikely). As we keep reading about the more virulent strain and how many people have tired and are rebelling against all the safety measures, we're seriously thinking of just staying home.

What are those of you who are travelling, especially south and east, actually experiencing on the ground? Are there relatively few fellow travelers/tourists or is it rather crowded? Our main interests are national parks, historic sites, and natural areas. Are the very large majority of people taking serious precautions or are they ho hum?

Also asking ourselves, are we being irresponsible in traveling? We take serious precautions/follow all the recommendation (except maybe in this case, staying home and not doing "non-essential" activities).

We would gratefully welcome your experiences and thoughts/concerns.

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Old 01-25-2021, 02:14 AM   #2
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You know your own comfort level for risk...
Stay within that envelope, and you'll be fine.
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Old 01-25-2021, 03:13 AM   #3
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We used to love meeting other campers and what not, but under current conditions we keep to ourselves. With this in mind, we continue to travel.
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Old 01-25-2021, 03:27 AM   #4
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Agree with Bob. Only you can decide what you’re comfortable with. Personally, I don’t worry about it. We’re leaving on a month long snowbird trip to Texas next week. It’s all outdoors and the neighbors in a campground are farther apart than in our multi family (condo) home.
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Old 01-25-2021, 03:55 AM   #5
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We took 5 trips last year with our first trip in may to Florida for a week. to the lake, 1 to South Dakota and Mt Rushmore and 2 to Wyoming. Saw lots of other campers out there.
Only you can decide what is best for you.
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Old 01-25-2021, 04:06 AM   #6
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Our story is just like yours, last Feb. on Galveston island making plans for spring in southern New Mexico, summer with the grandkids in central NM, late summer and fall in Santa Fe, then on to Utah and Yellowstone returning to N TX late fall
Instead we have a yr with a few grandkid visits NO friends, NO eating out, etc!!!

We're in our early 70`s with underlying health conditions. DW's compromised immune sys keeps her in the house except for Dr. visits, back surgery etc.

When tx gets our act together we're eligible to get the vaccine now.
I've dusted off last years plan, dw says not so quick

Good news is it's starting to look like 1M shots a day for the first 100 days may be doable
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Old 01-25-2021, 04:54 AM   #7
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I feel perfectly safe going out of my home to shop, camp, fish and golf. I would have taken my summertime trip last year had it been up to me but the folks we were planning on visiting were not taking visitors of any kind. So instead we just meandered around and had a nice travel season. We will start our next travel season in February. When you think about it, RV travel has an aspect of social distancing that going to crowded attractions can never match. We are almost never within six foot of another camper and with a lot of people deciding to stay home, campgrounds have plenty of available sites. There is not much difference between being at home or being in our RV in a beautiful camping location. A quick scan of youTube channels will show you that plenty of people are still living the nomadic life and moving freely around the country and with an infection rate of 53 per 100,000 people that means that 99.999% of the people you meet will not be infected.
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Old 01-25-2021, 05:19 AM   #8
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Well after having Covid the whole month of December im not in any hurry to get out for a long trip. It kicked my ass pretty bad. That said I do want to do some week long trips. Something 3 to 4 hours from home.

I can tell you from first hand experience that if you get it like I did there is no way you will be driving for a while.

So like others have said do what you are comfortable with.

My daughter and granddaughter were living with my since the beginning of Covid. We did go out much, always wore a mask, and we still got it. So you never know. Just be careful and have a plan just in case


Jerry
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Old 01-25-2021, 05:39 AM   #9
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As I write this, my sister and brother-in-law are in hospital due to Covid exposure associated with a camping trip. The trip itself didn’t expose them, but unexpected problems forced revised travel plans, and that change led to being exposed (as best as they could tell).

Had they stayed home, chances are much higher they would be home tonight.

My concern is always what happens if the trip doesn’t go as planned. That’s why we have avoided travel for the most part over the last year or so.
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Old 01-25-2021, 10:55 AM   #10
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So here is my take based on personal experience over the past 10 months of dealing with the COVID world......

Having a motorhome was absolutely the best possible way to deal with COVID and still have a somewhat normal life. It was a "bubble" on wheels that allowed us to stay isloated but still live our lives a little.

My wife and I are in our late 50's. I travel for my job and work from home. I'm typically on over 100 planes a year. My wife is a dental assistant. By March 11 last year I was already on 33 planes and at a trade show in Atlanta when my company decided to lock down our travel. My wife's dental office was also closed at the same time.

A week later we packed up the motorhome and left for Willmington, NC for a week. We stayed at the KOA there. We figured there was plenty of space between sites so we would be away from people. We also said if we stayed how we would have to go to the grocery store so what would be the difference going to the grocery store anywhere?

We could ride our Spyder. We could be outdoors in fresh air and I could work from there. A week stay turned into 12 days. We would have stayed longer but the stupid county there decided to shut down campgrounds and everyone just moved to the next county.

We headed home for a few days and reloaded. We then headed to the KOA in Travelers Rest, SC for a week. What a beautiful campground! We rode the Spyder though the Carolina mountains and enjoyed beautiful weather in mid-April there. After a week there we decided to head further south to Savanna, GA for another week.

We then went back home and planned a trip to Virigia beach as the calendar headed into Memorial Day. My wife had surgery in June so we were dry docked for several weeks but then did two more shorter trips in PA in July and in August we spent a week in Vermont.

We spent late August and September at our home in FL and then did trips to Chincoteague, VA and to the Smoky Mountains in October before putting the coach to bed and enjoyng the FL weather for the winter (and doing some snowmobiling too).

I know a lot of people went into total lockdown the past 9 or 10 months and only went out for essentials. Rightly so if they had pre-esisting condiitons or were highly suseptible to complications if they caught COVID.

My wife has an autoimmune disease so she has some risks with COVID but we decided we wanted to try and live a semblance of a normal life the and the coach could enable us to do it in a safe manner. Life is too short as it is and letting a year or more of life go by in lockdown was also not a great thing.

We have been as careful as we reasonably could over the past 10 months. We wear masks in stores and other indoor places. We only eat at outdoor restuarants. We try to keep our distance from people as much as possible. We wash and sanitiize our hands constantly.

For us, the coach was a godsend. It let us travel and see parts of the country during the pandemic. We could be outdoors where it is much safer and still live life a little. Some things we wanted to see along the way were closed at times but it was well worth the adventure and it help keep our sanity..... and our health.

Looking at the glass half-full..... COVID allowed us to do more camping / traveling in one year than we ever could have still working full-time.

My wife is now retired after her and the dentist decided it was time to close the practice (he is 66). I was going to hang it up at the end of last year but since I'm still not traveling because of COVID, I have decided to keep working through July (unless things start going back to normal before then).

We have a long trip out west planned from mid-August to early October this year. We already have most of the campgrounds booked. We will probably head north in May and do a couple of camping trips before then as well....just not sure where to as of yet.
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Old 01-25-2021, 11:52 AM   #11
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If there's a pandemic going on and you're a recluse: your lifestyle won't change a bit...
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Old 01-25-2021, 01:25 PM   #12
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We just returned on Sat. from a two month west coast trip visiting family and friends. The only problems we encountered were one campground was closed, a couple of dually hoses started leaking and a cracked windshield for the second time. Most everything was open or limited open even in the occupied states of NM & CA.
We are in our late 70's and carry on life more or less normal as possible wearing a mask when req'd. We practice good common sense hygiene, take the recommended supplements and treat this political flu just as any other.

Most of us know someone who has had the flu or tested positive and like Bob said, you know your own level of risk. It's not as bad as the media would have you believe.
Have a great time and happy trails.
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Old 01-25-2021, 03:50 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by mcr1010 View Post
We just returned on Sat. from a two month west coast trip visiting family and friends. The only problems we encountered were one campground was closed, a couple of dually hoses started leaking and a cracked windshield for the second time. Most everything was open or limited open even in the occupied states of NM & CA.
We are in our late 70's and carry on life more or less normal as possible wearing a mask when req'd. We practice good common sense hygiene, take the recommended supplements and treat this political flu just as any other.

Most of us know someone who has had the "Trump" flu or tested positive and like Bob said, you know your own level of risk. It's not as bad as the media would have you believe.
Have a great time and happy trails.
occupied states of NM & CA and DC but only for 6 hr.
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Old 01-25-2021, 04:24 PM   #14
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We just got our second Pfizer shot today. In two weeks, we will be as immune as we will ever be. We have been cautioned that we can still get the virus and spread it, so mask and hand sanitizer recommended. It has been 11 months since the coach left the village except for 50 mile monthly cruises for exercise. Two rallies and a car show scheduled in the next three months.
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Old 01-25-2021, 04:31 PM   #15
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We are heading out again just like we did last year

The only issue we had was many things were closed so we just went on up the road

Fuel will be a bit higher but other than than get out and enjoy

Soon as spring hits we are out of the shop and back on the road
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Old 01-25-2021, 04:48 PM   #16
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California lifts virus stay-at-home orders, curfew statewide

Just announced this morning.

California lifts virus stay-at-home orders, curfew statewide

https://apnews.com/article/san-franc...c3857cd167edcc

IMHO...too many lawsuits in the works vs the CA Governor. Plus, big recall push vs CA Governor because of the way the virus was handled.

CA Governor was pressured, and now it's too late to walk-back
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Old 01-25-2021, 05:50 PM   #17
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If you decide to travel do check out your campground’s status. We stopped at a park in Illinois in August that was open but all of its facilities (bathroom, laundry, store, playground etc) and every other site were closed and we were “required to remain in our unit at all times”. I asked if we were allowed to take the dog out and was told that we could but had to wear a mask, remain on our site and couldn’t be outside any longer that on it took the dog to do it’s business. Any violation and we’d be asked to leave immediately. And it cost $60/night. I said it seemed kind of pricey, all things considered, and the owner said we should be happy they are open at all. They needed to charge that much to offset the low volume. Sheesh.
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Old 01-25-2021, 06:04 PM   #18
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Gee... I wonder why their volume was down?
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Old 01-25-2021, 07:54 PM   #19
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If you decide to travel do check out your campground’s status. We stopped at a park in Illinois in August that was open but all of its facilities (bathroom, laundry, store, playground etc) and every other site were closed and we were “required to remain in our unit at all times”. I asked if we were allowed to take the dog out and was told that we could but had to wear a mask, remain on our site and couldn’t be outside any longer that on it took the dog to do it’s business. Any violation and we’d be asked to leave immediately. And it cost $60/night. I said it seemed kind of pricey, all things considered, and the owner said we should be happy they are open at all. They needed to charge that much to offset the low volume. Sheesh.
We ran into some similar situations and boon docked instead of the BS

Several dump stations along the roads were closed as well and why? Saw this on several stops across I70, made no sense

My plan is to keep the fuel topped off and if needed I can run the generator/heat and so on and stay where ever we need to

Several parks we did stay in were nearly empty and literally no maintenance

I expect some of the same but given the overall situation in the country, better travel while you can
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Old 01-25-2021, 08:20 PM   #20
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We go along with our comfort level. We are still travelling as we want. We love going in the motor home. We have visited friends out of state with no issues. Now that California is back to being opened up(announced today), things might start heading back to some form of being normal again.

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