Another Route Change and Other Updates

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!

That changed everything for the balance of our trip. Let me back up on this story to October 1st and fill in some of the gaps. And by the way, I plan to have new blog updates on a regular basis. I’ve missed the writing and trying to document my thoughts.

I retrieved the 5th wheel coach from storage the last week of September and we began the loading process for a four month winter sabbatical. Loading the camper and then I have a 50 point list of shutting down the house for the winter. We finally were locked and loaded and were off through the winding roads north bound through Virginia and West Virginia.

The first day was longish for us at 240 miles to west of Ashland Ky. Just an overnighter at the Ashland West KOA. Day 2 was another uneventful but long day at 300 miles to Indianapolis. We had booked five days in Indy to see family and a bit of a family reunion it was. Our son Ross even made the drive over.

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It was a great five day visit seeing both of our moms, my brother, and five of Pat’s siblings. We even spent some time visiting my old hometown of Terre Haute. Saw my parent’s old house and Pat’s brother Alan’s two sons and their homes. It was a great start to our fall trip.

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Then we were informed that one of the people we visited had tested positive for the China Virus. So, we did the prudent thing and got tested at the Day 2 after exposure. Negative for both the Mrs and myself. That’s when I congratulated myself on getting the vaccines and avoiding this nasty bug. Perhaps a little premature.

Then it was off to Illinois for a couple of nights. To error on the side of caution, we cancelled some meetings with friends on the way due to the exposure. At Day 6 or 7, Pat was starting to have mild symptoms. As I was caring for her I was also congratulating myself for avoiding that mess. About this time we both got tested again with Miss Pat being positive and me negative.

Then our plan was to be off to Sikeston Missouri for two nights to see our old hometown from the 1980’s. We did keep to the plan with Pat on house arrest until she recovered. Again, we sadly were not able to reach out to any local friends.

After Missouri, we were off to Memphis for a couple of nights, and then four days in Vicksburg. It was here that Pat was feeling much better after a regimen of treatment and I began to get quite sick. Yep, all the lovely symptoms had found their way to me. Now we were both in quarantine for 10 days.

After a few days and medical treatment in Vicksburg, MS, we cancelled the rest of the trip down to Abbeville, La, New Orleans, and Tallahassee Fl. I was totally feeling like crap and the medical presence in Vicksburg did not appear to be very robust, so we decided to just drive back to our place in Virginia and rest and recover. An 800 mile drive back home with just three overnight stops. Needless to say, this drive was not much fun and had me really thinking about future RV travel. At least until I had some time to let those memories fade a bit.

The bottom line is that Pat is totally recovered and I’m maybe 80-90% of the way there. We are well over a month after testing positive and of course no longer in quarantine. Another take away is that we were both fully vaxed and still contracted it. Maybe having the vaccines allowed us to recover without any serious issues. Who knows.

In looking back at the Covid cases in Indianapolis, there was a spike in late Sept and early October. Would we have cancelled our trip if we had known this? No, as we try to live life and enjoy visiting family and friends instead of a life of being sequestered and missing out on some prime retirement years.

So there you have it. We avoided the plague for about two years and then, when it was almost over, it found us.

Well, finally our Florida plans are now back on track with reservations made on the way south to arrive at New Port Richey, Fl in mid-December instead of November 1. More details on those plans will be in another update.

Hope you are all staying healthy and thanks for following along. Take care and God Bless.