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| From the book "Everybody Dies - a Children's Book for Grown-Ups" by Ken Tanaka with David Vry |
The past year has been interesting, to say the least. One thing we learned, where we hang our hats is important.
I've reduced my posts in part because I don't want to steer people to our favorite locations. Call me selfish, but I and my neighbors don't want to ruin a good thing.
We spend about 6-months of the year in each of two campgrounds. One is in Michigan on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The other is in southwest Arizona.
The Challenge in the Spring of 2020 was getting from Arizona to Michigan. Campgrounds opened late, and each state we traversed in the Roadtrek had different “rules”. Governor Whitless of Michigan decided on onerous and draconian measures, in her bid to get a seat in the Biden Administration.
Small businesses in AZ and MI were the hardest hit by the stupidity of local governments.
The Mayor of Tucson panicked and went on local TV and gave her version of doom and gloom. The resulting panic emptied all shelves of toilet paper. Pima County put up a “Wall of Shame” on its website, in which unverified complaints by mask shamers allowed attacks on small businesses by woke mobs. LOL.
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| After the Tucson Mayor's TV Broadcast |
We aren’t stupid, so we avoided certain municipal areas entirely. Chicago, for example, preferring to keep away from the hell that Mayor Lightweight had created with Gov. Pritzker’s assistance.
If there is one expression that sums up the last 12 months, my vote goes to "You can't fix stupid".
Supporting Small Businesses
One thing we have done has been to support small businesses that merited it. As we did during the financial crises of 2008 we increased our tipping at the small restaurants we have frequented for the past year.
Frankly, we do avoid places which attract transient groups. I consider that to be an exercise in common sense. So, we spend more time in a few select establishments in AZ and MI.
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| An early breakfast |
Disgruntled Newbies
One challenge is coexisting with dissatisfied newbies in campgrounds. These include escaping New Yorkers and Californians who abandoned their home states, rushed out and purchased a Class A or whatever, and then discovered that about a million other RVers have been living this way of life before COVID-19 was even known.
When a complainer shows up, after my patience runs out I interrupt their speech with "Let me tell you about my life in hell". It's all tongue in cheek and I launch into my"Joy of RVing" perspective. That usually shuts them up.
The newbies sometimes think an RV is like that car they tow and then discover the reality. They never consider the wear and tear on plumbing and appliances like that residential refrigerator as they go bouncing down the road. They may not think about the parking implications for that 40+ ft. Class A, and so on. They are chagrined to find that campgrounds are full, reservations difficult to be had, and they are living in “a parking lot” as a couple of Manhattenites who decided to “just do it” described their “adventure” in a Wall Street Journal article.
The author of that WSJ article said after visiting this blog “Your way of doing things certainly sounds a lot more enjoyable. It must be so wonderful to camp your home inside the national parks…..I took a look at your blog and it was fun to see the photos.”
I asked the author to consider a follow-up article in a year.
Before anyone goes ballistic, I want to remind the reader that the attitudes we run into and as expressed by some of these new RVers are precisely why their states, the ones they are abandoning, are such a mess. Like locusts, they are moving on, bringing their failed ideas with them, and messing up some of our favorite playgrounds. LOL.
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| Aerial View -A Large RV Resort |
Reduced Travel
Because of the uncertainty of the past year, we have reduced
our travel, preferring to stay close to the “lily pads” we created. Doing so has reduced our exposure to the
infected, and with it, we have reduced
our risk of infection. Reduced, but not
eliminated. We do carry sanitizer with
us and use it before entering the vehicle. We do wear a mask, although I don’t
trust the musings of Biden or Fauci. I go by reputable and consistent information from
websites which are not peddling political blather or soft porn “news”. Common sense seems to be in short supply.
We do our venturing during the week, and avoid the “crowds” on weekends. For example, during the summer of 2020 Chicagoans decided to escape from Mayor Lightweight and Pritzker’s lockdowns. So, on weekends the hoard flooded the public beaches of Whiting IN and Southern Michigan. Hapless Hoosiers found themselves outnumbered and joined us in MI. It would have been worse, but the State Parks in MI levy a vehicle charge. We moved further to a nearby private “city” run beach.
I expect the summer of 2021 will be more of the same.
Carrying a mask in pocket is de rigor these days. The county we are currently in does not require mask wearing at all time when in a variety of establishments if 6 feet of separation is maintained. However, most grocery stores do require a mask, as do restaurants indoors when not seated. Having a mask visible will keep most, but not all, mask-shamers at bay. However, I have noticed a placebo effect. As neighbors are vaccinated some become more relaxed and approachable. They apparently don't realize or care that the vaccines aren't 100% effective. Go figure!
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| Mask at the ready. Biden would be proud. |
We are having a good time
I’m pleased to say that overall we have been having an enjoyable time. Why? Planning and Location.
Our decision to become “annuals” at several campgrounds has paid off. Well, OK, one is technically a “mega resort” but with reduced activities it is less like a resort. But we have National and/or State Parks nearby, and because we frequent certain establishments and tip well, we are treated as “regulars”. There is an old expression “There is no free ride” and this past year has certainly proved it to be true.
What do we miss? Certain “live” entertainment is what we do miss the most. So, we spend more time in nature and that is certainly possible, year-around, where we hang our hats.
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| A desert Oasis |
Original material http://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/
