Out of the Frying Pan...

6/17/20 - 6/19/20 - Gulf Shores, AL  to Bonifay, FL - Outback Springs RV Resort, two nights for $74
6/19/20 - 6/20/20 - Bonifay, FL to Lamont, FL - one night at Stones Throw RV Park for $31.50
6/20/20 - 6/23/20 - Lamont, FL to Reddick, FL- three nights at Ocala North RV Resort for $44/night
6/23/20 - 6/25/20 - Reddick, FL to Seffner, FL- two nights at Lazy Days RV Resort for $32/night
6/25/20 - 6/28/20 - Seffner, FL to Sarasota, FL - three nights at Sarasota Lakes RV Park for $139

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
After extending our stay in Gulf Shores for months, we finally decided it would be safe to venture out.  But with Independence Day looming, we gratefully accepted an offer from friends to stay at their spot at Cypress Trails RV Resort, Ft Myers, FL for the two weeks surrounding it. We just have to get there.

The tricky part is that each state, heck each city, has different rules about being in public. We are pretty conservative in our approach anyway. We wear masks in public, only take out restaurant food, or very rarely, eat on the patio. We carry disinfectant wipes to wipe down the table and use hand sanitizer after we handle the menu. However, we met up with my sister-in-law, niece and nephew from Idaho in Panama City and are hanging out with old friends from San Antonio who now live near Sarasota (no hugs and we ate outside!) We haven’t been as strict as we usually would (but it’s so nice to see friends)  All of it is a calculated risk.

We are trying to plan our route out of FL after the holiday. It’s SO HOT that it’s not even enjoyable to go to the beach or take my morning walk. Since COVID is a moving target, we’ll make reservations and hope that we can still get into those states when it’s time. Florida had a checkpoint on I10, checking for those coming from Louisiana.  It closed about a week before we left.  Hopefully, the states we want to go to won’t deny us entrance now that we’ve been in Florida. I’ve heard New York, Connecticut and New Jersey are considering denying some entries. So, for now, we’re spending a lot more time indoors and enjoying seeing friends. This year has just been frustratingly weird. I’m ready for a vaccine!

One Year Anniversary

May 22 - June 10, 2020, Gulf Shores, AL, Luxury RV Park

Today marks the one-year anniversary of living full time on our RV. The first 8 months went just as we planned. Then COVID -19 restrictions went in place and we’ve been in Gulf Shores for five months!  I can definitely say that RVing is more fun when you’re moving!  But we have been SO blessed to have this place to hide out. It’s become our second home. And, while we swore we had too many places to see, we’ve come to know the people, and we may come back next winter. Mind you, I don’t want to get stuck in a rut. But this is a nice spot to weather the cold.  I think I like the beach better BEFORE Spring Break. There are far fewer people to contend with.

We’ve also gotten to know the restaurants! Especially the ones with outdoor dining and take-out. (We always take handy wipes and sanitizer!). For bbq, we get pulled pork sandwiches at Hog Wild. For fried shrimp, we go to the Shrimp Basket, just across the street from us. For sub sandwiches and pizza, Chico’s - again, an easy walk across the street. Good Mexican food is harder to come by, but we found Pedro’s in Perdido Key and El Paso up in Foley. And of course, the granddaddy of home cooking (but very pricey and touristy) Lambert’s Cafe. The best thing is the “throwed rolls”  Yes, they throw them across the dining room. They are light and fluffy and hot.  Yum!

Bill has finally gotten back into fishing with the warmer weather.  Though for some reason, Gulf State Park decided to close and repair their pier during the best part of the year. So we found the pier at Little Lagoon Pass (thanks Ron!), which is also near a beach. I can wander the shore looking for shells, and Bill can catch lunch for the herons who always hover nearby begging for a handout.

Thank you, Alabama for taking good care of us. We’re leaving next week with many good memories. Now we can move more freely around the country.  The check point into Florida has been removed, and the Keys are reopening. So we’re headed that way. Then, we’ll go North, maybe see Brendan, before we get back to Texas for the holidays. Each state is reopening at different rates.  It’s the right thing to do to protect their citizens, but difficult for travelers to know what to expect. We’ll keep our masks and sanitizer handy, just in case. Open road, here we come!