10/17 - 10/21/20 Hot Springs, AR to Texarkana,TX, 126 miles, stayed at Shady Pines RV Park for four nights for $144.00
10/21 - 10/23/20 Texarkana, TX to Garrison, TX, 129 miles, stayed at Eagles Nest Hidden Lake Resort for two nights, $40/night
10/23 - 10/26/20 Garrison, TX to Caldwell, TX, stayed at Brazos River RV Park for 3 nights for $34/night
10/26 - 11/5/20 Caldwell, TX to Bandera, TX, stayed at Skyline Ranch RV Park for 11 nights
11/5 - now Bandera, TX to Bulverde, TX, staying at TX 218 RV PARK, $375/month
I get really lazy when we park in one place for too long. I stop taking photos and blogging. It’s easy to take your surroundings for granted and miss the specialness of the area you’re in. So before I forget, this how the year ended.
We came back to Texas earlier than last year, just before Halloween, so that we could vote in the Presidential election. We found a nice park with great wi-fi on the Medina River in Bandera, near my parents, and spent 11 days with them. My dad was immuno-compromised, so they had been isolating for some time and in dire need of some companionship. I get it. I love Bill, but too much togetherness can be too much. Mom and I got out to do some very-carefully, distanced shopping and lunches, and we played games and crafted at their house. The time flew by.
We had intended to vote by mail for this election. We requested ballots be sent to Bandera, which is outside Bexar County, where we are registered, and then expected to have them forwarded to us, so we could vote and send them back. I’m glad we were close, because mine never came. So we picked a day to drive in to San Antonio to vote early. In case you’re interested, we had to sign our ballot requests. That signature was compared to our signature on file. If we had mailed in our signed vote, that signature would have been verified, too. Bill actually brought his ballot with him to the precinct and had to turn it in and sign extra paperwork that said he had chosen to vote in person. One person. One vote.
In November, we moved to our old digs at Texas 281 RV Park. We’ve stayed here many times since 2002, when we first started RVing. You can’t beat the location- still in the country, but with easy access down Hwy. 281 (albeit through LOTS of construction) to downtown San Antonio. Bill’s mom and sisters are nearby. The Texas Hill Country doesn’t get a lot of fall color, it this year was beautiful.
Even though it killed me to be so close to everyone and everything, we stayed isolated for the sake of our relatives. We got to visit Bill’s mom in memory care many times, but only by appointment. When we visited, we had to sign in, have our temperatures taken, wear masks and stay six feet away from her. Bill’s sisters see her more often, so they got COVID tests and were allowed to visit with her in her room, without masks and touch her. She understands very little of what’s happening, but was happy to see us, and she still recognized us!
We also got to meet our grand niece and nephew who were born in February. Our niece is a nurse and very careful about who her family comes in contact with. Our first visit, we talked with her about the precautions we were taking and wore masks around the babies. By the end of the visit, she felt comfortable that we were okay, which is good because the babies pulled our masks off! I love spending time with them at Carrie’s house. She cares for them three days out of most weeks-overnight, while Ashley is working. They have such different personalities. Logan is laid back, content and loves to laugh. He is fascinated by Carrie’s cat and talks to it. Elora is a bundle of energy, constantly moving, and smart. You can tell she is always working things out in her head. She tests everything and is good at making Logan laugh.
While we were taking precautions, Brendan also was doing what he needed to be safe in Michigan. That meant that for the first time in his life, we didn’t spend Christmas together. However, his roommates didn’t go home either, so they celebrated the season together with their girlfriends in their own northern bubble. We FaceTimed and Zoomed a lot! Thank God for technology during this pandemic to keep us connected.
We also chose not to see my brothers, who traveled to visit with Mom and Dad. Shawn and Kim and family chose to cancel their flight and stayed in Idaho. Chris, Christina and Audrey drove down, packing their own food and sanitizing motel rooms as they traveled. They quarantined for some time before going out to see them. Nate, Becca and the kids shortened their visit, chose not to stay at Mom and Dad’s house, and spent the entire time outside with masks. We went out to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas Day with them. In all, it spread out the visitors over more days and hopefully gave them more personal time with their family, even though we couldn’t all be together.
So I’m trying to find ways to fill my time, being mostly isolated. Over the course of the year, I made 26 gifts, crocheted, painted or macrame, that I gave for Christmas presents. Yes, I became THAT aunt that gives caps and scarves and lap blankets, and I was so thankful to have that to keep my hands busy. I also signed up to walk a 7day6K marathon for Team World Vision. In March, I will walk 6k (representing the distance many children have to walk to collect drinking water) every day for a week. In so doing, I will have walked a marathon. Lest I feel too good about myself, remember, they walk to the water source, collect water and walk home with a full container. I don’t know that I could walk two miles carrying five gallons of water.
Last year, we were at the beach in Gulf Shores, AL at this time. I had no problem walking four miles a day. Now, we’re in the Texas hill country, which is trickier terrain. But I’m loving the scenery as long as I don’t get stricken with cedar fever. Pray my knees hold out until race week!
After all this, I know how blessed we are. Being retired and traveling, the pandemic has been more of an annoyance for us than anything. We’ve met people who are dealing with changing job situations or being out of work and worried about how to pay bills and buy groceries. Now more than ever, I feel the need to be part of the solution, to find ways to help and give back. I’m taking some prayerful time to consider how to do that this new year. I’m thankful for my family’s good health and continued employment. I’m thankful for each new day we wake up in a warm bed with food to eat. And I thank God for you and am looking forward to the day that we can all be vaccinated and be together again!
