Speaking of which, here is our RV, a unique, hard sided folding travel trailer that fits into our garage. Meaning, no storage fees, hooray! It is the only completely hardsided, folding travel trailer currently on the market, and is manufactured by Trail Manor. We've owned ours since 2012, and as of today, we have spent almost 500 nights in it, and towed it some 25,000 miles (we are currently on tire set #4, averaging about 7,500 miles per set).
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| Easy to store and easy to tow! |
And here is a photo of our petite little trailer when fully extended:
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| We really do love it dearly, and we have had so many adventures in it! |
The beauty of RVing during a pandemic, of course, is that no one but us has ever stayed in our travel trailer, we use our own equipment, cook our own meals, and are assured of maintaining a minimum of 20 feet from other RV'ers, generally much, much more.
So, because I really do need something to hold onto, and to plan for, over the next 12 months or so, this is what I'm thinking should be realistic set of travel plans for the next 12 months, assuming no return to Shelter In Place provisions. If that does occur, RV site reservations tend to be both modest in cost and refundable.
May/June - No travel, but hopefully the reopening of some public spaces including restrooms and our local harbor. If/when that occurs, we will happily add in bicycling, kayaking and SUP'ing to our current list of locally-accessible outdoor activities.
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| Maiden SUP voyage last year . . . I didn't fall in! |
July - Fingers crossed our daughter and granddaughters will be able to fly here for two weeks of Fun In The Sun.
August - RV trip to Mammoth Lakes with our oldest daughter. We'll spend the entire week hiking and biking, plus the occasional take out dinner.
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| The majority of Mammoth Lakes' beauty must be hiked to to be seen, ensuring crowds are kept at bay. |
September - We have a friend hoping to visit for an adult version of July's Fun In The Sun.
October - Central Coast RV'ing trip to Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, and Malibu.
November - RV'ing trip to San Diego.
December - Fly back east to visit our youngest daughter and family for the holidays, particularly in they may be relocated in January to wherever my son-in-law's next naval assignment is (see April below).
January - RV'ing trip to Palm Springs for a week of hiking and take out dining. Pretty sure the January Int'l Film Festival we normal attend will be a No-Go, but there is plenty of stuff to do in the area beside just that.
February - RV'ing trip to Pinnacles National Park, plus return trips to Morro Bay to see the birthing elephant seals in Cambria, and to Pismo Beach to see the wintering Monarch butterflies. All three of these items have been on my list for quite some time.
March - RV'ing trip to coastal N. San Diego county, land of craft breweries and bicycling.
April - Flying trip to see our daughter and her family. They will likely be moving at the end of 2020 to wherever my son-in-law's next naval assignment is based. On the list they submitted to his recruiter are job locations in England, Italy, Spain, and Hawaii. Any of those would work for us for a long visit should it be safe to do so.
Come summer 2021, we are hoping to undertake our trip to Spain to walk 225 miles of the Camino Frances that was bumped from this year. If that again falls through the cracks due to a continuation of the pandemic, my guess is that we will instead RV up into the Pacific Northwest.
Looking even further ahead to 2022, we are hoping to plan trips to Iceland and Scotland, but clearly that and everything else in this post is up to the pandemic. So fingers crossed, but very loosely so at this point.
How about you? What are your 'best case scenario' travel plans currently?
Those all sound lovely! My plans are modest and simply involve seeing local and N. Cal family with hopefully on trip to the NE to see cousins, brother and SIL. We had wanted to take a trip to San Antonio this year too so we will see if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI hear you regarding family - my oldest daughter is just a few miles away, however, my youngest daughter and granddaughters are not nearby, and thus are the only reason we would entertain getting on a plane this year.
DeleteIf San Antonio doesn't work out, perhaps consider a trip up into N. California? It's beautiful, completely unlike the rest of the state, and pretty darn unpopulated.
Tamara, your Trail Manor misses you and is thrilled with your travel plans. I agree with you about camping reservations - easily cancelled and generally refunded with a small charge, if any. That makes it easier to optimistically book your favorite places and hope for the best. So far, one out of our three RVing trips for 2020 has been cancelled - by the State Park where we had reservations. We have two more booked for this year and are keeping our fingers crossed. Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteMary, you might want to consider checking on a private RV park in the same vicinity if that is feasible. Many of the private parks I've been checking have remained open throughout Shelter In Place. We need access to open public spaces for walking and hiking, but otherwise can be flexible on where we actually sleep.
DeleteYour plans sound wonderful. My plans are to travel within Canada this year once the restrictions are lifted. I had booked a trip to Iceland this month. It's now postponed to next spring at the earliest, not only because of current travel restrictions but also weather at the destination. Whenever the direct flights from Toronto to Europe resume, I'll start booking trips :)
ReplyDeleteThe bigger issue for me with regard to overseas travel currently, is what will be open once we arrive? Unlike RV'ing, where we just need open hiking spaces, foreign travel for us relies more on access to restaurants, cafes, museums, and churches. If those remain closed, or are at risk of closing once we arrive, it lessens the attraction tremendously, so I'll await their reopening before committing sizable financial resources toward visiting. But if you are up to traveling at this time, you are probably going to enjoy the absence of tourists whereever you decide to go, so that will be a benefit for sure!
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