We wrapped up our tour of the West in early December and planned to hole up in the San Marcos, TX area as Karen recovered from her ACL knee surgery. The surgery went well and she was moving forward with her physical therapy.
And then..... winter showed up with a vengeance. Everyone heard the story in the news as Texas was hit by one of the worst ice storms ever seen in the area. Then the Texas electrical grid fell apart at the worst possible time leaving millions of Texans exposed to deadly cold weather. Through it all we were fine as our electricity and water never stopped. We were prepared with a full tank of diesel for the heater a generator for electricity and a full tank of fresh water but never needed it. This lifestyle turned out to have some interesting advantages. The heated tile floors are heaven. While the natural inclination is to help others, the ice was so bad there was really no way to go anywhere. Even walking around outside the RV was treacherous. And we were taking no chances with Karen's knee. Everyone had to rely on their own resourcefulness. But hey, this is Texas!
There was a lake right out our front window that had completely frozen over and stayed that way for days. That NEVER happens in central Texas!
And when things started to thaw everyone headed to the local stores searching for food. But unless you were hunting for frozen vegetables there was literally nothing to purchase. The scene looked like a new store before it had been stocked. It was interesting to see what people would not buy even when they were starving (frozen vegetables).
But eventually everything fell back in to a new Covid normal. With Karen's progress in physical therapy going well and states starting to open up it was time to plan for our trip to the East. We found this planning a little more difficult than the West. The West provides easily identifiable targets to visit. The East takes a little more investigation. I ended up making a map that included things such as:
The top 10 things to see in each state
Top biking and kayaking areas
Interesting airports
Upscale RV Resorts
With our target areas set it was time to identify RV resorts and airports to work from.
Everything needed to end up in Oshkosh for the airshow at the end of July. So barring new pandemics, hurricanes, floods, civil war or other unforeseen events this is our plan. And remember.... God never laughs harder than when he hears about "your plans"!
Some of our key points in this travel include:
Key West in May to celebrate our 40th Anniversary
A stay at Ft. Wilderness in Disney World with visits to Epcot and the new Star Wars area in Hollywood Studios.
Hopefully a flight over the NASA shuttle landing strip
A flight into First Flight airfield in Kitty Hawk NC
A flight around Manhattan Island
A visit with our daughter Amanda who should be in Philadelphia by that time
Parking planes with the South 40 crew at Oshkosh
Our first move in over 3 months was relatively close but a welcome change. We met Karen's High School buddy Molly and her husband David at Cranes Mill park on Canyon Lake west of New Braunfels. This put us close to where the Kitfox was going through its annual condition inspection in Bulverde. What a great park! The only drawback was the lack of a sewer connection. Anyone looking for a great place to stay for a few days, this is it! Site 15!
Since we were so close to San Antonio we headed to the River Walk for some Mexican Food, Tequila and Cerveza. The River Walk never disappoints.
With maintenance complete, Karen's rehab going well, the weather turning warm and things turning green it was time to launch! Off we go!
Glad you are back on the road again. Look forward to your pictures and journal. Be safe and stay healthy!!
Looks like a great plan Paul and Karen! Looking forward to seeing it!
Eddie D.