Shelter in Place

What happened to our plans?

People all across the world must be asking the same question too. A month ago we were looking forward to starting our year on the road and now we are virtual prisoners in our homes/RV’s wondering when we will see this end.

I wish I could tell you. None of us know, not the doctors, politicians. Nobody.

So what the heck can we do?

I can only speak for Barbara and I naturally but our primary intent is not to panic. We don’t intend to stockpile goods or food. To do so would leave others in need and we hope we are more thoughtful than that.

We don’t intend to spread gossip or rumors. Such gossip, based on speculation, and sometimes intentionally malicious, risks harm to people who may act on it without considering the actual facts.

We intend to enjoy ourselves, laugh at jokes, smile at people we meet, partake in activities normally, or online if we can do that. We will have to take into account the safety guidelines being put out by the authorities so gatherings of friends may be limited in numbers. We may still go out but will consider the “Social Spacing” of others.

Those are the things that occur to me at this time, there are probably more, we will no doubt come across more with time. What we don’t intend to do is criticize others who may not go the way we think they should. We all still have freedom of choice.

We were lucky (Again!) in that we bought the park model before this all broke out. We sold some shares from our retirement account to help pay for it and quite fortuitously did so at the highest price in a year! 3 weeks after we sold them they hit their LOWEST price for a year!

We moved in intending to be here for about 3 weeks then to set off in the RV. The RV went into storage. So when we stay in the park model we have already paid for the year’s ground rent and we don’t have to pay the weekly rate for the RV, just the storage fee.

Talk about luck!

The park here has emptied out fast. The Canadians going home before the border closed completely, Northern residents are going to be with family. The migration usually happens at the end of the month so its just a few weeks early, but the place is sure quiet.

Casa Grande isn’t a big place, and is a much busier place in the winter when all the “Snow Birds” are here. With the emergency measures keeping people home its almost deserted. I am constantly wondering why there is no traffic. Seems like the grocery stores are a big attraction however and the shelves have been mostly bare. I hope people come to their senses and stop hoarding. Our friends call and tell us that such and such is available at this or that supermarket do we want some? We do the same.

The park has a nice population, and people have volunteered to make masks for those who want them, for residents that are more at risk there have been people who have helped with groceries etc.

We are in a good position in that the park is a gated community and there is somebody on the gate most of the time, Volunteers again. Due to the reduction in numbers some hours were not covered so I stepped up to help on Monday mornings. Got to put in something.

My art is always there to keep me busy, Various jobs have come up on the park model like some touch up painting, hinge oiling and screw tightening.

As a project I bought a golf cart for $100 and the guy delivered it. Naturally it needs some work but I can work on the cosmetics and I have been taking all the electrical connections apart one by one to clean them and eliminate any corrosion, putting batteries in it and tidying up the ugly paintwork.

Before

Look no batteries

After

Our RV friends from San Diego, the Shanty Shakers, have introduced us to Zoom. Zoom is an online video conferencing system that lets lots of people get together online. It took a little learning but we found that it’s much better on a computer than on a phone. The phone video jumps around because it only lets you see one video feed at a time and it’s triggered by voice. If several people talk at once it flips from one to another seemingly at random, which gets annoying. On a computer it shows ALL the participants at once on the screen and highlights the person talking. Much better.

We had so much fun with it that we set up one of our own and had our friends Mike and Lynne in Australia and Fred and Judy in North Carolina too. An hour just flew by.

Mike, Lynne, Fred and Judy in Daytona Beach a few years ago.

Our biggest bit of luck has been that we have been full timing for 5 years. We are completely used to being together 24/7. As a result we have become very tolerant of each other and know when to separate for a while to give each other a break. I’m sure a lot of relationships have struggled lately.

Having Barbara as my best friend and companion, THAT is the luckiest thing I have ever had happen.

Stay safe and be patient, we will see you again before too long.

BnB