Nov 13, 2020
Day 7 & 8 of RV quarantine: things fall into place.
Wednesday we got our first taste of rain in Vermont. And the RV held it together so we are calling that a win! We still got our morning walk in despite some drizzle but we had to get creative with class work because either the weather was effecting the internet or everyone was inside browsing causing it to slow down. Campsite internet is nice but only to an extent.
Yesterday we got the call that our car was in town! They brought it right inside the campsite and dropped it off. It’s nice to have our brand new car to drive! It even still has that new car smell.
Although when we packed our house, we thought we would pack the car up as well with boxes and extras. But now we have a car full of boxes. And we didn’t even think to put boxes that we’d actually USE in the car. Nope. It’s baby clothes and school papers. So we unloaded the car in Tyler’s rented office which is now starting to look more like storage space than a work place.
Tyler completed his one week of quarantine and went to go get tested yesterday. It was a struggle getting an appointment as all testing appointments were booked already (probably from people trying to get out of quarantine early) but we found one at a nearby urgent care. He was asked to wait in his car until his appointment and then swabbed. He said they didn’t go up nearly as much as he imagined after hearing so many stories about it going all the way up. But now we wait for the test.
Temps finally decided to fall yesterday. Cold and near freezing last night but still not the arctic temperatures we were warned of and still not close to how cold it is back in Utah. But we are starting to need to take precautions with the RV so that things don’t freeze.
We plan on starting to look at houses early next week. (Assuming that, today being Friday the 13th, doesn’t start another lockdown). Fingers crossed we find that perfect house and can get things moving as quickly as possible. We are already settled on the fact that we will be spending this thanksgiving in an RV. But it will be a different holiday adventure and we can count the number of times we set off the fire alarm while cooking (because no matter how hard we try that thing goes off. Understandable as it’s placed directly above our stove).
Almost free of quarantine!
Nov 15, 2020
Day 9 & 10 of RV quarantine: the one in which the post office is always closed.
We have currently gone to the post office 3 times in the past two days. Only one of those days were they open so we could get our mail. Which wasn’t even our mail but a local paper which was really cute and informative. But we have yet to see any of the mail we have received the past 2 weeks.
At one point, one glance at the campsite sign and we suddenly understood exactly why the RV down the way caught on fire, apparently it’s part of the campsite services.
Yesterday was our last day of quarantine for most of us. Tyler hasn’t gotten results back yet. We decided to explore north Vermont some. I loved the look and atmosphere of a town called Stowe. However, it must have gold in the rivers or something because the only houses there are priced in the millions. Which is a wee bit out of our price range. But we shall keep it in mind to visit.
We stopped at another empty river stop only to have it start frozen rain/hail/snow on us. In fact I’m not entirely sure what phenomenon was coming from the sky except that it was cold and sent us back into our car.
The highlight of our drive though was a house with a giant 16 foot wooden hand propped upon a high pole, flipping a certain finger. The googles say the owner was told by the town officials that he couldn’t add a garage to his land to be used for business. He fought it for 10 years. It was then that he learned that he COULD make a statement on exactly how he felt about the town’s decision and there was nothing they could do about it because it is free speach and public art. It is high enough so the whole county can see it and even lights up at night. I unfortunately didn’t get a photo of this masterpiece but you can read about it here.
We have now seen at least 10 different moose crossing signs and not one moose.
Nov 16, 2020
This particular day, I did not have a story to tell but it needs to be noted.
Because on this day, I got a phone call that my dad had died suddenly of a heart attack. No warning, completely healthy. And it crushed me. I was hurting in more ways than I could ever imagine and had nowhere to go and mourn privately.
I stopped reporting for a bit. I just couldn’t. Losing a parent is like losing a part of your identity. To lose a parent is like losing a lifeline. Someone who loves and will stand up for you no matter what. And to have it happen during a pandemic when you can’t even be with those you love is like ripping your heart out.