So 2020 in review, or more importantly, in the rearview!  Thank goodness...what a year!  But even as I say that, I look at our travels last year and we were pretty fortunate to do what we did!  It really is great to take a moment and relive the year.  For all the chaos, reworked travel plans and family emergencies, it really was a year filled with adventure and cherished time with family and friends.   Practicing gratitude was on the front burner all year long, and continues to be. 

The first part of the year was devoted to our continued exploration of TX.  It seems unreal that at the end of January we were on a cruise out of Galveston and as we sailed along we started to hear musings of other cruises with people getting really sick and the extra large bottles of sanitizers coming out in force and then about a month later the entire country would go into a lockdown!   

​We were fortunate to have our travel plans mapped out and reservations made thru May.  Being in TX the entire time also helped.  TX was one of the last states to really go into complete lockdown mode.  We were able to enjoy some time discovering the state, albeit alot from the windshield, and not alot of exciting new restaurants, shops or entertainment venues.  During the height of the lockdown in April and May, we were volunteering and camping in the bottom of an expansive canyon with a couple other volunteers. It was amazing and eerie at the same time as the wildlife began to  take back the park.

From there we headed back to WI to spend time in the confines of our family bubble and then up to the Northwoods of WI to workcamp in our little volunteer group bubble with very little exposure to others.  We managed to have a great time in the midst of all the uncertainty and will be going back for a 3rd season.

From WI we headed to IN in August to have some work done on our RV at the manufacturer and ended up spending a delightful week exploring the Amish countryside.  It was very interesting to understand the Amish viewpoint of the pandemic and learn that they were not subject to the mask mandates. 

From this point is where our travel plans began to go off the rails.  With the crazy travel restrictions in PA and NY, we ended up cancelling our reservations there and went on to discover WV, which was a delightful surprise.  We focused on alot of history through our fall travels and visited several Civil War battlefields throughout WV, PA, VA and MD.  It turned out to be a great Plan B! ​

​We then met up with our two sons in Washington, DC and were able to witness first hand the unrest in the country.  Unfortunately it also hindered our DC plans, but we were able to cobble together a memorable trip.

​From there we spent some downtime in a VA state park and with friends in NC before heading off to western NC where we had our next workcamping experience.  This was our first private park that we volunteered at and we were very blessed to be in a beautiful place and work with some really great people!  The bar has been set high for other private parks!  Unfortunately, our time there was cut short and the managers were so very understanding as we made plans to quickly move the RV to FL and fly back to WI to be with family to celebrate RIck's Dad's life.

We flew back to FL at the end of Dec to quietly ring in the New Year in the rv park where we will be until mid-April.  Whew, that was a year!  It made us appreciate this lifestyle and being able to quarantine and stay healthy without making to many changes.  We certainly became pros at grocery pickup!

​We will leave you with some snapshots of our 2020 travel statistics.  We love looking at the data year over year to see how our travels compare and really look forward to the exciting adventures for 2021!

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To say we are happy to see 2020 behind us is an understatement!  Although, all things considered, the effect of Covid on us was minimal.  Yes we had to make some reservation and travel changes, but otherwise, through all our travels the last 9 months, we have remained healthy.  We still think that this RV lifestyle was the best way for us to social distance.

We welcomed in the New Year in our home for the next several months in Lady Lake, FL.  We decided to stay in place for 4+ months at Recreation Plantation.  This is definitely a change for us!  We tend to get "hitch itch" around the 2 month marker so this should be interesting come March. 

There are a couple reasons we chose to stay here that long.  #1 is that I will be working on taxes again this year remotely and will need stable internet service.  Recreation Plantation has screaming fast dedicated internet hook up at the site and with the help of our personal wifi router, we have our own internet throughout the rig.  If you remember past posts, with the extended tax season, I ended up working on taxes in the bottom of a canyon in TX.  That was rough and a test of patience to wait for screens to upload!  This should be a much better experience.

We stayed at this resort in 2018-2019 for a week and really enjoyed ourselves.  In addition to the internet, we also have cable at the site.  We are in the newer section of the resort which is mostly all RV's and the sites are decent size and not packed in awning to awning.  We are able to set up the clam shelter and awning screen to provide a nice outside area to enjoy the great weather.  

The resort also has alot to do, including pickleball, pool and hot tub, cards, exercise room and classes, live music and food trucks, weekly produce truck, not to mention alot of walking space as the park is quite large with more than 1000 sites!  The folks here are super friendly and respectful of distancing.

Since we are going to be here for several months while I work on taxes, we decided Rick would also look at doing some work.  Ok, maybe it was more my insisting so he wouldn't sit and watch me work!  :-)   He checked into workamping at the resort, however their workamper positions were already filled and they also have a FT staff.  With his culinary skills, the next logical choice was to look for a seasonal cook position in the area.  After applying to a couple positions while still in WI over the holidays, he was able to score a perfect position at a breakfast/brunch restaurant a couple miles from the resort.  He will work part time as a line cook with no management responsibilities and be done by 3pm.  Perfect!  No late nights and I will work on my taxes when he is working, since my job is flexible.  This will leave us plenty of time to spend together exploring.  With both of us working for a bit, it also allows us to bank some money to pay for our big excursion in 2021.  With the help of our wonderful friends who own Tom Golden Travel, we will be taking an Alaskan cruise/rail/resort adventure for our 25th anniversary.  Booking in 2020 during the Covid pandemic allowed us to score several complimentary upgrades.  We are excited for that cruise in September and are hopeful that the Canadian border is open and cruises are back on schedule.

Outside of getting all setup here in FL after our month in WI, we have laid pretty low.  We are located just outside the Villages so we have family and friends in the area to visit.  We also have every restaurant and store within reach, and I am sure we will become very spoiled by that convenience.  In addition to walking in the resort, I have also been researching all of the hiking trails and parks for us to visit and maybe even some kayaking with manatees.

We also took advantage of the FL Resident deals that were just released at Walt Disney World.  3 days at the Disney Parks for $179 is a great deal considering a single day ticket is $109 normally.  Another plus is those 3 days do not need to be consecutive.  We can use the 3 days whenever we want outside of a couple blackout dates, until June.  You still need to make a reservation to visit the parks with the capacity limits currently in place and in talking with a family that was just there, FastPass is not needed since there really isn't long wait lines.  We may finally get to go on some rides that have been just to long of lines to wait for.

​We wish everyone health and happiness in 2021!  Stay tuned for more of our adventures from Central Florida...

​​​​​SHOP AMAZON HERE
Would you like to help support our blog and keep these updates coming?  It is easy to help, just do your Amazon shopping through the link above.  You still get all your Amazon Prime benefits and the prices are the same.  Since we are in the Amazon affiliate program,  any shopping you do through our link, provides a little kickback to support this blog.  
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