After spending the summer close to home, I packed the RV and headed south for the winter.  This was the first major out-of-state trip I had taken since the initial Covid-19 outbreak.  The planning and packing for this RV trip were different because we were traveling during an increasing wave of Covid-19 outbreaks.  I wrote this blog post to share what we saw and experienced that was different on this trip.

Traveling south for the winter has become a regular Fall routine for me and my wife.  We have an RV, so we usually take our time and visit some favorite places along the way.  But 2020 and Covid-19 changed how we managed this trip.  What was once considered routine and safe now had to be assessed for the risk of contracting Covid-19.

Go or No Go Decision

The first thing we had to determine was do we go south at all?  It’s a decision that many snowbirds had to contemplate. At our home in rural central Massachusetts with few people, we had easily adjusted to the changes needed to minimize exposure to Covid-19.  Our geezer lifestyle was not highly social.  Most of our social activities involved our church communities and those have transitioned to online methods.  Our rural setting is perfect for solitary walking, hiking, and biking.  Also, we quickly adopted preventative measures – hand washing, mask-wearing, and social distancing.  Staying home was safe.

But staying home for the winter had some downsides.  One of the main reasons we winter in Florida is so we can be outside and active during the winter months.  I don’t do well sitting inside.  I need to be moving, active, and outside.  It’s key to maintaining my physical and mental health. Our lifestyle in Florida also tends to be more social, which also has health benefits.  I knew I’d be miserable staying home and stuck inside for the winter.

We assessed the pluses and minuses and made the decision to go.   We felt we could mitigate many of the risks.  Since we travel in an RV we’re self-contained while we travel.  That would reduce our exposure.  We have our own home in Florida, so we’d be in a clean and safe environment there.  We’d still do the three W’s – wash hands, wear masks, and watch social distancing.  Same as we would do if we stayed home.  And we’ll throttle down and be careful with social interactions.  No dining at restaurants, no watching football at sports bars, no inside events, and be careful at any gatherings. Life is short and meant to be lived.  With the precautions we planned, we felt we could stay safe and still spend the winter months being active and outside in Florida.

Trip Planning

Our usual plan for this trip is to blast our way out of New England before it snows and get down to the warm climate as quickly as possible.  We usually spend the first night in a hotel in Maryland.  I was about to book a night at the hotel we normally stay at but noticed that the hotel had new ownership and the review ratings had fallen.  When I checked the reviews, cleanliness seemed to be the biggest issue  The last thing I wanted was to stay in a room that may have been exposed to a sick person. 

I checked other nearby hotels and booked our overnight at a Hampton Inn. It was more money, but they had great reviews and many positive comments on cleanliness and their Covid precautions.  I’m glad I made this change.  Hilton (which owns Hampton Inns) implemented a major cleaning regime in all its hotels.  Rooms are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after each stay. They list the cleaning agents they use and the surfaces that are cleaned. Masks are required by everyone.  Check-in and check-out are done with minimal interaction.  I felt very safe during our stay at the Hampton Inn.  And I made a mental note for the future – when planning a stay at a hotel, check the reviews and cleaning procedures 

I booked RV park stays for the rest of the trip at places we had stayed before.  I always book several weeks ahead.  The campgrounds and RV parks along our snowbird route are always busy during the snowbird migration times.  All had mask requirements and new procedures for check-in that minimized interactions.

In addition to places to stay, we packed the usual items for our trip and winter stay – food for the road, summer clothes, cameras, bikes, etc.  But for this trip, we also stocked up on plenty of cold and flu medications and therapies (boxes of Zicam, decongestant, cough syrup, ibuprofen).  If we got sick on the road or in Florida we wanted to be prepared to deal with it.

On The Road

We left on a Thursday and the major thing I noticed was much less traffic. There were no backups going through Hartford, around the NY beltway (287), or on the Washington beltway (495).  The truck traffic looked normal, but car traffic was much less.  I guess remote working is having a positive impact on reducing traffic.

Fuel prices were also low.  Gas prices all seemed to be in the $2.09–$2.29 per gallon range and diesel was in the $2.29-$2.49 range.

Less traffic and low cost for fuel were two positives I wasn’t expecting.

We brought most of our own food for the trip.  We did get a couple of take-out meals at Cracker Barrels.  Their food is always good and reasonable.

Most of the people we saw at fuel stops or restaurants along the way were wearing masks.  There were a few unmasked rebels but it appeared that most folks have adopted to wearing a mask.

Favorite Places are Different

A couple of the places we like to stay on our trip south are St. Augustine Beach and Tampa.  I booked a few nights at each place so we could enjoy some warm weather and acclimate to being in Florida.  We got to do some beach walking and bike riding at St. Augustine Beach.

Some things we didn’t do this time in St. Augustine were visiting the city, walking down St. George Street, eating at Columbia, or visiting the Castillo San Marcos.  Visiting crowded places and dining at restaurants were all off the table on this trip.

But we did enjoy some great takeout meals at Smokin D’s and Romano’s On The Beach.  Unlike the New England states, most everything in Florida is open – all stores, bars, and restaurants including inside dining.  

At Tampa, we stopped at LazyDays for some scheduled RV maintenance.  The dealership and service shops were all open with masks required when going inside any building.  We stayed at the LazyDays RV Resort for 3 nights and everything there was also open. From what I saw, compliance with masks and social distancing was very good.

We Made It

After Tampa, we had planned to spend a few days at Turtle Beach in Siesta Key.   I canceled those plans due to the impending arrival of tropical storm Eta on the west coast of Florida.  We wanted to ride out the storm at our elevated bolted down house versus staying in the RV steps from the ocean on a barrier island.

We made it to our home in Fort Myers Beach and had an enjoyable ten-day trip with no issues.  The RV provided a safe environment for us to travel.  Compliance with masks and social distancing looked like it was being followed at all the places we stopped.  We enjoyed the outside spaces and avoided inside places when we could.

We’ll spend some time doing a quarantine thing just to keep everyone safe and then start to enjoy the sunny Florida weather.