I learned long ago that an important lesson of being a cruiser is that your plans are in constant flux. In fact the best approach is to have say 2 (or 100?) plans in the works. Maybe there is a storm looming. Maybe someone needs to get medical attention. A visitors flight gets delayed. A global pandemic stifles travel across the globe.
2020 started well for us. We were on track to accomplish our refit goals for the boat. Mike had sorted out his work. We had a plan to rent our home. The kids were excited and ready. We got our snow and ski fix. Then March happened.
There we were in Kirkland, our home literally 2 miles away from the Life Care retirement home that had the first outbreak in the USA. Instantly everything changed and we moved to Orcas Island where we stayed until October. There we appreciated the open space and absence of temptation to socialize with anyone. Our days were filled with beach and ocean play, building stuff, homeschool, art and play. We were grateful to have each other for company and that the kids could play, practice sharing, and have a collaborative homeschool experience. Yes it was/is challenging at times. But it’s like that normally.
Mike continued to work at home, escaping to any number of his “office” spaces. Those being the cab of the truck, the engine room or helm of the boat, a hike, a paddle, a hidden corner of our property or the lawn mower. He expressed appreciation for the change in pace of life and the additional time with family.
With Mike more available to help with kids, I ended up having a significantly larger amount of time to myself than since I became a mom. I took time away and fed my introverted soul by building stuff and keeping my ear protection muffs on at all times so I couldn’t hear the kids screaming, fighting, whining or crying. Mike and I essentially took turns for 4 months working on the boat while the other taught school and did child care. I’ve been happy during this pandemic.
This brings me back to plan B, C, D through ZZ. For October through December this year we drove 7,500 miles in 11 days to Maine and Michigan. We isolated and tested and stayed inside the RV during the trip and then merged bubbles with our parents for a total of 42 days. We are in Kirkland for Christmas and hope to ski a bunch this winter, using our land boat as a basecamp. We don’t know what the future holds for our trip plans. But we will go on a trip. Maybe / maybe not in 2021. Hopefully by 2022. I don’t expect a vaccine for our kids until fall 2021. And we want to be able have our kids go ashore in remote places and make friends. Not stand at an arms length, avoid interactions, sing together or have our smiles hidden. We can wait until that’s possible. Until then, we will take adventures on Lyrae closer to home and explore with our 32’ class A Winnebago land boat.
Take care friends! Wear your mask.
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