If someone were to ask me if I believe in God, I’d say that although I don’t believe in organized religion, there have been too many “curveballs” thrown to me to believe there isn’t some type of higher power.
Curveball, you ask? I:
- Was confirmed Coronavirus patient #10 for Sonoma County
- Have taken Hydroxychloroquine for five years for autoimmune.
- Was taking a zpack antibiotic for a sinus infection
- Live in an RV full time
My quarantine was in a 420 sqft. space with my husband. There is no way to really isolate me from him and even though he didn’t receive a test, we’re sure he just recovered quicker than I did.
A lot of folks were worried about me/us and panicked, yet this lifestyle highlights some benefits to the pandemic situation vs. the assumption people have.
You’re Not Staying Put
Actually we did stay in Petaluma, California for five weeks, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th week was my quarantine time. We commonly move every two weeks, but have longer stays currently with the changes. Next week, we’ll move north to Oregon, staying one night in Grants Pass, Oregon, pick up a new mattress that we’ve ordered, then onto Portland, where again, we’ll be staying for five weeks.
Tim and I are happy in our space. We don’t go many places- have worked from home for over a decade now, so we do so happily. We have everything we need, including a large side-by-side refrigerator, a walk in pantry fully stocked with dry goods, plus a washer and dryer.
Review Conundrum
Although state parks are closed on the entire west coast, RV Parks are mostly open and they’re smart about it. The restrooms are closed, along with any pools, saunas and playgrounds they may have. Its not much different from your own neighborhood cul de sac and I think many folks would be surprised how little you see other people outside. There isn’t any lawn mowing or gardens to be tended, so folks either stay inside or hang out in their site at most parks. Most parks we go to are set up for 30-45 ft. RVs, so the guests have the ability to socially distance and be quite comfortable.
The Necessities
Groceries can be delivered and we do order a lot online. You can have items delivered directly to your site number in an RV Park- it’s not any different than if shipped to an apartment or condo. We do pick up a lot of groceries in person, just as most folks, but prefer the local grocer chains. I search them out for every town we’re in-
- It puts more money in the pocket of the local economy
- Commonly has local produce, local products and better gluten-free products, (sigh, no gluten for celiac me!)
- Less people than the major grocer retailers
- More likely to take more progressive protective measures like limiting number of customers inside store, wearing face masks, etc.
If there’s something you can’t get because a store is temporarily closed or you don’t know your site number, (ordered it before you arrive/between longer term locations) you can just as easily have a package delivered to the RV Park office. They gladly accept it and you can simply go in when the manager comes in and pick it up. They separate them out and the names are clearly displayed. If you’re ordering through Amazon, you can often find an Amazon locker in the area to have it delivered to and pick the product up there.
Many folks are worried about the ability for the virus to be transmitted on paper, which creates a concern around mail. All our mail is scanned in by our mail service to our South Dakota address that goes with our resident address assigned with that state. We don’t have paper mail unless we want it shipped to us, so that removes the risk of exposure there.
No Man’s Land
I read an article about those living in RVs unable to find places to stay and I think if you’re like us, where our reservations are 6 months out, we only had one cancellation and that was due to it being in a state park. I heard that KOAs are now closing down, but it’s only those that don’t have long-term residents, which makes sense.
RV Park standards/quality/amenities can vary drastically. Unless you perform diligent and deep research, it can be surprising to arrive and see the pictures online are nothing like the location. Some reviews are helpful, but not often and the expectations can be wildly different. Some individuals may be hoping for a campground to get away from it all. A family may just want kids running around and playing everywhere vs. an older couple looking for amenities like pool and spa. This results in ratings that mean very little in the grand scheme of things. Vicinity and demand will drive prices incredibly high for a pitted gravel site and a neighbor on cinderblocks, while the next stop can have a beautiful paved patio and landscaped area with pool and sauna for half the price. Both could have received a 4.0+ rating on Google maps and Yelp- not an uncommon situation.
Due to this, we plan very carefully, using Google street view to go in as far as we can to the RV park and also look at any and all pictures that folks have uploaded of the campground. We use satellite views and street view to look at the vicinity around the park. Are there essential services, such as grocer, urgent care, pharmacy with store such as Walgreens/CVS, diesel and such. During the pandemic isolation, its nice to know you have bike and walking paths accessible that can be used for exercise, as indoor exercise is more difficult to achieve in an RV.
We’re not looking to get away from everything, but we don’t want to be in the middle of an urban area, either. This results in us staying on the outskirts of larger towns, which the West Coast has an abundance of.
Awareness of the neighborhood the RV Park is in is quite important, too. There is one RV park that we stayed at near Seattle that touts itself as “Washington’s Premier RV Park.” It was quite neat and clean, but there was very little in the way of space between the sites and it was in such a restrictive location. The only place the dogs could relieve themselves was in a overflow gravel parking area and no place for use to go for walks outside of the park. Nothing but auto sales car lots or industrial for miles around. The website doesn’t give any hint of this information and it was a lesson learned that caused us to go to move from using websites to various Google maps, pics and such to get a better idea of what to expect.
Connectivity and Connecting
As I’ve written about, we have excellent WiFi with our 4G LTE modem and are able to stream Netflix and such. Our work continues just as it has with customers, which were 90% remote to begin with. The last 10% of onsite work has simply been decreased to 0.
Where before we were hoping to immerse ourselves in the towns we were visiting, this just isn’t going to happen with shelter in place, so we’re visiting a lot of places we’ve been before, knowing that way we won’t be missing out and simply sheltering in place. We’re in Eureka, CA right now, which is on the Northern California coast. It’s a bigger town, has a great walking trail next to the bay adjacent to the RV Park, plus highway 101 with it’s scenic drives when we feel a bit stir crazy.
With careful planning and research, plus a willingness to adapt as the pandemic requires it, RV life is surprisingly compatible with shelter in place objectives we’re currently experiencing.
