COVID-19 vs. the Journey (Part 2)

We feel fortunate that we are hunkered down with three grandsons on our rural property. Others are much more directly affected by this pandemic. Sadly, many Americans will be significantly impacted by the economic affects and some will pay the ultimate price. But since we have been planning for my retirement and the move to full-time RV living, we are in much better shape financially and not impacted much.

But the virus has impacted our plans in several ways. We were planning to leave on the first leg of this journey in mid-July to visit Amish country and the Gettysburg battlefields. That plan has been scraped. While the detention will likely be over by then, I think a lot of things will remain closed down for several months. So the next leg is due to start in mid-August. There is no play in that date because we would be heading across the upper mid-west. Winter comes early there.

The bigger problem for us is attempting to divest much of the "stuff" that we have collected and sell the property. Many businesses have lost their revenue stream, jeopardizing many jobs, resulting in little to no interest in the many things we have advertised for sale. So for now, I have delisted all of the items and plan to wait out the detention.

So, now what do we do? I am still going to retire on June 30. If we are unable to leave for South Dakota in August, then our entire plan for the next 12 months is scrapped. So I have begun laying out Plan B. And that is to winter around central Florida instead of Arizona. We can visit a few friends on the way down and maybe spend a little time in Virginia Beach and Savannah. Let's hope I can get some reservations.

And I even have a Plan C. If we were to sell the house by mid-September, we could still make our way to South Dakota in order to make it our domicile state and then head directly to Quartzsite, Arizona, by way of Arches National Park and Flagstaff. Chances are much better for Plan B, but we can hope. And as Sergeant Phil Esterhaus famously said: "Let's be careful out there".