The New Normal...RV Style

I had the best update for you!  I typed it out in less than an hour.  It was witty, filled with interesting stuff, right off the top of my head and well written...but then the wifi crapped out and it was all lost!  Damn it!  Oh well, here is try number two, probably won't be as good but I will try to squeeze out some creative juices one more time.  Just let me go get another cup of coffee...and hit save! 

This last week or so here in Fredericksburg has been an interesting, boring, relaxing and stressful one.  Interesting in the fact that the winter Texan snowbird season is drawing to a close so we see many folks leaving every day.  It has been entertaining to watch folks pack up and head out and leave things behind.  All spouses and yapping dogs are packed up, thank goodness, but other items seem to get left behind.  Most notably the doormat.  We were even gifted one at our site when we arrived.  Rather nice one that came in handy for wiping muddy shoes while it rained these last few days.  Thank you previous occupant for paying it forward!  Then there are always the items that folks intentionally leave behind and those are a pickers delight!  We actually scored a really nice, fairly new grill and stand.  Our grill has seen better days and we were limping it along a bit longer before replacing it.  Well, with a switch of a part of two, this discarded beauty is now our new to us grill!  It grilled up the most delicious steak sandwiches last night, with toasted buns and all!

Life has also been a bit boring but Redbox has been our friend!  I think we have seen more movies in the last week than we have seen all of last year!  We were soo lucky to have gotten in our two biggest sites we wanted to see while here before the shutdowns occurred.  We are lucky to have the walking trails and picturesque scenery as we walk the same roads here in the park...again and again.  And then there was the rain...the last couple days were nothing but rain so we couldn't even sit outside.  Our small home got even smaller, but luckily, this next week looks to be a real winner with highs in the high 70's and even in the 80's.  Trees and flowers will really start popping now with all the rain and warm temps!

It has been relaxing to just chill, read a good book, watch a movie or work.  I have been putting in about 30 hours a week, working on my tax job.  Now with the tax filing extension, it looks like I will be doing that for several more weeks.  I do really enjoy it and will certainly do it again next year if they invite me back.  

But alas, just as everyone else around the US and world has been experiencing, this time has been stressful as well.  From our perspective, here in this tiny little hamlet in TX, it seemed that during the first several days of the outbreak, residents and visitors in this town were unamused by the news of things happening elsewhere and went about their daily routines and tourist outings.  The strip downtown was bustling, restaurants were busy and schools were back in session from spring break.  And then came the fateful day that the Governor started to close schools, etc.  That is when the shit hit the fan and folks started prepping for the end of time.  Hoarding was the name of the game and the strangest stuff were now out of stock, in addition to all the staples. The strip of shops and restaurants downtown are now a ghost town.  We took a drive yesterday and it was sort of eery to see the downtown almost void of people.  Most little shops were closed but some were still open.  Since almost all of the restaurants in Fredericksburg are locally owned, small establishments, many of them are closed as well.  Some have made the switch to curbside carry out and we are doing our best to support them!  

The grocery shopping has turned into a bit of a game for us and we had to make a couple stops to get everything on our regular grocery list.  Then one fateful night we were making a good ol home cooked, comfort food dinner when we realized we only had a half a glass of milk left!  This would not do as the meal required a cold glass of moo juice to make it complete!  So Rick went out in search of the scarce commodity!  Stop one, gas station down the road.  NOPE! Haven't had milk for days.  Last delivery was only 6 gallons and they were gone that day.  Stop number two, Walgreens where we bought a half gallon in a pinch, earlier in the month.  Nada, the shelves were bare!  Feeling a bit defeated, Rick pondered his next move.  Just then he saw a dairy truck coming down the road from the direction of HEB, so off to HEB he went.  After a quick power walk to the dairy case, there it was, in a glow of soft light, that glorious moo moo juice!  SCORE!!  Dinner that night was delicious comfort food, paired with a glorious glass of cold milk!  Success!  It is the little things that we treasure these days. 

In fact, the little things we take for granted now have an app and it looks like we are ok in the toilet paper arena for a bit!  LOL

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The other stress right now is the uncertainty of where we go from here at the end of the month.  At the time of this writing we are scheduled to volunteer at Palo Duro Canyon State Park for April and May.  We contacted the volunteer coordinator last week and as of now, the park is open and it is a go.  But things may change.  We have seen parks close completely, some closed but allow volunteers to stay, not accepting new volunteers to come in and then others where volunteers have a day to leave.  It's anyone's guess as to where this might go so we are putting together a plan B.

We also found out that Rick's Army reunion in Colorado Springs in early June has been quazi-cancelled and turned into a mini reunion.  We are booked to stay at Cheyenne Mountain State Park there with friends and we hope that Colorado State Parks will stay open.  Right now, Stay Calm and Be Flexible is our mantra.

The rain is now ending and the sun will be out today with highs over the next few days in the 70's and low 80's.  The trees and flowers should really start to pop now and we will be able to spend more times outdoors at the park and take a drive in search of TX bluebonnet fields since the Hill Country of Texas is the best place to see them!

Until next time, stay home, carry on and wash those hands!  ​

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