I mentioned in a previous post that my parents and I did a camping trip with the trailer before my reconstruction surgery. The goal was to take the trailer into the mountains and away from people. I found a great campsite near a lake and semi near Palisade, Colorado’s wine region. I wanted to get in an adventure before surgery and get away to relax.
Well the trip wasn’t exactly relaxing. I had taken the trailer through the mountains in Oct 2016 during that road trip without problems. This wasn’t the case in the summer. I had to pull over several times while driving through the mountains because the engine was overheating. Google maps also sent us a route that took us through a national forest on a horrible gravel road that had decent increase in elevation. Let’s just say that the driving made the trip super stressful. I was terrified my car was going to die and we would be stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Thankfully, the rest of the trip was wonderful. We had a campsite overlooking the lake. The weather was perfect. I was able to paddle twice. We hit several wineries in Palisade (great social distancing and interesting ways to handle COVID tastings).
When I got back, I decided that I either needed to sell the trailer (can’t take it into the mountains easily) or get a new car that can handle the mountains. I decided on the new car since I moved to Colorado to spend time in the mountains. I did my research and test drove many vehicles. One perk to COVID, you have to test drive the car on your own, no salesperson comes with. It was glorious. After much thought, I ended up purchasing a 2018 Toyota Highlander. It has a 5000 lb towing capacity, which means it should have absolutely no problems with my 1200 lb trailer.
The reason for the quick turnaround on purchasing a new vehicle is that I decided to take a cross country road trip. I desperately needed a break from my house and wanted a way to celebrate beating cancer (since I lost the trip to the Olympics and no where else will accept Americans). I also couldn’t wait to meet my niece. So I planned out a 5 week cross country trip with the trailer hitting Louisville, Smoky Mountains, Chicago, Michigan, DC, beach, and Orlando. I would get to safely see family and friends along the way and finish my celebration in Disney!
I am currently starting my 4th week of the road trip and it was going really well. It is incredible being able to work from anywhere right now.
- I had amazing family time with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece in Louisville. I must say that Amy is very cute and can charm you very quickly (even after 15 minutes of non-stop screaming when I was watching her). I even got to play some sand volleyball with them, although it wasn’t the most comfortable movements for me yet.
- Camping outside of Smoky Mountains with Melissa! This was a great weekend getaway that allowed us to paddle board, grill, and just escape the real world.
- Chicago- Saw as many friends and family as I could in a short stop. This stop was extended though. I decided to upgrade the towing wiring while in Chicago since I had my parent’s vehicles to get around. Sadly they put a defective brake controller in my car so when I hooked up the trailer to go camping in Michigan with my friends, the trailer brakes locked. I didn’t get to go camping in Michigan, but I did still get to see Jo and Jesse!
- DC-I really enjoyed camping in Reston while visiting with friends and family all week. I adore my community in DC and love catching up with them. There is never enough time to catch up with everyone, but I did my best. I even got to hike Old Rag and of course I got my monument run in. The only negative was that I twisted my ankle while running through the rain to the bathroom. It is still swollen but I didn’t have any issues hiking or running on it.
- Myrtle Beach- I really didn’t know where I wanted to stay on my way to Orlando until I made the call to grab a site at Myrtle Beach the morning I left DC. This is halfway between DC and Orlando. The biggest draw is it is right on the beach! I might as well enjoy a day at the beach and decompress before jumping into Disney and Universal.
The trip has been wonderful. I definitely have exhausted my extrovert side given I have been around people pretty much every day for 3 weeks. I have been aware of COVID and how to be safe while interacting with everyone. I aim to do almost everything outside, weather permitting. I am also very aware that everyone has different levels of caution with COVID and that is totally alright. I try to roll with what others feel comfortable with. So far, no one has pushed me past my comfort zone and I appreciate that.
I am so excited to start the crazy part of my trip at Disney and Universal. I feel like part of the social experiment to see if wearing masks, distancing, and washing your hands actually works. So far no outbreaks have been tied to amusement parks. Time for me to give it a try and see what happens.