Back in the States
Once we decided to move back to the States, a bit of panic set in. Lots of pieces had to fall into place with our lease and travel. The lease part was surprisingly easy - our landlord was extremely accommodating and even bought several of our things to leave in the apartment for the next lessee. Volaris had just begun direct flights from Zacatecas to D/FW when the lock-downs began, and our first flight reservations were cancelled. Eventually we figured out that we were at their mercy, and we didn’t want to wait until Trump woke up in a mood one day and tweeted the borders closed. So we rented a car and drove it for two days to Reynosa.
Unfortunately the airport there was mostly closed and the normal cross-border taxi shuttles were shut down so we had to get a ride to the border and walk across with all our bags, just like Mexicans do every day. It was June and already crazy hot, and we were sweaty messes by the time we got another car rental in McAllen.
We drove to Laredo where we picked up a new Honda lease car. Then we began the search for our new home. It took a couple of weeks for the pieces to finally come together. In the end we spent more than we wanted, but we had a place to stay that also happened to have wheels. And an engine.
We visited the family, exchanged small talk and virtual hugs, then we drove west and north to escape the heat. In New Mexico we bought batteries and ordered solar panels and installed it all. This allows us to park in places away from people, although that doesn’t always work out.
We successfully ‘boondocked’ off the grid for five days in New Mexico. Since then we’ve been attempting to escape this crazy heat wave. Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana - it was mid-90’s near Glacier Park and in northern Idaho! So we headed to the coast - Washington, Oregon, California. Right near the ocean the temperatures were quite nice, though often foggy/cloudy. We’ve been enjoying the big, big trees and the ocean waves.
We met up with an old friend from Ajijic who was staying with family in Montana. We met another old friend in Seattle for some back yard socially distant chat. We also made some new friends along the way.
We are still working things out, making needed adjustments and repairs as we go. We are now approaching L.A., avoiding fires and record heat. Eventually we have to brave the deserts and escape across I-40 back to Texas. There are birthdays to celebrate in October and November, socially distant again, of course. We have booked a ‘group’ stay (a pandemic pod?) with some other safe RV’ers in Livingston, TX through the end of the year. After that, probably the Rio Grande valley for some birding, then back over to Arizona, possibly. Winter plans are definitely not set in concrete. How can they be in the age of the pandemic? But someplace warm.
I’ve skipped about 50 photos for every one I posted here. Eventually those will be in an online album somewhere. Now Substack is telling me this is too long for an email. So many words and pictures, so little space...
More soon!
Vagabondians, Glenn and Bryn