I looked back at our blog post outlining our big travel plans for 2020 and it seemed so full of adventure and excitement. Had things gone according to plan, we would at this very moment be cruising our way from Barcelona to Citievecchia just north of Rome. We might have just cruised along the Sardinian coast, a place I once backpacked with a friend at the age of 17. We were so innocent then and, given our current circumstances, we were innocent just a couple of weeks ago, too.
As I mentioned previously, we had set our sights on a municipal campground in Sens, France, a place we had stayed last summer on our way to Ireland. It had everything we needed to stay put for a while, including electricity, water, grey and black dumps. It’s also an area we are somewhat familiar with, as it was near Sens that we stayed a month in our cute little maison when we first arrived in France last year.
The evening before we arrived we were heading to an aire for a quick overnight, only to find out it had closed. We drove to another aire and found a dozen rigs parked up where there was space for only five. We moved on a few kilometers and went to another aire and found a space. We were surrounded by British motorhomers all trying desperately to reach the border and get on a ferry. Many ferries had started to cancel sailings and it was getting a bit dire for those without confirmed reservations.
After a good night’s sleep, we wasted no time getting back on the road for our final push for Sens. We planned a stop at a neareby Super U grocery store where we could pick up a few things and fill with diesel and a quick lunch stop. It was a beautiful day for travel, but there were a lot more motorhomes than usual. It was like a great white wildebeest migration. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I swear you could smell the panic.
By the time we stopped for lunch we had learned President Macron was scheduled to speak at 8:00 p.m. Just as we were finishing our lunch, I got a message from Nina Fussing with further details of what was likely coming down the pike. Our fear of arriving at a closed aire put us in a bit of a panic, but we got back on the road and didn’t stop until we pulled into the aire.
When we arrived, the aire was completely empty, not a soul in sight. We weren’t sure if this was a good sign or a bad one. The aire used to be a full-service campground, but at some point was closed and turned into a municipal aire. There is no office, no restrooms or showers, nothing that requires a person to physically be onsite. There was a barrier across the entrance, but this was normal. We had to pay at the kiosk and get a code to raise it and enter the grounds.
Steven was a ball of nerves and when he’s like this he gives running commentary of his movements. “Okay, the machine display is working.” “I’m putting in my card.” “So far so good.” “I’m only paying for one night, right?” “Shit! It stopped working! It won’t accept my payment. Look! I’m pushing this button and nothing is happening!!” “Oh, wait. Now it’s working.” “I got a code!”
You can imagine how much I wish he would just hush and leave me out of the emotional rollercoaster, but that’s his way and I’ve learned to live with it. He punched in the code and we watched as the barrier began to rise. OMG, we’re in!!
The place looked like Life After People. The sites are grass and it was clear that the lawn maintenance crew had not been here in a very long while, probably last fall, in fact. Lots of sites had deep ruts where people had struggled to drive off the site after it had rained. The grass had grown so tall it was filling in the ruts. We did not care, we were so happy, so relieved to be there that it all looked just fine to us. We drove around the loop and at the very back we noticed a concrete area. This is probably a group site, but since no one is here, it’s ours now. We backed in and took a look at our surroundings. On one side was a big concrete area where we could put our chairs and table, on the other is a beautiful river flowing by. In front we could see all the way to the road. From the road, we were mostly hidden, which is just fine with us.
Lack of lawncare aside, our lovely and peaceful safe haven is about 3-4 acres. There are actually two rivers, one on each side of the rectangle-shaped park. Ducks and geese float on the river, birds are out in abundance. The dappled sunlight shines through the trees which are just starting to leaf out. It’s beautiful. And yet, there is just a tiny little niggly feeling in the back of our minds that someone in the city government is going to decide to shut this place down. Why? We have no idea, but with all the other closings, it’s always possible. A maintenance crew did drive through a couple of days ago to empty all the garbage cans, which were fairly empty to begin with. So they know we are here and they paid no attention to us at all. Still, we are on heightened alert. Our hope is we can stay here as long as is necessary.
After getting set up we walked out of the park and across the street to the Lidl grocery store. We had four things on our list; water, chicken, eggs and Gruyere cheese. I know, that last item seems a little frivolous, but I’ve got a couple of pounds of grits on board and grits need Gruyere cheese. Otherwise, I might as well just feed it to the ducks. And funny enough, with the shelves at Lidl’s wiped clean, Gruyere was the only thing on our list that we got! Three packs! I’m gonna enjoy those grits. One thing I did forget was some lemons, but I don’t think they had any. Bummer.
As everyone expected, when Macron addressed the nation, France was on total lockdown. We are now confined to our home, such as it is. If we go out, we must first complete an official form giving our name and address, and the reason we are out and about. There are a few acceptable reasons, such as getting groceries, going to work, the doctor, and so on. If we are stopped at a checkpoint or at anytime by police, we must produce this completed form. There are not many businesses open, because for the most part, they want us to stay home. Given all the places we’ve been over the past couple of weeks, our plan is to completely self-isolate until we know we are okay. I mean, as much as we can know, we’re hoping after 14 days our chances of getting sick will be greatly diminished. That is, until we go out again, then it starts all over.
We are settling into a daily routine here, which includes some exercise and general care and maintenance for ourselves and Bijou. We will hand-wash all our laundry and try to do onerous chores a little each day so we don’t get overwhelmed. I’ve learned that one loop around the park is about 550 steps. I wish I had my resistance bands, but I don’t. I’ll figure something out, though! Steven likes to buzz around and be productive, then settle in to work on his thousands of photos that he needs to categorize and work his magic on. Maybe he’ll write another blog post and share a few more. We are really not lacking for things to do to keep ourselves busy and we are determined to stay positive and active.
So all things considered, we are doing really well. I suspect some of you are facing similar issues of your own as the U.S. begins to deal with the spread of the coronavirus with lockdowns and travel restrictions. If you haven’t already read Nina’s latest blog post at Wheeling It, I would urge you to do so. Heed her words, because shit is gettin’ real!
NEXT UP: Quarantine cooking. Lol, I don’t know, I just made that up.
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Went to a Fred Myer this morning when it first opened . It had most stuff but some empty shelves and along with a lot of the frozen shelves empty . Apparently they must of had some TP when they opened but that went out in the first mad dash . Glad you found a safe place to be . Best of luck to both of you .
Great read on what you are up to. Stay safe. I will follow your blog
Seamus Dooley
Thanks, Seamus! Glad to have you along!
Hey, Vern! Fred Meyer is one of my favorite stores, I just can’t imagine seeing it picked over. I think the reason our Lidl was empty is because we were there just hours before Macron announced the total lockdown. But we have plenty of Moroccan TP on board, so we’re good!
Looks like a delightful little empire you have established. Once again, I’m struck by the importance of the internet. I can’t imagine doing this without connection to “the outside world”. I no longer try to figure out what’s coming next. So grateful we can easily stay in touch with friends, family, and rapidly moving news.
Losing Internet is one of my greatest fears. One of the reasons we wanted to be in France is that we have a very healthy data plan here.
Glad to see you safe and sound! As you said, “shit is gettin’ real”. I am hearing Seattle may be on full lockdown by the weekend.
I’m SO glad you guys made it to a safe hunkering-down spot. That aire does look lovely (one of the nicest aires I’ve ever seen!) and it’s also really nice that you have it all to yourself. Can’t think of a better place to just ride this out for now.
Nina
We are very happy here! Have you read the reviews of this place on P4N or CC? LOL, it’s not very popular. I guess that works in our favor thought!
Thanks for the update. Stay safe and well. Here is a little workout to try if you want to mix up your routine:
1. Do one loop around the park (550 steps, right?)
2. 20 jumping jacks
3. Do another loop
4. Do 20 squats
5. Do another loop
6. Run in place with high knees – 50 knee lifts
7. Do another loop
8. Do a 60 second plank
9. Do another loop
10. Do 15 reverse lunges on each leg
Done! Change the direction you walk the loop each time.
Love you guys.
Nora
Oh, thank you, thank you, Nora! I’m going to do this starting tomorrow! This is just what I need!
So glad you are in a safe quiet spot. I hope you can stay as long as you need to. Be well friends!
Thank you, Judy! Every night except one other rig rolls in late for an overnighter. We figure as long as they are coming in, it’s not closing down. So yay! You guys be safe too. Hope you are still in your apartment and not out traveling!
Hey Linda! Yes, we are ever so grateful for our little apartment, especially now. We were on summer plan B and now it looks like probably plan C which is to stay put. We’ll see how it goes and will anxiously await updates from your spot across the pond.
So happy you found a place to hunker down. We are at one of our favorite winter spots in Wittmann, AZ at the property of our good friends Tom and Darlene……very rural, so not hard to practice social distancing. Every time we go into town (not often) we have to start counting to 14 days again, just as you related. COSTCO is doing a good job of keep shelves stocked. We were there a coupe of days ago, and got what we needed without problem. TJ’s on the other hand has a lot of bare shelves……NO eggs!
Keep safe, and keep posting!
Good to hear from you, Clarke! We’ve been thinking of you guys and your trip to Alaska. I hope it works out, but I personally think it’s going to be a while before travel as we know it resumes. A long while. Stay safe, I know you’ve got everything you need at Tom & Darlene’s fab place!
Such surreal times. So glad you found a safe place to hunker down for a bit. I hope the grocery store restocks so that you can get what you need…but then you have to start the 14 days over again, right? Or maybe you have enough provisions to carry you through for 14 days? I look forward to your quarantine cooking post because I know it’s gonna be creative, LOL.
Like everyone else, our plans have changed radically. We were supposed to leave Apalachicola today, where we’ve already been in semi-isolation while we’ve been immersed in clearing out my folks’ home the past two months. Now we’re going to be here for who knows how much longer…but at least it’s cleared out and fixed up, and we have a beautiful place to be. Like you guys, we’re just going to stay active and we have plenty of projects to keep us occupied…like getting caught up on our blog from last summer, haha. Take good care, and stay well!
It’s good to hear from you, Laurel. I know you’ve been very, very busy with your parent’s house but is sounds like that is winding down. Yes, it is a surreal time and, in my opinion, will continue to be for quite some time. How lucky that you have a familiar place to stay where you feel safe and comfortable. I am glad to see you jump ahead to present time as you catch up on your blog so at least we all know what’s going on with you guys. Eric is not very informative on FB. LOL, you can tell him I said that! You’ll be disappointed in my Quarantine Cooking so far, but I am going to try and up my game. We have loads of supplies, but little desire to get into the kitchen. Best of luck and stay safe!
We’ve been thinking of you guys. Glad you found a great place to hunker down. We are into day 4 of self isolation as required after returning to Canada from the US. We’ve already had a reservation for May 1st cancelled on us so have to come up with a plan B.
Stay safe and healthy!