Florida with Friends

As mentioned in my previous post, moto-blogger friend Richard Machida and his wife, Bridget, who are also full-time RVers, arrived at Yellowjacket RV Resort (YJRR) on December 13.

The Machidas, who are from Fairbanks, Alaska, have been full-timers for a few years. They usually spend extended time during summer in Alaska. Earlier this year, they ordered a Jeep (from a dealer in Idaho) to replace the Prius they had been towing. The plan was to pick the Jeep up in August, shortly after returning to the lower 48. Sadly, the Jeep wasn’t ready, so they had to continue their journey through the lower 48 without a toad (RVers slang for a towed vehicle).

The Jeep finally arrived in early December, so Richard had to leave Bridget and fly to Idaho to pick up their new Jeep. That wasn’t a problem for Bridget, it freed-up more time for the two of us to go kayaking! We also went off-roading with their e-bikes through a nearby wildlife refuge. We went exploring one day in the Jeep, too. We had so much fun together, I’ll have to do a separate post to share pics from our “girls’ day out” adventures. Bridget is also a crafter, so we did some crafting together, too. Sadly, no crafting pics to share.

Richard got back from Idaho on December 20. Mike, Belle, and I left for North Carolina on December 22 to spend Christmas with some family. We got back to the campground on December 26.

On December 28, two other moto-blogger friends, Chris and Lori, arrived to spend a couple of nights with all of us. Chris and Lori are from Dahlonega, Georgia. They are in the process of fitting-out an overland expedition vehicle, which they use to RV in really remote places with rougher terrain than we could ever hope to traverse in our more-mainstream big rigs.

 

Chris and Lori left on December 30. Bridget and I went kayaking at Crystal River on December 31. We all retired to our coaches well before midnight on New Year’s Eve.

The coolest thing we did as a group happened on January 1. That’s when we rented a pontoon boat from the campground and spent the day out on the river. We even packed a picnic and anchored on the water just south of Fanning Springs to enjoy our little feast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We docked around 3:00 for a quick potty break. Mike opted to stay at the coach with Belle while Richard, Bridget, me, and their dog, Leinen, headed back out on the river to use-up our final boat time.

 

 

 

That evening is when we learned that our son-in-law had tested positive for COVID a few days after we left North Carolina. As soon as we learned that we’d been exposed, we let all of our friends know. We were careful to keep our distance for the Machida’s remaining days at YJRR.

Richard and Bridget left YJRR as planned on January 3. Since I’d been feeling extra tired for a few days, I decided I should probably test, too. I couldn’t find any at-home test kits, so got an appointment scheduled for January 4. Despite being fully vaccinated and boosted, I tested positive, too. Mike never did test, but assumed he had COVID, too, since he had a sore throat and mild cough. I had a slight sore throat, too, but that was it.

Thankfully, none of our friends tested positive. Only two of the five family members we visited tested positive. Those who were sick had very mild symptoms, thanks to being vaccinated, and all of us are fully recovered.

I’ll share pics from the outdoor adventures Bridget and I shared in a future post.