Recent Trip

[sourdough]

Just completed a trip from TX to FL and thought I would give a quick rundown of what we encountered as it relates to Covid.

The trip was uneventful, all gas stations open and fuel prices were decent (not elevated at all). We did encounter 2 locations (small, remote convenience stores) in FL that required you to have a mask on to enter. That has not been the case since at any location.

We had heard about, and been warned about, the FL state line roadblock on I10 and it is there. Slows you down a little but not a lot. They divert traffic into commercial traffic, RVs/Buses and cars/pickups with officers standing by the lane separations to guide you into the proper one. It is staffed by a combination of state troopers, local sheriff dept. and what looked like either national guard and/or some kind of medical personnel (EMS/EMT?). They ask one question and the response will either get you right out or send you to the...…"fill out the form, get a card/quarantine" line. They inquire if you have been in NY, CN, LA and one other hot spot I don't remember in the last 14 days. If no...go on your way, if yes, get diverted.

Other than that it was peaceful and quiet. Traffic may have been down a bit on I10 and I20 but not much. I will say that here in FL where we are the traffic is worse than I've ever seen (been coming to this location 8 years). I guess no one is working so they just wander around. Walmart is just as busy, if not moreso, than ever. They have a sign at the door recommending wearing a mask and 1/2 do, 1/2 don't. They did appear to be pretty well stocked.

All in all not a problem with travel any more than any previous trip other than the roadblock. DW now says she wants to head to the NE when we leave here next month. I told her that I doubt that would be the same kind of trip so...….

[1st Chev Diesel]

Sourdough (Danny) assuming you took your 5th wheel with you, I am wondering if you had any problems getting into an Rv park. It is my understanding that many private rv parks are either closed or will not take in anyone unless they are staying for at least 14 days.


Gary

[mfifield01]

Good to hear. I'm heading from TX to the family condo in Gulf Shores in about a week. Did I10 backup just before Florida? We get off I10 a few miles after going over Mobile Bay.

[sourdough]

Gary, I had no issues at any park I called; all were open and all had vacancies on the way here (4). There are no restrictions where we are (Wakulla County) on RV parks and the state advised they had none when I called them. Other places may have some local restrictions in place but I have not encountered them.

Marcus, traffic into FL was not backed up per se. It was slowed down and stopped but with 3 lanes to process vehicles and an expedient process it wasn't bad. They warned of the roadblock miles before you encountered it at the 1st commercial truck inspection station inside FL. The lines weren't long and we didn't actually slow down until about the last mile from 65 (speed limit 70) to 55, 45 then 35. Just a gradual slowing before hitting it. From what we saw you will never have any idea about the roadblock, which is a good ways inside the FL line, by the time you cut off for Gulf Shores.

[Bill-2020]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Gary, I had no issues at any park I called; all were open and all had vacancies on the way here (4). There are no restrictions where we are (Wakulla County) on RV parks and the state advised they had none when I called them. Other places may have some local restrictions in place but I have not encountered them.

Marcus, traffic into FL was not backed up per se. It was slowed down and stopped but with 3 lanes to process vehicles and an expedient process it wasn't bad. They warned of the roadblock miles before you encountered it at the 1st commercial truck inspection station inside FL. The lines weren't long and we didn't actually slow down until about the last mile from 65 (speed limit 70) to 55, 45 then 35. Just a gradual slowing before hitting it. From what we saw you will never have any idea about the roadblock, which is a good ways inside the FL line, by the time you cut off for Gulf Shores.

Thats interesting - We "had" reservations at a private RV park for 4 RVs in Ocala forest for this coming long weekend. Two weeks ago I called to reconfirm and I was told they aren't allowing anyone in groups to come in. We cancelled the reservation and we're diverting to middle Georgia (from Central FL) for the long weekend at another RV park we love to go to (Twin Oaks RV Park). I was a bit irritated that it took me calling them to learn of this and having to cancel the reservation. And all this, because we were a group of 4 RVs. They said if it were just us, no group, then they could have taken us. So... what happens if we had arrived, set up and met some friendly campers next to us? Or what if our group had all called and made reservations ourselves (individually instead of me making the reservations for all of us)- then it would have been four separate campers who happened to know each other. More than one way to skin a cat - as they say.

[sourdough]

I think trying to make reservations for a "group" is more problematic than just traveling alone. Many places we go may have one or two spaces but trying to fit 4 in at one time might cause a problem. As we've found lately, more and more campgrounds are trying to go with "fulltimers" (yearly) vs overnighters/fulltimers. Just talked to the owner/developer of a new park near us and he said they would have 7 (SEVEN) overnight pull throughs. The rest for long term stays; so you can see how traveling through, making reservations for a large group, will encounter problems.

[geeman]

Originally Posted by Bill-2020

Thats interesting - We "had" reservations at a private RV park for 4 RVs in Ocala forest for this coming long weekend. Two weeks ago I called to reconfirm and I was told they aren't allowing anyone in groups to come in. We cancelled the reservation and we're diverting to middle Georgia (from Central FL) for the long weekend at another RV park we love to go to (Twin Oaks RV Park). I was a bit irritated that it took me calling them to learn of this and having to cancel the reservation. And all this, because we were a group of 4 RVs. They said if it were just us, no group, then they could have taken us. So... what happens if we had arrived, set up and met some friendly campers next to us? Or what if our group had all called and made reservations ourselves (individually instead of me making the reservations for all of us)- then it would have been four separate campers who happened to know each other. More than one way to skin a cat - as they say.

Cancel and rebook as singles.........yet another way to skin a cat!! Have a great stay wherever you land.

[KCSA75]

Originally Posted by sourdough

They ask one question and the response will either get you right out or send you to the...…"fill out the form, get a card/quarantine" line. They inquire if you have been in NY, CN, LA and one other hot spot I don't remember in the last 14 days. If no...go on your way, if yes, get diverted.

Presumably, you drove through Louisiana. If you didn't stop did that pass muster or did you have to get in the other line.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by KCSA75

Presumably, you drove through Louisiana. If you didn't stop did that pass muster or did you have to get in the other line.

Actually we didn't go thru Louisiana. I had several conversations with the state of FL about the roadblock and what was going on. They said if you "had been in" Louisiana within the last 14 days; been in, not overnight or spent time there. If that was the case you were diverted, filled out a questionnaire and then quarantined at your location for a minimum of 14 days or however long your stay was if less than that. So I would not run afoul of that we just shot up to Texarkana and skimmed over LA staying in AR then dropped down into Vicksburg on 61 (the highway our RV park is on anyway) then resumed travel on I20. With the situation we have in FL I could not afford to be "quarantined" in the trailer for 14 days - we have more important things to do.

[B-O-B'03]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Actually we didn't go thru Louisiana. I had several conversations with the state of FL about the roadblock and what was going on. They said if you "had been in" Louisiana within the last 14 days; been in, not overnight or spent time there. If that was the case you were diverted, filled out a questionnaire and then quarantined at your location for a minimum of 14 days or however long your stay was if less than that. So I would not run afoul of that we just shot up to Texarkana and skimmed over LA staying in AR then dropped down into Vicksburg on 61 (the highway our RV park is on anyway) then resumed travel on I20. With the situation we have in FL I could not afford to be "quarantined" in the trailer for 14 days - we have more important things to do.

So, just driving through Louisiana, to get to Florida, is grounds for quarantine?

We were supposed to fly to Pensacola, on June 4th, to spend time with my Cousin and his GF on his 41' sailboat and I just cancelled the flight since we did not want to fly in a germ tube.

The new plan was to drive but now I might just go a day early, meet them in Jackson MS and ride the rest of the way with them.

I will be so glad when all of this ridiculousness is over.

I found some interesting stats:

Texas 1.9 deaths per 100,000 (549 total deaths)
Florida 4.0 deaths per 100,000 (866 total deaths)
Mississippi 6.1 deaths per 100,000 (183 total deaths)
Louisiana 30.2 deaths per 100,000 (1,405 total deaths)

Compared to a few other places:

California 3.3 deaths per 100,000 (1,316 total deaths)
Rhode Island1 6.1 deaths per 100,000 (171 total deaths)
Pennsylvania 12.3 deaths per 100,000 (1,576 total deaths)
Washington, D.C. 15.9 deaths per 100,000 (112 total deaths)
Massachusetts 28.5 deaths per 100,000 (1,961 total deaths)
Connecticut 39.9 deaths per 100,000 (1,423 total deaths)
New Jersey 53.5 deaths per 100,000 (4,753 total deaths)
New York 76.2 deaths per 100,000 (14,828 total deaths)

Be safe out there.

-Brian

[sourdough]

Brian, the question they ask is "have you been in xyz state in the last 14 days". If the answer is affirmative for one of the prohibited states you go to the "special" line, they take your info and then if going to be in FL you are required to quarantine for 14 days at your location (which you had to provide) or as long as you are there if less. So just driving through will put you in "that" line.

I tried to pull up your profile location info to give you more specific information but Texas Alabama is not a real location so what I've provided is all I can do.

[B-O-B'03]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Brian, the question they ask is "have you been in xyz state in the last 14 days". If the answer is affirmative for one of the prohibited states you go to the "special" line, they take your info and then if going to be in FL you are required to quarantine for 14 days at your location (which you had to provide) or as long as you are there if less. So just driving through will put you in "that" line.

I tried to pull up your profile location info to give you more specific information but Texas Alabama is not a real location so what I've provided is all I can do.

Hi Danny,

I have no idea how I ended up living in Texas Alabama , I am sure a screw up on my part.

I am in Plano and our plan now is drive to my Cousin's place, outside of Jackson MS, spend the night and ride with them to Pensacola... no mention of ever being in the "non-desirable" state of Louisiana as we drove through will be mentioned

The plan we made, back in January, was to be in Pensacola on June 4 -9, for the B.E.E.R Cruise, which has now been officially cancelled, this was the original itinerary... so now we will just add a day to either end, drive out and spend the time sailing with my favorite Cousin... just the 4 of us... social distancing and everything... good food, great company and plenty of liquor

Thanks for responding.

-Brian

[gearhead]

Yep going into Louisiana will get you tagged. Our son is off work, on call only. He told me he has to answer a questionnaire when they do go back to regular hours. One of the questions is "have you been in Louisiana"? If yes, you go back home, not to work.

[mfifield01]

Originally Posted by gearhead

Yep going into Louisiana will get you tagged. Our son is off work, on call only. He told me he has to answer a questionnaire when they do go back to regular hours. One of the questions is "have you been in Louisiana"? If yes, you go back home, not to work.

Is this just going into FL? Texas was doing this until May 1st.

[gearhead]

Danny if you need another RV park near Texarkana, we use Shady Pines RV on Hwy 67 just west of Texarkana. It's our usual "first night stop" when headed that way.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by gearhead

Danny if you need another RV park near Texarkana, we use Shady Pines RV on Hwy 67 just west of Texarkana. It's our usual "first night stop" when headed that way.

Thanks Brent. We will look into that. We take that route when going other places and enjoyed it pulling the trailer so may just start varying our route to FL instead of hitting I20 and rolling.

[Cbrez]

Friends of ours are camp hosts at Myakka River and Bahia Honda State Parks. The Florida state parks have reopened and they are back at work.

[sonofcy]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Just completed a trip from TX to FL and thought I would give a quick rundown of what we encountered as it relates to Covid.

The trip was uneventful, all gas stations open and fuel prices were decent (not elevated at all). We did encounter 2 locations (small, remote convenience stores) in FL that required you to have a mask on to enter. That has not been the case since at any location.

We had heard about, and been warned about, the FL state line roadblock on I10 and it is there. Slows you down a little but not a lot. They divert traffic into commercial traffic, RVs/Buses and cars/pickups with officers standing by the lane separations to guide you into the proper one. It is staffed by a combination of state troopers, local sheriff dept. and what looked like either national guard and/or some kind of medical personnel (EMS/EMT?). They ask one question and the response will either get you right out or send you to the...…"fill out the form, get a card/quarantine" line. They inquire if you have been in NY, CN, LA and one other hot spot I don't remember in the last 14 days. If no...go on your way, if yes, get diverted.

Other than that it was peaceful and quiet. Traffic may have been down a bit on I10 and I20 but not much. I will say that here in FL where we are the traffic is worse than I've ever seen (been coming to this location 8 years). I guess no one is working so they just wander around. Walmart is just as busy, if not moreso, than ever. They have a sign at the door recommending wearing a mask and 1/2 do, 1/2 don't. They did appear to be pretty well stocked.

All in all not a problem with travel any more than any previous trip other than the roadblock. DW now says she wants to head to the NE when we leave here next month. I told her that I doubt that would be the same kind of trip so...….

Your Walmart comment explains why you guys are doing so badly compared to us and many other countries. Good luck. Watch to see if you have a spike around early to mid June. If you do not the worst may be over, but if you do as I expect the worst is yet to come.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by sonofcy

Your Walmart comment explains why you guys are doing so badly compared to us and many other countries. Good luck. Watch to see if you have a spike around early to mid June. If you do not the worst may be over, but if you do as I expect the worst is yet to come.

I foresee a spike everywhere, not because we are contaminating each other by being out/about, but rather they are testing 1000s more everyday so absolutely we'll see a spike in the number testing positive not necessarily a spike in any other categories. There's one category you very seldom see posted, the number that test positive that never get sick or how many did get sick & now well with no side effects.
Do myself or anyone I know intend to hibernate all summer, NO WAY! And hope like hell we don't look like China with having to wear a mask every time we leave the house.
If you feel more comfortable doing so, by all means do.
Sorry for the rant, but sick/tired of nothing but gloom/doom, self distancing, quarantine & all the paranoia!
There's only 6 months til election day, it's time for the news media to drop Covid-19 & catch up on bashing political candidates, they're already about 3 months behind!!!!


Now back to our regularly scheduled discussion on "recent trip"!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by sonofcy

Your Walmart comment explains why you guys are doing so badly compared to us and many other countries. Good luck. Watch to see if you have a spike around early to mid June. If you do not the worst may be over, but if you do as I expect the worst is yet to come.

We have a thread related to Covid that this conversation would be more appropriate in but I will stray a bit to "orate" a tad about your comment.

As Danny (the other Danny ) mentioned, if you feel more comfortable wearing a mask everywhere you go then by all means do so. If one does not feel inclined to do that, then do that. The only reason the virus is the boogey man is hyper media and politics....period. Will the "numbers" get/seem worse going forward? Of course. It is to one party or the other's benefit to hype this to the end of the world, and drive those willing to follow each new days "fear factor". Let's look at some numbers (as I've said before, I believe in stats, not people trying to scare me for their own purposes):

As of May 11 the US had 24.66 deaths per 100,000 due to Covid. The death rate for cancer is 163.5. Rather enlightening? Do we hide everyday worrying about cancer? No. Why not? It's there; it can happen and will happen to someone, maybe you, maybe someone you know/love. Do we quit living because of it? No.

With Covid accounting for about 15% as many deaths as cancer I'm thinking I'm not going to stop living because I'm bombarded daily with the new "scare" of the day.

Now, back to our regular programming. Covid has its own thread for that conversation.