When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, travel was not on our minds; our only concern was keeping everyone healthy and safe. Wearing masks anywhere outside of our house, social distancing, quarantine, washing hands, changing clothes after running errands, etc. - these became our norm. The previously unimaginably weird acts of eating a meal with family outside but distanced by 12+ feet sitting on separate picnic blankets, and Zoom calls with friends after work instead of meeting up at the brewery like we normally did became commonplace. We also became enraptured in watching the news about how the government was responding to the pandemic and how so many people were resistant to those mandates.
Despite hoping for a rapid resolution to the pandemic, we soon realized that we were in this for the long haul. We remember NPR wisely saying in April to "get a comfortable mask". Soon after, a friend's destination wedding in Spain was cancelled, as were our flights shortly after. This was quickly followed by another close friend's wedding needing to be cancelled in May due to COVID restrictions. The reality of the pandemic began to set in, and we were forced to find acceptable solutions to staying in touch with our friends and family (Zoom calls and weather-permitted outdoor meals) and running errands, even in very busy places (wearing our ridiculous looking but very protective P100 respirators that James usually uses for woodworking). We spent the majority of 2020 glued to the computer for work and studies. But, as the year came to a close, travel was the one thing that we really missed but could not figure out how to do safely.
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| Ready for Costco! |
Privilege defines our experience, ability, and desire to travel. Devon grew up traveling with her parents (hiking in Colorado, trekking the globe in search of scuba diving destinations, RVing around the western United States); has spent her adult life traveling to 35 countries and 22 of the United States; and worked and lived overseas for more than 3 years total. James also grew up traveling with his parents (Italy, Australia and many US states); has visited 24 countries and 26 of the United States; and worked and lived overseas for more than 2 years total. We simply love traveling and all of the discomforts and surprises that come with it. Being unable to travel was difficult.
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| Greece! |
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| Scuba diving in Thailand |
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| Volunteering with elephants in Thailand |
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| Helping to build a Montessori school in Nepal |
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| Building houses in India |
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| Enjoying homemade coconut liquor with a moonshiner in Cambodia |
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| Shopping in bustling Bangladesh |
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| Teaching earthquake-resistant housing construction in India |
But, come mid-summer 2020, revelation: travel trailer! We were certainly not the first to have this revelation, but we were quite excited nonetheless! Having our own travel trailer would satisfy our travel bug while still keeping everyone safe, including our baby on the way. So, after crunching a lot of numbers, we purchased a new but basic 21-ft travel trailer and a used tow vehicle. Our plan is to travel around Colorado and nearby states every few weeks, and a big summer trip in 2021 around the United States and Canada (if they let us in)!
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| Our "new" Toyota Highlander |
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Picking up our new trailer
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| Slightly petrified on the drive home |
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| Ready to roll! |
To chronicle our adventures, both for our own family’s future reading and our current family and friends’ enjoyment, we'll be writing here in the Harper Travel Blog about our travel-trailer adventures. So, subscribe and stay tuned!
We hope you’re all doing well, staying positive and testing negative!
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