If you’ve been reading for a while you know that family is everything to Mr. Silver and myself. So when our 3rd grandsons birthday began to approach, we could not figure out how to get to Texas from the Carolina’s safely. Ordinarily, we would jump on a plane and go for 3-4 days, because we don’t miss our grandchildren’s birthdays, period.

I have never RV’d but the idea came to me when our Texas kids drove an RV from Texas to meet us for our annual summer family vacation. It was a two-day drive, but it worked rather well.

I started looking into RV rentals back in June and there was nothing available that wasn’t uber-expensive and a small size RV. We wanted small for our first trip. I searched from both Charlotte and Hilton Head and could not find a thing because everyone else had the same idea for summer vacations to “stay safe” during the Pandemic.

Lucky for us, I kept watching Outdoorsy’s website and found our perfect RV near Hilton Head and it was available due to a cancellation. We immediately made a reservation and planned our trip. The vehicle we rented was a Winnebago, Travato. It was super easy to drive and very fuel efficient. In fact, I began writing from table on the road as we approached Houston with only have 3 hours to go.

The pick up was smooth as the owner explained everything we needed to know. We picked it up the night before and loaded everything needed so that we could take off early the next morning. We knew that things were going a bit too smoothly when our neighborhood security pulled up in front of our home and began writing a ticket. RV’s are not allowed in the neighborhood was the message we were given in the form of a warning ticket. They asked us to remove the vehicle within 48 hours. Our response was of course since we were leaving in the morning.

Our first day, we drove nine hours and it was a great experience. We definitely like major highways via two-lane roads which we were diverted to at one point. We never left the RV all day, except when Mr. Silver masked up to get gas. We stopped at a rest stop or two, ate lunch, and took a couple of breaks but never ventured outside.

We stayed at a beachfront RV park the first night in Biloxi, Mississippi. We enjoyed the ocean and wonderful breeze on their beachfront patio with a beer and cocktail. There was one other couple ten feet from us so we felt very comfortable. I prepared food ahead to heat and eat in the microwave, so we enjoyed taco’s for dinner and had a glass of wine together before heading to bed as were both worn out.

Our only negative was the bed. It was rather small for a couple that really likes their King size bed. Needless to say, we did not sleep as well as we normally do. We got up early and hit the road again and traveled safely to our destination, New Braunfels, to see our kids.

I worked out of the RV Monday-Thursday and participated in video calls just like from the comfort of my home office. Most RV parks have wifi. we had a lot of fun at lunchtime and in the evenings, just hanging out and playing with the kids. I took off on Friday, which was the day of our 4-year-olds party. Due to the pandemic, his party consisted of a friend drive-by, his other set of grandparents, and us celebrating with his parents and siblings.

The first couple of nights we left the RV parked at an RV park near the Comal river, and the rest of the trip we moved to our kid’s lower driveway. We slept well in their home on a queen size mattress. Thank goodness for no neighborhood restrictions.

Hitting the road at sunrise, with tears in my eyes knowing that we may not be back or see them till Christmastime.

We took the same precautions on the way home and stopped overnight near Milton, Florida. Our trip home was thankfully uneventful except for rain all day on our last day of travel.

Celebrating our trip when we made it to Florida.

Sunrise in Milton, Florida before we started home.

If you are considering traveling during this time, I highly recommend traveling by RV. The rental option worked well for us and we may plan another trip in the near future so stay tuned and as always, thank you for reading my blog. And if you are considering renting through Outdoorsy, here is a link to a discount for $50.00 off.

If you decide to take a trip using an RV rental, I would love to hear your story, so stay in touch.

I may make a small commission if you use any of the links in my articles.

Traveling during a Pandemic