Our Pandemic Summer in NH

As we were driving back from Texas in late May envisioning our pandemic summer, we never would have guessed that it would be so enjoyable.  

There was plenty that we didn’t do… no day trips to Boston, Portland, Salem, or Ogunquit. No visiting of favorite museums like the Currier in Manchester or MFA in Boston or ones we hadn’t yet explored like the Museum of Printing in Haverhill or the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. No Sunapee Craft Fair, no far flung day trips, no Girls Night Outs, no indoor dining with family and friends, and no annual breakfast get together with my NH Creative Club friends. 

BUT… there was plenty that we did do. Since we were no longer homeowners, I had envisioned that we could do more hiking in the area… thankfully that was a perfect activity to do during Covid. Most of the hikes/walks we did were new to us and delightful. (Tip: AllTrails is a great free app for discovering trails in any part of the country and it’s easy to use. Thank you Stacie for introducing it to us several years ago!) 

This was an awkward summer for reaching out to friends and family to get together. On the one hand we wanted to see friends/family while we were in the area, on the other hand we didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to see us. It was tricky. And everyone’s comfort level is at a different stage for social distancing. There were friends we didn’t have an opportunity to see and we regret that. Thankfully we will be back in the area next summer when hopefully coronavirus will be much diminished and we’ll all have more freedom. 

We visited my 100+ year young mom via window visits all summer. It actually worked very well. I used an iPad to write messages and turned it around so mom could see it and respond. Or, conversely, I could respond to her via writing on the iPad. Mom is as sharp as ever but Gary’s and my mask wearing makes it more difficult for her to hear. No lip reading with masks on. She is in a wonderful Assisted Living facility for which we are grateful. 

We visited with family, our dear Ellen & Wayne, a couple of times outdoors and then via Skype. The Skyping worked very well and will be a wonderful way to continue visiting with them when we are not in NH. Our last Skyping session before hitting the road was a 2-hour wine & cheese celebration for Ellen’s birthday! We will look forward to spending much more time with them next summer! 

My cousin Andrea visited from Connecticut and is in the process of re-locating to NH. She found a great 55+ condo to buy in Exeter and should be living in NH by late October. She and I had a wonderful visit with Mom one afternoon. Another day Andrea visited us at our campground. While she hasn’t exactly adopted our camping lifestyle, she did thoroughly enjoy her visit with us… or so she says. She and I also headed into Portsmouth one afternoon. The only time I was in Portsmouth all summer! We enjoyed the gardens and waterfront and avoided the downtown shopping crowds. 

Gary & I were fortunate to meet up with various friends. Carol & Charlie graciously drove down from Maine to meet us in Dover at an outdoor restaurant since we were uncomfortable crossing state lines with our Texas license plate. Until Covid, we’d never experienced that feeling living in the U.S. (Bizarre to say the least.) We had a wonderful visit… full of laughter and catching up! Our friend Mary camped next to us with her new Class C motorhome and Gary was able to offer some helpful tips and we got to enjoy her company for several days. We met friends from Massachusetts (Linda & Phil) at Livingston Park in Manchester for a picnic lunch and then a walk around the pond. Delightful and wonderful to see them. Cheryl & Joe camped with us Labor Day weekend and we enjoyed every minute of it! Plus they visited us earlier in the summer. Wonderful to strengthen our friendship with them over our mutual love of camping. I met my friend, Kristina, at Northwood Meadows State Park and had a wonderful hike with her and her adorable two-year old golden retriever.

We also connected with Janice & Peter from Nottingham who we got to know better this summer than ever before as they just recently purchased a Class A motorhome and wanted to pick our brains a bit. We enjoyed dinner with them on their deck overlooking Pawtuckaway Lake. They’ll do just fine! We were totally impressed that Peter could drive their motorhome up their long, winding narrow dirt road and park it!  

We did wander back to our old neighborhood to drive by our old house, and we were happy to see that it’s taking on the personality of its new inhabitants with children’s toys and bikes in evidence. That’s as it should be! I joined Nottingham friends for a socially distanced walk one day, an outdoor concert at the bandstand another day, a campfire with friends, and yoga on Wednesday mornings. I was touched beyond words on the last day of class when the yogis formed a socially distanced circle and gave me a virtual hug. Thank you Nancy for teaching. You are the best! 

An unexpected source of joy this summer was the friendships we formed in our Safari Field Loop at Old Stage Campground. Many of our fellow campers had been camping in this loop for years. They didn’t have to be as welcoming as they were. We are very grateful that they extended the hand of friendship right from the beginning. We enjoyed countless campfires, many games of cornhole (even though I sucked nobody cringed when they were stuck with me as a partner), numerous shared appetizers and wonderful desserts, lots of laughter and perhaps an adult beverage or two.  We all decorated the Safari Loop for “Christmas in July,” enjoyed a ghost walk and candy giveaway for “Halloween in August,” and played a spirited inaugural version of Red Neck Games one Saturday… complete with Red Neck food and drink. Don’t ask! But since we all had a blast it will be repeated next year (pics below)! We also enjoyed a Sunday Breakfast Buffet, Roast Beef sandwich and sides, and Baked Potato Saturday with toppings galore. Bud is “the Mayor” in our loop and keeps us on track and welcomes all the new comers. Bless him for taking on that job so wonderfully. We simply all follow his lead and are happy to do so! 

An unexpected gift this summer occurred when I noticed there was another Texas plate in our campground besides ours. I used that as an opportunity to say hello, and there began our friendship with Wendy & Vin. Vin had sold his home in Dover NH a few years before and went full-time RV living in his motor home. His partner of two years is Wendy who is a Chinese citizen and travels back and forth to China to visit her family. Wendy & I started taking walks together and I learned a little about her Chinese culture. Her English is quite good and much better than my Chinese. 🙂 We enjoyed several Happy Hours with Vin & Wendy talking about our mutual travels and our lives. We encouraged them to join our Safari Loop and they became part of our circle and will be back next year staying in our very special Safari Loop. They are a delight! The Chinese culture is a very sharing culture. Wendy introduced us to her home made noodles, dumplings, pork pie and she’s given me several good luck charms. She is very special, and I feel blessed by her friendship. 

Gary managed to do a few RV enhancements while we were parked… some were fun like hanging more pictures of our travels in our tiny home and making a set of cornhole boards to take with us. And, he even managed to enhance our site a bit to allow for cornhole to be played at our site by our Safari Loop friends thus it became known as Troy Stadium. 

It was a summer filled with more enjoyment and companionship than we would have thought possible with Covid still here. We were at the right place at the right time! It was wonderful to re-connect with family and friends and to create new bonds with our Safari Field Family.

We hope you all had a summer that was safe and enjoyable in whatever way that you chose to spend it! 

We will for sure look forward to being back in New Hampshire next summer when hopefully things will be more “normal” and we can see more of our friends and family and actually hug them and spend quality time together. In the meantime, we have hit the road again as of Tuesday, September 15th. More on that in the next post! Be safe and stay in touch! xoxo 

P.S. The header photo is compliments of Gary’s new drone… a summer addition!