Exit Ramp
Enough is enough. That pretty much sums up my frustration with the actions of government. Canada imposed new travel restrictions further limiting our mobility rights. This on top of provincial lockdowns. We have experienced a perpetual state of forced confinement for almost a year now. With no end in sight.
All international air travellers will be required to stay in a supervised government approved quarantine hotel, at their own expense, until their test results come back, which is expected to take approximately 3 days.
The cost to travellers for the mandatory hotel stay and COVID testing will be approximately $2,000 per person.
If you test negative, you complete the remainder of your 14-day quarantine at your place of residence assuming that it meets the requirements of public health officials, under significantly increased surveillance. Enforcement will be conducted by private security firms who have been hired by the Federal government to monitor travellers quarantining at home.
Travellers will also be required to be tested again on Day 10 of their quarantine, regardless of their initial test result.
If the test is positive at that point, you will be required to go to a government run quarantine centre.
These restrictions were introduced for air travel and will soon be in effect for air and land travel.
Although I haven’t checked, I suspect that those of us returning in a motorcoach would have the coach seized and impounded on entry while enduring the mandatory 3-day imprisonment for the lawful act of entering Canada. Presumably the cost of impounding the coach would be added to the $2,000 per person charge. Not sure what would happen to any pets during that part of the process. And not sure whether the isolation period would separate a couple. I suspect it would.
Hard to believe.
What have I learned through this pandemic?
Travelling full-time in a motorcoach in Canada is not sustainable when the borders are closed. Winters are very harsh here.
Being without housing is a much greater risk than I expected.
As a consequence we made a few changes.
We sold the coach two weeks ago.
We bought a beautiful condo in a wonderful waterfront complex last week.
We move there in 5 weeks.
It’s certainly not the dream we expected during this part of our retirement. Travel will come back. Perhaps next year. Or the year after. Possibly this year but it seems doubtful.
When it does, we will resume our travels. But not in a motorcoach.
We loved the time we did have travelling around North America in our Dutch Star. Looking back, I took many of those amazing memories for granted. I never imagined a scenario where our basic freedoms could be taken away.
And so we pivot.
We are still the same couple. Still very much in love and travelling together through this life. Facing the challenges as best we can.
The blog has been quiet over the past two weeks as we had so many things to do in a relatively short period of time. We have tried to reach out to as many of our friends and family as possible to share the news before posting here.
We are not sure what the next chapter looks like and that’s okay.
Life never really follows even the most carefully scripted of plans.
We’ll focus on the many blessings we enjoy. Our faith, our marriage, our family, our friends, our health, our financial independence.
To those still on the road: enjoy the journey!
Hi Lorraine & Richard,
I’m stunned to read that you’ve sold your beautiful coach. I can only imagine how difficult that decision was for you both. I emailed Lorraine before Christmas and haven’t heard back. Is email still how I can reach you?
God bless you in this transition.
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
Lorraine has reached out to you. Not an easy decision but life will provide us with new opportunities to travel in the future!
Wow. Life never ceases to amaze. While I am excited for your next adventure I am disappointed that you will not be continuing your travels in your Dutch Star. I have truly enjoyed your writings and have learned a lot from your experiences. My wife and I are traveling the US in the winters in our Dutch Star and your posts have been beneficial and entertaining. Wish you and your wife the best in the future.
Many thanks Eric!
So sorry to hear you are leaving the RV life. We sold our King Aire and have ordered an Airstream Atlas (Sprinter-based) as we decided to downsize to access more places. Both of our Class A Only lots are for sale, so our lifestyle is changing also, but not forced by the government. Just old age perhaps…
I hope we get to see you again some time. We still have the house in Southern Utah so if your travels get you there in the future, please let us know. I hope you enjoy your new lifestyle and that you both stay healthy and happy.
Hello Ken!
I am so glad our lives crossed paths. And I hope we will connect again in the future. Love Utah and definitely plan to get down there whenever this pandemic ends 🙂
Hi Richard and Lorraine! We are surprised – not! We are having some of the same discussions but likely won’t do anything as quickly as you guys. This really has been eye opening and unbelievable. Best of luck in all your future endeavors. Stay well!
Jacquie & Chuck
Thanks guys!
We’ll still have some adventures ahead of us for sure 🙂
Sorry to hear that you have sold your motorhome, and are moving on to new adventures. Do you really believe th.at the border will still be shut down next winter. I for one think that once the vacine has been administered throughout the country, we will see the bord
ers open up, maybe with a condition that you have to be vaccinated before you are permitted to cross the border, or return. Enjoy your condo, but I for one will still try to get south as soon as legally possible.
Having a home does not mean that we won’t travel south 🙂
I hope that Canada is able to get a vaccination program completed this year. But it certainly does not look too encouraging. I have no idea when or how the border will reopen. If you had asked me last March whether the border would still be closed a year later, I would have said no. If you are asking me if it is possible that the border will remain closed throughout 2021 then I would have to say yes.
The federal government’s stated strategy is to first promote people travelling within their regions, then to travel across the country.
International efforts would come last, once officials in Canada are sure other countries have widespread vaccination efforts that would protect Canadians’ health and safety.
Those are the talking points coming from cabinet ministers in the Canadian government. We might have a bit of a wait before recreational travel resumes. We’ll see. Hopefully things do reopen. I would love to spend next winter someplace warm and sunny 🙂
All the best!
We are hoping to try to go west next summer/fall, but that will depend on the government. Hopefully that will at least be a option.Maybe ,after that, the powers to be will loosen the border so we can get back to a somewhat normal life again, although it will never be what it used to be. Looking forward to a walk on Englewood beach, towards stump pass, the area that I grew up in, although it sure has changed in the last 50 years.Keep the faith. Sooner or later, things will loosen up. Dave