How do you cope when you're stuck at home?

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DRAX

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Ok, I know everyone is different and a big factor is where you live/where home is so I'll start by talking about my situation.

We moved from SoCal to Illinois a little over 7 years ago, and while the move was a net gain in quality of life the problem is that Illinois is not exactly known for its outdoor activities unless you enjoy watching the corn or soybeans grow. Of course, not every part of IL is the same. We're "lucky" enough to live in central IL where it really is just corn and soybeans. If we want to do things outdoors the options are pretty limited unless we drive a few hours. Back in CA there was plenty to do if you didn't mind the traffic or the heat as you get away from the coast (unless you're in the mountains).

Prior to the pandemic I didn't feel like a feral, caged animal. I'd go to the office 3 days a week, WFH the other 2, and just getting out of the house regularly was helpful. Also prior to the pandemic we had a travel trailer and would take 2-3 week road trips and that was enough to keep me content for a while (and also not want to go on another trip because I really don't enjoy towing travel trailers anymore). I'll also add that before we moved to IL I worked from home 100% of the time and it didn't bother me because we could always find things to do.

So, then the pandemic hit and I was WFH 100% again. Within a couple of months I had cabin fever and had to get out of the house, so that's when my wife and I decided to take the plunge into overlanding (I was an avid rock crawler in CA but camping was not my thing) and a couple of months later we were on the road to CO with version 1.0 of our overlanding setup. We looooved it. Once we returned from that trip I was able to keep myself occupied by figuring out what mods or gear I wanted next, where we were going to go (general location), and just generally being happy planning the next trip (the big trips are just once per year for now). Last summer we went to Montana (Missoula, Glacier, etc) with version 1.5 of our overlanding setup and it was a mixed bag. Loved the area, but between dealing with some electrical issues, being generally hotter than Colorado (putting the RTT up and down every day was not fun), having a harder time finding dispersed camping compared to CO, and having a teenage daughter frequently complaining about being bored I was left feeling frustrated and just wanting to get home.

Of course, my wife and I weren't feeling like overlanding may not be for us, we still love it. That's why we dove in and replaced the RTT with a trailer capable of going basically wherever my truck can go, this summer will be our first big trip since getting the trailer and is likely to be the last summer with our youngest daughter coming with us. The trailer is for the adventures my wife and I want to do on our own once we're empty nesters but we'll have a place for our daughter to sleep this summer.

More to the point, I'm running out of projects to keep me occupied and am finding myself going crazy. Adding to this is that summer is extremely busy for my wife and daughter but not me (other than work). My daughter is working as a 4H camp counselor for four sessions that are effectively a week long each and then sometimes has a couple of days off or has 1-1.5 weeks off before going back for the next session. Then between sessions my wife already went on one trip to visit family in OR, after the next session my wife is going on a 5-day cruise, then after the last session my wife and youngest daughter are going to CA for about a week. Our trip to CO will be the first 2 weeks of August and we're limited to 2 weeks because school starts again a few days after we get back. It was going to be 3 weeks, but then their CA trip stole a week.

Moving to someplace that better suits our lifestyle is on the radar but isn't likely to happen for at least 1-2 years, so in the meantime I'm trying to find ways to survive. Those of you that have been in similar situations, how have you kept yourself busy/occupied? Planning and anticipation only helps so much. :D
 

ThundahBeagle

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High Ballers.

Actually I'm in the office 5 days a week at 100 miles round trip, so my weeks are full. Weekends I always think of places I want to go and half the time it oh, it's so and so's birthday and such.

We've had very little fun truck travel this year, although we did hit Acadia in Maine already, and in a couple weeks we will be at Cape Cod National Seashore. Have plans to return to Acadia, maybe hit Great Smokeys and New River or Shenandoah in Virginia. Planning and upkeep are a thing, for sure.

Having traveled through Illinois, I know what you mean about corn and soybeans, but there's always the i80 Truck Stop!

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TheBison

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We're pretty snowbound at home from November through April, so I tend to get grumpy AF. Lots of daydreaming, YouTube videos, and trip planning pass some of the time, but otherwise I try to get all of my overlanding projects done so I'm ready to hit the trail as soon as they start to melt out and open up.
 
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MidOH

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Winter is great for offroad hobbies. My list:
Drz400 needs a carb, sprockets, chain, tires, and battery.

Ducati needs a battery and turn signal glued back on.

Ktm exc500 needs to exist.

F250 needs tire pressure sensors turned off by hacking the ECM. Ditch lights. Recalibrate it for max OEM diameter, or 35x12.5".

When that's all done, house needs remodeled, and my oak tree hates my Ram and will drop a massive branch on it any minute now. Deere countermeasures need redone.

Scope needs mounted. 90" TV needs mounted to fireplace.

Theres a ton to do. If interested, I can pay with Pirelli tires and imitation crab meat.
 

DRAX

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I plan a trip! Also, I build models.
Yeah, maybe I'll pick up route planning for our eventual Canada/Yukon/NWT/Alaska trip that we're hoping to do in a couple of years.

Speaking of models, when COVID first hit I picked up one of the LEGO Bugatti kits, that kept me busy for about a week. haha
 
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DRAX

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There are definitely projects/ideas I could work on, the problem is I'm at the point where the ones I have left are rather expensive and not necessary yet. Would like to do front and rear bumpers, winch, rear spare tire carrier, and get some sliders. I'll probably try and get things rolling on some of those over this winter, we'll see. Aside from cost my other hesitation is weight, I'd really like to find some quality aluminum bumpers, or at least an aluminum front bumper.

Oooo, and then my wife and I also want a couple of kayaks and a rack to haul them on my truck topper.

By the time everything is done we won't be able to afford to go anywhere, we'll just have to admire everything and daydream about using them someday... :laughing:
 

ThundahBeagle

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Winter is great for offroad hobbies. My list:
Drz400 needs a carb, sprockets, chain, tires, and battery.

Ducati needs a battery and turn signal glued back on.

Ktm exc500 needs to exist.

F250 needs tire pressure sensors turned off by hacking the ECM. Ditch lights. Recalibrate it for max OEM diameter, or 35x12.5".

When that's all done, house needs remodeled, and my oak tree hates my Ram and will drop a massive branch on it any minute now. Deere countermeasures need redone.

Scope needs mounted. 90" TV needs mounted to fireplace.

Theres a ton to do. If interested, I can pay with Pirelli tires and imitation crab meat.
Yes. Theres always more upkeep that could be done. Went to start my truck the other day and there was quite a rumble from lower, center/right under dash. Turned the truck off. Turned it back on than the rumble had gone away but no blower motor at all. Drove home with the windows open. When I got home, I pulled the blower motor and there was a recently deceased mouse. I knew that meant I needed a cabin filter. Lucky the blower still worked (after cleaning with bleach of course. Plugged a couple chassis access holes with dryer sheets with mint sprayed on. Even put a sheet along the top of the new cabin air filter.

Even when you think you've done every maintenance, something crops up.
 
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K12

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Outside of projects and maint on the rig. I have an indoor garden that I tend to. Small right now but it takes an hour or two of my time every day. The fresh thai peppers and herbs are great for cooking.
 
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rhdthing

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Being stuck at home sucks! For myself I just try and stay busy. Between completing my masters, kids, helping the wife and planning out the build on our truck and where we want to go I'm staying decently busy.
 
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K12

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Being stuck at home sucks! For myself I just try and stay busy. Between completing my masters, kids, helping the wife and planning out the build on our truck and where we want to go I'm staying decently busy.
School will definitely keep you busy. What are you studying?
 

TCorona

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Many of us are stuck at home for various reason... especially these days. Luckily I have a retirement project I can turn to besides all the 'honey do's'... This Beast...
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Viking1204

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You might need to pick up some new hobbies! I hunt, fish and grow a garden so that keeps me pretty busy most of the year.
 
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DRAX

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:flushed:In the Deep South, we're pretty much stuck at home in July and August. Its just too dang HOT/HUMID!
You might need to pick up some new hobbies! I hunt, fish and grow a garden so that keeps me pretty busy most of the year.
So, the other problem where I live besides lack of outdoor destinations close by is the summer weather. We basically had no spring at all, it went from late winter to summer weather in like less than a week. On average it's not supposed to be too bad, but summers are getting worse and worse. Right now it's 100F out with a heat index of 116F and we haven't had a decent rain in weeks. Our main summer hobbies are "escaping this awful weather." :D So almost everything outside is going to depend on how hot it is. My wife and I got new gravel bikes over the winter and were so excited to get out and ride once the weather was nice. We've managed one ride so far for various reasons. If we had kayaks then there are some places not too far where we could take them and then we'd have water to cool off in.

Living here would be easier to tolerate if it weren't for the weather. We love Spring and Fall, I love snow, and I hate heat + humidity. I'd give just about anything to move somewhere with shorter summers and winters and less drastic temp swings between summer and winter. Heck, even someplace with similarly long winters but less crap summer would be an improvement. Oh well, just have to keep telling myself that moving someplace else may be possible in a couple of years.

I mean, look at this BS that happened in May. We were expecting to have more time in the 60s and 70s but mother nature gave us the big fat middle finger instead and it hasn't really let up since. Most of the time when it's hot it's also pretty humid. There are some warm/hot days that are fine, but as the crops grow they toss more moisture into the air and by the time August rolls around it's just super gross.

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KonzaLander

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Explore your backyard.

Seriously. We all love getting away for that multi week/month trip, but start exploring the weird, wacky local things in your area/state.

You will not only perfect your rig and gear, but you might learn something or experience something unexpected. If I can explore Kansas and continually find new things in the land of no public land, I am sure Illinois has cool stuff to find. You won't find the answers in Gaia or pinned on a map anywhere. You will need to contact local visitors bureaus, historical societies or look at old paper maps. If you think you have exhausted exploring everything locally, get a motorcycle and reexplore it. A new perspective helps keep that adventurous fire alive. Plus a motorcycle can easily consume HOURS and HOURS of your time with maintenance, farkles and riding.
 

DRAX

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Explore your backyard.

Seriously. We all love getting away for that multi week/month trip, but start exploring the weird, wacky local things in your area/state.

You will not only perfect your rig and gear, but you might learn something or experience something unexpected. If I can explore Kansas and continually find new things in the land of no public land, I am sure Illinois has cool stuff to find. You won't find the answers in Gaia or pinned on a map anywhere. You will need to contact local visitors bureaus, historical societies or look at old paper maps. If you think you have exhausted exploring everything locally, get a motorcycle and reexplore it. A new perspective helps keep that adventurous fire alive. Plus a motorcycle can easily consume HOURS and HOURS of your time with maintenance, farkles and riding.
Well, we've explored IN a bit as well as downstate IL (Shawnee NF, etc), but there really isn't much to explore in IL. Sure, we have more public land by % than KS but it's not much. KS is listed as 1.9% public land and IL is 4.1%. That 4.1% is virtually no off-road or even forest roads, it's mostly smaller parks with hiking trails or wilderness areas...with hiking trails. Anything worth exploring has already been explored or is out of state. :(

That said, I don't mind just getting out and camping at primitive or developed public campgrounds in the spring and fall (and winter if there's snow), but doing that in the summer here is just miserable. WI/MN are a day's drive to get there. KY is a good half-day to get to LBL. MO, same thing. Weekend getaways mean more time driving to and from than actually there. :(

I know it sounds like I'm making excuses and my boredom is my own doing, but at this point it's more like I've already done what there is to do and to get outdoors and actually enjoy it takes better weather or a long drive. Vehicle projects tend to happen in the winter because they're also miserable in the summer with the humidity.

Now, I could just bite the bullet and order Starlink for RVs and work from the road in the summer but my wife would kill me if I left her here at home with the animals and teenager. :D
 

KonzaLander

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Well, we've explored IN a bit as well as downstate IL (Shawnee NF, etc), but there really isn't much to explore in IL. Sure, we have more public land by % than KS but it's not much. KS is listed as 1.9% public land and IL is 4.1%. That 4.1% is virtually no off-road or even forest roads, it's mostly smaller parks with hiking trails or wilderness areas...with hiking trails. Anything worth exploring has already been explored or is out of state. :(

That said, I don't mind just getting out and camping at primitive or developed public campgrounds in the spring and fall (and winter if there's snow), but doing that in the summer here is just miserable. WI/MN are a day's drive to get there. KY is a good half-day to get to LBL. MO, same thing. Weekend getaways mean more time driving to and from than actually there. :(

I know it sounds like I'm making excuses and my boredom is my own doing, but at this point it's more like I've already done what there is to do and to get outdoors and actually enjoy it takes better weather or a long drive. Vehicle projects tend to happen in the winter because they're also miserable in the summer with the humidity.

Now, I could just bite the bullet and order Starlink for RVs and work from the road in the summer but my wife would kill me if I left her here at home with the animals and teenager. :D
I live so far in the sticks I have Starlink for internet at my house....but I digress.

Admittedly, I know close to nothing about IL...other than I saw a police car back in 2003 that had a "NORMAL POLICE" decal on the side of the car on my way to Kalamazoo to pick up a Jeep. I still chuckle about that to this day :laughing:

I did a quick look around central IL and found plenty of small towns with one restaurant that would be worth some time to visit. I am also a historic rail fan and see plenty of derelict depot sites to geek out on. Looks like there are several historic bridges that need checked out too. Heck, Route 66 is in your backyard and a destination many folks seek out. Dang it, now I want to explore the backroads of IL. Exploring your backyard isn't necessarily about putting the truck in 4wd, it is about checking out those weird, quirky, historical sites and landmarks that noooooobody gives a second thought about. Sometimes an old, rough, paved county road will lead you right where you didn't know you wanted to go. It's all about how you perceive your surroundings and journey, especially when the destination is simply getting back home.

Here is a trip report I did several years ago about traveling through Western Kansas...you know, the part of Kansas everybody tries to get through as fast as possible on the interstate because it is so boring on their way to the West.
 
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