Restless and inventive Charleston families are breaking out, revving up and going mobile | Columnists

Diane Conradi had a mission.

The Montana resident, who is my childhood friend, wanted to spend quality time with her adventure-loving mother back in Charleston.

There were, however, a heap of roadblocks.

First, the pandemic had nixed the usual modus operandi of the travel-happy, intrepid Conradi family, who are known to enjoy frequent excursions to far flung places, from birding in the Galapagos to safaris in Kenya and Tanzania.

However, at 83, her mother, Sandra Conradi, was in the riskier COVID-19 category. That, coupled with the fact she is no longer driving, meant Conradi, a former chief medical examiner for Charleston County, had little chance to venture out.

Her daughter found a fix called Dusty. It is a 1990 Roadtrek Class-B recreational vehicle,…