I'm surprised that it isn't all that hard to track the movements of Jimmy Carter during the latter part of January, 1981. These are all from the New York Times, a paper that, I figure, wouldn't give Mr. Carter much of a break.
On the evening of Inaguration Day, January 20, President Carter along with Walter Mondale and a couple other members of his cabinet flew to Germany to meet the recently released Iranian hostages. They arrived in Germany on Wednesday, January 21. Mr. Carter met the hostages and was outraged at their reports of having received barbaric treatment. On January 22, still in Germany, he denounced the hostages' Iranian captors. Terence Smith, "Carter Charges Iran Subjected Hostages to 'Acts of Barbarism'", NYT Late East Coast Edition, 22 January 1981, page A1.
On January 23, Mr. Carter flew back to the U.S. and Walter Mondale delivered his report on the hostages' condition to President Reagan. Mr. Carter returned to Georgia and declined to speak to the press pending the Administration's reaction to his report. Bernard Gwertzman, "New Administration Says It Will Honor Accord on Hostages", NYT Late East Coast Edition, 23 January 1981, page A1.
On January 24, 1981, Mr. Carter told reporters that he and his family were going to spend some time in the Virgin Islands to relax after the stress of the campaign and his loss of the election. UPI, "Virgin Island Vacation for the Carters", NYT Late East Coast Edition, 24 January 1981, page 1.17.
On Sunday, January 25, 1981, Mr. Carter and his family attended services at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. Mr. Carter, formerly a member of Plains Baptist Church, announced he was changing his membership to Maranatha. UPI, "Church Formed by Split Welcomes Carter Family", NYT Late East Coast Edition, 26 January 1981, page A22.
Mr. Carter apparently declined to speak to the press on January 26; he and his family were preparing for their trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
On Tuesday, January 27, Mr. Carter was in Americus, Georgia. Before boarding his plane to the family vacation spot he expressed his satisfaction with the way President Reagan had handled the aftermath of the hostage crisis. Then the family flew away to their vacation. AP, "Carter Praises Reagan for Stand on Hostages." NYT, Late East Coast Edition, 28 January 1981, page A17.
Mr. Carter and his family spent their vacation in a cottage owned by Roy Sewer, Superintendent of the Virgin Islands National Park. Although Amy returned to Georgia a little early to begin school, Mr. and Mrs. Carter and their son Chip remained in the Virgin Islands until Sunday, February 8. Albin Krebs, "Carters to Return Sunday from Virgin Islands Vacation", NYT Late East Coast Edition, 5 February 1981, page C16.
From there to the end of February, there is no mention at all of former President Carter's having a news conference, and none at all linking Mr. Carter's name to the term "bigfoot."
Research, it's what I do.