Road Trip

Monday, March 30, 2020 (continued): Doug and I are on the road. When it's Doug's turn to  drive, I can write and reflect on the news of the day and I consider our own decision to travel.

1 pm We have both questioned whether it was a good idea to leave our home in Seattle. Still, over the weekend, we packed our Chevrolet Bolt, an electric car, and this morning headed south to our condo in Aptos, California.

As our car zips down the I-5 corridor, the electronic traffic info signs display only one message: Stay home. Save lives. COVID-19.

We feel that both “scofflaw” and “privileged” apply to us. We are lucky enough to have a second home. We rent it out when we aren’t there ourselves. Our trip each spring is filled with repairs and resupply chores to ready the condo for summer guests. But I am mindful that any travel looks like a mere vacation. I keep our Aptos property tax forms handy in my travel bag, in case we need to prove to anyone that we are “going home,” that we are not simply on a holiday. So far, no one has questioned us.

For the record, we are careful. Based on advice broadcast by news media, we packed spray bottles of Lysol (kills 99,9% of germs), found at Fred Meyer last week, 3 personal-size hand sanitizers from Trader Joe’s, in addition to a homemade sanitizer spray made from 70% alcohol and a ½ teaspoon of glycerin, and two types of nitrile gloves, normally used for bike repair. We also have a gallon of water and a towel to minimize the use of public sinks. We use the Lysol on anything we buy, reapplying it to the car door handles and the steering wheel whenever we feel we have touched something in a public space.

7 pm Doug lobbied to drive the Bolt, our electric car, which we have taken on 3-5-hour trips before, with only one recharge stop. However, on this trip we have made many more stops than we planned. Charge stations automatically shut off when a car has reach an 80% capacity because the final 20% would take a long time to charge and monopolize the charge station. As a result, depending on the charge station, we only get an 80% charge after plugging in for anywhere from 35 minutes to 2 hours. Because we don’t achieve a full charge each time, we stop every two hours or so to recharge. Tonight we were down to 7 miles of charge when we pulled into the last charge station.

10pm After a full day of driving and recharging stops, we pull into the parking lot of the Ashland Hills Inn and Suites a little after 9 pm., three hours later than we expected. My Lysol in hand at the hotel check-in desk, I prepare to spray and wipe the key cards to our room. I am thankful she takes my scouring in stride and does not seem offended. 

Upon arriving at our room, a welcome upgrade to a suite, I spray the door handle before entering. Then I liberally coat every surface (tables, nightstands, counters) and hardware (door knobs, light switches, and faucet handles) with my Lysol spray. To the inn’s credit, little actual dirt comes off onto my paper towels as I wipe it all down. They have cleaned well. I am relieved.

We have stayed at this hotel when the kids were little and we attended the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a popular attraction. Most recently, we stopped here last year on one of our two trips to California to plan and attend my daughter Angela and her husband Harry’s wedding. Although I engage in a vigorous germ-fighting routine at the inn, tonight the place seems a welcome and comforting reprieve from a long day on the road.

How did you decide to travel or not to travel during the first month the virus was detected in your state? If you traveled, what precautions did you take?