Now, I'm a nurse. I know full well the hazards of any type of travel during a pandemic. In my arrogance, I also consider myself a notch above most people at keeping deadly germs out of my mouth & face. Until you've had the joy of keeping a gloved C-Diff hand way from your face, you probably won't agree, but I digress. Germs bad, cleanliness good, and my mental health was tanking. My kids' mental health was shot, and the dismal end to the school year brought no joy to their world. My husband was becoming creature-like and hadn't seen daylight in a spell.
I discovered through a nurse at my work that Zion National Park would be opening soon, and that campgrounds were beginning to open. I started to consider the technicalities of leaving town with my husband, two daughters, and myself.
So a few concerns came up.
1. Safety
2. Bathrooms
3. Food
Safety:
It would be a 7 hour drive, and camping would mean sharing bathroom facilities with others. Not ideal. I started to search more, and found a fair amount of steeply discounted resorts, cabins, and AirBnB options. This sounded much safer, as I could mask up & go wipe down surfaces before my family entered. This would also mean we could bring frozen food and we could cook meals ourselves, further limiting exposure.
Bathrooms:
I had read about these little devices that essentially allows females to pee while standing up. More research, and I discovered FUDs; Female Urination Device. Oooh the snappy names that exist! PeeBuddy, GoGirl, SheWee, TinkleBelle! In a pinch, if restrooms on the road were closed, we could essentially whip-it-out a la man-style and go on the side of the road. Of course, it would need daughter approval first. My enthusiastic 9 year old tried it out back, while my somewhat more contained 7 year old opted for the shower. Success! And while it might not solve any #2 problems on the road, I felt safer having a FUD in our arsenal.
Food:
The drive was 7+ hours, which we planned to do in one day. I filled extra bags of ice from our fridge up over the week leading up to our trip, so we had nearly enough to fill the cooler. I packed some frozen meals (spaghetti sauce, turkey burgers, mac n cheese) and filled the cooler full of enough food for 3 days. I also made sure our rental had the means to cook things and store food. A fridge, microwave and hotplate meant that we could stay in even more. I knew that we would be ordering out as well, and a quick search of restaurants close to my rental showed nearly all of them doing takeout. So at the very least, we would not starve.
That said, after all the planning and concerns, our trip went off relatively uneventfully. We did discover that enough rest areas were open that we didn't have to bust out the FUD, and we definitely ate more fast food than I would have preferred (mostly due to pure exhaustion after barely moving the past 2 months, and vacation-me is incredibly energetic and go-go-go).
BUT. It also set my next plan in motion. A road trip with my girls. Since it looks like travel will be nil, our summer camps will be canceled and I sure as hell don't want to get on a plane any time soon, it is time to get creative. Disappointment after disappointment has been their life the past couple months. Our trip to Zion invigorated me, and we all sorely needed it.
I don't see this virus disappearing any time soon. In all honesty? I can't imagine life returning anywhere close to its former glory for at least the next year or two. I am not willing to give up travel for 2 years. I am aware (more than most) of the devastation of this virus, but I'm also going to find a way to live my life, look forward to travel and trips, and protect my family. Stay tuned...
