A road trip during coronavirus?! It was awesome. Here are the best and worst situations we experienced on our two-week roadtrip from Los Angeles to Olympic National Park. Let me say, that we felt safe at every hotel we stayed in as they all had coronavirus measures in place.
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| Seattle |
Stringent coronavirus checks
Most - Hyatt Place in Emeryville - asked us 3 coronavirus questions before they let us check in and gave us a handout on covid measures at hotel
Least - Bars - once you had a beer in your hand masks came off
Covid breakfast (every place except 1, staff handed you your breakfast items)
Best - Seattle - only place on entire trip with hot breakfast - scrambled eggs and bacon or sausage.
Worst - Redding - lots of cold choices, but we were allowed to grab our own food
People wearing masks
Most - Olympic National Park
Least - Stockton and small towns in Washington
Reliable bathroom opportunities
Most - rest areas along interstate 5
Least - California gas stations (many were "out of order")
Park experience
Best - Mt. St. Helens - very few people there due to coronavirus - I saw pictures from last year and observation decks were packed with people.
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| Mt. St. Helens |
Worst - Cape Flattery - it is located on Indian Reservation and the reservation was still in Phase 1. We were turned back after an hour drive by police since we were not locals.
Dining
Best - Pastini - first sit down meal in 4 months! Seating was outside. All servers wearing masks, tables were wiped down between guests.
Worst - Oyster restaurant in small town - owner not wearing mask
Coronavirus precaution Items I brought
Best - hand sanitizer I placed in doors of car
Worst - wipes - never used them. We were very good about hand sanitizer and never saw a necessity for these.
Other coronavirus observations: many elevators had spots on floor where you were supposed to stand for social distancing purposes; one hotel said most were operating at 40% capacity or less; one gas station in WA gave out gloves so you could pump your gas; traffic was great- everywhere - even going into and out of San Francisco at rush hour on a Monday; and everywhere we went most people wore masks similar to what we see in Southern California - most people do, but there is that tiny minority that refuse. Only in a couple of businesses we found mask wearing lax and we abruptly left.
Being on the road filled us with a sense of freedom that we had not experienced in the last four months. I am ready for another one.
Take care and be safe.
Take care and be safe.
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| Me at Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park |
