Going the (Social) Distance: Road Trip Cross Country During the COVID-19 Pandemic (part 3)

Home!

The weather has only gotten better the farther East we've traveled. Located as we are on the end of Long Island, we are accustomed to being the last area to experience the seasons. Trees were already budding out in Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana, and winter wheat (?) crops along the interstate were the green of a St. Patrick's Day celebration. I'm glad I packed tee shirts for the final leg back home.

It's always interesting to note gasoline prices in the middle of the USA. Yes, prices are always lower than on either coast, especially since California has emission strictures and added taxes in place. But current supply and demand have brought prices down to a level I haven't seen maybe since I learned to drive. A sign off the Pennsylvania Turnpike this morning:

Once we hit the middle of the country, road traffic picked up considerably. Most of it was semi-truck traffic, understandably as long-distance truckers are always our lifeline, but especially right now (medical supplies? toilet paper? eggs? ). We encountered our first actual traffic jam as we drove through the greater Kansas City metro area, where a slew of road construction was underway.

Which brings me to the topic of Essential Work. Road construction is infrastructure and that is considered essential. There were probably 100 personal vehicles lined up along the roadways and on the blocked-off lanes representing the workers on the job. I wondered how those workers felt in this time of weirdness. Were they glad? Proud? Relieved that their jobs meant that their paycheck was intact for the foreseeable future?  Or, did they feel like the two Starbucks workers we encountered at a travel service area who were annoyed because the greater company had closed all the cafes but their store still had to work at least another few days? Young adults. I couldn't help but think by their attitude that they thought the whole deal was a free vacation they weren't getting.

A free vacation?? As if. The whole shutdown is giving me insomnia.

I have to say, my most hated segment of any road trip beyond state lines is that which takes us through the 25-mile radius of NYC. Particularly anything relating to any part of I-95. I HATE IT. Thank God for the voice on Wayz, who gets all the blame when Chris and I start screaming at each other. Shades of Bonfire of the Vanities: "I thought you said another mile point six before the exit for the GWB! We just passed an exit that said GWB! Now we're going to be lost somewhere in the Bronx!"

It's all over the news that NYC is riddled with Coronavirus cases, and that anyone even visiting there is required to self-isolate for 14 days. Though we had no intention of even getting out of the car within 50 miles of the city, we still chose to skirt Manhattan by taking outerborough bridges rather than tunnels through the center in order to avoid it like the plague it currently is.

Hey, NYC? Keep yer bugs to yerself.

And yeah, I get that the New York Tri-State area is heavily populated, but we sure didn't see much difference in the amount of traffic on the roads. "Stay home?"  "Flatten the curve?" Sure seems to be a lot of "essential travel" around here. Just sayin'...

As we made the final leg of our journey (3018 miles, in case you're wondering) we note that other categories of Essential Work here in the Hamptons include, apparently, construction and landscaping. (One of the reasons landscaping is considered essential here is because, without ongoing attention, our deer tick situation can cause its own epidemic.) As we came within 20 miles of home, the vehicles that you see most during this time of the year -- trade and landscaping trucks and trailers -- were still visible in abundance. Turning down our street, construction on a house two doors up was in full swing with no less than 23 vehicles parked along the street.

HOME! In full Spring mode. Daffodils all over the yard, the magnolia starting to bloom, robins on the lawn. Sydney tore off into the garden like a child on Christmas morning.

The next few days will be filled with settling in and reclaiming our space. Tomorrow Sydney and I will venture out on our walk to see what a ghost town the rest of the area is. God bless Deb, our manager, for leaving us stocked with essentials to make meals over the next few days while we get acclimated, I'm planning on testing new recipes of breakfast items during this enforced downtime. Chris can't wait to get out in the garden.

"Staycation" was a term for local getaways following the recession of 2008. I wonder if the COVID-19 pandemic might issue in a new era of staycation travel, whereby people choose to travel to places they can drive to, thus mitigating their exposure and proximity to other people. Cruises, coach tours, European capitals with trips to museums and cathedrals attending by thousands per day? Really, what might such venues spread in the way of germs? Maybe the best vacation might be somewhere small, with a limited amount of other travelers, none of whom you are forced to interact if you don't want to.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic means that we are currently hemorrhaging money as reservations cancel right left and center, I can only say I sure hope so.

Deep breath, and looking forward to navigating our way through the uncertain days ahead in the most positive, hopeful manner!