Would you go/what am I not thinking of? (Update after trip in initial post)

[Zukini]

So I’ve been watching this thread with great interest as we were planning a 17-hour drive from Tx to our condo in Florida. We did it yesterday in one push with our 5-year old in a rented SUV. School is done and we were planning to spend most of the summer out here. We are frequent flyers but our son has sensory needs and would not tolerate wearing a mask for an extended period of time. We had practiced mask wearing for drives for curbside pickups but had not worked our way up to the 2-3 hours needed for the flight. We have been sheltering in place at home, doing only curbside grocery pickup and not letting anyone in our home for 10 weeks, and decided the change of scenery would be worth the drive time. We packed snacks, drinks, water to drink and wash hands if needed, portable urinal thingies (just in case!), crafts and toys, iPad entertainment. We have a vehicle in FL so the rental was mostly just to ferry us and relocate pantry and COVID supplies here.

Biggest disappointment was the rest stops. We took I-10 East and it took us 20 hours total with 4 stops, of which two were at big mega rest stops for which kiddo was asleep in car for one, another was at an almost empty FL visitor center with individual bathrooms and a big green space for kiddo (and me!) to do some laps, and one for gas only. OMG ... we hit the beaver branded mega rest stops in Baytown TX and outside Mobile AL. Almost no one besides the staff were wearing masks. It was beyond surreal to see entire families, toddlers, teens, grandparents all piling into the rest stop unprotected. I am sad for those kids cause as a parent I would do anything for my child even if I was skeptical for whatever reason. I purposefully avoided eye contact cause we stood out in a huge way and we just needed to use the facilities and get out. It was like being in a totally different world. Surreal.

Biggest tip, have a designated spot in your car for clean supplies, a trash receptacle and a spot for supplies you will reuse. Clorox wipes handy for gas pumps and wiping credit card, steering wheel, touching surfaces in the rest stop. We took turns staying with the car and carried nothing inside except a phone and credit card in the pocket and a Clorox wipe in the hand. The rest stops were very clean besides all the uncovered people wandering around doing business as usual. Thankful for automatic sliding doors! Either way, we are here now safely and we will continue to be diligent about distancing.

[erosenst]

Zukini thanks for the details. Laughing about the 'beaver branded rest stops' - I can totally visualize the scene there (sigh). Assume you didn't stay there long enough to get Beaver Nuggets which would have added to my stress.

I found our preferred TP online at WalMart yesterday while looking for something else. Had a megapack shipped to our condo - even if we don't go now we will at some point and that's one "stress" removed. I continue to be torn on whether driving or flying is better for us.

Keep the input and anecdotes coming - it's helpful!

[erosenst]

Update in original post...

[JBaxter]

Glad you had a good time.

[erosenst]

Glad you had a good time.

Thanks! Your input, as someone who lives close to where we were, definitely helped make the decision!


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