Let Me Tell You All My Story, Part One..........Driving Cross Country in the Midst of Covid

Many hundreds of miles later, I have arrived at my destination (sort of). My stuff has not arrived yet, so I sit and type on daughter's couch and go to my place occasionally and figure out how I will arrange things and check my mail. Seems moving company and I had a miscommunication (trying to be tactful here) and they have up to 21 days to get me my damned stuff). But seriously, more about my stuff and all of this delivery mess in my next missive in a day or two!

First, Ineed to say that I absolutely love my apartment. Athough I did not want to admit it, there was some little worry in the back of my mind until I got here.  I had done multiple tours, but the last one was back in February and I did NOT tour the specific unit I ended up being in. And in spite of the shared pictures, my daughter's work and everything else, there was that teeny level of "what will it be like". I now know that this is perfect for me, and wish I had been able to move in  right away (daughhter even had flowers and food and everything for me to do so, and then, no stuff). 

My color goal is the green and the fall colors only a darker turqoise than the candle.

Not well lit photos either one, but you can better see the layout with the furniture (and the patio stuff pulled inside as I am not there!)

Now, about that drive (and overnight), since I talked and worried about it enough before:

First let me say that  like to think that I was pretty well, perhaps even overly,  prepared. I ate the first meal before leaving home and I put a wide basket in the front seat that had disposable masks, wipes, sanitizer and sandwich baggies to use as gloves (since I forgot to order gloves). Oh, and paper towels.  I also had a bag full of wipes in my purse, with a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Never mind the usual front seat stuff that goes in the car on a long road trip alone.

Naturally, my first issue was that of the bathroom break, since I drink alot to stay hydrated and get my caffeine on cross country trips. To be honest, on the bathroom side I was probably not as conservative as many of my readers, at least in rest stops. I generally cross the country alone from right to left, top to bottom on a pretty regular basis in the normal times, and I am not a wipe it down/hover above the potty/put the paper down kind of gal as a general rule. Never mind that Covid is pretty much an airborne issue rather than a surface one (an understanding that I am coming to very, very, slowly).

So in the rest stops,  I did a slap dash job of wiping the handle and then the seat, did my duty, and then used TP to flush the handle. Then washed my hands well, used the paper towel on the door if needed on my car door if not and then sanitized my hands in the car as an extra measure (and my car door in and out and other things like steering wheel as needed).  Thankfully most rest stops (as well as most gas stations on my journey) had open doors possibly for this purpose. While I would have liked to do rest stops only, when nature called during my gas breaks, I had to answer. I only stop at Love's when possible and they are generally clean so I simply applied my wipe more fervently and was a little more cautious than at the rest stop.

On the gas side of said stops (three in two days), I put the baggies on both hands, filled the tank, disposed of the baggies and got into the car, dropping my card in one of the cup holders. I then sanitized my hands well and grabbed a wipe and cleaned door handle outside and in, my card and steering wheel and everything I touched as I got in the car. If I felt the need, I wiped my hands, sanitized again, and then put on lotion (I actually use A and D ointment or Aquaphor on my hands after any sanitizing, always).

Onto the food, which was a bit of a different situation. At home, I would wipe down the bag and containers, wash my hands and get a real plate and then use tongs or utensils to serve the food. Most of which is fairly impossible with drive through.

Instead I made room on the seat beside me by moving the basket, and lay down paper towels. I took the food from the outer bag immediately when it came that way, wiped outer containers, wiped and sanitized my hands and ate from the open container. Going inside a crowded fast food place or it's bathroom was absolutely not on my agenda. Then I put out everything in the trash, wiped the car areas as needed, wiped and sanitized my hands (I had both sanitizing wipes and wet ones) and moved onward to hit the open road (which my friends, was such a good feeling that it probably also deserves it's own post).

Hotel food delivery was a tad different because I did have a wiped off table and paper towels (albeit no plate) to work on. At that point I was honestly more worried about the mess of the special Red Robin burger that comes with an egg on top, and enjoying the blackberry sparkling water with blueberries and lime (and the salad/veg) than I was with anything else. I made no special effort with Starbucks as I do use them all the time and I ate my poundcake with the paper it came in (yes, road food when you aren't going into a restaurant or packing your own has it's own unhealthy panache). I washed and sanitized my hands over and over, and kept my hands off my face (I've learned to rely on paper towels and kleenex for the itches, real and imaginary).

Now,  for the hotel. Yep, that hotel I was not sure about.  You will all be happy to know (or maybe not) that once I was actually in the car and driving, there was never a thought that did not involve sleeping in the hotel. And no, I actually did not spray the bedding with Lysol. Again, the reality is that they wash their sheets in bleach, I don't normally spray my bedding and bedbugs was probably a worse worry. Had I been staying in the local Best Western my attitude may have been different but at this point in my traveling life I have turned in to a Hotel versus Motel kind of gal and my faith in the Drury, Marriot and the like is pretty high. Which is my way of saying I did throw something over the pillows, wipe down the table, desk and bathroom counter and chairs and use good hygiene. While I took full advantage of the bed, shower, and towels.

For readers who visit the Drury Inn, I was surprsed to see that they still had their five pm "Kickback" which is pretty much a self serve buffet, but I had already decided I would provide my own food. And I can say honestly I saw no one in the hotel without a mask except for eating and drinking, that all the tables were well separated, and that everyone I saw on the road was masked, until I got to the local CVS where there was an unmasked mom and four toddlers at the door. So most folks do seem to have embraced mask wearing or at least have accepted the rules of the road if you will.

Looking back, for the most part my Covid stress level lessened as the two day trip progressed, but other than the hotel sheets, I may have been move conservative over all than many readers ( know many of you do not worry much about the "surface" thing as much as I do).  When (if) I do this again (questionable the next few months for sure), I will bring my own cooler and food, but that's as much about healthy eating and less non-rest stop stops as it is anything else.

Meanwhile, back in Colorado, it is supposed to snow this weekend, and I pray it does, lots. Wildfires are spreading towards I25, Rocky Mountain National Park has been closed, Estes park is being evacuated, the fire is expanding at about 140,000 acres a day. In fact, there are two wildfires that will probably merge, so if you are a praying person...............

Meanwhile, as I sit on daughter's couch,  I leave you with this thought: stuff is important. How much stuff, and which stuff is relative to the person. But the truth is, even in the "experiences first" discussion, we need stuff in order to have experiences. Be it crafting stuff, cooking stuff, an RV or just a gourmet picnic basket for cross country driving. When I first moved to Germany, my family was almost six weeks without any of our stuff except for clothing and hand held items. I developed a new appeciation for all of our stuff, including the video games that were part of our middle school son's life. This wait will not be that long and I will amuse myself with TV (hello, Great British Baking Show), my laptop, a notebook, my kindle and the one knitting project I brought in the car with me, along with occasional drives to explore the area (and Aldi, I need a refresher course on Aldi). 

I would start a sofa throw to keep myself busy, if I could decide on one of these two colors!

But I would be lying if I did not admit I was missing my living room throw, books, other clothes, cooking and baking stuff, really good sewing machine, serger and so much more. Especially during the staying home time.