To start off this little journal of my road trip, I want to explain the circumstances behind this road trip. Traveling of any kind during this pandemic is definitely not the best thing to be doing. Staying home is the best way to stay healthy and keep others safe. However, this road trip seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity and I put in a lot of thought in deciding if I should go. Of course I could go on a road trip anytime in the future, but this road trip was unique because pretty much all the costs were covered. And, also I was joining my older brother in moving across the country. His company was paying for the majority of the trip, with his choice of transportation: plane or car. Traveling through a plane right now is one of the most dangerous modes of transportation. Air travel requires going through a busy airport where it may be hard to social distance and you come in contact with a lot of frequently touched surfaces. Also, being in an airplane may increase your chances of getting COVID-19 because you’re stuck with people for hours. Even if the amount of people allowed on the plane is limited, people will still be walking up and down the aisle and other passengers may be stubborn and remove their mask. This is why we chose to travel by car. Driving allows us to have more control over everything. We get to choose where we stop, maintain distance from people, and always clean surfaces that we need to — this is exactly what we did. We stocked up on cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer and left. This is just a diary of each day of my trip to keep me busy in the car and to document what it’s like in each state I pass.
DAY 1:
After staying home for the past four months and barely going out, I have to admit that day one has been exhausting. The earliest I’ve gotten up this entire quarantine was probably 10am, but we planned on leaving the house at 6:30am. And, of course, I decided to pack very last minute and was up until 3am. I was woken up by my 9 year old nephew who came to say goodbye before I left. The night before we left, he very dramatically said “Nina, I’m not going to have this type of happiness until you come back home again”, with watery eyes. I spent the past four months playing with him almost everyday for the entire day, so I knew we were both going to miss each other very much. He was very sad that I was leaving and he would have no one else to play with, so I promised that I’d FaceTime him everyday and play Fortnite with him whenever I could. Anyways, my brother and I drove about five and a half hours straight from home (NY) to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with only one quick stop to get some coffee. The drive to Pittsburgh was really calm and went by pretty quick. Pennsylvania was very mountainous and there was a lot of fog, it was a very relaxing aesthetic and I got so sleepy and ended up falling asleep for two hours. Once we got to Pittsburgh, we picked up my brother’s friend then went to get some lunch. We had some Thai food and ate in the car, then got some more coffee. Next, we drove through Ohio. Not much happened in Ohio, besides a quick bathroom break at a rest stop. Ohio was very flat and a lot of farmland. Next, we reached Indiana, where we watched the sunset as we drove.
We picked up dinner before we got to our hotel; we had some tacos and wings. Before eating our food in the hotel, we washed our hands and sprayed Lysol everywhere and wiped down surfaces with Clorox wipes. We finished the day off by eating our dinner, watching Grey’s Anatomy.
It was disappointing to see quite a few people, including workers, in Indiana not wearing masks. Apparently, Indiana’s mask requirement doesn’t go into effect until another few days. I found this crazy, especially in the hotel where workers greeted us with no mask. We tried our best to stay six feet apart from people. I don’t understand why some states have mask requirements and others don’t. It’s ridiculous, people are bound to travel from state to state; wearing a mask in one state and then taking it off when you drive a few hours to another state just makes no sense.
DAY 2:
We woke up at 7:30am and got ready to go to one of the greatest places ever: Target! We looked for Lysol and other cleaning supplies to make sure we had enough for the trip and for when we got to our destination in San Francisco, but there was none. I bought some Target-version Birkenstock’s, and then got some coffee at Starbucks. We traveled from Indiana to Chicago, Illinois. Our first stop was Seafood City. Seafood City is a massive grocery store full of Filipino foods. There’s also a Red Ribbon Bakery and Jollibee (where there is some great fried chicken and gravy) inside the supermarket. We got some mamon (a Filipino sponge cake) from Red Ribbon. There are different flavors: butter, ube, mocha. We got all three, but the classic butter one is definitely my favorite! We didn’t get anything from the grocery store itself because we already have so many snacks in the car that our parents packed us. We have Clover (simut sarap talaga!!!!), Stik-os, Pocky, and much more. Next, we went to visit my cousins that lived a block away from Seafood City. We stayed outside and socially distanced and wore masks. We didn’t stay for long and we didn’t get to catch up too much or even get to sit down and have a meal with them, but we didn’t want to spend too much time there or go too close for safety precautions. Social distancing includes anyone that does not live in your household, so if you’re going to visit family somewhere else, you still need to be careful! After seeing them, we went to pick up my older brother who also lives in Chicago. We decided it was okay to be in closer contact with him because he lives alone and has been safely quarantining while working from home since the pandemic began, but we still wore masks in the car. We got some food at a mall nearby and then ate in the car. We tried to think of something to do in downtown Chicago that wouldn’t bring us in close contact with a lot of people. First, we made reservations to go to the rooftop floor of the biggest Starbucks in the world. Unfortunately, the rooftop was closed, but the fourth floor was closed off and we reserved to go there. There was a full bar with coffee drinks, teas, and alcoholic drinks, and also a full menu with salads, pizza, sandwiches, pastries, and desserts. I hadn’t eaten inside a restaurant since the pandemic began, so this was the first time in a long while. Thankfully, the fourth floor was filled with only about four other parties that were spread out way more than 6 feet. It was a good experience with a nice view and comfortable seating. I got a cold brew malt and a chocolate croissant, which were both very good. After that we found the nearest parking to the Bean and then took some quick pictures at the Bean, but it was closed off and we couldn’t go close to it. Lastly, we decided to go on an architecture boat tour at sunset. Everyone was required to wear masks at all times and the boat was only about 20% full which was really nice. It was really interesting to hear about the different stories of each building. We ended the day off by getting some deep dish Chicago pizza, it was delicious.
DAY 3:
Nothing much happened today. It was a long driving day. We drove from the suburban area around Chicago to Sioux Falls, South Dakota (a 9 hour drive straight). We woke up late and didn’t end up leaving until 11am, but we got some coffee and left. We passed through the rest of Illinois, then through Wisconsin, then Minnesota, and finally South Dakota. I’m honestly learning a lot of geography on this trip. Our first stop was in Wisconsin. As usual, we stopped at Target for a driving break and looked for Lysol, but again none. I found out that Wisconsin is known for good cheese, so we went to this mac and cheese place. I got a chicken, bacon, ranch mac and cheese and it was so good. To be honest, the cheese could’ve just been some regular Velveeta cheese and not special Wisconsin cheese, but regardless it was delicious. We stopped again at another Target on the other end of Wisconsin for another bathroom break. Then, we headed to Minnesota and crossed the Mississippi River. Again, learning a lot of geography here that I haven’t heard since early high school, so this is quite an informative trip. We passed through miles and miles of huge windmills with the sunset in the background and it was beautiful. We made a quick stop at the Green Giant Statue in Blue Earth, Minnesota. I don’t have much to say about it, look it up and you’ll probably be a little creeped out. We also saw signs to the Spam Museum which ended up being closed so we didn’t go. Spam is a staple food in the Filipino culture, so we were sad it was closed. I didn’t even know there was a Spam Museum and I would’ve never thought of there being one. Anyways, we got to the hotel in Sioux Falls (second largest city in SD) at around 10pm. We ordered Chili’s to be delivered to our hotel before it closed. We ate our Chili’s and watched Grey’s Anatomy, again, then slept.
DAY 4:
Today we travelled from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Rapid City, South Dakota. This was about a 5 hour drive. We stopped at Badlands National Park which was full of layered rocks and high canyons. If you’re ever in South Dakota, this is definitely a place to visit. Keep in mind it costs $30 to get in! But, I think it’s a great place for a good hike or even just sightseeing. If we had the time, I definitely would’ve hiked around the steep canyons, but we didn’t have a lot of time and we just drove through it and made a few stops on the way for pictures. Playing good music with the windows down and driving through it was such a great vibe. I just admired the beauty of the canyons as we drove and it was very humbling. Throughout a lot of the trip, I have been stuck in the car and thinking a lot about myself and the upcoming semester and all my future plans and goals. It could get quite exhausting when you’re stuck thinking about all that, but seeing the scenery through the Badlands made me realize how much more to life there is. It made me realize that I can’t be too stressed and hard on myself all the time because there’s joy and beauty in the world that I need to try to have a clear head in order to be able to truly capture.
It wasn’t too crowded at the Badlands and there was a lot of space to spread more than 6 feet if you just made the effort to walk a little further from people. After the Badlands, we headed to our hotel which was about half an hour away. We took a little break in the hotel before heading to our plans of Mount Rushmore. But, it started raining and thundering so we decided to just call it a night and go to Mount Rushmore the next morning. We went to the nearby Target to check for Lysol, but there was none. We picked up dinner then went back to our hotel and ate it while watching Grey’s Anatomy. I called my family and played some Fortnite with my nephew, Noah, since we finished the day early. He was so happy to be able to play, I miss him a lot. He’s my little best friend.
DAY 5:
Today we’re visiting Mount Rushmore, then driving to Colorado. We first went to a cafe near our hotel and got some coffee and acai bowls. Mount Rushmore was interesting. We didn’t stay for too long, just a quick few pictures and then we left. Mount Rushmore looks cool and unique, but there is a lot of historical controversy about it as it was built on Indigenous land. Also, most of the people visiting Mount Rushmore were not wearing masks which made things worse. I’m not really sure why we even went, but we all regretted it after. After Mount Rushmore, we drove about six hours through Wyoming and down to Denver, Colorado. We didn’t make any stops in Wyoming besides our usual Target trip. There was still no Lysol there. Wyoming was a really boring drive, just a bunch of flat land that seemed endless and I just fell asleep through all of it. I wish we could’ve gone to Yellowstone National Park, but it’s located on the northwest side of Wyoming and we were going completely south of Wyoming to Colorado. I woke up when we were in Denver, and it was really nice. Denver is a very chill-looking city and it looks clean. Everyone was wearing masks in Denver and I felt much safer than the past few states I was in. We stayed on the 16th floor of a hotel and the view was beautiful. At sunset, we went to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It was such a heavenly sight with the bright orange rocks and sun setting in the background. There weren’t too many people around and everyone was wearing masks on the trail we went through. This was my favorite place I’ve been to so far on this trip.
DAY 6:
For breakfast we went to this biscuit restaurant where I got a fried chicken biscuit sandwich that was topped with maple syrup. We got tickets to go to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum that we saw as we drove through Colorado Springs yesterday. We noticed that today was the opening day of the Museum and it was a really good experience. This was the best and most advanced museum I have ever been to. The technology felt so advanced that I felt like I was 50 years in the future. It was also a very well thought out museum in so many ways. In the main center area of the museum, each corner has a ledge popping out from the upper floor. Each corner’s height measurement represented different records of long jump and pole vault held by different Olympians. Also, the museum’s layout was very inclusive in regards to the olympics and paralympics. The museum wasn’t separated into two distinct sections of olympics or paralympics; instead, all of the athletes representative of the olympics and paralympics were mixed all together throughout the museum. It created a strong sense of unity and equality. Everything was designed with a lot of thought and consideration. ASL is on the bottom corner of every screen, there’s no stairs necessary to go on, there’s wipes and hand sanitizer everywhere, there’s interactive games for people of all ages and all disabilities to try out, and so much more. My favorite was this track race stimulation where I got to pick out an athlete and I raced side by side with them on a screen. They ran their fastest time on the screen as I ran on the track next to it. The museum even takes a video of you for free and uploads it to your “digital locker”. This digital locker is something you log into online for free and you get to access all of your stats from the interactive games you played; it records your aim, speed, balance, and accuracy. All of the workers in the museum were also genuinely very interested in what they were talking about and they were all very kind. The museum ended with a very motivational video which showed what the Olympic and Paralympic games were all about — it made me cry. It was a really heartwarming, fun, and educational experience overall that I would highly recommend if you’re ever around. After the museum, we headed back to Denver where we ate lunch at a food hall called The Source. Most of the places were closed there, but we chose this BBQ place and ate at their outdoor seating. It was a very safe outdoor seating area; the tables were actually six or more feet apart and there were dome tents to cover each table. The food was brought out to us in disposable plates and utensils, so workers weren’t put in that much risk in terms of cleaning our dishes because we disposed of it ourselves. After lunch, we got some ice cream to eat in the car on the way to Vail, Colorado which was about a two hour drive. The highway drive to Vail was breathtaking; it was through rocky mountains with huge Christmas trees everywhere. This drive, and this whole entire day actually, has made me want to move to Colorado sometime in the future. It is so beautiful here and all the people are so nice, and they wear masks! Anyways, once we got to Vail, it was pretty late so we took a quick stroll through their village and then checked into the hotel.
DAY 7:
We woke up and got some coffee at a Danish cafe, then got crepes. I got a banana, strawberry s’mores crepe, and it was delicious. We picked it up and ate at a bench outside of the busy village. We also went to a souvenir shop and I got a few things. Buying souvenirs is one of my favorite things to do and I have trouble controlling my spending when I do. We didn’t really do much in Vail because their main thing is skiing/snowboarding, but it’s the summer and I also don’t even know how to do either of those. Although, I definitely want to learn how to snowboard. I also just want to point out how I felt kind of weird at Vail. It was a really nice looking place, but it just felt like a bubble. I felt like I was disconnected from the rest of the world because it was kind of just in the middle of the mountains and everyone just seemed like they belonged there, but I didn’t. Moving on, we drove west out of Vail and to Glenwood Springs where we stopped for Target. There was FINALLY Lysol here! Each customer was limited to one bottle, so I got one, my brother got one, and his friend got one. It’s crazy that we’ve been to so many Targets and this was the first one with Lysol. After the Lysol find, we celebrated by ordering Chili’s to-go. We ate it in the car with the view of beautiful rocky mountains. After eating, we drove to Moab, Utah. Before checking into our hotel, we went to Arches National Park. I thought we got there at the perfect time because the sun was about to set. We stopped at one of the first stops that had a beautiful view of the rocks and sunset and we took some pictures, then kept driving. We passed by so many signs of different arches. None of us knew that the park was this big and each arch had a different road to follow, so we just picked a random one. We assumed that the arch at the end of the road would be the main big one that’s the most famous, but sadly it was not. By the time we drove all the way down there, it was getting dark. We had to walk on a trail to see the arch, so we walked as fast as we could because we didn’t want to be out there in the dark. I highly recommend searching up the best arches to go to before visiting this park because there is no phone service and it’s hard to know which ones to go to. It was kind of upsetting that we didn’t get to see the big, famous one, but the trip had to go on.
DAY 8:
Today, I woke up to Noah calling me to play Fortnite. We played for a bit before I got ready. I miss him more everyday, he keeps sending me selfies with his monkey stuffed animal. After we got ready, we went to a donut shop nearby and I got this maple syrup glazed donut and it was so sweet, but it was good. A worker at the donut shop was like “Filipino ba kayo?” (“are you guys Filipino”) when we were paying, and I was kind of shocked. I hadn’t seen a lot of Filipinos or Asians in general in the past few states we’ve been in, so hearing someone ask us that was cool. After the donut shop, we drove to Monument Valley in Utah. Monument Valley is a red sand desert area with tall sandstones. There’s also the point where Forrest Gump stopped running here. We stopped on the side of the road and just got out for some quick pictures. It was nice because there was no one really around us. After some pictures, we drove to Horseshoe Bend in Arizona. This was about a two hour drive, so it wasn’t too bad. We stopped at Walmart before going to Horseshoe bend to use the bathroom (there was no Target). Then, we made our way to Horseshoe Bend where we were told that it’d be a twenty minute walk to see it and then a twenty minute walk back. Twenty minutes isn’t much, but when it’s 105 degrees outside, it’s horrible. It was so hot, and there was no shade. We walked as fast as we could and took a second to admire it and take some pictures, then we left. The whole trip there somehow only took a total of 37 minutes, but it felt like forever in the heat. There were a good amount of people there, some masked and some not. I just kept my mask on and tried to walk as far as possible from everyone. After Horseshoe Bend, we got lunch at Jack in the Box, then headed to our hotel in Nevada. Our hotel was in Las Vegas, but outside of the strip because we wanted to avoid the bigger crowds of people. Before getting to our hotel, we stopped at In N Out and went through a long line at the drive thru to get some food. Honestly, I’m not really a fan of In N Out (Shake Shack is way better), but I always try to give it a chance when I come to the West coast because of all of it’s hype.
DAY 9:
For breakfast, we went to Seafood City again. I wanted to get longanisa (a sweet sausage), but we got there too late and there was none left. I got lunch instead since it was almost 12pm, so I got pork bbq with rice and pancit. I also got some calamansi juice which I haven’t had in so long and it was so good. It’s basically a Filipino version of lemonade. After we ate, we went to a tourist attraction called Seven Magical Mountains. This was an art installation in the desert that consisted of 7 stacks of colorful boulders. It was pretty cool and popped out nicely in the middle of the desert, but there were a lot of people there so we left quickly. We drove another 5 hours to Santa Barbara, CA. I was so relieved when we finally made it to California. Even though I slept through most of the car ride across the country, it was still very exhausting. We walked down the pier at Santa Barbara at night before heading to the hotel and it was nice to see the big ocean after being in deserts and farmland the past few days.
DAY 10 & 11:
We didn’t do much the last two days. We explored Santa Barbara a bit and went to a cute bakery, then drove up the coast. The Pacific Coast Highway drive was an absolute vibe. We played the perfect playlist PCH drive and sang them with the windows down. It was a really memorable experience that I’ve always wanted to do. Some parts of the drive were kind of frightening because it was really high up and we’d literally be above the clouds, but other than that it was amazing. We got to the Bixby Creek Bridge at sunset and it was so beautiful. We got a baguette and some cheese from Target that we wanted to eat at this beach near the Bixby Creek Bridge, but it was really cold by the water and it started to get dark out. It looked like there was a storm coming, so we just parked the car on the side of the road and ate it there. We stayed in a hotel in Monterey for our last night. We walked around Monterey a bit in the morning, then headed to our final destination: San Francisco. We finally made it 11 days later!
Now that the road trip is over, I will be staying in my brother’s apartment for the rest of the month because I don’t really have much better to do at home. I will continue to practice safety measures regarding COVID-19. I will have to go home by plane, but I’m hoping things are looking at least a little better by the end of the month. I’m going to quarantine for two weeks when I get home, and I also plan to get tested just in case. I don’t want to risk anything with my family or anyone else. But, I also decided to not go back to campus for classes because I could just do them safely from home and I, personally, am not too affected by classes being online. I just have to make sure I stay focused and on schedule. I hope that everyone on campus follows all the safety rules and stays safe.
My advice for people that are traveling during this pandemic is to definitely make it a road trip if possible. Driving made the trip so much safer and also more memorable. If it’s going to be a long car ride, try to minimize the liquids you have so you don’t have to use the bathroom that often. If you do need to use the bathroom, try to go somewhere that is frequently cleaned. We chose Target instead of rest areas on the highway. Next, take advantage of take out food, it keeps you safe and the workers safer! I travelled across the country and really only ate out once, but it was at the Starbucks where we made reservations and the capacity was extremely limited. Eating in the car or just having a picnic outside is definitely the safer option right now, and also gives you the freedom to watch a movie or listen to your music while you eat. Additionally, make sure you have a lot of disinfectant supplies and hand sanitizer. A lot of those supplies are hard to find in the store right now, so try to find out what time your nearby stores restock. Most store employees know what time is the best to come get those supplies. Lastly, wear a mask! Even if there’s no requirement or people around you aren’t wearing it, it does not by any means make it okay to not wear one. It is the easiest way to prevent the spread of coronavirus. If you don’t like wearing the mask because it’s uncomfortable or looks bad, my advice is to find or make a few you like. Match your mask with your outfit, it makes things much more fun and desirable to wear. Get creative and follow all safety precautions because you never know what might happen.
