Traveling During a Pandemic: Sarah's Style

We've certainly had our lives on hold the last year, but that hasn't kept me from doing a little something every now and again. It took some time for me to adapt and figure out what made me comfortable, but after a few times, it became quite an easy routine.

I am normally a hotel type of girl; everything I might need is available. I don't cook when we are out of town and, let's face it, it's cheaper to stay in a hotel for one/two nights instead of renting a house because of the fees. During a pandemic though, the downsides for me are: I can't cook in a hotel room, elevators, housekeeping, and hallway sharing. While these aren't things everyone thinks about, they are what make me feel uncomfortable with road trips during this strange time in our lives.

I am not alone in saying I experienced a roller coaster ride of emotions over the last year while working from home and having events and restaurants shut down. If you handled it better than I did, I give you kudos, you deserve them. But, if you are like me, you still needed to get out to maintain some sense of normalcy, and knowing my anxieties early on regarding the unknown, the thought of doing it was nerve-racking. How was I going to stay in a hotel? Eat? Stay safe knowing we didn't know how this pandemic was going to play out? Scroll the pics below to see the first one we rented in the mountains of North Carolina.

Airbnb was our answer. Yes, they charge what I would normally redeem as a ridiculous amount of fees for a night or two that we just don't pay in a hotel, that was the biggest hurdle for me to overcome initially. Plus, if you haven't looked at them in desirable areas, most are huge, and those certainly come with a price tag that matches their size. With two of us traveling, we didn't need 3+ bedrooms, but since there's nothing we can do about that, we adapt and go with the flow. Knowing we wouldn't have to share elevators and hallways with people or deny housekeeping, was a relief for me, and it meant I could cook without needing to constantly get take-out. We noticed early on, a number of places already had contactless check-in available by use of door codes which also meant contactless checkout. Score!

Before I discuss my routine upon arrival, I should let you know, some of this may be considered over the top to a few people. I am here to tell anyone reading this, life is about doing what you are comfortable with, not about always pushing your own boundaries. I figured out what would work for me to feel relaxed and that is all that matters. Leaving my safe home was already pushing a boundary for me, and was only doable because my routine helped ensure my safety and comfort levels. I hope this becomes a guide for you to use and feel free to adjust it to fit your own personal comfort levels.

Booking online sometimes will allow you to see if someone had booked the space prior. We try to avoid being in a home back to back with other renters. I wasn't able to see a calendar for one trip, so I simply asked. Not only was the owner very polite and understanding, but they also mentioned their cleaning fees were higher currently because their housekeeping service takes extra time to deep clean areas, which now appears to be a norm. Another tip might be to book further out from typical touristy places, that way you will find a home that may be rented less often. Bonus: You'll save a little money doing it. Traffic is light in most areas right now, so it takes no time to get to the beach or hiking trail if you decide to venture out versus staying closer.

Food: While we often plan a restaurant meal or two during our pandemic trips, cooking is always going to be the majority of meal prep for us. We have a wonderful wheeled cooler bag, thanks to my niece Lizzie, and it gets used all of the time. I plan our meals ahead and add those items to my normal grocery store list. Our longest road trip was six hours, so I doubled up on ice packs and started with frozen proteins ensuring everything remained below 40 degrees during transport. While I choose not to visit the grocery stores at these locations, that doesn't mean you can't. I did shop at a local seafood market during a beach trip because fresh seafood is always a treat for me.

Meal Planning: I make sure to plan things that are simple: steaks, chops, sammies, instant potatoes, fresh veggies, and stick to 1-2 seasoning blends, one being an all-purpose salt/pepper, and not forgetting a can of nonstick spray like avocado oil. While I am an egg eater every morning, I take English muffins for Tom to have sandwiches. They are sturdier and won't squish like bread, plus, they are freezable. We like munchies, so besides our normal treat bag, I make buffalo chicken dip a few days ahead and freeze it. By using a glass dish, it can be frozen, transported, microwaved, or put into the oven.

ProTip: You may have awesome pans to cook with at home, but please remember these are rental homes, so you will likely have very well-used pans, some being poor to terrible quality/condition. It is okay to take one pan to use if you are cooking something nice, say for a holiday. Over time, as I'm adapting to packing more simplistically, I have learned to take a good-quality, neutral tasting, non-stick cooking spray in lieu of an extra pan.

Packing: I require a few more gadgets in my kitchen than most, but each trip, I am able to pack a little less. Here are my current packing staples:

1-2 general use seasoning blends

Non-stick cooking spray

Paper towels

2 ziplock bags

1 piece of aluminum foil, nicely folded into one to those bags

2-4 Laundry Pods

Reuseable travel size bottle of dish detergent (reuseable bottles)

Toilet paper

Pillows

Air Sanitizing Spray

Cleaning Wipes

Hand soap

Upon arrival: We enter the property and take a quick look around. While Tom goes outside to check out the surrounding area and grill, I immediately start inside. If our bed is already made, I strip and put the bedding in the washing machine first, otherwise, you may not have dry bedding by the time you are ready for it. I toss the pillows in another room so we aren't tempted to grab, and put the sheets/linens we've either brought (to save money if it is an option) or housekeeping has left wrapped in plastic for sanitation purposes, on the bed along with and our personal pillows brought from home. Pillows??! Yes, we really like our pillows and have taken them on road trips for many years.

I use sanitizing wipes to wipe down any area we will likely touch: door handles, locks and frames (including sliding glass doors), toilet handles and sinks faucets, light chains/switches/lamps, coffee, and side tables in living and bedroom areas, and the headboard, along with remote controls anywhere in the house. The kitchen gets a little more attention because I will be cooking. All countertops. refrigerator, microwave, and stove handles/knobs, toaster, and cabinet knobs. The dining table and the chair backs get a wipe too as well as the washer and dryer knobs and lids. Reading this may seem a bit overwhelming, but coming from a person that hates to clean, it really doesn't take more than 10-15 minutes to complete it thoroughly since the property is already clean. Remember: I am just sanitizing.

If the furniture is cloth, I spray with disinfecting spray, if it is leather or something similar, I use wipes. We don't hang our clothes in the closet typically for short road trips so the closet is off-limits. If we ever need it in the future, I would just use sanitizing spray on the hangers. If the property has been rented recently, I will use an aerosol spray to sanitize the air in the home. I let it sit for 10-15 minutes to do its thing. Now, I have been known to overdo it, and it will burn your throat, so be cautious. I open all the doors/windows and turn on the fans, to air it all out once some time has passed and the sanitizer did its job.

Remember that meal plan I made? I know in my head what dishes we will need to use during our stay, so I take 2 minutes to pull out enough plates, silverware, serving dishes, and pans for the week and toss them in the dishwasher with my detergent. Not only have I worked in foodservice and seen some unforgettable things, but I've also stayed with people that either run out of soap or just don't bring any at all, and the dishwasher was run without it. It's gross and I will take the extra couple of minutes to do this whether it is during a pandemic or not.

Believe me, when I say, this really doesn't take as long as you may think. I promise, it's all under 20 minutes and that means for the next 2-5 days, I don't have to worry if I remembered to clean this or that before or even after we touch it.

Takeout: From the beginning, we've gotten takeout. I know guidelines have changed over time with recommendations, but at this point, our process is a habit. We do one of two things:

1. We use sanitizer wipes on the outside of all containers. These days, they tend to separate everything so it can be a lot of containers, but it takes less than a minute or so to do now since it is a habit. If you aren't going to touch the container during eating, you probably don't have to do this. I know I constantly fidget and move the containers, and sometimes end up touching the food with my fingers at some point, so it just makes sense for me to do it ahead of time.

2. Use plates. This makes take-out a bit nicer, and when it is steak, we definitely do it. Cutting steak in a plastic or styrofoam container sucks. I have a clean hand and a dirty hand and use tongs to transfer food to the plates and trash the containers immediately. The majority of us have dishwashers, so dirting plates isn't a big deal. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely over the eating take-out from crappy containers thing at this point.

Don't forget to wash your hands! We should all be doing this anyway (prior to and after the pandemic), but we've all been in the restroom, at some point, and heard a stall door unlock then the main bathroom door open and shut without the faucet running or paper towels being pulled out. So don't take anything for granted.

Masks and such: I keep masks in our car. I bought solid masks in May and June with heavy materials, multilayers, and some with pockets for filter inserts. How they knew early on to make pockets, I don't know, but I'm glad they did! We have paper inserts for these now from a different supplier. We wear our masks inside and outside, at parks, and at venues. They can be a nice accessory at this point, and they keep your face warm in the winter! Note: Yes, we are just as annoyed as everyone else that we must wear masks, but WE DO WEAR THEM, and let's face it, they are required in some places. I am a face toucher, always have been, always will be; wearing a mask reminds me not to touch my face in public.

I keep alcohol wipes in my purse at all times. You just never know. Liquid sanitizer can get everywhere and UV light and extreme temps can ruin it, so leaving it in the car isn't a good idea. Plus, businesses cannot always stay on top of refilling their dispensers and some don't offer them at all. Zest makes a great spray pump that is handy to keep in your purse.

Social distancing: Yes, for me, it's 6ft+. While Tom is more comfortable in public than I am, he knows what my comfort levels are and this is extremely important while traveling in a group. We will leave a place if it is too busy, people aren't distancing themselves, and/or the majority don't have masks on, this includes local parks. If we are somewhere and people start to crowd me, I will move. We went to the zoo in the Fall, which was great because there were only a handful of families there. One family, in particular, didn't do any of the above, so we waited at least 10 ft behind them until they were done at an exhibit. We were not in a hurry and just gave them their space, which also meant we had ours. After the second run-in, we opted to go a different direction to stop future encounters as there were 9 of them and they tended to spread out more and more.

Big Life Breakdown: You need to do whatever it takes to make yourself and your family feel comfortable and at ease. If you want to stay at home, then do it. If you want to take a vacation, then do it (if restrictions allow it). If that involves spending money on extra supplies or special accessories, then do it. I err on the side of caution and admittedly take it further than most sometimes, but I don't care what people think. I've seen women in grocery stores with more PPE on than me and I LOVE IT! I'm not hurting/bothering them in any way, so it is really none of their business. As a high-risk individual, it is important for me to take care of myself, and that is perfectly okay. Real-life: We have eaten in a couple of restaurants and it was super difficult for me at first, each time is a little less anxiety-filled though. I wear my mask when I'm not actively eating. I wipe the table and glasses down and the edges of the plates upon arrival (remember the fidgeting issues I previously mentioned). I tell the servers "don't mind me please" and giggle a little, and guess what? None of them care about what I discreetly did/do (nor should they), and more than one server has said they "totally understand". They are just so thankful to have patrons and earn wages and tips.