I Traveled 1000 Miles to Visit my Grandparents During the Pandemic

Here is my experience.

The coronavirus is no joke.

I have been taking it seriously from the start. As a 21-year-old, I’ve noticed via social media that a lot of people my age do not understand the magnitude and risks associated with this virus. Me on the other hand, I have been taking it more seriously than family members who are at a much higher risk than I am.

Although I go for runs, I really don’t leave the house otherwise. I also am constantly reminding my family to take the necessary precautions in order to be safe. So, why would I do something so risky? It was a combination of a few things.

First, it wasn't even my decision to make. My dad made these decisions, but I joined him to help drive.

For some background information, my parents (and now myself since I’m home from college) live in the Portland OR area and my grandparents live outside of Los Angeles, CA.

My older sister lives in the bay area. She just moved places and needed some help. This is what initially sparked the idea of visiting my grandparents. My dad was going to go down to help her move.

Since he was already going to drive 10 hours to do that, he considered driving a few more to see my grandparents.

My grandparents, who live in southern California, don’t have any family that lives nearby. All of their children and grandchildren are spread out across four states. They don’t have anyone to help them or anyone who can visit them.

The mental health aspect for older people is also sad, besides the obvious health risks that come with COVID-19. Everyone should be sheltering in place, but especially older people because their chance of death is much higher. But that means that they aren’t interacting with anyone.

So another reason we wanted to visit, is because they haven’t seen anyone in months and we aren’t sure when they will again.

Next, my family had already planned to visit for my grandma’s birthday which was on the 4th of July. Due to the pandemic, we canceled that trip because we did not feel safe flying on an airplane. We thought this road trip might be a safer option.

So, on June 16th we packed our bags, grabbed our masks, and started the drive.

Driving

We wanted to make the least amount of steps to reduce the risk of exposure. Our plan was to drive to my grandparent's house first and then on the way back, help my sister move in San Francisco. That way, we would have the least amount of exposure before seeing my grandparents and could be a little less careful on the way back after we already saw them.

It is about a 15-hour car ride from my house to my grandparents. My dad values his sleep too much to do it all in one day, so we split it up despite the risks of staying in a hotel.

Since we wanted to limit the number of stops we made, we packed two lunches. One for the first day of driving and one for the second day. That way we didn’t have to interact with anyone. We didn't pack a dinner for the first night but ordered ahead and did a curbside pickup that felt safe and secure.

Next, gas stations.

Gas stations can be pretty dangerous when it comes to germs, so my dad made sure to wear gloves and wipe everything down.

This is where we used the restroom a lot of the time since a lot of restaurants weren’t open for customers on the inside and even some rest stops were closed.

We brought our own paper towels with us, this is important.

Before leaving, we did a lot of reading on how to make this a safe journey and one expert said not to use the hand dryers. They just blow the particles everywhere. So, in case the bathroom didn’t have paper towels, it’s important to bring your own. Additionally, after washing your hands, use a paper towel to open the door handles so you don’t touch any more germs.

Hotels

I was definitely nervous about staying in a hotel even though it isn’t considered high risk. The main issue with hotels is the gathering areas, like the lobby or breakfast area. If you avoid those areas, it is pretty low risk.

Before we even got to our first hotel, we received a text from them asking if we had any special requests. We did! The experts suggested staying in a room that hasn't been used in 24–72 hours and requested a room where you don’t need to use an elevator.

Since there aren’t that many people traveling right now, they were able to accommodate us and we got a room that hadn’t been used in 72 hours. At that point, any particles that are on hard surfaces die. It was nice that they had all of that situated for us before we even got there.

Although I did not go into the lobby, when my dad checked us in he said there was a glass shield, the employee was wearing a mask, and she wiped down the room key and his drivers' license before handing it back.

The interesting thing was this hotel had the pool and gym open. We stayed in a few different hotels of the same company over the course of the trip, but this was the only one with those open. We obviously did not go to the pool or gym during our stay.

When we got to our room, we made sure to take our shoes off at the door since we read that shoes can bring in germs and that we shouldn't walk around the room with them. I also wiped everything down as a precaution. Additionally, we brought our own pillows so we didn't have to use theirs.

In the morning, the breakfast was closed but they had a bag with a muffin, water, banana, and granola bar.

When we reached LA, we stayed in a hotel for two nights while visiting my grandparents and asked for no housekeeping services. That way we would limit the number of people in our room. This hotel was the only one that had breakfast open. All of the other ones just had a breakfast bag. At this hotel, it wasn't buffeted style but you could order an omelet or breakfast burrito and they would bring it to you inside.

At a hotel we stayed at when helping move my sister, we had a disappointing breakfast bag. It had a Twinkie in it. I don’t know about you, but I do not consider that breakfast.

Visiting my Grandparents

When we arrived at my grandparent's house, we put on two masks just in case. The gate to their backyard was already open and we headed back there to set up our chairs. We brought our own camping chairs to sit on so we wouldn't have to touch their patio furniture.

My grandparents also wore masks and we sat more than six feet away from them. Although we couldn’t hug or do anything with them besides just sit and talk, it was nice.

We ordered takeout and enjoyed a nice meal with them as well. My grandma made my dad a list of groceries she wanted from Costco so we could go the next day for her.

The following day we came by to give them their groceries and help with a few things in the yard. We also came by for dinner again and another chat.

I think they enjoyed having us since they don’t get to see us very often anyway and the fact that they haven’t been able to see anyone since the pandemic started.

We were only there a few days since there wasn't anything to do besides sit and talk. We weren't there for vacation, it wasn't the time to do touristy things. We drove back up and helped my sister move and enjoyed Father’s Day with her before driving back home.

It has been over two weeks since we visited my grandparents and they feel great, no symptoms, so we are officially in the clear.

I enjoyed getting to visit them, especially because I don’t know when I will see them again. The number of cases has continued to rise in Oregon and California and I don’t see how this will get any better without a vaccine.

I don’t suggest going on a trip to visit high-risk people, but if you do, make sure to do your research beforehand to ensure you are taking every possible precaution.