Corona-cation

Life in the time of COVID...

It's been almost five months since that word became embedded in our vocabulary, along with "new normal" and "Zoom meeting". Within the span of a few days in mid-March, our family had completely "pivoted" by:

• Cancelling R's trip to Vegas with the guys for March Madness, M's spring break missions trip to Washington, DC, and J's and my trip to Illinois.
• Moving M out of his dorm at UCLA, with him finishing spring quarter of his sophomore year remotely from home.
• Finding out that the unplanned extension of J's spring break would morph into never returning to the high school and, sadly, a drive-thru graduation ceremony in place of the traditional pomp and circumstance.
• Working from home, although there are limits to the scientific experiments I can carry out from the kitchen table.

In the weeks since, a Vegas family reunion in July and J's freshman year on campus at UCLA are also among the collateral damage. But in spite of all this, we are counting our blessings and are thankful for our health, for more time together as a family, and for good wi-fi.

Even with all of our 2020 travel plans in the crapper, I was still itching to go somewhere before the boys started school. So I looked into destinations that were a short drive away (since Californians are persona non grata and would need to quarantine upon arrival just about everywhere else) and settled on San Luis Obispo County. As soon as J finished his online new student orientation this afternoon, we hopped in the car and headed north on the 101, with J practicing his long-distance driving skills. Three hours later, we checked into our hotel in Atascadero for a two-night stay. 

Some notable changes to traveling during COVID...

• No housekeeping, which was fine because I wouldn't want someone else entering our room anyway
• No breakfast buffet, just a to-go bag with a bagel, cream cheese, granola bar, yogurt, and fruit.
• Masks required in common areas.

Rather than looking for a restaurant with outside seating, we opted for take-out from Dan's The Grub Shack, which we ate in our room. Both boys ordered macaroni bacon cheeseburgers (can you feel your arteries hardening?), R had loco moco, while I had French dip - all very yummy!  

Tomorrow, we have a full day - starting with kayaking in Morro Bay and ending at Sensorio in Paso Robles.