I made it! My quarantine trip from Miami to upstate New York was a success! I drove up the Saturday before Thanksgiving and managed to keep my 14-day quarantine in tact.
It was tough but everything went smooth and it was so worth the trip. I’ve now been spending time with my family for the last week. I’ve been eating way too much food, having a ton of laughs, and appreciating the quaint beauty of rural New York in late Fall.
This post is a quick overview of my trip and what I’ve been up to since my arrival.
Quarantine Road Trip to Greensboro
My quarantine road trip planning was about to be put to the test! I got tested for COVID-19 on Friday and received my negative test result on Saturday morning before I left. Before leaving, I did some yoga (because I’m doing that every day now!) and finished packing my car.
The night before, I set up a bed in the back of my Honda CR-V. I put the back seats up and layered the back floor with a tarp, blanket, foam mattress topper, another blanket, then my comforter and pillow.
I threw on top my desktop computer so I could keep working (and blogging) comfortably from my parents’ house. I also packed bags with a bunch of work and lounge clothes. I’ve perfected my Zoom look of a work shirt on top and sweatpants on the bottom over the last several months! There was no need to pack much else (just some yoga clothes) since I knew I’d only be seeing my family in person for the next month!
I packed a cooler and bag full of water and snacks to hold me over on the long drive. And, with that, I was ready to go!
I set out at 9:30am. In the first few hours, Miami gifted me with a beautiful rainbow out ahead across the road. It was a nice farewell reminder that I was leaving rainy, sunny weather and heading to the grey, wintery North.
I stopped for gas only 3 times. I used gloves and wore a mask the whole time and then used hand sanitizer, too. Safest possible!
The first time I stopped for gas, I had to take my morning bio break. I pulled out of the station and then off to the side of the road to a more private location. The device I bought for peeing standing up proved unnecessary. I ended up just staying in my car and peeing into a container I brought along. Yep. There was me, just chilling in my car for a minute squatting. I dumped it out the window and rinsed the container with sanitizer and water.
I drove into the night as I headed off of I-95 toward North Carolina. My friend moved to Greensboro last year where she has a little house in a suburban neighborhood. She wasn’t there for a few days but left me the key just in case I needed to use her bathroom.
I pulled up in front of her place around 9pm—11.5 hours of driving complete. I moved my computer and other bags to the front seats and had the whole back to settle into. I couldn’t stretch out completely, but it was definitely more comfortable than many sleep arrangements I’ve had traveling around the world!
Honestly, car camping in my own car for the first time was such an exciting adventure!
Quarantine Road Trip to New York
I had a can of soup with a pop top ready for my dinner that night. There was no way I was going to stop for food—I wasn’t even about to trust fast food drive throughs! I ate the soup and some more snacks and then talked with my friend Dasha on the phone before passing out.
The car was chilly by the morning—the temperature dropped to the upper 40s. But my New York roots took over and I adapted easily despite months getting used to Miami weather. I woke up around 6am and departed by 6:30am after a mighty breakfast of canned fruit and rice cakes.
Outside of North Carolina, my Florida Sunpass would no longer work. So I decided to avoid I-95 so I didn’t have to deal with tolls. I was on a double lane highway through North Carolina backcountry most of the morning. It was gorgeous and foggy at golden hour. At one point, I could see beautiful mountains in the distance. I preferred these views to the monotony of I-95.
These non-toll roads took me up through Pennsylvania and then over across the Hudson River from the West. The bridge over the river was the only toll I paid, a few quarters handed with gloves to a gloved toll booth operator was more interaction I had with another human in weeks.
After 10 hours of driving, I made good time arriving to my parents’ house before dark. I maintained my quarantine all day. I only stopped for gas and and to pee twice that day!
Thanksgiving + Family Time
I am so grateful to have this time now with my family (and I’ll be here through Christmas). My brother and his wife arrived on Tuesday after their own quarantine and testing plan. I feel very lucky to have family who have been taking COVID-19 seriously. I really didn’t have to worry about us putting each other at risk.
Our Thanksgiving guests were down to just the 5 of us this year with no friends or other family. Mom still went all out with a 22lb turkey and almost all the usual sides—mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, sweet potato, green beans, and corn cake!
We made a toast to Grandma Josie (who used to host Thanksgiving) with her favorite Blackberry Brandy. Mom made pumpkin cheesecake and I contributed my famous fudgy walnut brownies for dessert.
After so long without seeing each other in person, I wanted us all to really hang out with each other while my brother was visiting. I didn’t want to just stare at a Netflix show together or retreat to our corners of the house. We could finally be social and I wanted to take full advantage of this. So I ordered the latest Cards Against Humanity pack and it arrived on Tuesday in time for us all to play for 3 consecutive nights in a row!
If you know the game you know it’s meant for “horrible people” (which is definitely our family). We spent every night after dinner laughing our faces off over this game. When we couldn’t see each other for months (only in a virtual game together), this was a great way to spend time together in person and keep us all talking and laughing.
Walks Upstate
Since I got to my parent’s place, I’ve been continuing my quarantine walks. While I don’t have a jungle forest with stray cats to visit down the street, there is a different kind of beauty in this area. The farmland and streams and cows are what I take in now on my walks.
I’m hoping to do some hiking if there are some warmer days on weekends this month. The Catskill mountains are nearby and I have a few trails in mind to check out. Walks on the roads around my parent’s house are good enough in the meantime.
In this neighborhood, we don’t really run into too many people. Some neighbors are out walking their dogs or jogging but when that happens they are well over 6-feet away on the opposite side of the road. I put my mask on just as a courtesy anyway.
My brother and his wife joined me on some walks while they were here. Mom joined me on a walk over the weekend. It’s nice to be able to take walks with people and not have to put on a mask to be with them or worry about navigating others too much. Rural New York definitely has its perks in the middle of a quarantine! I know some more well-off people from the city have retreated to rural parts of the state for that very reason.
Meanwhile, my parents have been here for over 40 years. I am sleeping in (and working from) my old childhood bedroom! They were lucky enough to quarantine here from the start of the pandemic and not have to deal with population density at all. I am so happy they have this place and that I can now safely spend time here, too.
In Conclusion
I managed to drive from Miami to New York in a little over 20 hours all while maintaining my quarantine! While it took a bit of an adventurous spirit to pull off, everything went very smoothly. The drive was long, boring, and absolutely worth it to spend Thanksgiving with my family.
It’s definitely a little weird being an adult and being back here for such an extended stay. Conducting Zoom meetings for work from the room I played in with My Little Ponies is definitely a little trippy.
Nevertheless, between the great food and the great company, I think I can get used to this for a while! Mom and Dad better watch out—they might not be able to get rid of me…
