Are Road trips safe right now?
Quarantine has been a strange time for all of us. For many of us, travel has been part of our norm. The sudden stop of the hustle and bustle of the airport became very strange! For all of us at Stuff Oui Love, we traveled all the time before the Pandemic! The switch was almost overwhelming. I used to count the days between flights. Suddenly I was counting the days since I had been on the road and trying to remember!
I started researching pandemic travel in August 2020. I was looking for the 'safest ways to travel in the Pandemic'. It seemed to me that "Road Trip" was taking the overwhelming lead! While research has shown that it is virtually impossible to catch COVID in an airplane, the same does not go for the trip to the airport, or the time spent inside the Terminals with other passengers! So then I started again looking into Road Trips. According to a new survey, coronavirus has resulted in 44 percent of American drivers taking more road trips in 2020.
“I thought to myself Why don’t we freaking do this?! ”
Thus, the "Stuff Oui Love Road Trip" was born! Myself and my Stuff Oui Love Partner (who happens to be my Mother) decided to give this adventure a shot.
But how do you plan a safe Road Trip in 2020? I'm glad you asked! Here's how we safely got from Waco, Texas to New York City, New York in under 3 days!
STEP ONE: MAP YOUR JOURNEY!
We knew we wanted to rent a car, and we knew we wanted to spend our first night in Nashville, Tennessee! So this gave us a decent start!
STEP TWO: RENTAL & HOTEL
The Rental and Hotels will be the highest expense on your trip. We recommend planning this out first!
I had seen an article where Herz was discussing their many COVID-19 safety protocols, so they were our obvious choice for rentals! They also offer flexible cancellation! Which none of the other major rental companies were doing. We had little to no chance of needing cancellation. But I always feel more secure when I have this booking flexibility!
We knew we wanted a vehicle that was gas-friendly but also spacious! So we chose the Small SUV category for our Hertz reservation! For hotels, The Russell Nashville was our desired first stop because they offer Keyless entree and Concierge! Due to previous travel, we had reward points at Wyndham that were perfect for securing us a hotel room in Roanoke, Virginia on night number two! Once we had those major things locked down, we went to the smaller details!
STEP THREE: DETAILS
Once you have the major details locked down, you need to think about smaller things:
What are your ideal timings? What kind of snacks will you take?
Do you have an idea of what the gas will cost? Do you want to pick up the vehicle day-of, or the day before?
Hertz Pickup: Airport: ACT - WACO REGIONAL AIRPORT
"Oui" wanted to head out at six am on the 13th of October. I feel that making the first day the trip the longest always makes sense. But when factoring in a rental car, we did not think that we wanted to factor in our rental pickup on our desired start day. For this reason, we scheduled our pickup day for October the 12 (Our start day was the 13th). Picking our vehicle up a day before leaving was one of the best decisions we made the entire trip! Picking our rental up at noon allowed us plenty of time to obtain our vehicle, sign the paperwork, and have the rest of the day to pack the Jeep for the trip!
So, what exactly is the pickup process like during a Pandemic? Well, we weren't sure! I consistently question things now. Not knowing how different everyday scenarios may be now. We got to the airport a bit early, just in case!
Fortunately, we were greeted by a friendly face! Yolanda J. is the fabulous Hertz representative that assisted us through the process! Yolanda walked us through the paperwork needed for the trip.
Then she kindly advised us on the additional health and safety protocols that Hertz is taking for COVID. To ensure both the pickup and the vehicle itself were cleaned and sanitized for each guest! She even gave us a travel hand sanitizer for our trip! From there, we headed out to the side lot to pick up our JEEP! It was cleaned, sealed, and ready to go!
The entire process took less than 20 minutes!
HIT THE ROAD!
As I previously mentioned, we scheduled a 6 am departure time on the 13th. Our final arrival goal to New York City was 3:30 pm, on the 15th of October! We scheduled the rental car to be returned six hours later on the 15th, at La Guardia airport. While I feel that we did very well allowing ourselves the extra half a day with the rental and having the additional few hours to plot the return of the vehicle, we certainly had to make sure that we did not lose track of the three days on the road.
From Waco, Texas to Nashville.
Since we were departing from Waco, this put us directly on the path of 1-40 East, which would take us most of the day!
Since all Hertz Rentals come with a full tank of gas, we were curious to see how our gas stops for the trip would start!
We knew that the first day would be long, so we were trying our best not to make too many unscheduled stops, but there were a lot of cool things along the way! We had an 11 hour day charted, which sounds daunting! However, if you think about leaving at six am, we projected we would be halfway there by noon! We were still in TX when we made our first gas stop!
We had to make a stop at the Arkansas rest stop! It is like a beautiful open cabin with plenty of places to stretch your legs! A lovely ladybug landed on my leg, clearly a sign of good luck! While it was somewhat difficult to stay on track and not make too many stops, we did awesomely! We arrived at our first hotel, The Russell Nashville, at seven pm!
The hotel was SO Exciting, we decided to do late checkout so that we could fit in a photoshoot! Check out our favorites below!
Images by: Oui Love Photography
THE DIFFICULTY STRIKES!
This is the part where you may want to take notes!
We hit some unexpected trials on day two! What I could not have foreseen was how DIFFICULT it was going to be to get out on the road and do work at the same time. My co-pilot (@ouiliovephotography) and I had slated to take between 4-6 hour shifts driving. Being a business owner, I figured I could manage a lot of calls and emails from the road. OH, HOW I WAS MISTAKEN! Let me break down exactly what happened, so perhaps it can help you circumnavigate this difficulty.
1. CELL PHONE CARRIER CRISIS.
I always remembered having difficulty with AT&T in New York City. Calls dropped in elevators. NEVER any service around the Subway. Since I was heading back to New York City full-time, I thought T-mobile was the move. To be clear, it IS the move for NYC! Now that I am back home, it's great here in NYC! However, the reception was terrible on the road. GPS cut out intermittently. I could not access my hotspot for the iPad (which was the original goal), and calls were not always working. I had access to text the entire time, but that was about it. Now, that brings us to problem number two.
2. WHERE IS THERE WIFI?!
I had some pretty pressing deadlines. So being completely isolated from cell phone service was not ideal. In the midst of all of this, we are asking ourselves: "WHERE IS WIFI?!". This unexpected problem led to a few detoured stops off the highway. We were searching for that good Wifi. Then comes our third very unique "Pandemic Problem" leading us to issue number 3...
3. YOU MAY NOT SIT IN OUR DINING AREA.
Oh yes! You guessed it! Just because you find a fast food restaurant that has Wifi (Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, Starbucks, etc.) does not mean you are allowed to sit. This problem was very frustrating and time-intensive!
Anyone who has traveled in the US knows that McDonald's & Starbucks are ubiquitous, and they always have WIFI! However, knowing that they do not all have their lobbies open is another story! What did we do? On day one of our Road Trip, I did not have as much work. At one Rest Stop, there was Wifi we could access from the car, but it was not strong enough. The search led us over to McDonald's- where the lobby was CLOSED. I took my cell phone Into the bathroom (which was open), I connected to the Wifi. I was then able to use the Wifi from our car, right outside. #NOTIDEAL
By day two, work calls and emails were piling up. So we started our day looking for a place to eat and work. Fortunately, we found a Panera that had Wifi AND an open dining room!
So, how could this have been avoided? Hindsight always being 20/20, we needed to plan! The internet issues cost us around three hours on day two, and it was overly stressful. If you are planning a Road Trip anytime during this Pandemic, I would highly recommend planning your work and Wifi stops. Even with all of the chaos, we made it to our Hotel in Roanoke by ten pm (our goal time was seven pm).
DAY 3: BLUE SKIES TO NYC
After a very hectic Day 3, we were certainly hoping for a breezy entry back into the Big Apple, and we got it! Coming up through the mountains of Virginia at sunrise is breathtaking! Virginia has countless picturesque spots to take in a Sunrise. As the sun rises over these varied landscapes, something magical happens, creating unforgettable moments that are stunningly beautiful. The journey from I-81 N crossing to I-95 N was by far the most beautiful stretch on our journey! Our music had varied throughout the trip, but with a unique suggestion from Instagram Stories, we found ourselves listening to "It's A Lovely Day Today" by Ella Fitzgerald. The song was so fitting for the mood.
Our gas total for the 3 day Journey was: $134.55
We had calculated between $130- $150 based on the Jeep Compass Gas Milage Calculator! We were very pleased that we came in on the lower end of our “Gastimation”.
After our perfect afternoon arrival into the city, we decided we could get the rental back to LGA (La Guardian Airport) by 5:00 pm. That would be four hours ahead of our scheduled 9:00 drop off time. So, we figured why not head on and see what the Hertz drop off was like in New York!
To our pleasant surprise, drop off was just as easy as a pickup!
Once at the Hertz rental drop off location, we saw signs towards the Hertz "Return" line.
We were then greeted by another friendly face! Lureene from NYC Hertz informed us that returning your car in NYC is as easy as getting out and handing her the keys! She was 100% correct. That was it! We gave her the keys and received our closing receipt from our trip within 24 hours! Hertz NY had clean facilities for washing your hands and a place to wait while your Uber arrived! Hertz 100% has gone above and beyond in their efforts to make interstate travel safe and effortless in the Pandemic!
If you are considering an accessible way to "get out and travel" in the Pandemic, make you could consider making your very own version of a 'Pandemic Road Trip', just like we did!
JAM OUT TO OUR ROAD TRIP PLAYLISTS
Follow Our Day one Road trip tunes here!
A Deep House Vibe that will certainly get you ready for the open Road!
Deep House on Spotify
208 songs, ≈ 15 hr
Follow along with our Day Two Road trip tunes here!
While we listened to multiple things on day 2. Earning is the “Randomness” badge. We definitely got the hits!
We did a little Cher, A little Tropical House, some Buddha Lounge and then finally… some Mood Booster!
Coming in on our Best day of music, we give you.. The Classics! Created by Ashley, for all of us!
This Playlist was made to commemorate our arrival back in NYC! From Billie Holiday, Doris Day, Nat King Cole to Frank Sinatra "Theme From New York, New York"... it is the perfect Soundtrack to commemorate any return back to NYC!
157 songs, ≈ 8 hr - Listen Here
Attached are some resources we used when researching and booking the trip! Hyperlinks Below!
Hopefully it will bring you luck! Just like our little Ladybug did!
If you are interested in having Stuff Oui Love create a Blog for your Brand, find our contact and Services here!
Your Essential Guide To Inspirational Travel
Stuff Oui Love is aimed at the fashionable, independent traveller. By embracing local traditions, communities, and cuisine globally, Stuff Oui Love shares experiences that are as authentic as they are unique.
Globally, the platform has over 55,000 subscribers. Founded by Ashley M Lands in New York City.
Interested in Collaboration on one of our advertising platforms? Please email: stuffouilove@gmail.com -we’re pairing classic styles with modern stories.