J.P.

I was very nervous about traveling during these pandemic times. Since the beginning of this ordeal we have been going out of our way to remain as isolated as possible. We always wear masks, wash our hands a lot, and do our best to maintain as much distance as possible from others.

When we decided to drive to Tucson I knew it wasn’t going to be like any other road trip. We’d be eating in the car. We wouldn’t get to know the local flavor of a town by eating in a diner or hanging out at a bar.

And I was worried about how the whole hotel thing would work.

Hampton Inn has modified their amenities to help combat the spread of COVID.

1. There is no housekeeping. Once a room is occupied, no one but the guest goes in there until they check out. Make your own bed.

2. There is no breakfast buffet, which actually fine by me. I’ve often been horrified by the behavior of my fellow Americans at a hotel breakfast buffet; I’d be doubly horrified if they continued to pull the same stunts during the pandemic.

3. Each room is sealed with a “it’s clean!” sticker on the door. The room smells really, really clean. Either they gassed the entire place with a barrel of Lysol or they actually cleaned the room Either way is a win win.

4. If you want to use the fitness facilities or the pool, you must make an appointment at the front desk.

5. You can’t browse the pantry. They’ll get it for you.

I’m feeling better about this trip knowing that many businesses are going out of their way to do the right thing as far as cleanliness and safety goes.

Mask use has been better than I expected at the various establishments we’ve stopped at along the way. The only disappointment was a Wendy’s in western Oklahoma. I gave them the what for on Yelp. Otherwise, I’d say about 80-85% of the patrons and staff have been following reasonable precautions.

If we all work together, we can get through this together.

I am writing this from Oklahoma. We are on a road trip during a pandemic. We are well acquainted with quick pit stops and drive thrus. Panera isn’t Panera in St. Louis but the gift card still works just fine.

Tomorrow we shall see the desert.

The sky was a beautiful mix of red and orange at sunrise this morning. It’s going to be an interesting day of weather. They’re calling for all sorts of precipitation and winds with gusts up to 45 MPH.

But it’s a beautiful start to the day!

I woke up in the best mood. I felt awesome. I had a great night’s sleep, my morning walk went well, the weather wasn’t horrible. I was feeling great.

After my walk I got back home and like I always do, I took a peek at Twitter and Facebook. I scrolled quickly through the latter. I don’t like lingering on Facebook too long. And then I took a gander at Twitter. Even after much attention at curating and muting and the like, I found my mood dwindling. Crazy members of congress. Wretching and the pandemic. This is not good. A bunch of woe is woo woo.

I refused to let my mood be deterred and closed down social media. I decided to watch an episode of “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” instead. The helped bring my mood back to my “first thing in the morning” levels and all was well.

When Twitter first came around it was quite fun to participate and meet people. Today it feels like social media just screams in your face. Even if you’re looking for pictures of Bodega Cats or something.

So instead of going to Twitter, here’s a random picture of a Bodega Cat.

From the Internet.

See, isn’t that great for the mood?

So the rumors are true! We are moving to Tucson this spring. As of last night we are under contract for a home on the east side of the city near Saguaro National Park East. We toured this beautiful home via a Zoom call last week; three of the five of us are going down this coming weekend to tour and inspect the house in person.

Exciting times!