Have a Relaxing Weekend.

My family rented an AirBnB cabin that was in a forest, along a river, but only about 45 minutes from home.

We stayed at the house, made s’mores in the fire pit, threw rocks in the river, and went on a nearby hike.

It was nice to get away for two nights, and also made returning home seem welcome.

We have been very cautious about going anywhere since the pandemic started, but this felt safe. I’m grateful we were able to make it happen.

There are no real restrictions on travel within the US. Some states require a quarantine of people coming from other places, but that’s not really enforced.

We’ve been mainly in our apartment for five months in NYC. We get out and walk or ride bikes in our area. We don’t own a car and haven’t taken a bus, subway or cab.

We have been renting cars some weekends to go out locally to hike or go to the beach. These are safe and distanced activities, just not near our home. We start the weekend by disinfecting the rental and airing it out thoroughly.

One weekend we went and stayed at a home rental an hour away. Again, we disinfected all surfaces and opened all windows and doors to air it out. We went hiking locally and to a drive in theater.

Our emphasis has been on what we can do safely and not go stir crazy. I did see groups of unmasked 20 year olds out and mixing together last night. They made me want to scream.

I’m in the US and most people I know who are doing summer getaways are renting a house that’s within driving distance and bringing all of their food and cooking at the house. My husband and I did this last week. Felt really low-risk because we only had to stop for gas and otherwise just stayed at the cabin we rented. We went hiking in the woods, swimming in the lake, etc. This isn’t against the rules where I live.

I haven’t been anywhere since this all started, of course, but prior to COVID, my last vacation was in October 2018. I’m long overdue for something, but am staying put. I have a long-term goal that I’m hoping to accomplish by the time I turn 40 in August 2022, so I’m focusing on that. It’s going to mean a move (that will either involve a 12 hour drive or a 2 hour flight) to another state. My goal is that it will be my last move and end up being my forever home and I’m willing to forgo a lot of things to make this happen.

I guess my strategy is making my dream come true and working toward financial freedom via my full-time job and my side hustle (both of which are remote and can be done anywhere there’s a strong internet connection).

Am I disappointed that I may never get to be a nomad and travel the world? A little, but it’s okay. A LOT can happen in a short amount of time.

I am stealing this too! How lovely!

We all did earn it, too bad only those with income thru this pandemic can be “out of Brooklyn” for a while. How did you earn it? Did you protest? Did you dismantle systemic racism? How did everyone else still stuck in Brooklyn in this infectious mess *not* earn it? Why aren’t we all at the north fork? Racism, income inequality, etc. people the color of my husband are racially harassed in Long Island. You don’t think it’s your neighbors because it’s not happening to you. Check your privilege.

I just can’t with all this. First, YES to everything Susannah said. Second, I have a handful of family, including senior citizens, who have lived there for 4 decades, before the area was a tourist destination. The fact that rich New Yorkers are now flocking there from literally where the virus is most prevalent in the WORLD to “get a little r&r” is so cruel. I really hope you packed a month’s worth of groceries with you and are not going out anywhere but the house you’re renting so you don’t keep spreading this thing and risking people’s lives. In my opinion, we haven’t earned the right to travel until the numbers stop rising.

Susanna- is “dismantling systemic racism” really the threshold for deciding whether or not we’re allowed to take a break? I hope not, because I’m enough of a realist to know that it’s never going to happen. Not in any of our lifetimes anyway. I’m a tired brown immigrant woman with a disability, whose soul has aged about two decades during this administration. Sometimes I need a damn break. I can’t begrudge other people what I would like more of for myself, especially if they are able to do it responsibly in a pandemic. You have no idea what kind of inner battles someone may be fighting when they only show a small sliver of their life online.

Dorothy — yeah, I think if anyone deserves a break, it’s those folks. Being a “realist” should make you realize that there are more cases in this country right now than ever. Trust me, I understand the quarantine fatigue! But we haven’t, as a country, earned a vacation yet. It seems to me that people are very happy to be chill about it until it’s their grandparents/parents/children who are in danger. Consider that when you travel, the people are residents to your destination may not have an option to leave. Containment is still important.

Not to mention that the medical facilities in those smaller towns often have much less resources to deal with outbreaks when residents do get sick

Liz- yep, I’m a realist, AND in a high-risk category. And yet! We chose to rent a “cabin” (read: no amenities) in a rural county because we needed a break. We brought our own food and bedding, kept to ourselves, and enjoyed every minute. I think it’s crucial to note that there is a spectrum of risk involved in traveling. For example, there is no way I or any of my other family members would board a plane right now, stay in a hotel, or even drive to a hotspot right now. But we need to be more careful about how we communicate the level of risk associated with daily activities. If we limit the messaging to “absolutely no travel at all for anyone,” we run the risk of people choosing to clam up about where they’ve been, what they did while they were there, and who they were with. And that makes contact tracing and containment incredibly difficult.

My copy from the library just came in! I’ve wanted to read it first before mailing copies to friends, but completely plan on doing the same thing. Love this <3

Hi Ryan- thanks so much for this link- I am trying to distract myself from being sad because my husband just left to visit his mom in Florida for 2 weeks. (he’s driving, bringing all his own food, etc.) and I really miss him. This blog is fantastic and really helping!

Thank you for sharing the link,
Ryan! I never would have seen this and am thoroughly enjoying the creativity and talent on this!

You might love @pieladybooks on IG, too. She makes pies and designs the crusts based on whatever book she’s reading.

same! I honestly wish that was more normal because I have some friends I’ve known most of my life and who are like family, but we could reallly use some therapy to make our relationship better.

Yes! This is totally going to be what I ask for. I can’t wait to see how my kids’ perception of themselves changes as they grow. Love this idea!

Also not leaving our city. Vacation would be so fun, but I just keep savoring my plans for the future and knowing that if we’re careful now it’ll actual happen?

We live in London and have gone to France to stay with my in laws (and get a reprieve from childcare!). We had a tough lockdown from mid March until i can’t even remember when. Same for France (they started a few weeks before the U.K.). We booked to go stay with them the day they announced that people going between the U.K. and France dont have to quarantine. However, we are conscious that this may change. The foreign and commonwealth office have now said that if you travel back to the U.K. from Spain you have to quarantine, and France has had outbreaks in some areas. We flew – it was weird and stressful but actually ultimately ok (masks on the whole time, booking seats so we have rows to ourselves, avoiding other people). There’s most likely going to be a second wave in Europe in September, so we are seeing family while we can. I have family in one of the hotspots in the USA, and I have found it really odd to see them complain about the virus and the risk it poses to them (immuno disorder) and also complaining about having to wear masks at the same time. What is up with people?

This comment makes my morning. :)) That is all. Thank you, Ellen.

For dinner last night, I made some guacamole and ate it with chips, followed by various odds and ends of leftovers from the fridge. It was very satisfying. Mermaid food FTW!

I just read the owner says the birds aren’t harmed by the glass but that doesn’t at all seem likely.

I thought the same thing, imagine the number of dead or injured birds! The article does mention the birds aren’t harmed by the glass…but that has to be a bald-faced lie. Birds very often die by flying into windows and that’s even when the glass has other markers on it like muntins.

I feel you, Charlotte! As soon as I saw all that mirror glass I was aghast. I also cannot imagine how that doesn’t harm the local birds.

Hey Charlotte, I recently learned that it is possible to make glass/reflective surfaces bird friendly. The Bucks did it with Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee – see this article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nba.com/amp/bucks/news/fiserv-forum-worlds-first-bird-friendly-arena

I don’t totally understand how it works, but apparently this is a thing!

For what it’s worth, birds are more impacted by clear glass facades where you can see into the interior bc it’s truly invisible, especially if it’s got trees and plants right up next to it. With mirror glass, they would see a bird flying directly at them (their reflection) and change course.

A good post at a good time! Hey, it’s weekend! Thanks for the post. ?