Road Tripping

Last year, Jason wanted to buy a "really cool car" from one of our customers. When he mentioned it to me, I reminded him that we didn't need car. (We needed another truck!) But when he told me the price was $200... well, what the hey. Almost any car is worth that in scrap value. Why not?

​​​When Jason rolled in with this baby I burst out laughing. Cool car?!?! She was a strong contender for "Ugliest Car Ever Made." Purchased from Clark Griswold after their family "Vacation" to Wallyworld, no doubt. Low mileage, good condition, it was a bargain but Egads!!

1995 Buick Roadmaster

​"You're going to love this car come summer," Jason said. "When you & all your girlfriends load in and still have plenty of room for garage sale treasures." I'll admit, Jay knew the right angle to sell me on a vehicle but I couldn't find any "cool" in this car at all. It was hideous. 

"She's got a Corvette motor under the hood!" Jason rattled on about B Bodies & other BS that meant absolutely nothing to me. I suggested he decorate the car with lights, a Christmas tree & Aunt Edna on the roof and park it in the front yard for the holidays. A pretty good offer considering the other places I could have suggested he park it. "Go ahead & laugh," he said. "You'll see, this is an awesome car!"

It only took a couple times behind the wheel to warm up to her. She's ugly but also a comfortable, easy driving car with a lot of get up & go! The perfect garage sale mobile & grocery getter. 

I laughed when Jason suggested we "Take the Roadmaster" on the trip we'd been planning. Seriously?!? I didn't share Jason's or our mechanic's faith but again I went with - what the hey? What was the worst case scenario if we broke down in a $200 car? We could always ditch it for another to continue our journey. So, we loaded up the Roadmaster and hit the road!

Ochopee, FL - The Everglades

We're back safe & sound after traveling over 3,000 from Northern Michigan to Key West, Florida through 10 states roundtrip. It was awesome! Oddly enough, the biggest shocker was not that the ol' Roadmaster had made it. Nope, it was the number of people that approached us along the way to compliment & eyeball our COOL CAR! I'm not kidding. It happened everywhere we went! Jason was right. People love their old B Bodies. You can add me to that list now too!

Preparing For The Journey

We traveled for a month straight and have successfully completed 11 days & counting of quarantine without illness. It's looking pretty good that we did something right as Jason & I have no luck whatsoever. We want to share our experience with the following disclaimer: 

We are not medical professionals. Information contained in this blog post should not be construed as medical, scientific or legal advice. No Lifeguard on Duty.  Swim At Your Own Risk! We are simply sharing our experience, the precautions we took and reporting what we witnessed along the way.

​​For starters, we avoided contact with people for 2 weeks prior to leaving. A portion of our trip was non-refundable. I wasn't about to have it ruined before we made it out the door. The best defense is always a good offense. We eat healthy but stepped up our game to include vitamins. We encourage everyone to build your immune system. Put in the effort to achieve & maintain optimal health. Eat healthy foods, exercise, take vitamins, avoid stress, get adequate sleep.

We had plenty of room so of course, I way over-packed after way over-thinking our every possible need while traveling during COVID. Better to be safe than sorry. Here's a list of the items we actually used:

• Disposable face masks - Properly disposed of before getting back into the car at every gas station & rest area.
• Hand sanitizer & sanitizer wipes
• Kleenex, paper towel & wet wipes
• A cooler & a munchie bag filled with water, healthy snacks & a few guilty pleasures so we didn't have to stop for food.

I also packed a fully stocked medicine cabinet and a huge supply of cleaning & sanitizing products. We did not need any of these items but I'm glad we had them just in case. I would pack them again. 

​It's been a while since we've traveled. I anticipated paying tolls along the way so I raided the piggy bank for quarters. Turns out tollways are now contactless. A picture is taken of your car's license plate as you pass by and the state mails you a bill for tolls. We're still waiting on ours to arrive.

On The Road

​We both enjoy the unexpected adventures found on "The Road Less Traveled." We mapped out a scenic route avoiding most major metro areas. We took turns behind the wheel. Jason & I have a pact when it comes to traveling. He keeps me safe on bad roads during unfavorable conditions. I'm the city driver unfazed by heavy traffic & Florida driving. Together we make a pretty good team.

Our first destination was Singer Island/Palm Beach Shores so we opted for an eastern route. We traveled US-23 "The Country Music Super Highway" through OH to Asheville, KY then branched off the main drag to get through TN, VA, NC, SC & GA. Beautiful scenery worthy of further exploration. Next time we'll schedule stops in Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA & St. Augustine, FL. We were close to all three.

We broke up the trip staying 2 nights at hotels. We chose Hampton Inns along the way. Our rooms were beautiful, comfortable & extremely clean. All ranged between $100-130/night. Everything is sanitized between guests. Masking & social distancing was practiced by staff & all guests we observed. Breakfast areas have been revamped to provide wrapped "grab & go" items for travelers. Hand sanitizer stations were located at every entrance, elevator & counter. The remote controls were inside plastic sleeves or "covid condoms" as we jokingly referred to them. We were very pleased with the level of care taken by the hotel & staff. We did not see the need to clean the rooms further.

Through every state people were masked & distancing. Everyone. Everywhere. I saw 6 people total over the course of a month inside of a building without a mask. Yes, I counted. We did our research online for each state's covid figures & current mandates including the specific areas we were to stay. We encourage everyone to do the same. It was eye-opening on many levels.

We traveled freeways, divided highways, two-lane & rural back roads. Across the board Michigan had the worst roads by far. Jason wasn't a fan of Virginia's roads either. No potholes but narrow. All other states had great roads with ongoing construction but not enough to inconvenience. Georgia & Northern Florida had the most highway patrol & people pulled over but they didn't catch us coming or going!

It was obvious which states were open for business. Many appeared to be booming. Large scale construction projects, huge cranes building skyscrapers, loads of residential construction taking place throughout several states.

Gray skies seemed far behind us now & we looked forward to the adventures ahead.

To be continued...