Last weekend, our family made a mini road trip to the Santa Barbara wine country (see the post here). It was great to get away, but things have changed a bit because of the Covid restrictions, so it is good to know how to handle the changes. Many of our friends asked us about what to do and what not to do during this time, and we decided to write down some of our knowledge, based on our experience.
1. Realistically, these days before you go anywhere, you need to check your health. Nobody wants to go out and infect other people! Check your temperature and don’t travel if you have a fever, or are not feeling well, or if you have been exposed to anyone who has Covid-19 within the last 2 weeks. The reason is pretty simple, to protect yourself, and to protect others.
2.Bring hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes — in your car, bags, anywhere that will remind you to wash your hands or to clean some questionable surface.
3. If you attract bugs like I do, bring bug spray.
4. On our road trips, we formerly had the habit of stopping now and then to get a drink or small snack, and for restroom breaks. But in these days, at least right now, fewer stores are open for business, and your favorite snacks might not be available. We recommend that you put a supply of your favorite travel snacks and drinks in the car before you leave, just to be on the safe side.
5. In many places, such as California, restaurants are just starting to re-open, either with restricted seating or “outside only” dining. Menus are often more limited than they used to be, also. It is more important than ever to be patient, and expect things to be less convenient than in the past. For example, in California there will be no condiments on the table, you have to ask for them – catsup, salt and pepper, sugar, etc. That rule is for our safety, so germs won’t be passed from customer to unknowing customer.
7. Wear your mask in public, and bring extra masks. When traveling with a child (I know my son), there is a good chance he might forget to bring his mask, or where he left it. We keep a pack of extra masks in the center console of our car – 50 of them, in fact! (The mask wore on Red Bear in the picture above is actually our favorite mask for the whole family, from here.)
8. Get your own WIFI ready! During our little getaway, we found that several of the restaurants (curbside service, take-out, and outside dining only) REQUIRED customers to place their order online – even when a server was physically standing there. Wifi apparently has become the ultimate in social distancing! And in some places, the wifi is not as fast or as strong (signals drop!) as you want. You might also find that you do not have good cellphone service in every spot, at least in wine country. So have your own WIFI boost ready. I haven’t really use one myself, but I bet there are a lot of good suggestion through the internet.
9. If you are heading into mountains or rural areas, you might even lose the GPS signal in some places. For that reason, it is smart to keep an old-fashioned paper map in the glove compartment.
10. Last, but not least, and this is not new – make sure your car is ready for the trip! Top off the fuel, check the oil, water, and tires (including the spare!). Hopefully, your vehicle will be comfortable for the length of your road trip and the number of people in it.
In this case, we were offered the opportunity to test drive a new 2020 Lexus GX 460. It was perfect for this road trip – big and strong, with plenty of room for our luggage, 3 bicycles, with room left over to stretch out. It cruised VERY comfortably, with the quiet ride of a luxury car, and it offers all the extra safety features we like – backup camera, “blind spot” warning, lane control warning, for example. My husband appreciated that the GX 460 has fulltime 4-wheel drive, although he regretted we did not have a chance to really test it on challenging terrain. But it is very reassuring to know it is there. The suspension is exceptionally smooth, and we tested that out on some dirt roads as we cruised around the myriad vineyards and horse ranches – we never felt a bump!
Style-wise, the GX 460 has a bold, new front grill that gives a strong appearance to the front end, and a sleek, modern overall appearance. The interior has posh leather seats, and an attractive and clean style. Audio, climate control and GPS are all controlled with a touchscreen in the center of the dash, and the controls are easy to figure out. I don’t think we ever needed to look in the Owner’s Manual.
I noticed – and appreciated! – that the ride of the GX 460 is very quiet, with imperceptible wind, traffic, and engine noise. We could talk quietly without any trouble, and enjoy the good audio system.
Overall, the Lexus GX 460 was a perfect choice for our road trip – comfortable, safe, and capable.
Thank you for your visiting today!
