“Staycation Traveling” – Getting Out There Safely During a Pandemic

Well, I don’t know about you, but my 2020 sure isn’t what I was planning on!  🙂  My last post from February I was talking about the Grand Californian, updates at Disneyland, scoring a spot on Rise of the Resistance in a virtual queue, and Napa Rose/Club Level perks.  Needless to say, COVID-19 rocked the world quickly and by mid-March Disneyland and then Walt Disney World were closed, along with schools, international borders, and much else around the world.

The toll of COVID-19 has been horrendous on everyone,  and we have been very fortunate to have a nice area to shelter in place.  We are a family used to traveling all the time, so needless to say the disappointment of many cancelled/postponed trips and staying in our house was quite a shock! However, it pales in comparison to the many who have lost their lives, their jobs, their businesses, and family members over the last several months.  As society starts to re-open here in California, I wanted to give some insight into some of the socially-distant activities we’ve been doing recently to scratch our travel itch until it’s safe to do so again.

First and foremost, Stand Up Paddling (SUP) has been a lifesaver for my mental state.  Now that the beaches and such are open again, I splurged on a new Quick Blade paddleand PFD for myself (one less thing to rent/share my germs on 😉 )   so that all I need to rent when I hit the water is a board.  SUP has proved to be the perfect social-distancing activity in the local area (hey, you can even use your paddle to measure 6 feet! 🙂 )  and I’ve enjoyed getting out both in Newport Beach and Santa Barbara in the past few weeks. My goal is to get out on the water at least twice a month this summer. It’s a way to take in some new scenery, appreciate the natural beauty where we live, and get some exercise – all good for the brain and the soul!

SUP is a great way to explore while Social Distancing!  

Next, a new one for me that has always been a passion of my husband’s but less for for his better half – hiking!  Clearly, quarantine has made me desperate for activity when I am willing to get up at 5 AM and hike for twelve miles! However, while I’ll still never be a “mountain” person or someone who loves hiking like he does, I have enjoyed the exercise and getting out in new places of Southern California that I’d never seen in my twenty years living here.  We have explored various destinations in the San Gorgonio Wilderness and around San Jacinto, with a few more excursions planned this summer.  The views are amazing, the waterfalls and rushing streams lovely (even when you fall in one like I did) and the time together outside of our house has been great! We take the kids on shorter hikes as well.  It’s also a fun way to see other people but with plenty of space between you and enjoy the outdoors.

We have had a lot of fun hiking in the local mountains!

Finally, for the first time in my life this summer I am actually going to join my family camping.  It’s something they have loved doing, but has never been up my alley.  I’ve decided 2020 is the year none of us planned for or expected, so why not try something new?  We are going with friends in the local mountains in July, and I will report back how this experiment goes. 😉

In the meantime … we are enjoying lots of time in the pool, at the beach, and starting to see friends in person outdoors again cautiously as we continue to learn more about the virus and start a path back to normalcy. We have rescheduled our cancelled Disney Cruise and Europe adventure to London/Ireland/Spain, and cannot wait to get back out there as a family!  I hope you are all staying safe. How are you exploring and scratching the travel itch during COVID-19?