No, this is not a trip about Paris, but it is about the first trip after my second vaccination for CV-19. It’s also a trip about traveling by car, with two dogs, and seeing old friends and catching up. In short it’s about reclaiming life.
The last 14 months for everyone have been challenging. Some more than others. I am truly grateful for the world I live in and that I’ve been able to work remotely, stay safe, and still see friends on a limited, socially-distanced basis. That said, I knew a couple of weeks ago that fatigue had set in. I had read an article in the NYTimes about the next impact that this isolation was going to have on our psyche – languish. And that is exactly how it felt.
In direct response, I got to work and began the research phase of our trip. It may seem counterintuitive to travel to an even more remote place, but I knew I needed to smell of the ocean and feel the rhythm of the waves to help revive me. I picked a small community south of Nags Head, NC, located not quite at the end of the island – Rodanthe.
Part one, find a house that my dogs, my husband, and our friends would feel comfortable in. That meant a fence and a good kitchen and at least three bedrooms. Two for sleeping and one that I could work from. It also needed to have a fence for the dogs. There aren’t many houses with fences at the beach, however I found a great rental company that was easy to work with and had a great inventory, Midget Realty. Seriously a great company.
Next was packing my Subaru. While I’m all in for throwing whatever you need when traveling by car, this was different, my pups needed to have enough space to spread out. One Westie and one maybe Collie, maybe Belgium Sheepdog-looking dog had to be comfortable and safe while we made our way south.
So, I brought out the packing cubes. If you have never used a packing cube for travel, stop right now and go to Amazon and buy a set. They are life changing. It’s a packer’s dream come true. I use them when we fly. I’m also a clothes roller – which works perfect with the cubes. Seriously between rolling and the cubes I was able to get towels, sheets, a week’s worth of clothes for two humans, including shoes, into one large duffle. I dusted off my ninja skills and got to work.
Next came the in car entertainment. Do we go with a playlist or an audio book or maybe just a good conversation? We went for the good conversation and spent six glorious hours talking about what we hope our next chapter of life might look like. How we will downsize the house, we talked about where we might want to live, we planned our next adventure across the pond. It was epic.
The week was great, the internet connection was good so I could work days and our mornings and nights could include a walk on the beach for the pup. An added bonus, the first full moon of the year happened while we were there and we watched our first “moonrise.”
We reconnected with friends who drove up from St. Petersburg, Florida. They love us and they are crazy, it was a 13-hour drive for them and we are so thankful for that time with them. There’s something about friendships that can withstand time and distance. Conversations didn’t miss a beat.
We wrapped up a great week with a trip to Ocracoke Island. Inhabited by just 500 people year round, and a one-hour ferry ride from Cape Hatteras it’s even more remote. We all wondered what life during quarantine must have been like there. It was a great day of exploring, eating fresh oysters, and finding a lovely independent bookstore.
Cars packed to head home and on the road no later than 2:15 am the Maryland contingent of the trip was home before 8:00 am and able to enjoy a full day and get settled back in. The added bonus – a tip from my mom. Always clean the house before you leave, that way when you get home you’ll enjoy not only being home but a clean house.
As always, you were right mom.