Lopez: A pandemic road trip isn't for cowards. Things to know before you go
Drive north to Napa Valley from Los Angeles on Interstate 5, work my way back home over three days on the 101, and try to avoid doing anything that might expose me to the coronavirus.
During the pandemic, a lot of people have opted for motor home rentals over hotels, so I checked out that option. Courtney Leon of El Monte RV told me rental business has increased by three or four times in recent months. She said a 22-foot motel on wheels is now priced at $239 a day, and it sleeps four people comfortably, with a toilet, sink, shower, refrigerator, stove and microwave.
And the chain notes that “the room you stay in will likely not have been used for a period of 24 to 72 hours from the prior guest — a form of social distancing related to the life expectancy of the COVID-19 virus.” The Coalinga-Avenal rest stop was another 60 miles up the road, which seemed as far off as a reliable vaccine, but I made it in the nick of time.
I was somewhat less neurotic the next night at my hotel in Santa Cruz, and maybe even a bit less at my final hotel in Paso Robles. But the constant fear that I was going to touch something with a microscopic droplet of the lethal virus was taxing. Imagine what it would be like to be a housekeeper?Maria Mora, who cleans 10 rooms a day at a downtown Los Angeles hotel, later told me that she is nervous every time she walks into a room, even though she uses gloves and a mask.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Column: Less sex, more insecurity — a pandemic baby bust is comingNothing says romance like surgical masks, no eye contact and the federal government's ruinous response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more »
'Bottom line is, I'm not pleased with how things are going,' Fauci saysDr. Anthony Fauci says he isn't pleased with the state of the pandemic in the US. “We're starting to see the inkling of the upticks in the percent of the tests that are positive... that's a predictor that you're going to have more surges,” he said.
Read more »
8 Things You’re Going to Want to Buy From Dermstore Right NowA cult-favorite face mist, a handheld facial, and the most potent vitamin C serum are all marked down.
Read more »
9 things that happen to your vagina after you stop having sexWhether your libido has taken a nose dive or you broke up with your partner, gynecologists explain what happens to your body after you stop having sex.
Read more »
5 things to know before the stock market opens on FridayA new record for the S&P 500 seems unlikely this week as the market is on pace for an opening loss.
Read more »