Side Effects of Traveling in a Pandemic Might Include.... (a 15 month travel roundup!)
Sitting down to write this, I’m giddy with the sick amusement of nearly two years of pandemic-induced self reflection.
I’m quite acquainted with the horrendous breed of self reflection that, after a while, winds up being so damning that it turns out a bit funny. Hi from where I stand in self awareness hell, grab some matches and get cozy! The Sydney of 2022— not to be confused with the earlier, pre-pandemic model— views travel differently than she used to. Indeed, pre-pandemic Sydney would have looked at the travel log of her 2020 self and been appalled. One glance at her 2021 outbound flights? Someone quick, check her pulse!
With the vastness of 2022 ahead of me, I’ve returned to my old habits of feverishly concocting cocktails of one way what-if flights and perfecting my out-of-office email. But truth be told - there is a marked difference from two years ago. While there’s few scenarios that shake out worse than a traveler in the throes of a global pandemic, I do admit there has been a great upside: discovering the profound joys of domestic travel.
I know— I know! Profound joys— I can’t believe I said it either. Dramatic? Yes. But an exaggeration? No lies were told.
In the most dramatic plot twist of all time, I, Sydney Estill, am itching to see *checks notes*… all of the USA. Yes, some regions of the US haunt my Google Chrome’s search history in a more obsessive fashion than others. But unlike years past, there now exists US airport codes that not only compete with international ones, but occasionally take precedent.
In a hypothesis that would do my 7th grade lab reports proud, I’ve concluded that I owe my new outlook to the last 15 months of exotic- allbeit domestic- travel. That, and I think the whimsical magic of an old fashioned road trip. Breaking my long overdue haitus, I’m sharing my itineraries and glimpses from each.
Roadtrip by Way of a Wedding – October, 2020
Phoenix, AZ » Monument Valley, UT » Paige, AZ » Flagstaff, AZ » Sedona, AZ » Tucson, AZ » Bisbee, AZ » Mesilla, NM » White Sands, NM » Marfa, TX » Dallas, TX
This was the road trip that started it all. And my god- how could it not? The trip sprouted from an absolute bonkers idea I had to get from New York to Dallas, TX for a wedding. At the time, the thought of getting on a plane boded just about as well as the idea of a 24 hour cross country drive— that is to say, equally poorly. My excitement to be in my college roommate’s wedding eclipsed the painstaking hurdle of actually getting to Dallas however, and I ultimately decided to forgo the drive in favor of a flight and cash in on the vacation days I would have used to drive. As it frequently does, my excitement spiraled out of control. By the time it was all said and done, I’d booked a ticket to Phoenix, not Dallas, and about 2 weeks premature of the wedding date, too.
This road trip— as I’ve made many bear verbal witness to… sorry folks— absolutely annihilated my views of domestic travel. In two weeks, this trip wrecked my every expectation, quickly becoming one of my favorite (if not THE very favorite) trip to date. I instantly fell in love with the desert and the freedom I found driving on the open roads. I learned to love country music for a second time in my life, and began to wonder if maybe I did need another pair of cowboy boots after all. From sunsets spent drinking $7 wine straight from the bottle on the skirts of the Grand Canyon to a once in a lifetime blizzard that dusted pecan tree lined streets of New Mexico, it’s a trip that I will hold close forever. Our encounters were sprinkled with Elijah Wood and magicians; our experiences flavored by reverent desert hikes and ungraceful sled rides down snow covered sand dunes of White Sands National Park.
After this trip, all bets were off— I had to return to the west.
New Year, New places — December/January, 2021
Phoenix, AZ » Bisbee, AZ » Naco, Mexico » Silver City, NM » Santa Fe, NM » Taos, NM » Albuquerque, NM
There was one severe regret from our October Road Trip. That is, we did not have access to a convertible. How could anyone in their right mind return to the desert, drive the SAME ROADS, and not do it in a convertible. That was our mantra planning our New Years Roadie, and heck, we stuck to it right until the the bitter booking end. We sheepishly abandoned our fantasy for a more economical four-door sedan instead, discarding the vision of our Higher Desert Selves™… that is, until we were sitting at the rental car lot in Phoenix.
There, in front of our eyes, basked a white, two-door cloth top Mustang, in all of her spectacular glory. Citing what may now be considered the final commandment in the Bible- Thou Shalt Never Pass Up the Opportunity to Rent the Mustang- I went inside the rental car office on a mission, and rolled back out with a free upgrade and the keys to the convertible. With the heat cranked up as high as it would go, we sent the top folding down and swore the December weather would not deter us.
We made it to Silver City before the convertible top came to a controversial permanent close. The Wild Rags (Western silk scarfs, for all intents and purposes) we had adopted as a 60’s hair accessory, however, remained a permanent fixture tied under our chins.
This is the trip that I hold sacred. For the wine that was sipped while we manifested 2021 aspirations, I bubble with gratitude. I look back at the passport-less excursion to Mexico for lunch and am flooded with laughter. The brilliant first sunset of 2021 that came over me like a hug. Delicious vegan soups in taos, and pink airstreams. The impossibility of finding an Uber and a Lyft on our flight home in Albuquerque, but still making it to the airport– barely.
I spent the flight home mourning the lands I had left below me.
Girls Trip, Two Ways — March 2021
Flagstaff, AZ » Sedona, AZ » Tucson, AZ » Sonoita, AZ » Phoenix, AZ » Salt Lake City, UT » Park City, UT
The Westward Creep came back clamoring in March. Conveniently, I had not one but TWO trips up my sleeve. From New York, I flew into the ant-sized Flagstaff airport where I deplaned on the tarmac, entered the gate area and picked up my luggage all in 100 ft of each other. To add flair to an already unusual airport experience, I waited on the one Uber in town for no less than 55 minutes. Ah! Desert life!
In Flagstaff, we welcomed the brisk March snow with puffy-jacket insulated open arms. Working remotely during the workday, “business hours” winded down around 2 pm (5 pm eastern time) giving us ample time to explore downtown and neighboring Sedona. On one particular blistering cold day, we bundled up for a drive to Sedona only to walk outside and find our car tucked in under a particularly impressive smear of snow.
Not deterred by our lack of equipment, we used our bodies as a collateral means of raking off snow. Finally, the windshield was excavated. On the drive over, a skeptical Allie asked about road conditions. A quick Google search showed Green all around, I reassured her. As we discovered— only after we had trail-blazed the icey, winding mountain road to Sedona— the Green Conditions were, in fact, referencing the Air Quality Index, not the Road Conditions, which were a very vibrant red. Oops.
We briefly escaped the snow in southern Arizona on a remote weekend camp in the desolate ranch country of the Sonoita desert. From the Desert, I made my way to Utah where I reunited with friends from New York and presided like royalty over the slopes of Park City in the family vacation home of one of my friends. The days spent together spent engorging our bodies with champagne and home cooked dinners and expelling it of months and months of pent-up laughter and time apart was good for both the heart and soul.
The Fine Line When Canada becomes Martha’s Vineyard— September, 2021
Martha’s Vineyard, MA
It’s a story that’s too good to NOT include in this roundup. My boyfriend and I— then freshly in a relationship, mind you— were in a weird in-between time. Our best friends in the city, the people we met through, had moved to California probably 3 weeks after dating. Gone were the marathon nights of board games and built-in double dates, and damn it, we were sad about it. To take the sting off the “goodbye”, we had arranged to pay them a visit in Canada where they temporarily resided before making the permanent relocation to LA.
The plan hinged on one very important detail: we needed two negative PCR COVID-19 tests taken within 72 hours at the Canada-US border, or we’d be denied entry. The main problem was that PCR tests, at this time, were averaging turnaround times of about 24-48 hours, meaning we had just about 24 hours of wiggle room to play with. We rallied our troop of two and diligently tested in the exact right window of time— Canada, here we come!
Ha!
The next morning we woke up to a flood (literally) of instagram posts sharing the ostentatious rain that had pummeled the city overnight. The subways morphed into gorges of gushing garbage water, cars were abandoned on highways, and people were stranded at home. New York City was looking extra armpit-y, but we felt pretty sure things would be better by the time we’d start our drive the next day.
The things they don’t tell you about flood aftermath: anything that’s being transported by car during a period of high rainfall may well end up in that rainfall. You can imagine my shock and horror opening an email from the pharmacy where I’d taken my PCR test saying that the car carrying my test had gotten whisked from the road in a gush of water and completely flooded….before smashing into another car. I cannot make this shit up. THANKFULLY, the driver was ok. My test on the other hand… not so much.
With not enough time to get a second PCR test before our boarder crossing but a rental car paid for, Tom phoned up his parents and the weekend was saved- we spent our Holiday at Martha’s Vineyard. Best last minute plans of all time ever! Three cheers!
Don’t Mess with a Texas Roadtrip — August, 2021
Dallas, TX » Fredricksburg, TX » Austin, TX
If you’ve never tried a long distance best-friendship, I 0/10 recommend it. Gone are the days where I would roll over on my twin bed and holler at my roommate-turned-bestie, get out of bed, we’re getting doughnuts. Although I’m certain I never uttered those exact words to Jenny, the sentiment remains.
Facetime is our all-sustaining lifeline from Texas to New York, but the very best time together is the few times a year we actually get to hang out in the flesh. This year’s trip to Texas was coronated with a stop at the In-N-Out drive-thru, followed the next day with a wine tour of Fredricksburg’s finest wineries. An immaculate start to any road trip, if I do say so myself. A hop and a scoot over to Austin, we paraded downtown in the spellbinding summer heat and gorged our bodies with fine Texas fare. I packed my film camera on this trip…. *cue transition to film gallery below*
Back on the West Coast (Best Coast)- November, 2021
Los Angeles, CA » Venice Beach, CA » Portland, OR » Pacific City, OR » Tillamook, OR » Vancouver, WA
To literally no one’s surprise, my last roadie of 2021 took me back to the west coast. I delighted in the company of friends and sunshine in LA before moseying to the Pacific Northwest for the very first time in my whole life. I’m not sure if you’ve heard- but it rains there. I found it rather rude that the rain got more severe with my arrival, despite my pleas on the plane. All jokes aside, the weather in Oregon during our visit actually was atrocious. And those are local’s words, not mine.
The predominant inconvenience with the rain was that we were on the coast of Oregon to shoot a surprise engagement. Alas, love does not wait for clear skies. Allie and I donned our ponchos, wrapped our camera gear in plastic grocery bags, and set out looking like little blueberries darting across the rocky coast. The engagement was ethereal; the glowing couple’s love was so magical against the clouds and sideways rain that had rolled in from the ocean.
After the engagement, there was a concert-turned-reunion with a sweet college friend. There was brunches to be had, cows to be seen, and Whole Foods to be scoured. Hey- did you know you don’t pump your own gas in Oregon???
15 Months- there you have it!
I often think about journaling, in more detail, these trips for fear of forgetting precious details with time. For now, I’ve resolved myself to these brief snippets. But if I know anything about myself— I’m no stranger to a good impulse.
I hope everyone’s 2022 is serving you however you hoped. May you find adventure in the little and big things, in the everyday and in the extraordinary. We are but brief bodies on loan here on earth.
Syd
