Florida Travel Diaries during COVID-19

Our Trip Initiation:                 

   I normally do not post anything about where we travel or what we do during our travel. This was different as during these tough times, we think 10 times before going out even for a walk, forget travelling out of town for a vacation. I am writing this to pen down my thoughts as to how the travel was and reading this might help someone who was or would be thinking to travel.

  This trip plan started way back last December. It was a special surprise for our daughter's birthday because she loves Legos and Lego-land was the obvious choice to make her birthday special. Initially we had booked a flight and our trip was to be in March. Unfortunately, COVID-19 brought in a different and difficult situation for all of us. Everything under lock down, we postponed our trip to May, then to July because nothing looked promising even in May. We cancelled our flight (Now need to think what do we do with all this e-credit sitting on the account). Luckily Lego-land was able to keep our reservations with the new dates. Also, at Universal Studios, we had a voucher that was non expiring so we had all the time to think what to do!

How did we initiate our Trip:

   All our friends and our brain told us one thing when we finally took the decision to take our vacation (Are you out of your mind!! Driving into the big hub of all infections???) But our heart kept saying let us just get done with this trip! The first thing we made up our minds was that we will drive.

 So, four days were kept for driving. Two days to go and two days to come back. Secondly, we took our own car for extra safety. Also, it made it easier to dump half our stuff in :)

Packing:

Divide and Conquer: We carried clothes for all the 8 days of our travel, but we packed lighter material clothing that don't take up too much space. Thus, using smaller bags helped. Also, the first day of our travel was a one night halt in Atlanta Hotel. For that, we packed the night clothes and the next day clothes in a backpack. All of us had individual backpacks, so the suitcases remained in the car. Lesser stuff to carry for a one night stay. That way once we checked in we don't have to come back to our car. It helped with that much less exposure to outside environment.

    Laundry and Sanitizing Supplies: The most important and one of the first options in my list to pack. Whatever I could think of from wipes, to sanitizers, to disinfectant spray, I packed them all. Also, packed some laundry detergent in a small box in case I would not find the Trial packs of Tide. We packed extra trash bags to put in our laundry. Zip Lock bags to pack any extra stuff in between our travel, and Paper Towels for clean ups (though I ended up using more wipes and the Paper Towels came back home). I packed all the Sanitizing supplies in a small bag that would sit next to me in the car. 

    Food, Food, More Food: Never packed so much food for a one week trip!! This really helped especially during these tough times. I was confused myself what to pack. All of us have been avoiding outside food from many months and during a drive me and my husband are so used to stopping for a coffee or buy a snack. This was the first thing we knew that we will be avoiding. Also, being a vegetarian another confusion was what healthy foods can I pack that will survive the heat and travel and still edible...

     Coffee and Snacks: As I started with the topic of coffee, penning few lines for that :) The small travel packs of Coffee, creamers, and the Yogi Tea Bags were perfect for this trip. I packed them in sandwich sized zip locks. Packed sugar in a separate zip lock with a dry spoon inside. We had a bunch of paper cups so packed them too. We had a flask at home, and I boiled some water before we started from home and added that to the flask. I was excited that the water stayed nice and hot even in the night after we reached hotel. Never in my dreams did I think I would end up making coffee in the car, but that happened too.😀 Luckily, no hot spills. With coffee, most of us are used to munching so I packed lots of snacks. Spicy, crunchy, kid friendly, all catered to each one of our preferences. :) One of my favorite snack was the Power Up Trail Mix from Costco. It was perfect, because they have these individual multi variety packs that are travel friendly. 

  On the Go Thirst Quenchers: We packed about 10 bottles of water. The idea was to have most of the bottles for our drive. Rest we were planning to buy depending on how much we need. Iced Tea, Lemonade juice packs, and Milk packs were few other options that we packed. I packed extra juice packs and milk packs for our daughter that would last for our whole trip. 

  Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner: This was the main part of my food packing and planning. Some I shopped and some managed from our pantry. Loved all the ready to eat options from Swad and MTR brands. These have the right blend of spice and carry a lot of variety. The ready to eat Breakfast mix was great. Just pour hot water and in few minutes it was ready. For lunch and dinner, I bought mostly gravy options that would go well with rice. The next favorite thing that our family loves is Maggi Noodles 😋 so I had to buy that.

 From my pantry packed extra zip lock bags of pasta shells (Measurement of half cup). I packed a glass bowl. Most of the hotel rooms had a microwave. Ms. Google helped me find resources for cooking pasta in Microwave (9-10 minutes with 1 cup water). Bought a bottle of Marinara Sauce and Italian Seasoning and my daughter's got a Happy Meal!! 

     I packed couple of zip locks with Rice and Moong Dal (Measured 1 cup each). In another small bottle, I carried all the spices mixed together (between 1/2-1 tsp each: Turmeric, salt, red chilli powder, jeera (cumin powder), and Garam Masala). Even if the mix is extra, it is fine as we could use it even after our trip. Another thing that I packed was one small bag of Frozen Mixed Veggies. Now, how to cook all that I decided to pack!! Last minute decision after talking to one of my friends, bought a 2 quart slow cooker. This was perfect to cook Noodles (1cup water as measurement with a cook time of 30 minutes) and make Khichadi (3 cups water as measurement with a cook time of 2.5 hours)!! 

Dessert: I had a disaster baking a cake as it crumbled on me, so I added few extra chocolate chips and baked them to cookies! We had a dessert on the go!!

Sides: Few extra options that I packed were a tub of Plain Yoghurt, Boondi, Spice Mix for Raita, Bread, Hummus, and Methi Theplas. To carry all these to ensure they stay safe without being spoiled I packed them in our Ice Box with enough Ice.

Medicines: We made sure to pack the needed medicines for our trip for all three of us. I had a first aid box that doubled as a storage container for our medicines. Whatever we could think of we packed. Well unlike me, please remember to keep the necessary medicines with you in a zip lock if you are outside in the theme park or restaurant. You see, keeping Benadryl safely in the first aid box in the hotel room when we are out is not a very good idea😆

So this is how all the above looked before we stuffed the things in our car.

Let the Journey Begin!!

   One main thing we learned in this whole trip was Time Management. Earlier we would take a break when we needed but this time, we managed our 7 hour drive with two halts. One for lunch and the other for filling up gas. We clubbed it in a way where they had restroom facilities. 

   Day 1 Drive: 

• I had packed home made Aaloo Parathas (Veggie Wraps). Individually wrapped so saves time. We all took our first break at a rest area, sat in our car with all windows closed and finished our lunch. 
• The next thing was visiting the restroom. So this was the routine whenever we got out of our car. I sprayed some disinfectant spray on wet wipes, Masks on, wipe down everything, use, flush, and wash your hands thoroughly. If there were paper towels then good to use to dry else, we would just shake the extra water to the sink and come back to our car. Also, before getting inside the care we would spray our shoe with Lysol Spray. Also, spray the door handles before getting in the car and wipe down the steering wheel with disinfectant wipes. Phew!! 
• Aah then before starting to drive another major step. Our Ganga Jal (Holy Water)- Hand Sanitizer!! 😁 Really lost count when and how many times we used it in our whole trip but whatever it takes for safety!!

Stay at Atlanta Hotel:

  All the hotels we stayed required Masks mandatory. That was a good thing. Secondly, all the hotels served packed meals for breakfast that we could pick up from the lobby in the morning. Coffee was available in the lobby or at least in the hotel room. 

  Entering the room was another routine. Masks were still on. Wiping down the door knob before entering the room. Then I entered the room first, sprayed Lysol around the floor, tables, bed, bathroom, and couches. I used to wipe down the microwave and refrigerator knobs using a hand sanitizer and wet wipes as spraying around anything related to food is not a good idea. Then I would tell my husband and daughter to enter the room. (It was like before welcoming a guest I was making sure the house is neat, clean, and sanitized 😄)

  For the Day 1 dinner I had made Saabudana Khichadi and Boondi Raita. Since there was Microwave we could heat and eat leisurely in our room. After a long journey nothing like a warm home cooked meal!!

Day 2:

  Our morning breakfast was bread, hummus, and coffee for us, milk for our daughter. As we had carried only the backpacks and ice box to the room we did not have much to pack in the morning; thus we started an early drive in the morning. The routine was same as Day 1 with two breaks and by evening we reached Orlando!! 

   

Bloopers!!

   He he, I had to write this. I had packed vegetable fried rice for Day 2 drive. I was very confident that using a hot Water Bath in a bowl will bring it from Ice Cold to at least room temperature for lunch. 

Well, that did not work. We ended up having it cold, although when mixed with cold yoghurt (Raita) it worked well. So, what I should have ideally done was to keep it out of the ice box in the morning and then put it in my water bath to thaw it. Well, what to say, mistakes happen 😃    

Day 1 and 2 at Universal Studios:

   There are so many Vloggers who have posted videos of Universal Studios during Covid. They were a big help for us before we started our trip. Universal has done a great job with sanitizing and cleanliness. They had 6ft markings for every ride, plus hand sanitizers before taking the ride and after coming out from the ride. They wiped down every surface of the attraction before a new group came in. Crowd was less and they even offered Virtual Ride Pass in case the lines were long. Kudos to them. 

  As outside food was not allowed we were searching for options where we can get Vegetarian food options. Universal Studios has a place Fast Food Boulevard (next to Simpson's ride. It shows MOE's on the outside). Make sure to download the Universal Studios App as all the restaurants have Mobile Ordering options. They have a nice whole wheat cheese Pizza for kids. We ordered a Black Bean Burger Combo that comes with burger, fries, and shake. I had to take a pic for the pickle on the top. It looked so cute :)

At Islands of Adventure there is the Fantastic 4 or Cafe 4 restaurant at the Marvel Superhero Island. They have good vegetarian and Vegan options. We ordered a Veggie Pizza slice and for our daughter we ordered this Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese with Garlic Bread. Really good. Everything is plant based including the cheese.

  

Dessert Options at Universal Studios:

   Do keep sometime and an empty stomach to try out the Chocolate Emporium Milk Shakes at Universal. Nothing short of art work. These shakes are huge. Really yummy!! The best part, you can keep those shake jars as souvenirs😍  

En-route to Legoland:

   Legoland Resort was equally careful about cleanliness, temperature checks, and sanitation. We met some wonderful and very helpful Legoland team members who took care of all requests with a smile. Their rooms had a mini refrigerator, and gave us a microwave on request. Our daughter had her best time as they had given many legos that the kids can play and build in their room. 

Day 1 at Legoland:

  The crowds were less here too. We covered almost all the rides and if there were something we missed out, we had another day too. Most of their restaurants were closed. There were couple of them that were open. We tried their Burger Joint. They had a Spicy Bean Burger with Fries. That worked perfect for all of us. They were kind enough to switch their Cheese Burger with Bean Burger for my daughter's kid meal. She loved it. It was a perfect lunch because it is not too heavy nor very spicy. Kids can handle it.

Dinner and Breakfast at Legoland:

   The restaurants in the resort were open. We wanted to try it so we made dinner reservation for the first night and the breakfast reservation for the next day. My God!! They have a nice Vegan Platter for dinner. It is all plant based, that starts with a Salad, a full grilled skillet of Veggies and protein and a yum Vegan dessert Fondue!! 

The next morning breakfast (is included in the stay), they have the option of a Vegan Skillet. Something new for us so we thought to try it. Our daughter had Cereal, we did not know initially. Our server helped us with that option. The Vegan skillet includes a Vegan Scrambled Eggs, Vegan Patties, and Vegan Pancakes (Apple Sauce and Banana Flavors). We tried the Eggs and Pancakes. Those were very yumm!! The pancakes had the right amount of sweetness so went very well with the Maple Syrup. I would have got a better pic, because I almost forgot to get a click of this one 😐

Day 2: 

  Day 2 was spent well at the water park. They have reduced the timings. The day we were there, that day the Water park timings were from noon to 4 pm. The other park was from 11am - 5pm. It was a perfect day to stay in water because of the hot and humid temperatures. For lunch, luckily the Burger Joint was open so our lunch was the same. For dinner, this time we had one of the ready to eat meals. I had yoghurt so made some Boondi Raita. That was perfect meal for all of us!

Driving Back Home, First Day toward Atlanta:

   The day we were starting back from Legoland, I kept my slow cooker early in the morning to make Khichadi. That was going to be our lunch for the drive. Worked out perfectly, because it was ready just before we checked out, and stayed warm by lunch time. For Dinner, we placed an Online order from an Indian Restaurant (Pinch of Spice) that was close to our Hotel. They had the order ready by the time we neared Atlanta. They called us and got the food out to our car. They had taken extra precautions to pack it carefully and make sure it was a contact less delivery. Also, calling them to place the order will not work. They have an online link on their website to place take out orders. 

  

Drive to Ohio:

   Finally our last leg of the journey. Driving back home. As we had carried only our back packs to the hotel, the morning was not hurry hurry. We had packed some extra food from the restaurant the previous night that we could heat up for our morning breakfast. I made Pasta for our daughter in the microwave and Maggi for us in the Slow Cooker. That was ready by the time we were ready. The hotel we stayed gave packaged breakfast options, Muffin and Chewy Granola Bar. That helped because my daughter loved the Granola bar for her snack during the drive!

The only hitch we had during this drive was finding a good rest area. There were couple of closures so some of the rest areas were very far. For lunch, eventually we parked at the McDonald's parking lot. IT helped because we bought couple of shakes for our drive 😀

Home Sweet Home:

   We were able to manage our drive with a good time. We got some rain in patches, but still we managed to reach by evening. Well before entering our home I was spraying our shoes and luggage once with Lysol Spray. We emptied all our bags near our washer as there were loads to be washed. Also, as I had made some extra food and kept them in freezer, couple of days went by with good rest as not much cooking to do 😁

Our Journey Experience:

    It will definitely be a memorable trip and experience in many ways. As much as possible my view is that if trips can be avoided, it is better to stay home and safe. We went after a long thought and debate among ourselves. Overall, all of us had fun! I wrote this to share how our experience was, and if anyone travelling, this might help them. If few of you have traveled during these tough times and had a good experience, feel free to share! 😌

Thank You

Hridya