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Posted

We are taking a small road trip vacation.   Some things are much harder now.

1.  Hotels have a much more limited breakfast....meaning mostly carbs and not as filling.

2.  Most fast food places are drive through only.   Before we would all go in, one person would order for all while everyone else hit the restrooms.  First one out of restroom would wait for the order while other used the restroom.   Generally 10 minutes tops and we were back in the car and on the road.

3.  Fast food lines are much longer and and slower moving....not enough workers.....today it was almost 30 minutes at one stop.

4.  Gas station restrooms have much longer lines now as they are one of the few options available.

#2,3 &4 combined make stops take way longer.

5.  Because it is drive through only, this mom ends up paying for everyone's food instead of the kids each paying their own.

6.  Wait times for food at dine in places is much longer too as they don't have enough staff for the demand.

Still, I am happy we are all fully vaccinated and can enjoy most of our trip exploring the great outdoors.

 

  • Like 14
Posted (edited)

I went to St. Louis a couple of weeks ago and the Hilton did not have its usual breakfast buffet choice, and the restaurant was closed for lunch and dinner, serving a greasy, limited menu in the bar in the evening.  No room service.  No room cleaning, even when requested.  It’s different, for sure.  

Edited by Carol in Cal.
  • Like 2
Posted

We stayed two nights in Charleston, SC last month for a wedding. same experience as Carol. I make my bed every day at home but hotel beds are often weird to make- there’s some kind of comforter wrapped in sheets or something. I was pretty irritated that even though we requested the bed made nothing was done. No trash out, no fresh towels. They told us if we want fresh towels to bring the dirty ones to the front desk to exchange. 

With just a grab and go breakfast, all carbs and no choice (they hand you a sack breakfast according to another guest), and you can’t eat it in their breakfast area, we ended up going out for breakfast and it was crowded, so the wait was very long.

Ottakee, we’ve taken to stopping at a grocery store for our breaks. Bathrooms open and we get food from the deli or something. But we don’t often travel by interstate so grocery stores are easy to find. Not so easy on interstates. 
 

I’m sure things will be more normal soon, and I’m looking forward to that. In the meantime it’s sucking the fun out of road trips. Especially since we like to travel early in the week and last week THREE places we wanted to go were  closed Monday- Wednesday due to covid. 

  • Like 1
Posted

Grocery stores are a good idea but hard to find off the highway....and even often on the smaller roads we are on.

I already warned my brother who is traveling with our mom who is in a power wheelchair to use rest areas for bathrooms....as they have larger handicapped stalls and not all gas stations have the best handicapped rest rooms.

  • Like 2
Posted (edited)

We discovered this when we road tripped last Christmas so, for this week, we tried to find hotels with kitchenettes. I packed homemade breakfast sandwiches and fruit as well as stovetop only meals ready to heat n’ eat or cook (meal service style). Today, for ex, we had salad, steamed broccoli with rice, and stir-fried chicken. It’s working well so far. I used little plastic ramekins (we always have these for DHs lunch anyway ) to pack butter, cheese, seasonings and dips or whatever and I have a mini bottle of EVOO. Everything for each meal was packed together in a 2 gal. Ziploc bag. The cooler bag goes straight into the fridge each night and the ice packs get refrozen.

Edited by Sneezyone
  • Like 11
Posted
10 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

We discovered this when we road tripped last Christmas so, for this week, we tried to find hotels with kitchenettes. I packed homemade breakfast sandwiches and fruit as well as stovetop only meals ready to heat n’ eat or cook (meal service style). Today, for ex, we had salad, steamed broccoli with rice, and stir-fried chicken. It’s working well so far. I used little plastic ramekins (we always have these for DHs lunch anyway ) to pack butter, cheese, seasonings and dips or whatever and I have a mini bottle of EVOO. Everything for each meal was packed together in a 2 gal. Ziploc bag. The cooler bag goes straight into the fridge each night and the ice packs get refrozen.

That is impressive! 

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  • Thanks 1
Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, Kassia said:

That is impressive! 

It took some thought and extra work before the trip but so far, so good. I brought some zucchini bread too so they can have a break from the “McMuffins” and “croissandwiches”

ETA: if you save take out restaurant condiment packs, they’re perfect for this so it’s not as bad as it sounds. Soy sauce, honey, maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, ketchup, salt and pepper packets were already on hand. I’m using the ketchup, honey, and vinegar (and a ramekin of garlic, ginger, and chili flakes from home) for another dinner this week. All I had to add was a protein and a steamable/microwaveable veggie. I discovered (also for DHs lunches) that runny salad dressings fit perfectly in travel bottles with screw caps but, for this trip, we stuck with a salad seasoning shaker and a smidge of water and evoo.

Edited by Sneezyone
  • Like 2
Posted

Yes, very annoying!  We don't eat in the car, but don't want to spend an hour + in a sit-down restaurant (not to mention the price).  We do take snacks and usually lunch, but its so much extra work to pack all your meals. 

Our last trip, on our way home we stopped at a sit-down restaurant, it was around 2 and the parking lot was about half-full.  We went in,  they said 45+ minutes to be seated!  We just ate a snack in the parking lot and kept driving.  As we walked out, I looked in the window.  The back 1/2 of the restaurant was EMPTY!    Apparently the issue wasn't space, it was employees.  We had one other place that was ridiculously long wait, they seated us and it took about an hour to get our food.  An hour is a LONG time for a hungry, tired 3 year old.  They apologized for being short-staffed.  These were both along interstates.   Another place we got McDonald's,  but since we don't eat in the car (3 year old), we started looking for a park to eat at.  Took about 20 minutes, then it was so windy we had to hold EVERYTHING  or it would blow over.   

Posted

We just did a 12 plus hour road trip each way in May/June and we didn't have any troubles.  This is our first outing since covid, seriously we have been home since March 2020 except dh going to work less than 10 times in 1.5 years.

We are still really careful and were not wanting to stay in hotels.  Out of the 10 nights we stayed in 1 hotel only because we planned it so last second it was the only option.  We didn't even step into the breakfast as we wouldn't have eaten in there.  Dh and I were the only ones fully vaxed and I am not ready for that at all.   We were the only people masked inside the hotel.  I used to love staying at hotels and eating the breakfast and evening meals.  Such a huge cost savings!

We stopped tons of times for bathrooms (the way out there was like almost every 30 mins) We only did rest stops as they were being cleaned a lot more often.  Every time we stopped they were in the middle of cleaning.  We did one gas station in an emergency and it was disgusting.  But people were masked in the rest stops.  Although the farther west we went fewer and fewer masks until we saw none.  No lines even though there were crowds at some.

Other than the one night in a hotel we stayed in homes or cabins the rest of the time.  Grocery shopped and just cooked at the house. 

We didn't go into any places to eat.  Not in my comfort zone.  We did drive through 2 times and it was crazy fast.  Faster than pre-covid.  The rest of the times we ate from the grocery store.  Packed a few things to eat going out and would just stop at the rest stops and eat quickly.  Same coming home.  We did light snacks in the car. 

So yeah we didn't run into any problems at all.  

Posted

I have a 2400 mile cross-country road trip coming up this summer, which is a really sucky drive even without the pandemic, and I'm dreading it more than ever! I appreciate the heads-up, though, so I know to pack a lot more food and not rely on restaurants or hotel breakfasts. Ugh. :sad:

  • Like 2
Posted (edited)

Good experience here, we didn't have any issues this spring, driving 2,600 miles total, 4 states. I took food, we camped instead of hotel, and for the drive home, we ordered Panera via the phone, picked up and ate outside. We didn't encounter any restroom lines at gas stations, state welcome area, rest areas or Panera (we used the bathroom when we picked up). 

We did a few shorter trips and didn't have issues with bathrooms either,  and Panera was fast, too.

Edited by regentrude
  • Like 5
Posted
2 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

I have recently used “order ahead-pick up curbside”  while on a trip and it worked well. 
 

 

We did this on a weekend trip in May and it was marvelous.  We looked at Google Maps for restaurants near the exits 30 miles or so up the freeway, found one that had online ordering, and our food was ready when we pulled into the parking lot.  

  • Like 5
Posted

Alabama driving has been hard today. Rain and tornado watches for our area. A horrific accident on I65. Prayers for everyone there. 
For the trip south and now north, none of the gas station bathrooms had hand soap, but have a mandated posting of a sign telling you to wash hands. A stop at Wendy’s took 45 minutes. There were only 2 people working there. I felt so bad for them but they were awesome at trying and greeting costumers.  ( If we had realized how short staffed, we would have gone elsewhere. There were only two families in front of us in line.)
 

 

Posted
16 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

I have recently used “order ahead-pick up curbside”  while on a trip and it worked well. 
 

 

That would be a great idea.....except I am driving and none of my kids can handle the online ordering (all have special needs).....and where we are traveling there are no Panera Breads or even a McDonalds in the town we are staying in 

  • Sad 1
Posted

We pulled off when the rains hit on our recent long drive. We lucked out finding a local pizza restaurant and a hotel. I had to ask for soap and an extra towel. I guess they are saving where they can. But the leftover pizza was the perfect breakfast! 

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Ottakee said:

That would be a great idea.....except I am driving and none of my kids can handle the online ordering (all have special needs).....

Can you order before you start driving and select a later pickup time? There's no reason you have to do it while driving.

If none of the places that exist have online ordering, can you put the order in by phone?

Edited by regentrude
Posted

 

2 hours ago, Ottakee said:

That would be a great idea.....except I am driving and none of my kids can handle the online ordering (all have special needs).....and where we are traveling there are no Panera Breads or even a McDonalds in the town we are staying in 

When fast food and fast casual are available, it is worth it to stop driving and enter an order. That's what I generally did even pre-Covid. 

  • Like 1
Posted

I've got nothing, but I agree with you.

We're taking our first road trip in August, but spent the past year driving 5-6 times a month to locations up to an hour and a half away for day trips.  We ended up just packing a cooler, but access to bathrooms was a real issue (no bathrooms on the road, often none at the location during the fall, either, or on the way back).

At least this trip I know we'll pack a cooler, eat at the halfway point where there's a picnic spot, and then refill the cooler at the grocery store at our destination before heading to the campsite.

  • Like 1
Posted
5 hours ago, regentrude said:

Can you order before you start driving and select a later pickup time? There's no reason you have to do it while driving.

If none of the places that exist have online ordering, can you put the order in by phone?

That might work if I knew what was available where we were going and when we might get there.😀

  • Like 1
Posted
6 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

That might work if I knew what was available where we were going and when we might get there.😀

Yeah, the pandemic has taken some spontaneity out of traveling for sure. 

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)

We just did a 12 hr - 1 way (13 hr with stops) road trip a few weeks ago. We didn't notice any appreciable differences. We packed snacks and breakfast and waited until we arrived for dinner both ways. So, we just did lunch out. We ended up doing Chik-Fil-A both times (we needed something with decent gf options and the kids like to stop there as we don't have them around here). Their lines are very, very efficient and we moved through in no time. 

We just did gas stations for bathroom breaks, we had to stop some for gas anyway and they are close to the highway . I only allow water for road trips, even with meals otherwise it greatly increases bathroom breaks if I don't. We just have water at home anyway unless it is special occasion. The area we were going had lots of Love's rest stops, those were the best for stopping, clean and a million restrooms. I told dh from now on we are looking for those for stops. 

At our location we rented an AirBnB so we could have a kitchen and multiple bedrooms for a reasonable cost. I went grocery shopping when we got there (actually I went before for snacks and easy dinners but then dh didn't want to bring the little attachment for the cooler like we've done in years past) We always eat breakfast and dinner in the room, and sometimes lunches if we're doing a mid-day break. WE just did one meal dining in (others we ate outside or back in the room), as I'm still not crazy about the idea of dining indoors and they were fully staffed and busy. I know I've heard lots of places are having trouble hiring restaurant workers but I'm guessing this was less of factor in this area for tourists.

Edited by Soror
  • Like 2
Posted

I’ve gotten the kids used to just peeing at the side of the road.  Open both car doors if you need a bit of privacy.  I’m not dealing with bathrooms if it isn’t necessary. 

Posted
49 minutes ago, Lawyer&Mom said:

I’ve gotten the kids used to just peeing at the side of the road.  Open both car doors if you need a bit of privacy.  I’m not dealing with bathrooms if it isn’t necessary. 

Lol you have either only young kids or boys... my girls might leave me for dead if I suggested it. 
 

The power chair really does create a hardship for you. Target and Costco are two helps when traveling and need to be planned around to the point of adjusting the route. Annoying but at least she can pee. 
 

I agree with PPs who said apps with curbside is your ticket to success here. It requires planning within about forty five minutes. Wayz is pretty darn accurate for pickup time estimating. 
 

So many things really did get more complicated. We noticed it with hotel breakfasts too! On the other hand, curbside plus AirBnB makes family travel and staying much improved over years past. Such a trade of!

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Posted

We haven't had issues this trip.  Our last trip we had to either order curbside through apps or just do gas stations because we don't even fit through most drive thrus.  We also never passed up an open bathroom since that could be an issue.  I bring the potty John bags but some of our people can't make those work.  We mostly stay at the places that have the muffin, cereal type breakfasts.  So we are used to that being more of a snack.

  • Like 1
Posted
2 hours ago, Lawyer&Mom said:

I’ve gotten the kids used to just peeing at the side of the road.  Open both car doors if you need a bit of privacy.  I’m not dealing with bathrooms if it isn’t necessary. 

Yep.  We totally had to do that this time a few times.  We all our fine with it. 

Posted

No way I'm peeing by the side of the road!

Just did an 8 hr one-way trip (staying at a relative's on the far end) & things seem "back to normal" in the particular area of the country.

I know, based on maps on a major media website, that the area of the country we traversed was considered the most "back to normal" anywhere, so it would definitely depend on location.

  • Like 1
Posted

The only difference in Panama City beach was breakfast was cafeteria style.  The hostess made the waffles bagels toast etc served whatever the hot breakfast was and coffee was served at the bar area it self serve.  I didn't expect our room to be made up but I dud hang up towels but did pick up a set I the evening

  • Like 1
Posted

If you can get everyone to use venmo, they can pay you for their food. 

The lines may be where you're at. It's true places are understaffed, but in general where I've been traveling we've had no problems. I was just in hotels this weekend in Indiana and the hotel breakfasts were FINALLY back to normal. They weren't even just a few weeks ago. 

  • Like 1
Posted

I was told my someone whose relative works Chick Fil A that it's possible they won't even go back to doing indoor seating. The locations are making more money with drive through. So the lines are crazy long, yes. Sometimes I make my order in the app while I'm in line and just have them scan. They seem to be pretty speedy at it so I just consider it part of the experience sigh.

Posted
4 hours ago, Lawyer&Mom said:

I’ve gotten the kids used to just peeing at the side of the road.  Open both car doors if you need a bit of privacy.  I’m not dealing with bathrooms if it isn’t necessary. 

One of the most shocking things about Russia when I was there was the amount of DEFACATION on the sides of the roads. It's one of the things I am thankful about in America, that we have toilets and can go in and use them. 

I get kid emergencies because my ds has had them, lol. 

So for op, I think it's where you're traveling, because in the states I've been in recently we had NO problems. Not every inside restaurant is open, but I don't think they're actually going to reopen. They're making more money just doing drive throughs. 

  • Like 1
Posted

In the South, Truck stops are great. They're open, usually have a fast food option or two, normally have some tables open, have bathrooms and tended to have much, much better mask compliance than the random gas Station in a town without a mask mandate. Flying J usually seem to have McDonalds and Subway. 

 

Even if the restaurant doesn't have an official order ahead pickup app, you can order through Uber Eats and choose a "pick up at restaurant" option. 

 

We haven't tried a hotel since COVID. Many of the home owners on VRBO are allowing shorter term rentals during COVID, but I've never tried booking just a single night. 

Posted
3 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

I was told my someone whose relative works Chick Fil A that it's possible they won't even go back to doing indoor seating. The locations are making more money with drive through. So the lines are crazy long, yes. Sometimes I make my order in the app while I'm in line and just have them scan. They seem to be pretty speedy at it so I just consider it part of the experience sigh.

Many of the CFAs in our area are back open to dine in, though they aren’t advertising it. By that I mean when you mobile order it doesn’t show a dine in option.  And no ‘dine is in back open’ message on their signs or Facebook pages.  It feels like they’re doing soft openings...seeing how it goes.  

  • Like 1
Posted
5 hours ago, Lawyer&Mom said:

I’ve gotten the kids used to just peeing at the side of the road.  Open both car doors if you need a bit of privacy.  I’m not dealing with bathrooms if it isn’t necessary. 

Adding that I bought a female urinal for our road trip last year.

https://www.amazon.com/dd2-Bedpans-Plastic-Diabetes-Camping/dp/B088N9ZSZB/ref=asc_df_B088N9ZSZB/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=507808891678&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11401898414936333659&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9014633&hvtargid=pla-1253655218577&psc=1
It is a permanent change for me.
I get to avoid gas station restrooms forever!

  • Like 1
Posted
4 hours ago, PeterPan said:

I was told my someone whose relative works Chick Fil A that it's possible they won't even go back to doing indoor seating. The locations are making more money with drive through. So the lines are crazy long, yes. Sometimes I make my order in the app while I'm in line and just have them scan. They seem to be pretty speedy at it so I just consider it part of the experience sigh.

This is not true information.  While it is true that there may be an operator or two who decided to transition to a drive-thru-only model permanently, CFA corporate has dictated a date when all CFA's will be required to be fully open according to their local regulations.   My store opened our dining room on June 1st.   They will all be fully open in 2021. 

  • Like 2
Posted
4 hours ago, PeterPan said:

I was told my someone whose relative works Chick Fil A that it's possible they won't even go back to doing indoor seating. The locations are making more money with drive through. So the lines are crazy long, yes. Sometimes I make my order in the app while I'm in line and just have them scan. They seem to be pretty speedy at it so I just consider it part of the experience sigh.

All the CfA franchises here are open for indoor dining and have been for some time. I encountered one with a closed dining room in my travels last week. 

They all seem to have very efficient drive through and curbside service. 

Many restaurants here without open dining rooms are doing poorly. 

 

  • Like 1
Posted

I've found that the Chick-fil-A App is great. Order (even sitting in their parking lot), type in your spot number, and usually within 5 minutes they have your food to your car.  I try to use apps when I can for fast food - so much faster and often you get decent rewards.  For some restaurants, like Jason's Deli, it's just as easy for me to call it in. 

If you guys are ever in TX, the Bucee's are always open and have great clean spacious restrooms. Their fountain drinks are reasonably priced as well. And with 80+ gas pumps, we've never had to wait for an open one. 

  • Like 2
Posted
7 hours ago, RootAnn said:

No way I'm peeing by the side of the road!

Just did an 8 hr one-way trip (staying at a relative's on the far end) & things seem "back to normal" in the particular area of the country.

I know, based on maps on a major media website, that the area of the country we traversed was considered the most "back to normal" anywhere, so it would definitely depend on location.

We did a really long 35th anniversary driving vacation in late Aug to later Sept.  Even then we had no issues with bathrooms - I use gas stations a lot.  I have to stop every hour in order to be able to walk and do things normally when I get to my destination.  I also have to try to go to the bathroom frequently too.    I don't even remember too many rest areas on our journey-- we were mostly in less populated areas of the Northern MIdwest (IA,MN, ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, etc)/

Posted
17 minutes ago, Bambam said:

I've found that the Chick-fil-A App is great. Order (even sitting in their parking lot), type in your spot number, and usually within 5 minutes they have your food to your car. . 

Chick fil a is great.....issue is the nearest one to where I am traveling is 4 hours away😀.   Where we are staying does not even have a McDonald's or BK.

Today I drove 45 minutes to find fast food for my kids.....we were out and about sightseeing along the way so the fast food was a bonus.

  • Like 1
Posted
18 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Sometimes I make my order in the app while I'm in line and just have them scan.

Can you tell me how I would do this? I complete the CFA order in the app (including payment?) and they scan it when it's time to order?

I wouldn't find a parking spot and order at our local CFA because the parking is too hard to back out of. Our CFA has closed half the parking to allow for a 3rd drive through lane. Everything is very tight, but it's a system that works really well.

Posted

We just drove east through Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.  We did have issues at a couple of fast food places that were not open, even for using the restroom.  

After telling my sister about this she recommended chain drug stores for bathroom breaks.  They're usually a little more off the highway, but most towns have a CVS or Walgreens or Rite Aid etc.  They all have *usually* clean public restrooms.

  • Like 2
Posted
1 hour ago, ksr5377 said:

We just drove east through Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.  We did have issues at a couple of fast food places that were not open, even for using the restroom.  

After telling my sister about this she recommended chain drug stores for bathroom breaks.  They're usually a little more off the highway, but most towns have a CVS or Walgreens or Rite Aid etc.  They all have *usually* clean public restrooms.

Yesterday we tried a Rite aid as we needed something and they did not have a public restroom.

Posted

We just got back from a road trip across the eastern half of the US (midwest to NE), and we had really excellent luck with all rest stops and toll-road service plazas we tried to stop at being open as usual, and most fast food/quick-service restaurants having open dining rooms (so could double as a bathroom stop in a pinch).  No extra long lines at gas stations anywhere we stopped.  Probably the biggest thing we noticed is that because some smaller historical sites, park service sites, etc are still closed, some of those places we wanted to at least see the outside of (even if a building isn't open) didn't have a bathroom available because the building was closed. 

Posted

Beating the dead horse, but most CFAs I have seen have had dining rooms open for a few months. 

I was told by a grocery store manager in summer 2020 that they'd never return to normal hours (6a-10p) because they "make just as much from 8 to 8". Well, duh. Because people still eat, are now stocking up more, and make a way to get in during the shortened hours. Two months later, hours were back to normal. 

Posted
19 hours ago, wilrunner said:

Can you tell me how I would do this? I complete the CFA order in the app (including payment?) and they scan it when it's time to order?

I wouldn't find a parking spot and order at our local CFA because the parking is too hard to back out of. Our CFA has closed half the parking to allow for a 3rd drive through lane. Everything is very tight, but it's a system that works really well.

Super easy! You don't even need to scan.  Use your app to create an order to pick up in the drive thru.  When the drive thru team member gets to you, let them know you have a mobile order and they'll ask you what name it's under.  You tell them, they pull it up and bam, they'll be happy to serve you ahead. When they pull up your order on their ipad, that's when the kitchen prepares your food, so it's not just sitting there waiting for you to get there.  

  • Like 1
Posted

Yesterday we used the bathrooms at a state park.  That worked.  We tried a local city park and their bathrooms were locked.

Michigan "opens up" today officially....no more mask mandates (except public transportation), no more capacity limits, etc.  We will see if that makes a difference.   

One big thing though is almost everywhere has a "now hiring" sign out as they can not find workers.

Posted
On 6/20/2021 at 1:57 PM, RootAnn said:

No way I'm peeing by the side of the road!

Just did an 8 hr one-way trip (staying at a relative's on the far end) & things seem "back to normal" in the particular area of the country.

I know, based on maps on a major media website, that the area of the country we traversed was considered the most "back to normal" anywhere, so it would definitely depend on location.

This exactly. Our region is and has been open. (I'm not saying that there aren't tradeoffs for it, but financial devastation to families has been part of the calculus of opening things, too.)  

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