In this time of COVID, I feel that a lot of people are asking this question. Just about everyone is saying “yes”, but that it will be very different from how things have been in the past.
Here is my answer:
‘We have to. There is no other way or other option. If we don’t, we stop being human.’ Two of the key human traits is exploration and curiosity. We’ve done it for thousands, if not millions of years. Without them, we would have never progressed. Even St. Augustine, someone who lived in the 300s, said “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” If we let this disease control us and stop our exploratory instincts, we are doomed. In fact, our exploratory predilections are the only thing that will help us defeat this disease. Without the imagination of making the impossible possible, we’re in deep trouble. That same drive that leads to scientific discoveries fuels our yearning for travel and exploration. Yes, this is probably a once in a century event. Social and political environments will likely change after the pandemic is over (and yes, I am confident it will be over). Nevertheless, it would be impossible for a virus to change our human nature. We have gone through pandemics before, terrible awful pandemics, just like we have gone through wars. Through both, humanity survived and thrived.
Imagine a world without travel, curiosity, or social interactions. How far could we have gotten? Not very. Right now, everyone who had loved travel is dreaming about doing it again. As time goes by, that yearning is only going stronger. I’ll personally admit, I was just sick and tired and travel before the shelter-in-place. I was perfectly fine with staying at home for a few weeks. Now though, I am ready to get out and see the world. I want to visit parks, stay in hotels, and eat at restaurants. I’m thinking and writing about it nearly every day. The status quo of just basic travel seems like such a luxury now. Deciding not to travel would be like changing our identity, which we simply cannot do. Yes, we will adopt different habits of washing our hands and not touching our faces (honestly, we should have done this long ago). And finally, when it is safe to do so, we will no longer social distance. We will hug, laugh, sing, play, eat, and drink together like never before, with a fervor and appreciation like never before. When we are free again, it may even drive our desire for curiosity and exploration even further. I can image maybe five generations from now, instead of peering out an airplane window, out descendants will peer out of a spaceship looking at the moon. Maybe in ten generations Jupiter, a hundred, a nearby star, and in a thousand generations, a nearby galaxy. As long as we are here, we will do whatever it takes to explore and never stop.
So again, to answer the question: “Will we travel again?” The answer is non-negotiable: “Yes!” If we don’t, we’ve lost our fearlessness, curiosity, and learning. It would be the end of our species as we know it.
You may not think so, but for a while, I had actually traveled so much, that I was becoming sick of travel. Yes, me – sick of travel. We’d always be jetting away, and I would focus on the things to do back home as our apartment remained unclean and just got dustier and dustier.
Not surprisingly, with nothing more than an occasional trip to the grocery store in the past month (and probably at least for the next six weeks) – travel is the only thing I can think about (such a shift!). That said, I’ve started even planning future trips for when we can finally leave the apartment. In this post, I’ll describe my ideal trip across the Northern California coast and mountains.
Day 1: Driving up the coast from the Bay Area (stay in Jenner, CA)
For day one, I’m going to skip the places that are closest to the Bay Area where I could easily visit on a day trip. Because of this, I think the end point for my first day would be the Timber Cove Lodge (past Bodega Bay). I love Design Hotels and the love a room with views of the California coast. It seems like the perfect start to a long road trip.
Day 2: Driving from Jenner to Mendocino (stay in Elk, CA)
Quaint Mendocino
As we drive up Highway 1 on the California coast, we stop by Ft. Ross State Historic Park. It’s not everyday you get to see a historic Russian fort in the continental US. On a side note, I wish the California State Park system had a passport program that was similar to the National Park Service’s. It’s a great way to keep track of where and when you visit a park. Plus, I’m pretty geeky and think the stamps are cool.
Once we get toward Mendocino, I think I’d like to stay at Harbor House Inn in Elk, CA (a little bit south of Mendocino). I found out about it in the New York Times 36 Hours post on Mendocino, and it looks exquisite. We’d probably have to eat at their nice restaurant too and try their eight to twelve course menu.
During the day, we’d obviously make the drive to Mendocino itself and walk around the cute village. Ideally, we’d also visit Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. If we can’t fit it all in on day two, we’ll cover the lighthouse the next day.
Day 3: The Lost Coast and Humboldt Redwoods (stay in Eureka, CA)
On day three, we’d start the trek up to coast to the land of the giant redwoods. Time permitting, we’d stop first in Shelter Cove to get a glimpse of the Lost Coast, the area deemed impassible for highways. On our way back, we’d travel again (we did it in 2018) through the Avenue of the Giants at Humboldt Redwoods State Park. We’d end our long nature journey that day in Eureka, perhaps with a visit to Ft. Humboldt State Historic Park.
Day 4: Redwoods National and State Parks (stay in Eureka, CA)
We are Just Dwarfed by these Trees
We’ve been to Redwoods National and State Parks before, but I can tell you it’s totally worth it to visit again. Here, you are really remote. We visited on Memorial Day weekend once, and even then it still wasn’t that crowded. I planned the original trip with so much excitement. I even bought my first National Geographic hiking map (which I’ve got to say, is unbelievably detailed – it’s like one of those maps you’d see in an idealistic Instagram hiking adventure post). We could easily spend a day (or two) driving and hiking through this majestic park. In fact, visiting the park is probably worth its own blogpost.
Day 5: Shasta (stay in Redding, CA)
Towering Mt. Shasta
Upon visiting the Redwoods National and State Parks all the way up through Crescent City on the border with Oregon, we’d drive back inland towards Redding and then up to catch a glimpse of Mt. Shasta. I’ve seen it both from the air and from the ground, and this prominent volcano is a sight to behold. It rises above the landscape like nothing else, visible for so many miles. It is undoubtedly worth a look. I probably wouldn’t stop too much in the nearby towns though. I’ve heard that Shasta is a haven for hippies. Definitely not my cup of tea.
Day 6: Lava Beds National Monument (stay in Redding, CA)
The drive through Lava Beds would be through one of the remotest (if not the remotest) parts of California. I’m not going to lie, after COVID, I might rethink seeing bats in a cave (or wear protective gear), but I’m still fascinated by the site. The first stop on the drive though would be Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge (better bring my Blue Goose Passport – yes I am that nerdy). With this location, I definitely can’t forget my camera and binoculars. It’s supposed to be one of the most impressive bird sighting locations in the entire country. Millions upon millions of birds migrate through here each year.
After the Klamath Basin, we’d drive to Lava Beds National Monument to take a tour of the caves and also go on some hiking. This would be a long, but quite fun day.
Day 7: Lassen Volcanic National Park (stay in Redding, CA)
Lassen Peak behind an Alpine Meadow
The final stretch would bring us back a little closer to the Bay Area with a visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park. I’ve been here before, but it’s a fascinating place. Driving through the devastated area or the high mountain fields, I have seen no other place like it. We’d even take a walk near the sulfur vents that smell of farts. If we are lucky, we would even get the chance to partake in a stargazing party at night. Lassen is one of the few places left in the country that is truly dark at night. Then, at the end of the day, we’d have one final stay before driving back to the Bay Area the next day.
So that’s my trip. I’ve listed a few other options to include below, which could add considerable time to the trip. Nevertheless, they all look interesting to me, and I would love to see them. Writing this post now, I see this is a seven day trip. It could happen all at once, but to be honest, I’d probably have to break it up into two or three long weekends though. Maybe it’s not as fun as one long trip, but it’s certainly still doable.
Have I missed any important or hidden sights? Let me know if the comments below.
One More Pic of the Redwoods – Yeah, They’re that Impressive
Hope you all had a great weekend! It’s a new week and thus time for a new blogpost. This time, I’ll be writing about a local hotel in Marriott’s Autograph Collection, the Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz, CA. For those who don’t know, the Autograph Collection is marketed as a collection of properties unique to each destination. It’s not as nice as SPG’s The Luxury Collection (which is five star properties instead of four star), but it’s still a very nice collection of hotels. We went to visit the hotel last December just prior to my fiancee’s birthday.
The Hotel Paradox has a very nature-ish theme, with a lot of brown and beige color tones throughout the property. A lot of the decorations focus on a forest-type theme as well.
The check-in desk was actually the trunk of a giant tree. During check-in, the staff was friendly and professional. The hotel is a bit spread out, so it was a walk to our room, but inside, the decorations and room quality were quite nice.
Tree Trunk Check-in DeskHotel Decor
The room, bed, and bathroom were nothing incredibly outstanding, but they were still very nice. All of the furniture and decorations were of good quality as well. As a gift, they gave us some fruit and nuts. One additional point that I loved was the fact that they had Illy Coffee. I don’t see it too much, but when I do, I definitely make myself a cup.
A Nice, Comfortable RoomDesk and TV Area
We arrived a bit late, so we decided to go down to the restaurant/bar for some drinks and a bite to eat. We had some glasses of wine with some calamari. It was fantastic. I would definitely recommend! Also, because it was winter, there was barely anyone there, so it was a nice, quiet, and relaxing atmosphere. In fact, the food was so good for the snacks, we decided to stay there and just order some larger plates for dinner.
Calamari and Red Wine
The next day was nice and sunny. We started off the morning with breakfast at the hotel. It wasn’t anything special to be honest. It was pretty standard as far as hotel breakfasts go. I had some scrambled eggs.
After breakfast, my fiancee wanted to check out the pool. The pool was quite nice, with lots of seating. It was decently warm, so she was able to lie out in the sun for a little bit while I did some work. I was also able to get some nice pictures. The cabana and lounge areas were nice, and there was a huge sequoia (I think) tree providing some shade. I can imagine this spot being pretty lively in the warmer months.
Huge Tree Overlooking the PoolCabana and Fireplace Area
After lounging around by the pool, we checked out and then went to go explore downtown Santa Cruz. Thankfully, it was just a short Uber ride away. It was quite nice, there was a bunch of restaurants, but we weren’t too hungry. There was a nice book store, Bookshop Santa Cruz, where my fiancee got a book that had been signed by Amy Tan. We also visited a cool, southwestern-style furniture shop.
Afterwards, we did the obligatory trip to the Santa Cruz pier and boardwalk. We walked up and down the pier in the late afternoon. The scenery was beautiful, and the crowds were mostly gone from earlier in the weekend. We had some fish and chips at Ideal Bar & Grill. It was a nice end to the weekend as we watched the sun going down before heading back to the hotel to pick up the car and head back home.
Platinum Bryan 