In the United States where the epidemic is raging, we actually took our children on a trip

After more than nine months of isolation, Luke’s family has gone crazy. The last long trip can be traced back to a trip to Las Vegas a year ago.

After various considerations, Luke’s parents finally decided to take a trip to give the whole family a chance to relax after a year of hard isolation. one time.

Planning stage

After deciding to travel, considering safety factors, we first gave up long-distance travel that required flying.

Christmas is the peak travel season, and even amid the epidemic, many people take flights to reunite with relatives far away. The airport has become a crowded place and needs to be avoided as much as possible.

After giving up the long-distance option, all that is left is self-driving travel.

The distance cannot be too far, which will affect the travel experience. Four-year-old Luke can sit still in the car, but it's best not to stay too long, otherwise neither he nor his parents who are driving will be able to bear it.

The distance should not be too close. We have been at home for almost a year, so after finally going out, we naturally want to see something different. Since the beginning of the epidemic, we have been to all the places where we can play outdoors near our home.

Thanks to Luke’s wise dad, he worked tirelessly to do a lot of research and finally chose a small town in Germany that is more than three hours’ drive from home.

We are in the northwest, where it is rainy in autumn and winter, and we seldom see the sun (many people who live here will suffer from seasonal depression due to lack of sunshine, Luke Mom has adapted).

The German town we are going to is on the other side of the mountain. In winter, the rain is blocked by the Rocky Mountains on the coast (the area where we live in the city now). Sometimes it is sunny. , sometimes the cold and humid air will cause snow, which is similar to the climate in Utah where we lived before.

After planning your destination, the next step is to choose where to live. This is what we were worried about before. After all, the risk is slightly higher in places with high density of people like hotels.

When checking in, there will be many people in the lobby in a confined space at the same time, and the safety of the air circulation system in the room must also be considered. It's just trouble anyway.

Even such a difficult problem has been solved by us. German towns are tourist cities. Although there are many hotels of various kinds, none of them met our requirements. Luke's dad found a cabin in the woods more than 20 minutes' drive from the town.

The cabin is an independent small house and has no indoor interaction with other residents. As long as you open windows for ventilation and disinfect all surfaces before moving in, there will be no hidden dangers of viruses.

No one is allowed to enter the cabin during check-in. . .

The disadvantage is also obvious, that is, it is a little far away from the city, and supermarkets and restaurants are some distance away. Fortunately, the cabin has all the necessary facilities, except The bedroom and bathroom also have a simple kitchen, so you don't have to worry about running out of hot meals.

In addition, there is no Wi-Fi in the cabin, and there is no mobile phone signal in the forest, which we only discovered after we arrived

Luke really likes this bed that can be climbed up and down

In order to push articles to everyone on time, we changed several places in the city. I just found one with a better signal. . . Haha, it’s so difficult to be a “male dog”

Preparation stage

Luke’s family set out on the morning of the 17th of. Before departure, Luke's mother was fully prepared in all aspects.

First, disinfectant spray and disinfectant wipes are prepared for disinfection during check-in.

In addition, although the cabin will provide bed sheets, quilts and towels, Luke's mother is still worried. Sheets, pillowcases, blankets, towels and your own toiletries are specially prepared.

There are a lot of equipment for playing in the snow. In addition to the snow pants, jackets, hats, and gloves you wear, there are also sleds and snow tires to play with. Fortunately, Luke's car is big enough to hold all these belongings.

During the epidemic, I didn’t expect that a 3-hour drive would feel like moving

In addition, Luke’s mother also prepared some packaged salads and vegetables, so that you can quickly prepare a healthy and nutritious meal in the cabin.

Various snacks are also packed to prevent hunger on the road and while playing. You must know that Washington State has banned restaurants from receiving customers indoors. You can only eat on the roadside unless you take the food you buy back to your place of residence. The temperature in a German town is around 0 degrees at this time, so eating outdoors is not fun.

Let’s start playing

There are two main activities on this trip, namely playing in the snow and looking at the lanterns.

Luke likes snow more and more. We had gone sledding and snow tubing before, and Luke thoroughly enjoyed both.

Just after arriving at the destination (not yet checked in), Luke and his family had a great time playing in the snow in a state park near the cabin.

Because it was Thursday, there were very few people in the park. There was another family playing when we first arrived, but they left within half an hour. We were the only family on the entire sledding hillside, so we didn’t have to worry about the virus at all

The slope of the hillside is not very steep, and the snow is relatively loose, so snow tires cannot slide very far. Luke's family switched to sleds after a few tries.

Later Luke fell in love with the sport of throwing snowballs. It was said that he was throwing snowballs, but in fact he was throwing snowballs at his father. Fortunately, Luke was young and had limited strength.

Watching Luke play so hard with his father Happy, Luke's mother silently picked up the sled, and she probably only slewed it a dozen times. Every time I finish skating, I have to drag it back to the top of the slope, even aerobic exercise is omitted.

This park is really a good place to play in the snow. Not only does it have a small theater on the edge of the hillside, Luke and his father also played in the theater later. Hide and seek.

Not far from the hillside is a lake, which is very beautiful. There was snow on the beach, it was so beautiful.

Luke’s mother and Luke’s team had a snowball fight with their father here, and all their worries were gone.

Luke used a sled as a shield for his teammate Zhu Bajie (Luke’s mother). Zhu Bajie defended while making snowballs for Sun Wukong (Luke)

Luke’s mother’s favorite place in this park is the restroom (you all know how important the restroom is, right). It is clean and heated, and the experience is great.

In addition to the park, we also went to a small ski resort to make up for the important activity of snow tubing. This ski resort has a dedicated channel for snow tubing and a cable car to take it up, which saves you the trouble of climbing.

Luke’s mother and Luke are completely addicted. The ski resort requires that only one person can use each snow tube. Little Luke made his own snow tubes without any stage fright.

When Luke’s mother sat down for the first time, she felt that the speed was really fast, and she was a little worried about Luke’s classmate. Later, she found that Luke was smiling when he got off. Excitedly, he asked me how many more times I could sit.

Later, when we were riding, Luke started laughing when he reached the top of the slope. After sliding down, he realized that he had taken the initiative to pull the snow tires away from the slide and gave them to him. The next person, the old mother thinks the money is well spent

In addition to playing in the snow, our other activity is to watch the lights. The Christmas lights in German towns are very famous. Due to the epidemic, the light display, which was previously only available during the Christmas period, was extended for more than a month in order to disperse the crowds.

The lights here are indeed beautiful, just take photos.

We basically played in the snow during the day and walked around the town at night to look at the lights. The whole town is German-style, and you can see signs in German everywhere.

We just wanted to take a stroll at first, but then Luke saw many children playing sledding in the town square and couldn't hold himself back. Finally joined them. . .

When Luke’s dad was playing sledding with Luke, Luke’s mom was wandering around the business district and didn’t stand too still. It's cold. The shop windows are beautiful, most of them decorated with Christmas themes.

What is a bit heavy is that many merchants cannot continue to operate due to the epidemic.

The logo reads "Thanks for the support over the past 55 years, we are closing"

A grain of sand in the times, Falling on everyone is like a mountain. We don’t know when the epidemic will end. When will these innocent people get their lives back?

There are many authentic German restaurants in German towns. Because indoor service is prohibited, restaurants are empty.

But business still had to be done, so everyone set up a tent outside the restaurant to receive guests.

Luke’s mother didn’t do any research on food before coming here (she knew she couldn’t go to the restaurant). She only knew that the German sausages here were famous.

When I was wandering around in the evening, I found a restaurant with a long queue waiting for a table. It completely refreshed my outlook. You have to know that if you wait in line, you can only eat outside. . . . How delicious is this?

Later, when I passed by during the day, I found that the queue at this restaurant was longer, at least 50 meters by visual inspection. . . This makes me very curious. When the epidemic is over and I can eat in a restaurant, I will definitely experience it

Happy times are always Fleeting

When he was about to go home, Luke looked unhappy. Obviously three or four days is too short for children.

After returning home, Luke had been lying down for a long time. Suddenly he got up and cried to us: I didn’t say goodbye to the hotel, I wanted to say goodbye to it

Actually, Luke’s parents don’t want to go back, but life always has to return to reality, right?

When I got home, I saw a lot of express delivery and gifts piled in front of my house (three of them were gifts from neighbors, and I had already received several before), and I felt warm in my heart. of.

Life is not always cruel. Let’s look forward to more warm new years together.