A Pit Stop and a Pause to Reflect on a Summer That Wasn’t - The New York Times

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Labor Day weekend is typically a chance to take a last deep breath of summer — to fit in one final county fair, extended-family gathering, or long beach weekend — before settling into a new school year or returning to a busy fall.

But like everything else since the coronavirus arrived, the joys and rhythms of the long weekend felt different this year.

Still, after a summer marked by canceled plans, in which many people were largely confined to the boundaries of their neighborhoods or cities, Americans hit the road. In minivans and on motorcycles, with cats or kids, they pulled into highway rest stops like the Richard Stockton Rest Area along Interstate 95 in New Jersey to snack, fill up on gas and reflect on a summer that mostly wasn’t, and a fall they hoped would bring better.

For some families, this weekend was the first time all summer they felt safe enough to travel out of town; the first time they would see certain friends or family members since the country shut down and Americans were forced indoors.

Jonathan Martinez, a construction contractor from New Jersey, used the weekend to escape town and try to regain a sense of normalcy. Mr. Martinez, who was traveling to Northern Virginia with his wife and two sons to visit friends, said it was their first trip in months.

“It’s pretty exciting,” he said. He had dirt bikes strapped to his truck for riding on the trails behind his friend’s house. “Finally, we can take a little ride and enjoy their family.”

After months of isolation, some risks are worth taking, said James Haven, a health care policy researcher who paused at the rest stop with his wife and son on their way to Pennsylvania for a weekend getaway.

“I guess we just got fed up,” he said. “There’s a limit to how much we could stay indoors and not see friends. We have to create a decent quality of life for our 5-year-old. He has to see other kids, it’s really important at this age.”

A new season will bring new challenges, as schools grapple with reopening and it gets too cold for outdoor activities. Mr. Haven remains tentatively hopeful.

“Cases are in decline nationwide,” he said, “so I’m kind of just banking on that.”

‘We go nowhere.’

Renu Kuinkel, 32, originally from Nepal, with her daughter Rewisha, 1. Ms. Kuinkel and her family were headed from Queens, where they live, to Maryland to visit friends from Nepal who just arrived for their medical residency.

It’s been really bad. We go nowhere. This is the first time we have been out of New York City.

We both were positive with the coronavirus in mid-April. When [her husband] started to stay home from work he was sick for almost two months and isolated in the home. Now we are feeling fine with the kids. It’s been hard but a little bit fun, too.

Jennifer Alvarez, left, with her children Martin and Nicolas Mogollon, on the way to visit Amish Country in Pennsylvania for the weekend.

Taniqua McCoy, left, and her daughter Nakiyah McCoy, 13, were headed home to Maryland from visiting friends in New Jersey.

Igor and Svetlana Matveev, of Maclean, Va., both plasma physicists who immigrated from Ukraine 17 years ago, stopped to have a snack at the rest area on their way home after a summer in Connecticut.

‘We’ve been home for six months so we feel safe.’

Carolyn Hernandez, 27, of New York City, with Hawkeye, her one-eyed cat. A makeup artist, Ms. Hernandez has been out of work for the duration of the pandemic. This is the first trip they’ve taken out of the city to see family friends.

It’s his first road trip, we’re trying to see how it works. He needed to get out of the house too.

It’s hard to get close to people. I do fashion and events — there’s no events right now. I have not worked. We’ve been home for six months so we feel safe.

Two months in we ran out of things to occupy ourselves and we started to get stir crazy. We baked a lot at first. We watched a lot of cooking shows. The fall will probably be the same as my whole year has looked like but just colder.

We feel pretty safe. The masks, the sanitizer, we’re staying relatively distant from everyone.

Scenes from the Richard Stockton Rest Area on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Betsy Canteen and her husband had spent the summer in Maine and were returning to Charlottesville, Va. They stopped to let her dogs Pippen and Daisy use the bathroom and get some exercise.

‘We’re not around anyone but each other.’

Shelly Greenlee, 48, of Florida drives a truck with her husband. They just finished a trip that started in Denver.

Me and my husband are team driving, he’s asleep now. We can drive 10 hours each. We’re waiting now for a load so we don’t know where we’re headed next. I started driving in April. We have driven together probably 70,000 miles in that time. When we first started in New Jersey and New York, it was pretty heavy there — they wouldn’t even let us out of our truck. We just backed in and they unloaded.”

The roads were not as busy as they are now. It makes it a little difficult. I was in California last week and it took two and a half hours to drive 53 miles. Traffic is getting worse. You can tell people are back out and about and hopefully back to work themselves.

People stuck at home have got a lot more room to move around than I do, it’s pretty tight in here. We’re pretty much trapped in here most of the time.

I’ve got more faith than fear. I wear my mask when it’s required. Other than that I don’t wear it.

Scenes from the Richard Stockton Rest Area on the New Jersey Turnpike.

‘It’s going to be random and weird.’

Emi Lotto, 36, works in book production. She was traveling from Queens to the American Treasure Tour in Valley Forge, Penn., for her birthday.

I asked my friends: ‘Who wants to come do this thing with me? It’s going to be random and weird. If you’re not comfortable you don’t have to.’ Several friends said they weren’t comfortable and they didn’t come.

The Coronavirus Outbreak ›

Frequently Asked Questions

Updated September 4, 2020

• What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

  • In the beginning, the coronavirus seemed like it was primarily a respiratory illness — many patients had fever and chills, were weak and tired, and coughed a lot, though some people don’t show many symptoms at all. Those who seemed sickest had pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome and received supplemental oxygen. By now, doctors have identified many more symptoms and syndromes. In April, the C.D.C. added to the list of early signs sore throat, fever, chills and muscle aches. Gastrointestinal upset, such as diarrhea and nausea, has also been observed. Another telltale sign of infection may be a sudden, profound diminution of one’s sense of smell and taste. Teenagers and young adults in some cases have developed painful red and purple lesions on their fingers and toes — nicknamed “Covid toe” — but few other serious symptoms.

• Why is it safer to spend time together outside?

  • Outdoor gatherings lower risk because wind disperses viral droplets, and sunlight can kill some of the virus. Open spaces prevent the virus from building up in concentrated amounts and being inhaled, which can happen when infected people exhale in a confined space for long stretches of time, said Dr. Julian W. Tang, a virologist at the University of Leicester.

• Why does standing six feet away from others help?

  • The coronavirus spreads primarily through droplets from your mouth and nose, especially when you cough or sneeze. The C.D.C., one of the organizations using that measure, bases its recommendation of six feet on the idea that most large droplets that people expel when they cough or sneeze will fall to the ground within six feet. But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. Sneezes, for instance, can launch droplets a lot farther than six feet, according to a recent study. It's a rule of thumb: You should be safest standing six feet apart outside, especially when it's windy. But keep a mask on at all times, even when you think you’re far enough apart.

• I have antibodies. Am I now immune?

  • As of right now, that seems likely, for at least several months. There have been frightening accounts of people suffering what seems to be a second bout of Covid-19. But experts say these patients may have a drawn-out course of infection, with the virus taking a slow toll weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the coronavirus typically produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to an infection. These antibodies may last in the body only two to three months, which may seem worrisome, but that’s perfectly normal after an acute infection subsides, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University. It may be possible to get the coronavirus again, but it’s highly unlikely that it would be possible in a short window of time from initial infection or make people sicker the second time.

• What are my rights if I am worried about going back to work?

  • Employers have to provide a safe workplace with policies that protect everyone equally. And if one of your co-workers tests positive for the coronavirus, the C.D.C. has said that employers should tell their employees -- without giving you the sick employee’s name -- that they may have been exposed to the virus.

I was supposed to go to Milwaukee for a paper doll collecting convention on Fourth of July weekend. Most of the paper doll clientele are twice my age so of course those guys will be looking out for themselves. I was bummed but I was not surprised.

We were tested about two weeks ago because we wanted to be tested before we see my in-laws who are elderly. It’s just the courteous thing to do if you’re going to to stay at someone’s house — you get tested.

Scenes from the Richard Stockton Rest Area on the New Jersey Turnpike.

‘We’re now trying to re-create 2019 normal.’

James Haven, 40, of Englewood, N.J., a health care policy researcher who was reduced to a part-time schedule because of the pandemic, was traveling to Lancaster County, Penn., with his wife and son for a weekend getaway.

We just got cooped up for too long. We started to move around the last two or three months. We’re now trying to re-create 2019 normal. We have to create a decent quality of life for our 5-year-old. He has to see other kids, it’s really important at this age. So he’s going to be exposed to other kids and we have to take that risk.

One thing is that we still don’t see our parents.

I was nervous months ago, but I’m not anymore. It feels like I’m being cognizant of the risk. My perceptions of risk for me and my family are quite low. I feel like things are going to go better in the fall.

I tend to think things will be OK. I think people should vote in person. In that way we will get to see the will of the country in greater confidence. There will be less room for fuss.

Scenes from the Richard Stockton Rest Area on the New Jersey Turnpike.

‘Get a little flow, enjoy the ride.’

Quinton Hunter, 30, of Amityville, N.Y., was riding his motorcycle to West Virginia to visit a friend.

I was working for an insurance company but now I’ve been freelancing, doing home improvement work, working on cars.

I redid my whole basement. I’ll start something and say I’ll finish it tomorrow and then it becomes next Tuesday.

Riding in New York you can go through two rims a summer, you hit a pothole, it’s terrible. You’ve got to be on it. Here you can cruise a little more, get a little flow, enjoy the ride. It’s what it’s about. Hopefully the fall will be nice weather so I can ride as long as possible. I have a son who’s 1½ and a little sister who’s 16. Now I see them a lot more. I’ll swing by and there’s a bigger chance I’ll see them.

I pray for the best. I’m young and Black in America. It’s the worst. All lives matter, sure, but people forget that Black lives matter. I’ve been to one protest. I try to repost, you know, to support the cause.

Interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity.

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