I received the news last Tuesday that my company would shut down for two weeks due to COVID-19. Admittedly, this news sent me into a daydream of all the travel I would do if given a two-week break from work during a time when there wasn’t a pandemic happening.

My No. 1 trip would be a road trip up the coast accompanied by my boyfriend, Paul, and our dog, Tucker. Our first stop would be in Connecticut. We would drive the loop around the Connecticut River, visit Gillette Castle State Park and stop to see the botanical gardens of Harkness Memorial State Park. Next, on to Massachusetts, where we would visit Boston, Plymouth Rock and the beaches of Cape Cod. Then we would head to New Hampshire and drive to the top of Mount Washington. Of course, we would have to pick up a “This car climbed Mount Washington” bumper sticker on the way. Finally, we would end our trip in Maine and hike through Acadia National Park and take in the sites of Bar Harbor, where I would have to find somewhere to get a lobster roll.

Alas, this trip will remain a daydream until the world returns to normalcy. Fortunately, the benefits of socially isolating with a job where I can’t work from home means I can spend my time planning it and adding more stops on the way.

— Laura Gallagher, contributor