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- In June, I ventured out on a beach camping trip to Goose Island State Park in Texas after spending months at home.
- The coronavirus pandemic is still going on and confirmed cases in Texas reached record highs in June.
- Experts previously told Business Insider that camping is a relatively low-risk activity for contracting and spreading the coronavirus. They also said beach lounging is riskier due to crowds.
- From planning ahead to leaving the beach early, here's how I avoided close contact and enclosed spaces while traveling through Texas during the pandemic.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Editor's note: Before embarking on any travel, consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
In June, a friend and I drove from my parents' home in Austin, Texas, to Goose Island State Park for a night of camping. The park is near Rockport Beach, where we expected to spend most of the daylight of during our trip.
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Because the park was letting in fewer campers than usual to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, I made camping reservations at Goose Island State Park a week before our trip through Texas Park and Wildlife to ensure I'd get a spot.
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Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife
The night before I left for my weekend getaway, I checked for coronavirus updates in Aransas County, where Goose Island State Park and Rockport Beach are located.
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I checked for coronavirus updates in Arkansas County on June 19 before leaving on June 20. At that time, the last update on June 3 read that there were five confirmed cases in the county, none of which were active.
The week after I returned, Aransas County reported three more cases.
I also noted coronavirus guidelines for Goose Island State Park. The park recommends wearing a face covering and bans entering with more than 10 people, unless they are all coming from the same household, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Since I was going to be sweating in hot weather all weekend, I brought several face masks and bandanas for face coverings and wore them every time I thought I might be less than six feet away from other people.
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I also brought my own food to avoid going inside any restaurants and stores during the trip.
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I left for Goose Island State Park at 6 a.m. on June 20 and arrived at my destination around 9:30 a.m.
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I didn't wear a mask the whole car ride, but I slipped one on as soon as I got to the campgrounds and rolled down the windows to ask a park ranger for directions.
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Once at the site, I pitched my tent in the furthest corner of the campsite to maintain distance from other campers.
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Source: CDC
Looking back on it, I should have pulled out the anti-bacterial wipes before pitching the tent, but the second thing I did was disinfect all the surfaces that could have been recently touched by others, like the picnic table ...
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... and the water faucet.
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I ended up also using the water faucet to brush my teeth and wash my hands to avoid using the communal restrooms on the camping grounds as much as possible.
After I cleaned all the surfaces, it was time to go to the beach, which was about a 10-minute drive from the campsite.
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I got to the beach at 10:30 a.m. and drove to the far end of the beach, where there were fewer people gathered. I wore a face covering from the moment I got out of the car ...
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... until I was safely settled more than six feet away from other beachgoers.
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After setting up the chairs, I headed into the ocean, where it was easy to keep a distance from others.
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By 12:30, the beach was crowded, and I wasn't able to maintain six feet between my chairs and other people's, so I left.
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While driving away from the beach, I scanned the coastline for a six-foot gap between groups, but there wasn't a spot left.
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Instead, I spent the rest of the trip hiking on some nearby trails, where I didn't run into any other people.
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Before I left the campsite, I wiped down everything I touched with anti-bacterial wipes.
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On the way home, I had to stop for gas. I made sure to touch things as little as possible wore gloves to handle the gas pump and payment transaction.
Source: Business Insider
Bringing my own food and settling for free activities, I managed to keep costs low — really low. I spent $30 on gas, $20 on groceries and supplies, and $20 on the campsite and entry fee for one night.
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Although it wasn't exactly the trip I planned, I'm glad I ventured out for a weekend after months of weekends spent playing video games and watching TV.
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