Well, I sincerely hope that you get to see your family sometime before they, or you, die but given your risk threshold and the current environment for the forseeable future that seems unlikely. Your choice, as you say.
If you can totally isolate for 2 weeks prior to going, it’s totally risk free. If not, then yes, there is a small risk pending where you have to go/stop. It might not be any riskier than what they are doing for getting supplies though.
For us with FIL, we’re also a resupplier for him. We bring him more food, etc, that we’ve had here for the two weeks making that totally safe.
^That’s what my sister struggles with for my parents in Austin, NOT a good place to be right now. She needs to bring them things and do things for them in the house. She’s just trying to minimize her visits as much as possible and ask the caregivers to do a lot. But they’re really not supposed to leave my parents alone for long at all. Sigh. My folks really need to be in assisted living, but that’s sure not happening now.
I went to visit my parents 3 weeks ago. They live 100 miles away. They have a nice backyard with a lovely patio area so that is where we stayed. We used 1 bathroom while there and I cleaned it before we left. I had not seen my parents in 4 months and they really wanted us to visit. We did it as safely as we could and I’m happy I got to see them.
My mother lives in S. Florida in Broward County. Her daughters live in NY and CT. Her grandchildren live in SF, Boston and Maine.
No one in my family would even dare go visit her during a pandemic and we certainty don’t want her to fly here, either. And she has zero desire to fly here because she knows we are in the middle of a deadly pandemic.
TBS, even if she lived a mile from me, I still wouldn’t go visit her and vice versa.
My son lives 2 1/2 hrs from me. He’s not coming here and we aren’t going there,because it is too risky.
Dr. Jay Butler of CDC said in the same interview quoted above that he personally is travelling from Washington DC to Alaska this summer to visit his kids and grandkids. He is not a young man, and will take sensible precautions, but he will see his family
Can you go without your husband @Deb922?
I agree that you should at least go visit your kids. If you are more worried about catching something from them, ask that they be extra careful the week before you come.
If you’ve been isolating and feeling well, then I agree you can drive there with very little risk to them, even in the middle of a pandemic.
None of us knows what is around the next corner, if it is something worse, you may well regret waiting.
In all fairness, I think there is a big difference going to a remote cabin in the Alaska wilderness where he will stay for 2 weeks than flying back and forth between FL and NY as in @emilybee’s situation.
I’m certainly not getting on a plane to fly to FL to see my immunocompromised, post transplant, father any time soon.
Hopefully we can all agree that there isn’t a one size fits all recommendation depending on overall health and location of our parents are ourselves.
Our neighbors have been seeing their local parents but also only outside. So many neighbors have set up socially distanced seating areas in their lawns for family and friends. People in my area continue to take the social distancing recommendations very seriously.
I live in a suburb of NYC and my mom lives in Western NY. I also have a sister in WNY and one in Ithaca. My S is getting married in our yard, immediate family only, on August 8th after having postponed his 200 person wedding scheduled for 3/21. My mother is his only living grandparent and she is 88. She was here when SIP began and I drove her halfway home (my sister met us there) at the end of March after the wedding was postponed because she had an necessary doctor’s appt. She has been SIP in her apartment with only my sister visiting to drop off groceries and take her to necessary doctor’s appointments since.
She desperately wants to be here and although my S is concerned because g-d forbid she gets sick, I am going to get her. I can do the drive in one day with limited bathroom stops (I may go through Ithaca which is about midway so we can use my sister’s bathroom which I know is clean). Mom decided that the risk of getting sick and dying, which, in her words, is going to happen sooner rather than later anyway, is well worth seeing a second grandson married, in person. I will be sad if somehow she gets sick, but I would never forgive myself for denying her what she wants. Her only great grandchild also lives here and has been part of our quarantine pod so she will get to see him too.
My children and I live in the original epicenter of this pandemic and for three months, while 2 of my three kids and their families lived with me, I was the only member of the household who left to shop during senior hours at a grocery store. For the last month we have (each of us) taken certain calculated risks that make sense to us. I think people need to evaluate the information available and makes decisions about travel, seeing family members, and pretty much everything else based on their own personal calculus while exercising as much caution as adherence to public health advisories (masks, hand-washing, social distancing etc.) as possible. Just my opinion.
I’m not being dense on purpose. I don’t quite understand why you wouldn’t visit your family?
Say, drive to your son’s & have a physically distant outdoor visit?
I may have you confused with another poster, but where do you imagine you could have gotten the virus from, that you could bring it to your son, and in turn infect him? (I thought you were staying at home)
I’m not trying to start an argument, I’m just trying to understand the degree of caution you are taking in light of my understanding about transmission.
I have a friend who is very cautious, & even afraid, but she was willing to drive to my house for an outdoor Happy Hour and we sat well away from each other.
I had wipes & santizer at the ready when she needed to go inside to use the bathroom. No one else was home.
Even as a cautious person, she knows there is almost no chance of getting infected this way.
Ugh, I think the tourists are descending on our area. Not good. We live north of Portland and I think I will make every effort to avoid going into town.
I think it is an individual choice within the guidelines. Everyone’s immune system is different as well as their risk tolerance. If you tend to get sick easily or live with someone, that will certainly change how you view the risk. On the other hand, if you never get sick, never catch a flu or even common cold, taking some risk is not unreasonable. It becomes a problem when people judge and try to shame others or impose what works for them is the only right way. It ain’t.
I haven’t kept up with this thread but is no one just going on vacation? We just booked flights to CO and a upscale hotel and some rooms weren’t available so I have a feeling it could book up. Hotels in CO are allowed to be full capacity. We figure this is the time to go. Aren’t masks required in airports and on flights? I believe that are on SW. Then, we rent a car. I’m not so concerned about surfaces. We aren’t going to go crazy disinfecting the car. You all have read that the virus is most contagious by droplets in the air, right? Check in our hotel and not get the room serviced while we are there. Spend most time outside - biking, hiking, at the pool, etc. Only eat outdoors or in our room. I honestly do not see the issue if we are masked when around others.
We are flying to Minneapolis on July 9 and then driving three hours north to spend a week at a remote cabin on a Wisconsin lake with my sister and her husband. Non-stop flight there. First class with a stop in Philly on the way back (yay for credit card points!). My sister is going to take care of all the meals so we won’t be dining out.
Until SIP we were driving about 6h by car to visit my ILs, my mom and a dear aunt and uncle almost monthly (they all live within about 40 minutes of one another). We haven’t seen them since February and FIL just told dh that dh’s mom is now not consistently remembering dh’s name.
Until recently, their IL place didn’t allow any visitors. Now they’ve set up a very closely monitored outdoor space where family can come to visit for 45 minute slots that have to be reserved in advance.
So, we’re going down in a couple weeks and, for us, feel comfortable doing so. I will get to see my mom, aunt and uncle as well and we’re able to squeeze in a dinner with my brother and SIL too. Every visit will be outdoors and we will socially distance. Unless eating, we’ll wear masks as well. While we will all need to be careful, we believe our approach is low risk and worth taking.
I really agree that, within the context of taking all the precautions we’re supposed to (masks, distancing, hand washing, etc.) each of us needs to decide how comfortable we are with moving about without judgement from others. Having said that, @deb922, since you asked, go see your kids! 
I’ll expect a full report on your WI trip along with a imaginary picture of you all drinking some WI beer!
We like New Glarus Spotted Cow, maybe because they won’t allow it to be sold outside of WI!
@Midwest67, I’ll have to sneak beer since my sister is a teetotaler, ha. She feels quite strongly about it.
DH grew up in Madison - it’s coincidental that the cabin is in the same state. He has no family left in Madison, so it’s rare he gets to visit Wisconsin.
I’ve been thinking about visiting my sister and my dad also. Sis is a 900 mile drive. Dad is a 2.000 mile drive. (I think flying is too risky. I like being in my car bubble). I would stay in a motel. Staying in their homes would inevitably lead to close contact. We would visit sitting in the yard or taking walks, masked and six feet apart. I think a visit could be done safely this way.
@homerdog We took a Florida trip (vacation) before Memorial Day and flew Southwest. It was fine. Masks, clean, no issues except at the rental car counter which was not following any COVID protocol. The county where we were in Florida had only 60 total cases and felt quite safe to us.
We are going to St. John/USVI in late July with connecting flights. I’m more nervous about that travel. We’ll be fine once we get there. We know the island well and know how we’ll manage food, etc.
We are going to Colorado late August- non stop Southwest flight to Denver, rent car and drive almost 5 hours. We are familiar with all this and believe we’ll be fine. Masks, hand washing, don’t touch things on the plane or in the airport.
We would love to visit S1, DIL, and grandkids who live a 7 hour drive away, but don’t necessarily feel comfortable doing so. We’d have to stop along the way, and this route doesn’t have highway rest stops. We’d stay with them at their house for 3 nights.
I can’t imagine wearing a mask all day, trying to stay 6’ from everyone, and not holding my grandkids. S and DIL have been WFH, but the kids go to daycare, and they’ve gotten together with some of DIL’s family and with friends. That’s expanding the bubble a little more than I’m comfortble with.