Stay home

I wrote a blog post last week on how we can support local businesses and it seems like the entire world has turned upside down since then.  It’s amazing to think how much our lives have changed in just a short period of time.

One of my job descriptions is to be the “Nevada County Ambassador”. In that role, I’ve put a lot of time and energy in the last decade to promoting our community.  As an ambassador for Grass Valley and Nevada City, I feel almost a loss of words on how I can help in this situation, other than the obvious of just staying home.  So, Dan and I have spent the better part of our last week trying to figure out what our role in the community is now.  It is clear that as businesses who welcome travelers to our area, the Outside Inn & the Inn Town Campground have a grave moral responsibility to do our part to stop COVID-19 and ensure the health and wellbeing of others.

To that end, we are only hosting people who require lodging for sheltering in place or some other essential need.  Many of you will know how hard it is to turn down a paying customer right now, but we are doing so daily in an effort to discourage travelers from unnecessarily spreading coronavirus.    We have to be part of the solution for the health of our community and businesses.

Having said all of that, there are still people out there with essential lodging needs and we have been happy to host them responsibly.  During the storms last week, there were many in the area who lost power and it felt good to be there to offer a warm place for them to stay, even when the rest of the world seems to be shut down.

Since there are some things don’t stop even for a pandemic, we are able to offer these essential services at the Inn Town Campground: dump station, propane filling station, parking for stranded full-time RVers and traveling essential services staff.  We have modified our operations to accommodate these services and social distancing, so please call ahead if you need them.

Finally, because I want to end on a positive note, here are 5 things that brought me joy in the last week:

• Virtual check ins with loved ones and friends.
• Spring flowers.
• A walk around the block while maintaining 6′ from anyone we happened to see (but smiling and saying hello to every single one of them).
• Being able to offer compassion and understanding to those who needed it (from the bride who cancelled her wedding, to the locals without power who were living in their home without heat and power, to the grandpa who came to meet his grandchild and now doesn’t know when he’ll be going home.
• Knowing that we’re all in this together; while it’s hard to basically close down all your services for the greater good, I know that we all have to do our part and we’re willing to be a part of that solution.

I am going to continue to try to share joy on a daily basis, so you can follow along our Instagram accounts (Outside Inn/Inn Town Campground/Visit Nevada City) to see my creative ways to try to stay positive.