Road trip across the USA, late February 2020
These images of forsaken roadside places were taken while on a family RV trip from North Carolina to California in February 2020. About this time COVID-19 started to dominate the news. Unaware of its severity as a health menace, we happily headed west, isolated in our camping bubble, undeterred by flooding, snowfall and the deadly Nashville tornados.
It was in an Albuquerque grocery store that I became aware something in the world was truly amiss: no place to park, hundreds of people pushing bulging shopping carts, shelves bare of staples and the very air bristling with fear. A deep intuitive feeling scratched its way to the surface and announced: living on the road during an evolving pandemic may not be a good idea. Or safe. Or sane.
So we headed back east to the safety of home where the devastating news poured in daily. The death toll mounted and it became frightening to even breathe for fear of inhaling the virus. Seeking peace from fear, I turned inward to find solace in meditation.
The pandemic has transformed our ordered world into one of distancing and isolation. We all bear this cross of COVID and, in order to find our way out, we just might have to go within.
Jo Ann Tomaselli is a North Carolina Fine Art Photographer specializing in landscape and travel images. In addition to numerous solo and group shows her award winning work has been featured in museums and in a variety of print and online publications. You can find her work online at: joanntomaselli.com or visit her Instagram gallery ‘Same View Different Day’ @ joanntomaselli
Love in the Time of COVID 