Recently, we took a road trip on business to Gilbert, Arizona (20 minutes outside of Phoenix) during the COVID-19 pandemic and when Arizona was considered a COVID hot spot. We travelled from Claremont, CA (about an hour east of LA) and the trip took about 5 hours. If this is your first road trip to Arizona, we recommend packing plenty of water and snacks. The temperature in the car stayed around 80 degrees with the a/c on full blast because outside got up to 115 degrees! Keep in mind we went in July so the middle of the Summer. So if you plan to do the same, make sure your water bottles have plenty of ice in them because your water will get hot pretty soon into the road trip. We also, recommend packing disposable Nitrile gloves for pumping gas and for opening the doors at gas stations if you plan to make a pit stop (COVID safety). If you’re a healthier eater (like we are) you won’t find many healthy food options once you pass Palm Springs, CA and before you reach Phoenix, AZ. That’s why we recommend that you pack some snacks so that you have some healthy options to hold you until you reach the next major city. Blythe, CA is your best bet for stopping for gas half way. There are food places but they are all fast food chains like McDonalds, Taco Belle, Carls Jr, and thankfully a Starbucks. You may get lucky and snag a protein box from Starbucks if you’re looking for a healthier option.

We stayed at the Home 2 Suites by Hilton hotel in Gilbert Arizona. See below for the review of the Home to Suites hotel by Brittany Noelle. We did not experience anything racist or systematically racist during our stay here.

We felt safe staying there during the pandemic and it was about 2 freeway exits away from a great shopping area with plenty of restaurants and fast takeout options. Some of the shops were open but the movie theatre was closed. Check TripAdvisor to see the hours of operation for each business during the pandemic. Restaurants are currently operating at 50% capacity to ensure social distance. We ate at Old Chicago for dinner and had a decent pizza and buffalo wings. We have not had authentic deep dish pizza from Chicago but we were told that Old Chicago’s “Chicago style crust” was not comparable. We thought the atmosphere was welcoming and didn’t get any racist vibes while dining there so we would recommend it if you’re looking for average chain restaurant food in the area.

For brunch the following day, we went to Cracker Barrel. If you’re familiar with the chain restaurant, you may have heard some rumors of it being pretty racist friendly. We will say that the location in Arizona was diverse and the service we received was good and friendly. Some of the visitors in the shop however, were less than friendly. Hard to say if they were racist or just had no home training 🤷🏾‍♀️. Overall, the experience was pleasant and the food was up to par with what you’d expect at other locations if you’ve visited one in the past.

As far as activities go, you can’t beat seeing an Arizona sunset; The colors are spectacular! Also, your best bet during the pandemic is to check out some of the amazing hiking trails that Arizona has to offer. We didn’t get to go on one during our trip because it was simply too hot. We would recommend getting out to the trail before sunrise to decrease your chances of heat stroke or exhaustion. Make sure to pack about a gallon of water per person and some electrolytes to stay hydrated. You can click here for a list of cool hiking trails near Phoenix. You can of course visit Sedona and The Grand Canyon for great hikes as well, but keep in mind that the Grand Canyon is a 4 hour drive north of Gilbert, so not exactly on the way. You can also hike at Joshua Tree National Park on your way back to Los Angeles, from Arizona. You can get to the South entrance of Joshua Tree (Cottonwood Visitor Center) right off the 10 freeway without going out of your way. BUT, this part of Joshua Tree is not where you’ll find actual Joshua Trees to take photos of (we didn’t know this). If you want to see the part of Joshua Tree that has more IG worthy hiking trails, you’ll need to drive about an hour out of the way of the 10 freeway closer to Twentynine Palms to get to the main entrance on the North end. The mistakes you make while on a road trip SMH 🤦🏾‍♀️.

We hope you found this information on taking a road trip to Arizona useful. If you know of any Black owned business in the area, please comment below so that we can feature them within this blog post or in future posts. Peace and love!