TAMPA, Fla. — Nearly a year after the coronavirus travel ban left Lauren Davenport and her boyfriend Daniel Fernandez stranded in Morocco, they were stranded again in Texas in an RV.
They were caught in the buzzer snowstorm that shut the state down last month.
“We were freezing,” Lauren laughed. “It was pretty rough.”
But, after what they experienced last year, the couple managed to handle the Texas weather.
“It was exactly a year ago we were watching the Barcelona game with the world’s best soccer player. We were in a stadium,” said Daniel.
A few days later, Former President Donald Trump banned all overseas travel to the U.S. That extended Daniel and Lauren’s vacation along with thousands of other Americans.
“It was an ordeal. We lived on Adrenaline for a solid week,” said Lauren.
Senators Charlie Crist, Democrat, and Rick Scott, Republican, got involved after hearing about their story.
“We were blessed,” Lauren said. “We ended up taking a rescue flight back home.”
The virus continued to spread, impacting millions, and businesses across the world. Lauren and Daniel own their own small business.
“It has impacted our business, but we’re fortunately still here,” Lauren said.
But some of their friends weren’t able to save their businesses. Daniel said that’s when they got the idea to go on a 50 state tour.
“We came back from Morocco different people,” he said. “We knew we had to do something more.”
They are documenting their trip to highlight and promote American businesses and products.
“The more we support local businesses the more we’re going to help our economy get back on its feet,” said Lauren.
They’re hoping to get through their trip without another crisis interrupting them.
