CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After spending days cooped up in their home, as many Americans have amid coronavirus concerns, the Ponstein family decided they needed a change of scenery. They decided to go to Italy.
"I had probably the best night in a long, long, long time," said Jenny Ponstein, whose husband and two daughters planned to excursion.
Don't worry. They never actually left the house.
Jenny says one day, after working at home, she came downstairs to find her family had hand-made plane tickets and passports and were ready to whisk her away.
"One person was driving the plane, and another person was passing out the food, notifying the passengers when we were about to land, when we were going to take off, when we were going to pack up the snacks," said Lauryn Ponstein, Jenny's 10-year-old daughter, who was part of the surprise.
After the flight, the family dined on Italian-style chicken, wine for mom and dad, sparkling juice for the girls, and gelato.
Then, they settled in for a video tour of different Italian cities, courtesy of YouTube.
The family says they were going to take a trip to Italy this summer, but know coronavirus will put a wrench in those plans.
"Just being creative and thinking outside of the box," said Phil Ponstein, Jenny's husband, who looked up videos and researched menu items to make. "How can we make this fun and make it an experience, versus just sitting on the couch and watching something."
On its surface, it was an elaborate game of make-believe, but it's giving us major inspiration for stay-at-home family fun.
It was a 5-hour-long excursion all done at home, with a new adventure scheduled soon.
"Disney!" said Megan Ponstein, Jenny's 7-year-old daughter, who couldn't wait to spill the beans about the family's next stay-at-home trip.
This story was inspired by a local resident on Nextdoor. Click here to see and comment on Vanessa’s Nextdoor posts.