When I finally got out of the hotel, I took walks and explored the neighborhood where I ended up. I was instantly drawn to the domed curiosity with the tired blue eyes staring out into the world, I photographed this Airstream several times. The painted eyes in the caravan windows seemed to mimic her own behavior at the Dark Hotel where I would stare aimlessly out onto the empty highway. Within months, it became apparent that many people were doing the same thing. Listless staring became an unofficial pandemic activity; an existential exercise where one strived to see outside and connect to a world that was once theirs. Yet somehow this yearning boomeranged, causing millions to examine what lied within their own confines as they sheltered in place. As a photographer, it felt serendipitous to discover the parked Airstream. It became a bittersweet beacon of beloved American road travel that was temporarily beached. Yet as the pandemic dragged on through summer, many took to Airstreams and motor homes to once again be mobile and free. Rather unexpectedly, the Airstream transformed into my cultural icon of pandemic times.