OXNARD, Calif. — Thanksgiving week often finds people sitting in their cars in stand-still traffic, but that traffic isn’t usually in a parking lot. Of course, 2020 isn’t a usual year.

Cortney Hyman and her family are flying out Wednesday to spend the holiday with relatives, but their journey actually began on Sunday, when they piled three kids and a dog into their SUV, left their Santa Barbara home early, and drove to the COVID testing site at Oxnard College.

“Our cousins and family are doing the same so we all wanted to get tested and just see if maybe we could come together,” Hyman explained. “You have to be comfortable knowing that everyone is safe.”

Reaching the actual testing tent was a journey too.  All day Sunday, a massive, winding queue of cars weaved up and down every aisle of the parking lot like a line at an amusement park. Before the site even starting administering tests, the line was enormous, spilling out of the lot and onto S. Rose Ave.

“It looks like it’s going to be a three to three and a half hour wait,” Jacqueline Quezada told some of the employees at the site. Quezada is a COVID test site coordinator for Lifeline and says over the past two weeks, this site has seen a huge increase in testing.

“The wait times have almost tripled,” she said. “We’ve been doing about a thousand tests in a day. Just maybe two weeks ago, we were doing on average 300.”

Quezada thinks the influx is tied to Ventura County’s recent return to the purple, most restrictive tier, which she suspects has people feeling scared for themselves and their families. Add to that a holiday and even though the CDC is urging people not to travel or gather with anyone who doesn’t live in your household, Quezada is seeing a lot more families with kids come through these last few days.

“A lot of people want to travel and want to travel safely,” Quezada said, “and I think we’re going to see a lot of increase in testing before and after Thanksgiving.”

Back in the car, the Hyman’s are trying to keep busy.  

“I spy with my little eye something green,” sang 7-year-old Elijah.

“The grass over in the park,” his mom guessed.

None of them have had a COVID test before but Hyman tried to brace the kids for what was coming.  “I tried to over-prepare them and scare them a little bit,” she laughed while one of her sons gave a thumbs down behind her back. “Hopefully it won’t be as bad as I said it would be.”

In the end, it wasn’t. After exactly two hours in the car, they made it to the front of the line where the grownups did their own swabs and then pulled aside to test the kids.

“It wasn’t bad at all,” 10-year-old Noah reported.

“Easy and painless,” his mom agreed, “and you get the peace of mind, so….perfect.”

And even though Hyman says there will be no hugging this holiday, just seeing family – and knowing everyone got tested -- is something she’ll be grateful for.

Ventura County offers free COVID-19 testing for all residents. No appointment needed and no symptoms necessary.

In an update issued on Friday, county officials urged residents not to gather for the holiday. “Gatherings spread COVID-19,” the update reads. “Please help save lives and keep businesses open by not gathering.”