Coronavirus creativity: San Francisco family turns canceled vacations into art on dining room walls

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A San Francisco family found a unique way to take all the trips they had to postpone due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

If you were ever told as a kid not to draw on the walls or you've ever told your kids the same thing, you might have a hard time wrapping your head around Michele Bell's dining room.

"I do a lot of things that I think a lot of parents think I'm insane for doing," said Michele Bell.

Even Bell's own kids thought, 'really mom?'

"I was thinking that she was crazy," said 11-year-old Sanders Bell.

Crazy or creative, you decide.

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It all started with Spring Break and canceled plans thanks to COVID-19.

"Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon were where we were originally supposed to go to but we canceled it and we were going to go to New York and then this happened," said Sanders Bell.

"We obviously had to cancel that," said Michele Bell.

So Michelle got out the paint.

"I thought this is a great opportunity to get creative and paint the places that we wanted to go to or still want to go to and have a little fun and let the kids have a free for all on the walls," said Michele Bell.

"I was a little skeptical at first but then she started sketching it out and I kind of saw it in my mind," said 13-year-old Finley Bell.

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Soon, the dining room turned into landmarks from Las Vegas, Arizona and New York.

"So there's Vegas to the Grand Canyon," said Michele Bell touring the room.

"Every night was a new night in a new place," she continued.

"I really liked drawing some stuff in Jackson Hole," said 8-year-old Charlie Bell.

It's made mealtime memorable.

"It's not the real thing but it's pretty close," said Finley Bell.

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And 8-year-old Charlie scored some cred with his classmates.

"Wow that is so cool," said Charlie's teacher in a video.

"They were actually kind of blown away," said Charlie Bell.

Michele Bell says family friends are talking about doing the same thing. She thinks it's a great idea in most cases.

"If you have de Gournay wallpaper on your walls probably don't let your kids draw all over them," said Bell.

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