Ventura grandparents wrap selves in trash bags, wear scuba masks to visit grandkids

VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) -- Southern California grandparents Daria and Bobby Lucarelli tell Eyewitness News they could not go one more day without hugging their four young grandsons, Wiley, Val, Kelly and Kace.

The Lucarellis live in Ventura, just a few minutes from their daughter and her family, but haven't been able to touch or hug the four boys for weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"And so yesterday, there was a knock on our door and lo and behold, they'd covered themselves in plastic with snorkels, and gave them big hugs," says the Lucarelli's daughter Dariann Kobe.

"Can we hug them Daddy?" asks one of the boys in video of their grandparents showing up at the Kobe family's door on Thursday afternoon.

"They dressed in the van outside and we got to hug them," says five-year old Kace Kobe of the sweet surprise.

"We've been seeing them from afar, and I kept telling Dariann that I just have to hug them," says Daria Lucarelli, known as "Jammy" to the boys.

"They wouldn't let us because they're worried about us getting the thing, you know the Covid thing," says Bobby Lucarelli whom the boys call "Poppy."

The Lucarellis say the families have been driving by one another's homes in recent weeks, just so they could see the boys who range in age from seven months to five years old.

"I just think there's a lot of grandparents that are missing their hugs," says Daria.

"They came upstairs and I mean it was quite shocking," says daughter Dariann. "It was like -- what is going on right now? Who are these aliens walking up my stairs?"

Grandma Daria tells Eyewitness News that reading about nurses who'd resorted to using trash bags as improvised personal protective gear sparked the idea.

"So, I went and picked up clear trash bags and cut them up and made pants and made a top," says Grandma Daria. "I thought, well, I can't put a hole in this or they will not let me breathe anything around them, so I put the snorkel in and kept it up in the air."

Grandpa Bobby says he plays "second fiddle" to Grandma with the boys, so he took the opportunity to get a good hug in first with his daughter Dariann.

"And it was one of the best hugs ever," says Bobby. "Just me and my daughter because we hadn't been able to."

"First hug in a month," says daughter Dariann. "You don't realize we hadn't hugged him in over a month and it felt so good. Oh my gosh, I didn't realize... I knew I missed this but I didn't realize how much I missed it."

Grandma Daria says it got a little hot inside their suits, so she may try adding a battery-operated fan next time.

Next time may be soon.

"They said 'Jammy will you come over in the suit tomorrow so we can give you another hug?'" Daria says. "So, we'll definitely have to do that."