What are your thoughts about travel in the time of Covid?

Parent Cafe
2061

Yep, we all know this is going to be a late call for a major trip as to exactly when we can go. We potentially have a window from late May to June. It will depend both on Covid and what he finds out in March.

I plan to have a few “plans” worked out mentally so I don’t have to start my research in March. This one is Plan A because it’s where we’d all love to go. If needed though, we’ll also have choices from Plan B to perhaps Plan Z. This summer is the last time med school boy will have at least a week for quite some time. We hope to take advantage of it. Covid definitely adds a kink, both for travel and potentially residency issues from travel.

As with other travels, H and I might stay longer than the lads can stay if they have time constraints.

2062

Traveled today on a plane for the first time in years. SW, so no one in the middle seat but the first flight was otherwise full. I also thought it was hot.

Learned that SW does not allow scarfs, bandanas, gaiters, masks with vents, or lacey masks unless there is a filter. I saw two older people with bandanas who were very confused. The agent gave them paper masks but I don’t think they wore them and continued to wear the bandanas. Even with 1/3 of the seats not sold, the waiting areas are still too crowded and not everyone gets a seat.

2063

We had a terrific road-trip to northern Michigan. Rented a big SUV and took 2 days up and 2 days back. Family wedding, followed by a week of relaxing tourism. It was a great trip. Strict mask requirement to enter anything was universally observed along the way, and especially in northern Michigan. On Mackinac Island most wore masks even outside. The rule there is wear a mask outside when you can’t observe social distancing, and this rule seemed to be followed with no audible/visible (to me) whining. Masks required even on the upper open deck of the ferry, even on the open shuttle to/from the parking lot. This all gave us a level of comfort. We dined in a lot, and always felt comfortable. Mask obviously off when you are seated eating/drinking, but put it back on if you get up to go to the restroom. Hotels no longer provide daily housekeeping maid service. You can exchange towels whenever you want. All hotels are struggling with how to provide breakfast. No more buffets. At one hotel we ate in their very nice restaurant pretty much how you always would. Another let us order breakfast sandwiches and gave them to us in a bag and they were quite good. 2 gave us packaged cold Danish with no way to heat them up. We ate out for breakfast after that one!

Renting the big SUV was an excellent decision. Gas was cheap. We would have rented a car anyway, and avoiding 3 airports seemed like a good idea. The 2-day drive wasn’t bad at all. Now that we are back in our 2009 CR-V we really appreciate the smooth ride of the Infinity QX80. Wouldn’t want to own one, but it was excellent for this trip.

Several family members have already gotten tested after returning home and all have reported negative. We were going to get tested today but they moved the dang testing site that was near our home and I can’t find out where to!!

2064

@NJres I only recently learned of the existence of Mackinac Island (a blogger I follow traveled there) but now I’m intrigued. Is it similar to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket? Both places we love, but have been to multiple times. I’m yearning for a new adventure, but not ready to fly.

My D20 is turning 18 this week and our birthday present to her is an all-expenses-paid trip up to Boston (where she should be in school if we weren’t living in the upside down these days) with one of her good friends. As I was online booking the hotel and looking at restaurants and such, it made me so keenly aware of how much I am missing traveling and especially for me the best part is always the planning/anticipating.

I am hopeful that a year from now, we can travel outside the country again. We have two cancelled European adventures to make up for!

2065

@NJres you were in neck of the woods! Glad to hear you had a good time!

We’ve been lucky as far as coronavirus cases up here. And the mask mandate really changed things. People were not wearing masks before but we had had great compliance since.

The other thing about our relative lack of cases is that the health department is able to do contact tracing. I follow the local papers and tv channels and they post any places that you might have come in contact with a positive case.

2066

My friend’s husband is a ‘fudge man’ on Mackinac and they live there all summer. The pictures she sends are beautiful. No cars, only horse carriages.

2067

Mackinaw Island is a beautiful place obviously surrounded by water - but lake water unlike Martha’s Vineyard, etc. So that might be a little different though the Great Lakes are huge and at shore don’t always feel much different than some oceanside settings.

No driving allowed on the island (or extremely limited). Bike, carriage, walking, etc.

Mackinaw Island fudge is a thing. The Grand Hotel is a beautiful thing. :slight_smile:

Michigan in the summer and fall is really a great vacation spot. Never discount it! (and also in the winter if you like winter activities - and if there is actually snow!)

You could do a week in Michigan and see varied settings. The Upper Peninsula state parks, Mackinaw, Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Leelanaw and more in the north and the Detroit area (becoming a great food/restaurant spot!), the Eastern Market and Ann Arbor in the south area of the state.

Ahhhhh…PURE MICHIGAN!!! :slight_smile:

2068

The movie Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour was filmed at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Amusingly enough, they had the hero drive up to the beautiful front porch, which of course isn’t possible. The original novel was set at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, but they couldn’t close down for filming. So the producers ended up at the Grand Hotel before the season started. Last time I was there, decades ago, they had lots of photos and memorabilia from the movie.

Also, I’m pretty sure the term “fudgies” for day trippers originated there. When I was last there, it was no way as developed as Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard in terms of lodging or restaurants, very touristy. And of course no whaling history ;)!

2069

Some good news for those wanting to travel to Hawaii “ Hawaii Gov. David Ige said Wednesday that starting Oct. 15, travelers arriving from out of state may bypass a 14-day quarantine requirement if they test negative for COVID-19”. CVS and Kaiser Permanente have agreed to do the tests. We have been hoping something would be worked out before our January travel. Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Hawaii to let travelers who test negative for COVID to bypass quarantine starting Oct. 15

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/09/17/coronavirus-hawaii-visitors-can-skip-quarantine-if-they-test-negative/3477627001/

2070

Thanks for sharing, @Singersmom07. We had tickets on SWA (max 60% capacity until Oct 31) for October 14 thinking we’d go if the quarantine lifted and we’d just keep the credit if it wasn’t . I just checked my account to see if we could push our trip back a few days and our original flights have been cancelled and, looking further, all flights from our airport for all of Sep and Oct have been cancelled. Maybe longer but I didn’t check. I wasn’t notified and didn’t receive an email. I’m waiting for a call back now but we’re definitely not going now but am glad your post prompted me to look into it.

2071

My 2 best friends (both more than 25 years) and I travel to HI no less than twice a year together, sometimes three times, depending on other factors. Our last trip was Feb 2020. We’ve all 3 been safer at home, in our own homes, and we haven’t been together since February.

Earlier this week I got to thinking about a trip to HI…what about February 2021? Travel and other things should be more manageable by then, right? Would they want to travel then? Could we go to two islands (we island hop as we are usually there about 2 weeks)? Which would it be? Reviewed airfare…as low as it’s been anytime in the last 12 years, our favorite place in Maui is available…All sorts of exciting questions, and thoughts.

I contacted both, and yes, they’re interested! Maui and Big Island is the consensus. Hooray!

So I start putting together a list, and my fully detailed Excel spreadsheet (I am the queen of Excel spreadsheets, especially for travel!)…and then it hits. Seriously hits. HARD! A panic attack the likes of which I’ve never had before. I literally begin to shake and cry. I can hardly move. My chest is tight, I feel dizzy. I feel faint. I slowly make my way to the couch and sit quietly, collecting myself. I do some slow breathing meditation and pull myself together. And then my own questions start flooding my brain…and the clarity hits…again, harder than I could have ever imagined. No way am “I” ready to do a group trip. In 6 months the closest I’ve been to either of these two (or any one really) is Zoom! There’s no way that “I’m” prepared to share car rides, a home, bathrooms, a kitchen…etc, etc, etc. Not even with my long-term best friends and the best travel mates one could imagine. We’ve had the most fantastic adventures together, and I expect we will again. But I can’t do it…not even 4-5 months from now. At least I can’t begin the planning now. Maybe in a month or two. Maybe once my office reopens and that part of my life is back to “normal” and I see for myself that being around others for more than a few moments (grocery store, the bank) is fine, and we’re all fine. But we’re not even thinking to open until 2021! I call my friends and apologize. They understand. We will do the trip when we’re “all” ready.

I am beyond heartbroken. I am not prone to panic. I am a pretty level-headed person. This was a shock to me. I didn’t even realize how affected I’ve been by the safer at home, work from home, story. Now, somehow, I need to work my way out of the story. I do wonder how long that will take. An interesting thing to note is I did travel in early June, by plane, to visit and spend a week with my adult daughter. I had zero trepidation. I took precautions (especially at the airport and on the plane!), and we really only spent time together going on fabulous long drives, cooked and did art together. I’m trying to uncover why that was a different reaction. I imagine my current feelings are a form of overwhelming grief.

I guess the purpose of my posting my experience is to share with those of you who may or may not have some travel plans you’d like to put together is to just be aware of how you’re feeling. Give yourself time. We’ve all been shell shocked.

Thanks for letting me share.

2072

@JustaMom Your response shows that you are a level-headed person.

At this point in time, we have no indication that we can be confident that it will be safe to travel in February 2021.

It’s possible that your reaction was grief at recognizing that this is the case.

2073

@JustaMom , I’m sorry you’re going through this. Honestly, it seems like some sort of reaction to all the difficulty and stress that you’ve endured with Covid over the last several months. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me, as it sounds extremely low risk to travel with two friends who will be Covid tested, in five months, probably far less risk than it was to travel and spend a week with your daughter, especially if she hadn’t been tested.

I hope you can talk to someone who knows you to make sense of this. Is there some sort of guilt involved, to do something that is purely fun?

2074

So my husband and I are taking a vacation at the end of Oct. We know the risks, but want to do so anyway, and we are working with a travel agent who herself is currently in Aruba with her kids doing virtual school. We looked at all the options out there, and have narrowed it down to
Mexico, both cancun and Cabo. We are thinking the Cabo might be the safer option
Aruba, but lately the numbers have been going up.
We thought about Jamaica but you have to do a resort bubble, and we are not sure that the other things will be opening(such as waterfalls,etc)
Hawaii opening up was a thought but a week is not enough for the long flights.
Going to the Florida keys. The numbers in Monroe County have been looking good. Would fly into Ft Lauderdale, see my mom, and drive. But not as relaxing, and hopping from place to place.
We have decided against the virgin islands , PR, bahamas. Also so far Costa Rica is not open yet, and neither is Belize.

Note that we would take the Covid test 72 hours before departure. i would also be using my Delta upgrades for first class, so not a big issue with the flying.

I know many of you might think we are crazy, but we have thought this through and want to do this. We feel that if we stay at a resort, and dine outdoors, and socially distance, we should be ok. Transportation from the airport might be the riskiest thing. So for those of you have previously have traveled, between both coasts of Mexico, Aruba, The keys, and anywhere else, what would you consider? If things get really bad between now and then we would cancel /postpone.

2075

My neighbor and her H just got back from Aruba (in fact, she went twice this summer with the first trip being with her grown kids). She said it is THE place to go. They got the COVID test before they went, all the paperwork was checked carefully at the Aruba airport, and the whole resort area was very safe feeling with masks and plenty of distancing. Both of her trips went smoothly.

2076

D2 was just looking at flights to Bermuda since she can stay with family and work remotely there. She said Delta through Atlanta had the best route for her and was the best price. Also the middle seat is kept free. She is still thinking about it before pulling the trigger on purchasing tickets for a 3 to 4 week stay. You must arrive with a negative Covid test and then take 2 additional tests while there.

2077

@JustaMom , Unlike @busdriver11 , I get your concerns and don’t think you need to talk to someone who can "make sense of this. " Everybody has their own risk levels with this , depending on health, age, etc. I’m sorry you will not get to Hawaii in February but let’s hope we can all feel better about travel in the months to come . Let’s go vaccine!

2078

I would think it was a case of being ultra cautious (which I totally understand), if she hadn’t mentioned not having a problem traveling and visiting her daughter for a week in the thick of the pandemic. Several months out with Covid tested friends seems far less risky. I think it’s worth talking to a friend or family member, someone she trusts, to make sense of this. It’s possible this is a stress reaction or there is something else going on. Then again, maybe just making plans six months later might do the trick. As long as everything is refundable, you can always change your plans.

2079

SW extended ‘no middle seats’ until Nov 30. However, a lot of flights are cancelled. There used to be one non-stop per day to/from the cities I need. Now I have to go through Atlanta or BWI, turning a 4 hour flight into a 7-8 hour day.

2080

Well, we are doing our beach weekend. We are staying at a friend’s condo, cooking all of our meals, and going out only to walk on the boardwalk when it is not crowded and to restock at Wegmans 9 miles from the beach. We know Wegmans has good protocols and people are good with masks. We just wanted to get away for DH’s birthday and sitting and watching the waves is enough.