Thumper, we are currently in OCNJ. Masking is 20% at most in stores. Shop employees/servers wearing masks is rare. Even our S and DIL who are here from red-county North Carolina are surprised at how many people are not wearing masks.
Going to Italy on a wine tour/food in Oct. They just put on new restrictions on Americans. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the tour won’t be cancelled. Most of us haven’t been on a major vacation in a while, we all booked business class flights and 5 star hotels in Italy. It would be very disappointing to cancel at this point.
We are trying to plan a trip to Italy to visit our D19 who is there for the semester. I am nervous to book anything because I am afraid the rules will change at the last minute!
Interesting. Fortunately so much is outdoors in OCNJ. I’m not worried about riding the big Ferris wheel, and there is plenty of outdoor dining and carry out. Plus…we go there to be outdoors.
Yes we have been mostly outside in OC except some shopping on the boardwalk and Asbury Ave. But waiting in line at the bakery for donuts - no masks in store or behind counter. Getting ice cream at Hobby Horse? No masks while waiting in line inside or behind the counter. Buying lunchmeat at local store and picking up take-out seafood? No masks… you get the picture. We haven’t felt unsafe, just surprised since it’s quite different at home in Philly.
We almost booked Italy but now booked Costa Rica instead. Good luck! Its in our bucketlist
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We came back from Italy a week ago. Nervous going but once we were there it was fabulous. Less crowded, you need to show your vaccinations card to go inside anything and everything but the line wasn’t long and it was handled very smoothly, and everyone was masked ‘correctly’ was once inside. Actually felt a lot safer than back home in PNW.
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When are you going to Costa Rica? DH and I are going late Oct. Its been on DH’s bucket list for years.
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Oct 8th ! Looking forward to it
Awesome! I definitely want to hear all about it when you return. We go on the 24th.
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@MADad if you haven’t already made your plans, I highly recommend the Hudson Valley. We just got back from a weekend up there. I didn’t think it would feel like much of an adventure, given that its only 3 hours from home, but it was a fantastic trip. We visited Storm King Arts Center (highly recommend), then stayed overnight in Hudson. Hudson is a great town (as long as you don’t mind that Brooklyn hipster vibe). Ate dinner here and had an outstanding meal. Spent several hours browsing the massive antique warehouse and didn’t even scratch the surface. Also enjoyed this place, conveniently located in the same industrial space as the antique places. We visited Olana and if we’d had more time, we would have walked the scenic skywalk and headed over to the Thomas Cole museum (there’s a "cross-pollination exhibit currently connecting the two sites). We really could have used one more day, just for the things to do and see around Hudson.
I had not spent any time upstate since I went to college there in the early 1990’s, and my memories/impressions of the area from that time were just of a series of economically depressed towns with little reason to visit outside of skiing. I was so pleasantly surprised by the changes. We’re already talking about squeezing in another weekend trip somewhere up that way again later in the fall.
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DW and I just returned from CVS where we both received negative Covid rapid tests…we fly out to Portugal this evening. We are both super excited to get back there.
CVS was quick and easy and we received the lab report in an hour.
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It’s been a few years but we really enjoyed our meal at Barrices in Lisbon…so much variety for a very reasonable price. It required reservations back then…maybe check it out. Enjoy your trip! Portugal is wonderful!!
Very different experience on our trip to the UK this week. Hardly any masks at social events, just in a few stores that request you wear them. No one wore masks at an (indoor but reasonably ventilated) 80th birthday party for 50 people, most felt free to hug. No masks amongst either patrons or staff at a restaurant we went to. It felt really odd to see people behaving normally and hard to believe coming from California. I expect the family wedding we’re here for will be much the same.
Instead what you do have is an unlimited supply of free rapid tests whenever you want. Kids are tested twice a week in school, families can order as many tests as they want to be sent to them free by post, you could test every day if you wanted to. We’ll bring about 80-100 back to use in the US which should last us until Christmas.
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Any updates on US/Canada? We’re going to toss a quick trip in to Niagara Falls the beginning of Oct because a DIL hasn’t been there yet, wants to go, and will be heading to Puerto Rico (to live) in Jan if current plans hold. We can stay on the US side if we must, but prefer staying on the Canadian side due to better hotels and poutine, etc.
It’s not awful if we must stay on the US side since we’re of the opinion that Goat Island is the absolute best place to see the falls if you can’t do both countries. From the Canadian side you can’t see Niagara except from across the river. It looks flat when there’s really a lot of depth to it, plus from Goat Island one can really get the fury of the river, go to the Hurricane Deck, and stand between Bridal Veil and Niagara, etc. The Canadian side has the tunnels behind the falls (and better hotels/restaurants), but she’d have to do those on another trip if we can’t do both sides.
If you’re driving across the border you need to have proof of vaccine and a negative test within 72 hours of crossing the border. I think that’s it. If you don’t have a vaccine I can’t help you. 
We will be going across for some personal matters in the next week or two - I hope they let us across! 
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We’re all vaccinated, so no problem there. S and DIL just returned from scouting Puerto Rico and said they had to show their proof of vaccination everywhere there - getting into restaurants included.
I’d have to find a place for testing if we feel it’s worth it for a couple of nights. I might leave that call up to them.
To go into Canada you have to download an app and then load your vaccine card, the negative test, and the info where you are going.
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We just traveled to Penn State for a football game with 105k of our closest friends😂. However, our seats are way up out of the crowd. The only person sitting close to us was also vaccinated. We went early to avoid the crowds and wore a mask when it could have been crowded. Likewise when leaving we avoided the crowds. Penn State requires masks indoors. We ate outdoors. It felt ok.
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@Creekland, ask me tomorrow night. I am crossing the border tomorrow for a medical appointment. I did the test Saturday afternoon, in case the result were slow. I received my proof in 30 hours. I printed the test results, and my vaccine proof, completed the CanArrive details(including dates& types of shots, uploading the card, uploading passport/Nexus, stating date and location of crossing, etc.) and printed the CanArrive confirmation.
My friend has crossed a couple of times, she used to work there so has a lot of stuff she normally does in Canada. I am excited to go there, but said for my Canadian friends who cannot come this way by car.
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