Well, I had to come back here and update, because I’m actually shocked. United refunded our tickets, no questions asked.
Here’s to hoping we can get to Europe next summer!
@Nhatrang , I was in LA last week helping my daughter move into her house. When I left (we drove to get there), LAX was nice and empty…!!! I didn’t have to use my phone at TSA, which was great (putting it down on the same reader as everyone else, then having to touch it…yuck). You just put your license into a reader. Boarding was also very well done, I flew Southwest, they kept reminding everyone to stay in their seats or standing well apart and just called boarding numbers of 10 people at a time. When boarding, your boarding pass is scanned from the phone no touch, as well. Not many food places were open, and those that were had very long lines. So plan ahead for food (flights aren’t serving anything but tiny snacks).
Stores in LA are open, and crowded. We went to Ikea. Don’t do it! We checked quantities before we left, 22 of a bed, had to wait to get in, had to wait at bedding to talk to someone, and surprise!..there are none of those beds in stock. Disappointed, went back home, ordered it online for delivery 3 weeks later, the web site STILL says 22 in stock so you can’t trust that. In general, buying furniture and housewares right now is hard…it seems as if everyone is low stock or late on delivery. We tried for a week just to get my son a navy comforter…not from Ikea…from anywhere!! Back to D’s house furnishing, we ended up using Amazon for some, finding some stuff curbside which was a fun learning experience for D, and using Facebook marketplace. Agree that a student FB group could be good for furniture; my D is selling her old bed on her school’s group! Lots of college kids moving and shuffling now. Oh also, I believe you can schedule a delivery date on Amazon…that would be very helpful in your situation.
@Creekland, this weekend I finally got a credit from CapitalOne for the JustFly.com plane ticket. They also gave me credits for initial handling fee as well as the one in June for processing the refund request. So they didn’t get a penny out of me, whoo hoo.
I am still waiting to hear from Delta… 
We were supposed to be on that trip right now!
I used a credit union card and it looks like they aren’t going to do anything for us. I’ve learned to use my Capital One or American Express cards for all future large expenses - just in case. At least we’re only out $355 + $35, so not our greatest expense from the trip. Everything else got refunded without issues.
We’re at a nice AirBnB on “our” creek now waiting for the coming storm. It’s up on the high side of the creek so won’t flood unless we see a giant boat laden with pairs of animals on it. It should make some interesting entertainment for this anniversary - totally unlike any other in the past (for us)! For our actual anniversary (later this week) it’s supposed to be good weather. Hopefully the water level will be decent for kayaking. If not, it’s still a nice view with a deck, etc, no chores, and just the two of us.
We’re supposed to be in a little village next to the Normandy beaches right now. I am still feeling sad about the missed trip.
@MaineLonghorn I understand, totally! We were supposed to go away over Easter week. Every day of that week, I tortured myself (and my family) by telling them the weather in the city we were supposed to be in, as well as where/what we would have been doing that day. It made for a miserable week! Once the week passed, I felt much better.
@MaineLonghorn We had to skip our summer trip to Maine for the first time in decades. I envy the fact you live there. I’d chose Maine over Normandy (or anywhere) anyday.
@ChoatieMom thanks for the perspective. Yes, Maine is not a bad place to be stuck.
@Nhatrang, is there a Rooms to Go near your daughter’s new apartment? They have frequent sales and you can shop online and arrange delivery.
Especially in August
I had a lot of travel planned this spring/summer, and I had to cancel all of it. W & I are getting cabin fever and decided to to head to her parent’s second home a few hours away from here last weekend. They don’t use it much in the summer. It’s in a bigger city (for us anyway), where we normally frequent regularly for kid activities or other things we have going on.
We decided a couple days before to scrap the trip. There aren’t any shows or sporting events going on, and I don’t want to sit in a movie theater, shop, or eat in a restaurant with a bunch of people who are socially distance challenged. So basically we were going to end up driving 3 hours to watch TV in a less comfortable place than our own house.
I feel like COVID is rapidly accelerating my descent into grumpy old man territory, but I’m just really sick of a lot of things right now. Most of them tied to COVID.
I can not even imagine my mental state if we didn’t live in our city and house. We hadn’t been traveling much anyway other than to visit son, since husband wasn’t interested. Without our own backyard pool and garden, the opportunity to walk the beach and elsewhere, and good takeout venues, I’d be climbing the walls - or just staring at them.
If we could only get rid of all the careless tourists and convince the younger population to behave…
What?!?!?!?! Any southwest fliers out there?? Read this and weep https://www.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/southwest/southwest-airlines-coronavirus-cleaning “ As flights increase, Southwest Airlines is reducing its COVID-focused cleaning protocol.
Effective this month, the airline is now only disinfecting high-touch areas like lavatories and tray tables between flights. Armrests and seat belts will not be disinfected between flights.”
Who doesn’t touch the armrests and seatbelts? Everybody bring your own wipes (most would anyway) if you want to be safe on SWA.
Where will they cut corners next?
This surface cleaning stuff is pure theater anyway. If you are getting on a plane, you are clearly not risk averse.
They can’t turn the planes around on time with enhanced cleaning and evidently their customer base doesn’t care. Bring your own cleaning wipes, and I’d recommend one of those plexiglass trifold desk shields that our school district is buying…
Agree. Surfaces are such a focus of people because it makes them feel better psychologically but this thing mostly spread through the air. Social distancing and masks (and eyewear) should be the real focus.
They may be acting too soon. From my one sample, travel may be slowing down after 7/4. My flight yesterday On AA was quite empty. Not even half full. The airport was also much less crowded than a few weeks ago.
I’m not sure how well they cleaned the planes even earlier. I flew SW in May. The arriving plane was late, and they de-planed and reloaded us so quickly, I do not see how they could have possibly sanitized much between.