The End of Travel?

We know that our lives will change due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. We just don't know how much. For some of us, travel had been a big part of our lives; now, all of a sudden, it isn't. When will people return to travel for leisure and business? Will it be a matter of weeks, months, years, or lifetimes? My sense is that we'll be on the longer end of that timescale. I can't see people returning to travel in numbers until a vaccine is available to everyone on the planet.

Only a few short weeks ago, Lady Adventurer and I had five trips planned. One of them, a week in Norway followed by a two-week cruise of the Baltic Sea, was almost entirely paid for and would be underway now in late April 2020. The others were a week in Myrtle Beach with the kids, 10 days in Hawaii, a winter month in Panama City Beach, and a lengthy South Pacific cruise.

The Norway cruise was canceled, and we had a choice of obtaining a full refund or applying 125% of the cost toward a future cruise. We took the money, figuring that even though the cruise line said they're financially stable, having the money in hand would still be safer. We then waited until our flights on two airlines were canceled before requesting those refunds. One hotel and some tours had also been paid for, and we successfully received those refunds. The final reservation, a prepaid non-refundable one has finally, after much persistence, agreed to return that money. Thus virtually everything has been refunded or the money is "on the way." This is all good news, but getting that money has also been a nerve-racking royal pain in the patoot.

We were also successful in canceling and obtaining a refund for our condo in Myrtle Beach. The trip wasn't scheduled until late August, but I felt - and still feel - that it's far better to get refunds earlier than later. One doesn't want to be the last in line when they're hanging out money. This is especially the case for airlines, cruise ship companies, and hotels that may themselves not survive the pandemic.

There is no doubt that persistence and patience pay off. In many cases, we have had to wait until an airline, hotel, etc. does the cancelation before requesting a refund. Most preferred to provide a voucher for future travel instead. We politely but firmly pushed back, stating that a voucher would not be acceptable and that only a full refund would suffice.

Even though travel had been so important to us, I am not overly upset about its cessation. We and our loved ones are healthy and seemingly safe, and that's much more important. What's next? The other three trips are not yet canceled. Since they take place between December and next April, we've got some time. Even so, I have to ask: is this the end of travel?

Two Birds

We couldn't call this post, killing two birds with one stone, because that would sound a little scary. It was actually concerning enough as it was. The two birds, you see, are Debbie's Aunt Sue (Sistek) and my sister Betsy (Zawada). They had both been stuck, and Lady Adventurer (Debbie Horvath) and I had taken it upon ourselves to un-stick them. Stuck how you ask?

Stuck in Florida. They had both been planning to fly back home to Ohio later in April. But the coronavirus had other ideas. It was attacking Florida worser than other places, and we began thinking, the sooner those ladies can get out of Dodge, (and hopefully not on a plane) the better. So we made the trip.

Lady A. and I drove south and landed first in Naples, FL to get Aunt Sue. It was all a little strange. We didn't know what we would find along the way, and we weren't even entirely sure that driving was safer than flying. But there was so little traffic; so few people anywhere, that we became less and less concerned. Debbie had made masks, and we were taking all other precautions.

The evening stroll with Aunt Sue in her neighborhood was strange, as people went far out of their way to avoid other walkers. Aunt Sue also tested my theory that you can't put too much garlic in a meal, as she inundated salmon with the stuff. In case you're wondering, the hypothesis still holds.

The following morning, we drove the two and a half hours up to Winter Haven, picked Betsy up, and then continued north. After a nice picnic lunch, we stopped for gas near Columbia, SC. There were strange things happening there. It was about what you'd call...

At an SC rest area. L to R: Dan, Sue, Debbie, Betsy

Surreal. That's the word that keeps coming to mind as we observed people who were out and about; going to restaurants, bars, and shopping. It's surreal because it's so unbelievable, after everything else we'd seen in eight other states. South Carolina, you see, did not yet have a stay-at-home order. And no one, it seemed, was staying at home. Ironically, it wasn't so long ago - only a matter of days - when not seeing people out and about (in Ohio and other places) seemed surreal.

Things were back to normal (which is to say, no one out and about) in all the other states. I mentioned Debbie's masks and our other precautions. She'd made plenty, and we kept using gloves and hand-sanitizer. All the fumbling getting in and out of the car was laughable.

The four of us made it home, safe and sound. We can only hope that it was the right thing to do.