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Earlier this year, it seemed like this pandemic was about over. When my family traveled to Florida in late May, Covid cases in the U.S. were way down. Biden said Americans would be able to travel and gather freely by July 4th. I made a bunch of travel plans for this fall.
Well, now look where we are with Covid. Cases are out of control in Texas and Florida as well as in other parts of the U.S. Our once-certain travel plans now in jeopardy due to event cancellations and local outbreaks.
Evaluating our Fall Trips
I know that some people think that tourists have no business traveling right now (again). Others think we should be going about with our business as usual. I don’t think travel is a black and white issue. There is a lot of gray area depending on many factors.
Later this fall, I have a cruise booked. Disney Cruise Line just announced that all passengers over the age of 12 must now be vaccinated in order to sail (based on rules coming from The Bahamas). That gives me more confidence that a Covid breakout will be less likely on board. We still have time to decide if we want to reschedule.
Another trip this fall involves seeing the musical Hamilton. The show isn’t cancelled, but it does require all attendees to be vaccinated and masked.
But one trip I decided to cancel is a trip to my hometown for my high school reunion. The first event is being held in a smallish bar. Going there with a mask seems to defeat the purpose of a reunion, and going to a crowded bar without a mask doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.
Unglamorous Safety Precautions
With the trips we do keep, I want to make sure we are keeping ourselves safe and not unknowingly spreading Covid around. Even though we are vaccinated (except for my youngest), we could still get Covid.
Since the pandemic took a turn for the worse, we are now masking up indoors again. For travel, we’re back to using KN-95 masks.
We are also testing ourselves for Covid even when it’s not required just to make sure. I just got the all clear from another test today.
Yes, it costs extra and it can be a pain. But if these extra hoops can keep us traveling safely, I’m all for it. I expect these types of tests and vaccination attestations will become the norm for awhile, and I’m counting on it for our trip to Europe next summer.
Honestly, my kids have a much greater chance of getting Covid from school than they do from traveling. Our school district in Texas has no masks or Covid safety precautions at all.
Did you make any fall travel plans that you are now reconsidering?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
We are vaccinated and had several summer and fall trips planned. We’ve cancelled our two California trips (due to masks), Washington DC (again due to masks), Vegas (you guessed it), and shortened NYC from a whole week to three days. Instead, we are now going to Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, and Galveston. We are also driving wherever possible (we live in IL so it’s not too difficult for most places). All flights longer than 2 hours have been cancelled.
The point of getting vaxxed was to return to normality. Masks are not normal. I am willing to accept a level of risk of a mild COVID infection, and refuse to live my life behind an uncomfortable piece of useless cloth. All of our friends are vaxxed, and the ones with children recognize that the risk to them is well within an acceptable range. Perhaps it’s because my husband and I have advanced degrees (he’s a biochemist, I’m an engineer), we are used to exercising critical thinking skills and applying rational thought.
Finally, while I am not trying to inject partisan politics per the author’s wishes – I have grave concerns for what this paranoid approach is doing to our country. My husband and I (we are a gay married couple) have been lifelong democrats, as are most of our friends and family. The mask and mandate fetishes coming from our party is driving away people in droves. I cannot believe how many of our friends and colleagues are switching political sides over this, especially when many held a near fanatical disdain of all things GOP for most of their lives. We are going to get absolutely crushed as a country if we can’t pull it together and learn to live with Covid, and I mean live NORMALLY. There will be no “new normal”….either we do this on our terms or we loose to those with a completely different set of values because we chose fear over reason.
Eventually you’ll have to brave those waters. Covid is endemic, meaning that it’s never going away. If you’re vaccinated you’ll have some tough choices to make, or else you will live out your whole life avoiding places based on mask policy and vaccination, up to and including where you spend your final years. It’s never going away.
Maybe 5 people will read this, but I’m writing anyway.
– As more research pours in, vaccines clearly loose effectiveness in months… not years.
– Natural immunity is much much better (about 6x according to new research in Israel)
– Vaccinated people still get covid, and potentially transmit more than non-vaxxed.
– In highly vaccinated places (UK, Israel, Oregon, Washington), cases have shot to levels unseen before. Florida has flattened out, and will surely start dropping shortly.
– All the countries that demand masks, have no evidence to support them.
– BigPharma is making BILLIONS.
– The United States is reintroducing *segregation*.
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Mainstream Media (I know!!) is starting to recognize all this.
BBC, ABC, Bloomberg all did articles this week. Wondering aloud why vaccines don’t seem to be doing a lot (expect accelerating variants).
The story keeps changing every week. No mask, triple mask. Vaccine and no worries.
Now vaccine and worry. More masks, even outdoors (no science for that of course).
Fear. Panic. Profit.
You guys have been lied to for 1.5 years now.
It’s time to turn off the television, read some health data yourself, and live your life.
It’s ok to be scared. It’s not great to be uninformed. It’s ridiculous to still be sheep.
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Unvaxxed (no plans), have hit 50+ countries in the last two years.
Zero concern except for the rest of the world going crazy because they were told to be scared.
Well said, George! We’ve totally been lied too and reasonable voices silenced. Can’t question the narrative. Just ask yourself why they won’t even test for antibodies, but instead want everyone to get the jab? Maybe those who don’t like living in a free state like Florida or Texas should move.
Totally agree with you George!
we cancelled a trip to new york over labor day weekend. was really looking forward to a suite at jw marriott and seeing friends. but risk is just not worth it with 2 little kids in tow. so sad.
Yes, we are reconsidering our Thanksgiving trip to Disney. Orlando is on fire with cases. But even if it wasn’t…
-Parks are understaffed, a fair amount of restaurants still not open, Epcot will still be without international ambassadors (where we planned on spending a lot of time), etc. Even if covid cases were low… visitors are still paying the same high price for less in return.
My wife and I are vaccinated, but our kids aren’t old enough yet. Granted, the vast majority of kids have mild symptoms. But even if we were guaranteed mild symptoms and no long lasting effects… I have no interest in upending our lives in quarantine for 10+ days.
@projectx Since I live in Florida, I thought I would chime in. I definitely recommend you wait until your kids are vaccinated. That’s what we’ve decided to do, even though my son is quite unhappy about it. Hopefully, it won’t be long. I doubt waiting a few months or even a year will make that much of a difference to your kids. So why take a chance? It was probably somewhat safe a few months ago, but not anymore.
This pandemic has been very unpredictable, and things can change on a dime. There is very little done to reduce the virus spread in Florida, and general attitude is that everything is fine. It’s not. Hospitals are packed, and the other day our relative had to suit up a boy to take him to say goodbye to his dying unvaccinated father. Our pregnant friend ended up in ICU, and my husband’s cousin couldn’t get a bed in the hospital. He almost died at home from Covid-induced pneumonia. What is happening in Florida right now is not normal, and don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise. Disney can only do so much to mitigate the risk, though I’m sure they are trying.
Do you reccomend Disney for four fully vaccinated people. This would be for October.
@Nat First, Full disclosure: I’m not a health expert. So take my advice with a grain of salt.
It’s hard to say how things will be in Florida by October, but it looks like this current wave is peaking. So October may be ok. Honestly, if my family was fully vaccinated, I would probably consider going. In fact, that’s the plan for when my son gets the shot. Of course, I would also look at virus prevalence at the time. I don’t recommend making any non refundable reservations if you can avoid it. Also, make sure to buy a travel insurance policy that covers quarantine. I’ll have a post on it next week, so keep an eye on it. Hope this helps!
I’m nervous traveling anywhere that it would be a hardship to get home if we were to be quarantined. My husband and I are fully vaccinated but still got Covid recently. I’m just glad this didn’t happen when we were on our big summer trip. That would have been a huge expense to quarantine in a hotel before being allowed to fly home.
@Jennifer So sorry to hear you got Covid. I hope you are both doing well.
Mild cases compared to others so thankful for that. I do think I was a little naive thinking I wouldn’t get it since we wear masks, social distance and are vaccinated. I let my guard down at the gym.