There we were enjoying our retired life, traveling both local and abroad, planning trips to keep our calendar full. We’ve experienced many great destinations and had plans in place to visit Glacier National Park, Paso Robles Wine Country, Italy, a small yacht cruise in Greece, and later in the year a trip to Patagonia to celebrate the big 6 0. Then “it” happened
During a late February trip to Mexico City, then on to meet friends in Cabo, we started hearing about the “Corona virus (Covid-19)” and it’s devastating run through China’s Huawei province. By the time we reached Cabo, the media was reporting horrific situations and the seriousness of the virus, there were rumors of people avoiding Corona beer, and runs on grocery stores leaving shelves of toilet paper bare.
During an early March Spring training trip in Arizona, we began to hear of plans to cancel the remainder of Spring training, Baseball & Basketball season, March Madness, and many other activities.
It wasn’t until we returned home that we realized this was going to become a significant issue. Like a script from a movie (Pandemic, Contagion, etc…) and certainly nothing that anyone expected to experience. A fast-moving highly contagious virus that has changed the way we live overnight. China was closing and quarantining entire regions and building huge temporary hospitals in a matter of weeks to house the sick and dying.
As the virus began spreading to other countries like wildfire, Italy exploded and death tolls rose faster than wartime. NY, Seattle, and SF started quarantining through a stay at home orders, semi-trucks serving as makeshift morgues.
Our travel plans began to crumble, cancellations of flights and closure of borders restricting movement. These incredibly crazy and unexpected times of an International Pandemic that literally shut down or significantly changed lives and economies worldwide. The speed that this virus spread and overwhelmed hospitals was quick and destructive.
We were happy to hunker down in our small home town and institute the recommended practices to keep ourselves and others safe and reduce the spread of the virus. Suddenly our inability to travel and move about freely seemed so un-important. This meant some sacrifices and changes in our routines which were sometimes painful and inconvenient but well worth it. Not being able to spend time together with friends or family was not what we expected but a necessary practice during these strange times. New buzz words are surfacing daily; PPE, Social Distancing, Stay at Home orders, Essential businesses, and workers, community spread, etc…
Fast forward to late May and things were looking a bit better, death tolls were residing, businesses opening back up with significant restrictions, and some relief from the months of isolation. We managed to get in a few friends and family interactions while practicing social distancing and wearing appropriate PPE’s.
Late June and now into July, it appears that we are experiencing a resurgence of cases after some of the relaxed protocols prompting a reversal of policy with selected businesses like bars, indoor dining, and personal services closing down once again. Although the death rates are significantly lower as the medical community learns how to better treat this ugly and tough virus.
It looks like travel for us will change dramatically as we maneuver through this new world order. Most importantly we will do what we can to keep ourselves and others safe.