Items

• 2024-03-14

  A lifelong Dream Journey to Egypt

  At the height of the pandemic, I was in Arizona working in the Maricopa County Supreme Court system. In transparency, there were not very many restrictions, let alone travel restrictions. Additionally, several times I was able to leave the state and go visit my family in my hometown of California which had several different restrictions such as a complete shutdown as well as social distancing and wearing a face mask. Once travel restrictions were lifted, I did not take any specific big trips, due to my living/daily life experiences not being drastically changed living in Arizona during the pandemic. I was still going into the office everyday, in court everyday, and able to do many of the same activities that I would do on a daily basis. As an additional note, if I could travel anywhere in the world, I would love to visit Egypt, specifically Cairo. For as long as I can remember I have had a great fascination with ancient Egyptian history. During my free time, I love watching documentaries about the discovery of ancient Egyptian artifacts and what they symbolize. Being able to actually see Egyptian artifacts personally, would allow me to gain a deeper understanding of ancient life in Egypt. On this trip, I would also like to see the Giza pyramid complex. Pyramid construction and symbolism is another great interest of mine. Recently I have started watching a documentary called, Lost Tombs of the Pyramids, and it exploration and excavation of pyramids. Overall, on this trip, I would document this trip using photography and videography. Those are what I normally use to document trips taken. I like this method because I am able to go back and physically look at sites in my camera roll if I ever wanted to. I have never been outside of the United States, and I hope to accomplish the goal of traveling out of the country soon!
• 0012-03-20

  The Day the World Changed

  On March 12th, 2020, I found out the fate of the remainder of my first spring semester as a college student. I don’t remember much about days during quarantine, but I do remember specific details of this day. It was the week before Spring Break for UAB, and all students were preparing for a week off from school. That weekend, my family was planning a trip to New Orleans for the weekend as my mother’s employer offered her a free two-night stay at any hotel of her choosing. My dad and I were planning to finally visit the National World War Two Museum. As my friend and I were walking to dinner at a local poke place in Five Points South, I received my first email that my English class would remain virtual for the remainder of the semester. My professor had Type 1 Diabetes and did not want to risk his health. Shortly after, the entire student body of UAB received an email that students would not return to campus until April 1st, 2020, at the earliest. While some students decided to pack up all of their belongings and take them home with them, others truly believed we would be coming back on April 1st. I decided not to take my belongings with me and traveled four hours to my hometown for the extended break. I went home that Friday, March 13th, 2020, after taking my midterm for Biological Anthropology. Once I arrived home, my parents made the decision to cancel our trip as the spread of COVID-19 was unknown at this time, and they did not want to risk going to a public and crowded place like New Orleans. Instead, my father and I traveled four hours back to Birmingham to pack up my dorm room and bring my belongings home. At this time UAB had completely shut down and was limiting access to campus and the dorms. They only allowed me 15 minutes to get any belongings needed. After that trip, UAB officially closed for the remainder of the term and students belongings were moved out of the dorms by moving companies to make room for healthcare workers. We did not get the chance to go on our New Orleans trip until over two years later, in 2022. I planned a big trip for my 21st birthday with my friends and family. While most restrictions have been lifted, people were still wearing masks, and businesses were still enforcing the three- to six-foot social distancing. I wasn’t surprised, as just earlier in the year, my employer required face masks for the spike in COVID cases in Birmingham. I remember going to restaurants and we were required to wait outside for our table. In the National World War Two museum, there were stickers on the floor that represented how far we should stand from each other. While many of the restrictions, including the social distancing and wearing a mask, had been lifted, it was nice to see that people were still making it a point to follow them for the safety of themselves and others.
• 2023-05-19

  Griffith Observatory

  The Griffith Observatory is located in Los Angeles, California, where COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in February 2023 statewide. This picture was taken in May of 2023, just a few months after the Observatory stopped asking for proof of vaccination before letting you in and lifted its face mask mandate. I had been to the Observatory several times before the pandemic, but I stopped once the pandemic hit. Although the Observatory was open during the pandemic, it required visitors to wear face masks and show proof of vaccination before allowing them to enter the facility.
• 
  2021-07-23

  The Trail to Angel's Landing

  There are few ways to describe the events of 2020 other than chaotic. The vast, sweeping changes that occurred left many confused and grasping, often in desperation. Meanwhile, 2021 was a mixed follow-up for a year where much remained the same, but travel restrictions began to lift. Seeing this window of opportunity, four friends and I leaped at it. We planned a weeklong trip to Zion National Park and on the first day, we headed for Angel's Landing. The situation around the pandemic resulted in a kind of claustrophobia that superimposed a hyperawareness of personal space. For many, where six feet distance apart was not just a courtesy in some establishments, but a rule that was often enforced. This condition of anxiety or even fear of contracting COVID-19 from another person in the limited size of restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores was easily felt. This kind of spatial awareness bled into one's perception so deeply that it might be retroactive. While watching a pre-pandemic movie with a shot of a crowd, the thoughts would intrude, "Where are everyone's masks?" or "Why is everyone standing so close together." Southern Utah is a great expanse of mesas, mountains, and bluffs under a rolling sky. Zion reflects this in the great size of the rock formations and the verdant greenery accompanying it. The contrast in scale highlights the simple fact that getting up to the tallest point of Angel's Landing is an exercise of walking upwards at steep inclines, often with other people in front of you, creating a line. Maybe it was the change in setting, but for a while, it was as if the pandemic was left behind. Everyone still brought masks, wore masks in crowded environments, and used hand sanitizer but the anxiety was not there. It appeared to be the common rule that the other tourists had agreed to. Replacing the fear was a determination to get to the highest point of the trails and photograph the scope of it all. It was only the first day of the trip and I had already been astounded.
• 
  2020-12-26

  Everyday life amidst a global pandemic

  When the covid restriction lifted my husband and I decided to visit family in Mexico. Because of the ban we were not able to attend funerals, birthday parties or any type of celebration. Despite the pandemic and the restrictions life seemed to be about the same 8 months after the pandemic had first been announced with some small changes. In a street corner waiting to order food, everyone was wearing masks. The elderly, children and the vendors themselves which was surprising considering the push back there happened to be originally from the Latin communities. The solidarity in the mask enforcement had now came from fear. The people in the streets were scared but had to continue their jobs as vendors and others having to go out side and purchase from these same vendors despite the fear of getting sick. When I think back to the first year of the pandemic I think about small moments like these, something as simple as purchasing street food now came with a worry of possibly getting yourself or others sick.
• 
  2022-10-16

  One Last Trip With My Old Face

  This is a story about my first trip out of state after the pandemic began. During lockdown, I reconnected with an old friend and was later invited to his wedding. It was my first time going to Chicago and I had a wonderful time.
• 2024-03-14

  Multiple Covid Trips

  When travel restrictions were lifted, did you take a trip? If so, where did you go and why? What are your memories of this trip? Were there any continuing COVID-19 restrictions in place? I swear I have no strong political opinions, but I looked at the stats for 30-something men for COVID, and decided I'd just go for it and refused to ever hide (except for that time I got Covid in July 2020). I went on SEVERAL trips. Also, I was a teacher in a VERY conservative area (read: students and parents were aggressively anti-Covid measures) and my wife was a nurse. I figured I was bound to get Covid and ruled a personal judgment of "Who cares? Especially if it's inevitable as this stuff spreads like glitter ..." I was a teacher and then delivered Ubereats nonstop as a form of "time travel". But we took the following Covid trips: May 2020 to Houston/Galveston. June 2020 to Colorado (Between these trips, I decided to focus on working and saving to buy a house as everything was shut down worldwide, there were no more trips to make) June 2021 to Port Aransas, Texas August 2021 to Colorado again (wife is from Colorado, thus the repeats) March 2022 to Northern Finland (Lapland) and was able to spend about an hour in Sweden, since we rented a car. August 2022 - Went to Costa Rica for the wife's 30th birthday. (Covid restrictions were gone by this trip). May 2020 to Houston/Galveston was a bit strange. I got asked to pick up a painting for my parents at her friends' house and so we turned it into a birthday trip for me. Hotels and beach were curiously packed and Texans simply did not care about COVID at this point. June 2020 to Colorado - George Floyd riots/protests (your decision) shut down downtown Denver and put us in a curfew where we couldn't leave the house after 8:00PM, so that was interesting. Still enjoyed the mountains and the fresh air, but we couldn't do much in Denver. The interesting thing at this point was the "two weeks to flatten the curve" was being revealed to be wrong, so we didn't know what to think anymore after this. August 2021 to Colorado - I have little in the way of memories of this trip. Wife really wanted to go. We saw more mountains and more of her friends. We ran away from a giant black creature in the woods (BEAR!) that was revealed to be a black cow and my wife makes fun of me for this to this day. More scared of that "bear" than I ever was of Covid. March 2022 to Finland - This was interesting. Finland was completely open and the primary restrictions were the US Government requiring masks on planes. We had to get a booster in order to go, which annoyed me, but I did it. The service in the airport was fascinatingly horrible and we were delayed by about 36 hours to Finland, which means we just missed the last Aurora of the winter. They also lost and then broke my wife's luggage. We drove around Northern Finland and even popped into Sweden for an hour because "Why not?". Other funny thing was everyone was very scared for us, because Russia had just invaded Ukraine and I had to reassure everyone that after the Winter War and World War II, Russians decided Finland was haunted and to never return (for historical accuracy, this is a joke, but it was a fun joke). I liked Finland/Lapland, but it was more expensive then Tokyo. I've never been anywhere more expensive in my life. Gas was somewhere in the range of $11/gallon, due to the invasion (on top of already high European prices). We met Santa, I got bit by a reindeer and sled dogs are a rambunctious bunch of creatures. We slept in the ice hotel you see sometimes in travel blogs. The stores were all open. Everything was open. Finland simply did not seem to care about Covid and my understanding was Sweden didn't either (part of the reason we shrugged and popped over). I had literally one person one time ask me to put on a mask when I went into a store, but this annoyed us and we left. August 2022 to Costa Rica - Flew in and out of Liberia, Costa Rica (not San Jose) for reasons I don't remember - I think I did that because I was desperately trying to make it an open-Jawed trip (fly in to Liberia and fly out of Panama City). I remember being annoyed because I told my wife repeatedly that "I don't think Costa Rica will be as cheap as everyone has told you" and it wasn't. It's pretty and nice. It's not really cheap at all. Interesting thing here is there were absolutely ZERO Covid restrictions. Nothing. None. Not one. Over. The story was over. So I'll end it there.
• 2021-06-14

  Family Trip to Florida 2021

  My father is a world class powerlifter who has podium placed at world championships before. He was planning to do the qualifier for the next world championship in 2020, but that was understandably delayed. When stay at home orders were lifted, he competed in the state level qualification event, in his case North Carolina, for the national championship. He had to lift in a mask, which was uncomfortable and potentially dangerous as lifters could not always get enough oxygen during and after a lift causing some to pass out and need medical attention. He did well enough in the qualifier to proceed to the national championship in Daytona Beach, Florida. On that trip, COVID restrictions were very few, if any, with the hotel, lifting event, and restaurants/stores not having mask mandates or vaccination checkpoints. Unfortunately, my dad did not win this championship. He did, however, come back the next year and won the 2022 championship in Orlando, Florida. When we went on that trip, COVID precautions were not really present at all, and it almost seemed life it was before COVID.
• 
  2021-07-30

  Covid Was Over

  In 2021 my Mom and I planned a trip to Mexico to visit her side of the Family. We had been putting off the trip because of a lack of money and then Covid hit. It had been seven years since my mom had been able to visit her mother and her siblings. At this point in time, travel restrictions and quarantines were largely a thing of the past. People in my area no longer considered Covid to be a threat in the way it was viewed in the early part of 2020. Masks weren’t in common use and people went about as they pleased. Deaths were still rising. By June of 2021 our trip took place. Most of the big travel restrictions had been lifted, but oddly enough America still had testing restrictions for reentry. Mexico, a nation that still cared about limiting the spread of the virus, had no testing or vaccination requirements for entry. We went on our trip and had a great time visiting our family in Mexico City. While staying we decided to visit the Museum of Anthropology in the city center. To enter, we had to go one at a time and be sprayed with some sort of sanitization chemicals by guards in the front. Being a poor Spanish speaker I was afraid I would do something wrong and that they wouldn’t let me enter. Thankfully everything went well at that time. When the time came to leave we had to locate a pharmacy that would do rapid testing for our return trip. America had very specific instructions that only allowed for certain pharmacies to do the testing. This made it very difficult to find one that would work. When we got to the testing site it reminded me of zombie movies. The pharmacy was surrounded by tall iron fences with razor wire at the top. People wanting to be tested were funneled one by one to a testing kiosk. The kiosk itself was a glass paneled box complete with attached glove arms and a ventilation system. The test itself was a simple swab test that was much more painful than I thought it would be. My nose hurt for an hour afterward. On the day of our departure I was nervous that something would not be correct with our records and we would be stopped from leaving Mexico. The person who officially went over our records was in the baggage check in area. She took our documents and didn’t even look at them for one second before handing them back. I was confused but this, since our American travel sites made such a big deal about it. Honestly, we could have easily faked the records to get back into America. Ultimately we got home safe and sound. A little over a month later everything went to hell. My cousin, Aunt, and Abuelita all contracted Covid and were hospitalized. My Aunt and Abuelita passed away from the virus, only my cousin survived. My mom had to deal with the loss of two close family members less than two weeks apart. It felt so wrong, how could they have both died when Covid was over?
• 
  2021-07-27

  San Diego Zoo Safari Park

  Looking back at my camera roll, I chose this picture as the subject of this assignment. The picture reminded me of the first trip that I took, a year after COVID happened. The summer of 2021, my family and I were able to take a trip to San Diego, California and we decided to go to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. I am a lover of nature and I enjoy the scenery and being able to appreciate the simple beauty of plants and animals. As any other normal traveler would do, I snapped a bunch of pictures as I was walking through the safari park zoo. I snapped this picture as I was on the tram and we were observing the large animals (rhinoceros, giraffes, etc.). This particular picture spoke to me, becuase I saw it as the first time I could actually enjoy the simplicity of having the means to travel and enjoy the beauty of the outside world, after being cooped up for so long. Since I live in the Phoenix area, it is not often that I get to see lily ponds or vibrant plants/animals in my area. I remember feeling free and appreciative of having the means to travel and see the outside world again.
• 2022-05-20

  The time I travelled to Punta Cana

  When the restrictions were lifted, I took a trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic right after finishing my internship and getting ready to graduate. Originally, I was supposed to go in November with my family, but we couldn't because my parents and sister got COVID. Unfortunately, we had to reschedule the entire trip. During that time, I had to isolate in my room, wear a mask inside the house, and wash my hands frequently. This time, it was just us traveling. When we were getting ready to board the plane, we needed our vaccine cards. My dad got a bit worried, thinking I might have forgotten mine, and had a mild panic attack. In the area, many people weren't wearing masks since the requirements had been lifted and they were no longer mandatory. However, I still noticed quite a few people wearing masks, even boarding the flight. Our rooms were spacious; my parents had their own room, and my sisters and I had ours. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort, where drinks, food, and activities were available all day long. One memorable part of the trip was going on a boat excursion where we got to snorkel with other travelers and see various fish below us. It felt like COVID was a thing of the past, but there were still reminders like stickers and signs in both English and Spanish reminding us to stay six feet apart. Overall, it was a fun trip that helped take my mind off the stress of the pandemic, although there were still reminders here and there.
• 2020-12-30

  Travelling in December 2020 and January 2021

  I remember first hearing about COVID-19 in January of 2020. There were concerning reports that Chinese authorities were wielding apartment doors shut to contain the virus, which was certainly a bad sign, and I was fairly certain that if those measures were being taken, the disease was a big deal. I followed the developments fairly closely from my parents' home in Oklahoma. In late March, around the time of my 21st birthday, I was working as a substitute teacher at the high school I graduated from. I was able to work one singular day before the virus shut down the school district. The next few months were full of changes. Uniformed National Guard personnel staffed vaccination centers, groceries were delivered directly to houses, and entire industries went work-from-home. By the time December rolled around, the initial panic had mostly died down, and many travel restrictions were lifted. I needed a break. I decided to catch a ride with a buddy of mine from Indiana who just so happened to have family here in Tulsa. I bought a plane ticket to facilitate my return trip. We have some mutual friends in Zionsville, a little suburb of Indianapolis, and we collectively decided that we wanted to have a New Years party. Here in suburban Oklahoma, many of the mask mandates had been dropped by this point, but it was still prudent to carry a mask in the somewhat rare event that a business owner preferred patrons cover their faces. It was much the same in Zionsville, but businesses in Indianapolis proper, in my experience, were much more strict. I understood that COVID-19 was a serious health risk, and that it was smart to wear a mask, but it was somewhat confusing to go from a place that seemed so carefree - and admittedly irresponsible - to a place that was still mandating face coverings. The party with my friends went well and many margaritas were consumed. It was a much-needed break. The locations with the strongest COVID restrictions were perhaps the airports. It made sense to me, since airline travel likely contributed a great deal to the initial spread of the disease. Regardless of reasonability, masks were worn the entire duration of the flight. The entire cabin smelled of sanitation wipes, and the airport felt somewhat emptier than I was used to. This was Indianapolis' airport. I had a layover in Dallas and that Airport felt much more lively, in that sort of carefree way I was accustomed to back in Oklahoma. Masks were still required on the plane itself. I landed back home late in the evening without too much excitement. It was nice to take my mask off when I got into my mom's car. Overall, the trip made me realize that different states and regions were treating the ongoing pandemic very differently. While New Years was a welcome break from the monotony of the initial quarantine year, the trip did raise questions about my state government's commitment to public health and safety.
• 
  2021-06-07

  A Pandemic Wedding

  My friend had been planning her wedding for nearly two years when the pandemic hit, and suddenly, she had to put all of her plans on hold. It was a devastating moment for her and everyone who was looking forward to the special day. When travel restrictions were lifted, her bridal party (including me) rushed to get plane tickets to ensure our presence by her side in small town, Texas. We wanted everything to go perfectly for her considering the delay she endured and the preparations that were now unclear. It was an outside wedding filled with beautiful twinkling lights, neatly placed wooden benches, and masks, sporadically, spread throughout the crowd. A year after the lockdowns and restrictions, Covid 19 still affected people enough to don masks outside during a wedding. Despite the residual fear, my memories of spending time with friends, eating good food, and cheering on the beautiful bride are happy ones.
• 2023-06-06

  A Journey East: Exploration of Singapore & Southeast Asia

  Sitting in our small kitchen during our first full school year of teaching since the Pandemic my fiancé and I scribbled the names of places we'd like to travel to on scraps of paper and threw them into a bowl. Swriling them round and round I reached in and pulled out a piece of paper with "Singapore" scribbled on it! Elated that we'd chosen one of our dream destinations we immediently set about preparations for our jounrey - booking a cruise that embarks from Singapore and stops in Maylasia and Thailand. Our flights took us from Phoneix to Los Angeles for a brief layover and then an extensive flight to Tokyo, Japan. He stayed in Tokyo for nearly 48 hours - longest layover - and were able to catch up with my host family - I had previously visited Japan pre-pandemic in 2019 and stayed with a family there. I expected Covid regulations to be quite strict in Japan, though they were incredibly lax! Here we were, sharing drinks and a meal in a small, noisy, crowded restruant in the heart of Tokyo. Everything seemed to have reverted back to pre-pandemic rythms in my observations. These observastions would become quiote commonplace throughout the rest of our trip. Landing in Singapore, our cruise didn't set sail for 4 days, so we explored every inch of the city! Staying in the Clarke Quay distirct of Singapore, we were centrally located to many distinct and excting locations such like: Chinatown, Little India, Gardens by the Bay, Orchard Road, The Marina Bay Sands Hotel and the Singapore Zoo! Each location was inrecdible and unique in its own special way. The bustling streets and open air hawker markets of Chinatown and Little India buzzed with excitement as crowds of people shuffled back and forth from tables to but more food or in and out of shops and temples. The city was alive and thriving which gave both my fiancé and I so much joy! Singapore and Southeast Asia for the larger extent, had been quite extreme in their COVID lockdowns and draconian in punishment if COIVD protocal was broken. So we were overjoyed when life returned to normal in these parts of the world. One night in Chinatown, we sat down to a wonderful meal of beef, chicken, and shrimp Satay - meat on a stick - accompanied by a cold pitcher of Singapore's finest beer - Tiger. We were eating in the center of a packed night market. This night market stretched for two to three city blocks and was jammed with people enjoying anything from ice cream to chicken feet. As we enjoyed our meal, two men sat next to us and we engaged in a breif conversation. The conversation became prolonged and we eventually learned that one of the men was an Arch bishop in the Catholic Church and an Ambassador of the Vatican to Singapore! He shared many wonderful stories of his time living all over Southeast Asia and gave us some advice and sights to see as we continued our travels. Our cruise set sail and we embarked on the second leg of our adventure! Sailing the strait of Malacca, we visited cities in Malaysia such like: Kuala Lumpur, and Georgetown! We hired a private guide in Kuala Lumpur to show us around the city for a day - this was probably one of the best decisions we'd made on the trip. We got such a personal view of the city as our guide took us not only to various temples, memorials, and landmarks, but also to his favorite local stops! From Port Klang and Kuala Lumpur, we sailed to Georgetown where we climbed their famous Hill and explored the city and all of his rich colonial, Chinese, and Indian heritage. Our final destination for our cruise was Thailand, and it did not dissapoint! Taking a shore excursion, we travelled to Ao Phang Nga National Park visiting the famous James Bond Island and a floating Thai-Muslim village. After an awesome day of travel, we made our way back to the Ship and began our jounrey back to Singapore. Making it back safe and sound to the US, my fiancé and I reflected on our trip and were both incredibly grateful that all travel and experience had returned to normal following the Pandemic. The COVID-19 Pandemic and its restrictions were an after thought at these destinaitons. Not to say these countries have abandoned all sense of proticetion from the virus, rather they seem to have - like most of the world - pivoted to a stance that COVID will always exist now, and we must all collectively "deal with it" much like the Flu. With this experiance under our belts, we are both exicted to venture back out into the world and explore all it has to offer!
• 2021-03-18

  A Burial Post Pandemic

  I did not travel during the entirety of the strict lockdown period of the COVID-19 Pandemic. My wife and I worked in retail and were deemed essential so we worked through it from April 2020 until the restrictions were broadly lifted. In March 2021 my mother died of an unrelated illness, the first trip I took after the travel restrictions were lifted was to bury her in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We did not hold a funeral service and we did not hold a memorial, she was cremated and buried quietly. I remember this very vividly because even at that time it felt wrong to travel and to be interacting with people in a way that wasn't required by work. We wore masks the entire time. Due to our proximity to El Paso, TX I remember vividly when they were storing bodies in buses in the streets there and this made us fearful and cautious. Even had we not been still in the throes of the pandemic, I don't think I would have done anything differently but I do believe that the added stress of travel would not have been present thus making the trip more manageable. Due to our need to isolate, and resist getting sick, what I remember most of all is the loneliness of the matter, and the quiet car rides, and wondering 'How might things have been different?'
• 
  2020-03-22

  Travelers Nevertheless

  Faced with the impossibility of international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, my family embarked on an unplanned intrastate adventure that led to a deeper appreciation for the city of Los Angeles and for family members that call that city home. Along with posing serious day-to-day challenges, the pandemic created opportunities for new relationships with people and places.
• 2022-06-22

  The Two-Week Road Trip

  When COVID-19 shut everything down in March 2020, I was in the middle of student teaching and preparing to take my last teaching certification exam. My college graduation was moved to a PowerPoint presentation, and summer plans were canceled. The first year of my teaching career was hybrid. I had a small portion of my students in person, and a majority tuned into my world geography class via Zoom. In my second year of teaching, things were slowly returning to normal. Asynchronous and synchronous schooling was no more, and students had to attend in person while wearing masks and trying to maintain social distancing as much as possible in a high school. During this school year, my family planned a two-week road trip to explore historic sites in the United States on our journey from San Antonio, Texas, to Eau Clair, Michigan. On this road trip, we traveled through and stopped in eight states. In the Summer of 2022, I embarked on a two-week road trip from June 19th to July 2nd with my mom, my younger brother, and my grandma to visit family in Illinois and Michigan. It was chaotic and wonderful at the same time. We traveled through Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri until returning to Texas. Travel restrictions at this point were lax or nonexistent in the states we traveled to, and many people we encountered acted as if COVID-19 had never happened. Masks were hardly worn, and social distancing was gone, although signs recommending the six-foot distance still lingered around different locations we stopped at. I, however, carried hand sanitizer with me religiously and had a mask with me in case it was needed. Because of how relaxed the COVID-19 safety restrictions were in the states we traveled through, my family and I were convinced we would get sick. Luckily, we did not, but whenever we returned to the car after a sightseeing excursion, we always said, “There’s no way we didn’t get COVID that time.” We were most convinced that we had come into contact with the virus in Chattanooga, Tennessee. While in Chattanooga, we went up Lookout Mountain and into Ruby Falls. Ruby Falls is a series of caverns that lead to the tallest and deepest underground waterfall in the United States. You must descend in an elevator to get down to the cavern entrance. There were no mandatory mask signs or social-distancing warnings to board the elevator, only a weight limit. So, my mother, younger brother, and I squeezed into an elevator with about twenty maskless people and descended into the cave. On the cave tour, we were still in close quarters but were able to spread out a bit more. We traveled into the depths of the caverns until we made it to the waterfall, took our pictures, and then road back up to civilization again, compacted into an elevator. We traveled and stopped in many different places, each with various rules and restrictions regarding how that establishment was handling COVID-19. Our elevator ride at Ruby Falls was the most surprising part of our trip. This elevator ride made me feel as if people had forgotten the entire COVID-19 epidemic had occurred. My surprise was mainly influenced by the precautions I had to take as a teacher, and going out into the “wild” opened my eyes to how different parts of the country were coping with the aftermath of the epidemic. I observed many people's attitude on our road trip: "Let's just get back to normal.”
• 
  2020-07-30

  Exploring Close to Home

  This story describes the first trip that my husband and I took during the pandemic. It was at the July 30 - August 1, 2020, and we took our first trip without children in twenty years. The pandemic shaped this trip completely. First, we could not cross the border we had wanted to cross, which meant we stayed in our home state. Second, we researched destinations in ways that we never had before. Finally, the pandemic had forced many other people to seek outdoor vacations, which led to large crowds in many of the parks we visited.
• 2024-12-10

  Visiting Maui with Respect to Native Traditions and Local Population

  Since travel restrictions were lifted on the island of Oʻahu, I still have not traveled outside the island. One place that I am keen on traveling to is the island of Maui because it is one of the main Hawaiian Islands that I have not yet explored. Prior to the devastating Lahaina wild fires in August 2023, I was deeply interested in understanding the cultural richness and historical significance of Lahaina. Now, if I get a chance to visit Maui, I would be mindful of the trauma that continues to inflict pain on the local and native populations of Maui. Therefore, I would avoid the area of West Maui and instead explore the main cities of Kahului and Kihei to better understand why Maui continues to be a tourist attraction for Americans. Near Kihei, the site of Haleakala observatory is a common tourist attraction for locals and foreigners. The ongoing debate over tourism development and the restoration of native practices is ever-present on Maui. Tourism on Maui was just recovering from the economic consequences of the pandemic and the economic hardship was again devastated by the Maui wildfires. If I were to document my trip to Maui, I would use a journal to understand the complex dynamics between the state government, tourism industry, and local and native populations. I would also use my journal to record what tourist sites continue to recover from the pandemic in spite of the wildfire catastrophe.
• 2021-03-11

  Missouri Travels A Year After COVID

  In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down, and the world went into a global lock down. A year later, restrictions started being lifted and my mother and I traveled to Osage Beach Missouri, as well as the surrounding areas. Because Osage Beach was a tourist town on a lake most of the local attractions were closed due to it being the off season. It was March of 2021. Previously, my family had loved going to Missouri, but always had gone to Branson. We chose Osage Beach, however, because we could get free accommodations through my parents timeshare points. The day I remember most of the trip was traveling to St. Louis, Missouri to visit the St. Louis Zoo. The day before going we had to book a time slot in order to reduce our chances of being exposed to COVID and in order for the zoo to know approximately how many people were there. We did not have to wear medical masks outdoors, since we were fully vaccinated, but when in areas like the gift shop or some dining facilities we had to wear masks. If a zoo worker asked to see our COVID vaccine cards we had to show them or put on masks. After visiting the zoo, my mom and I went to a local pizza pub in Osage Beach that had St. Louis style pizzas. They were not as concerned about the COVID regulations and did not enforce any mask or social distancing policies that the St. Louis Zoo had. This was a theme of Missouri restrictions as I saw when I toured the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. There I was not required to wear a mask or social distance, but group numbers were limited and reservations had to be made. Luckily my mother and I did not get COVID during the trip, but after a year of lock down and restrictions, the few restrictions still in place felt like a culture shock, even though I still lived in Texas at the time.
• 2022-06-25

  Exploring Cairo

  I visited Cairo in the summer of 2022. I decided to upload a picture of myself overlooking the city of Cairo. It was my first time visiting a Muslim country and a non-Western country. This was the main reason why I wanted to go. I chose to upload this picture because it reminds me of the awing experience of taking in Cairo for the first time. There were still a few Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time, but the Egyptian authorities didn't seem too interested in actually enforcing them at the airport or anywhere else. I took this photo on Anthony Bourdain Day (June 25th). Anthony Bourdain and his show are one of my major inspirations to travel and experience the wider world.
• 
  2021-10-21

  Phoebe Bridgers at the Greek Theatre

  I was able to get tickets to see Phoebe Bridgers in LA October of 2021. My best friend and I drove out there from Arizona. It was an amazing show at the Greek Theatre, which is a beautiful venue located in Griffith Park. This was the first time I travelled to see a concert, and since it has become something that I do often. I've even been back to the Greek Theatre three times since and already have tickets to a show there later this year. During this time, there was still a lot of Covid-19 restrictions in place. Even though it was an outdoor concert venue everyone still wore their masks the whole show and we had to show our vaccination cards upon entry.
• 
  2020-10-22

  Julian Adventure

  Julian Adventure My story takes place in the fall of 2020 while many travel restrictions related to Covid-19 were still in place. Like everyone, my girlfriend and I, who are residents of San Diego, CA, had undergone lockdown for a period of time, only leaving the house for essential reasons. We worked from home, ate at home, and entertained ourselves at home. We avoided people as much as possible. Needless to say, after months of isolation, we needed to get out of the apartment. We decided to book an Airbnb in Julian, CA–a mountain retreat about an hour away from San Diego. Upon arriving at the Airbnb home, I remember we felt a bit nervous. How clean was it? Were there germs about? What if the owners did not disinfect the countertops? Driven by anxiety, we had brought our own cleaning supplies and went to work wearing gloves and masks. The place was already spotless, but cleaning it ourselves gave us a sense of control, a little certainty that we had done everything we could. The place sat on twenty-five acres of land with mountain views and horses about. We tried to feel at ease in our new environment and maintained limited, if any, contact with others. We avoided Julian town, but driving through it revealed significantly less people than usual. Although it was a nice getaway, the trip within the milieu of Covid-19 prevented us from fully relaxing.
• 
  2023-07-13

  Post-Pandemic Trip to Seattle

  Like it did for many people, the start of the Covid-19 pandemic canceled multiple travel plans for me. I applied for my passport in 2018 with the intention of going on a study-abroad trip my junior year of undergrad. Instead of travel memories, I have a memory of sitting in my PoliSci class and discussing the news with my classmates that the university might shut down for a few days. We didn’t go back, and I still haven’t used the passport. Once travel restrictions were lifted it still took me a while to get back out into the world. The first trip I took was in July of 2023. I traveled from Minnesota to Seattle, Washington with some of my friends from high school for a week of sightseeing. We chose it because most of us had never been to the Pacific Northwest. It was my first time in an airport since December of 2018. I remember having quite a few lingering anxieties related to Covid, to the point where I was actually dreading the trip before we left (even though I ended up having a wonderful time). I had some struggles with health anxiety during the pandemic. Before tests were widely available I remember frequently being so paranoid I had Covid that I would convince myself I did and actually make myself feel sick with anxiety. Since restrictions have been lifted this has stuck around, and now takes the form of me getting excessively anxious about getting Covid before important events (like the trip, and my wedding just a few weeks before it). I also was nervous about going to the airport because I didn’t know what to expect in regards to how many restrictions would still be in place. It turned out there were no restrictions remaining in the MSP or SeaTac airports beyond some signs reminding people to not enter if they felt unwell (I am certain most people who make it far enough to see the sign still enter). Once the actual boarding of the plane went fine, I entertained myself with anxieties about the odds of someone on the plane having Covid and all of us breathing circulated air. I actually had Covid once in the fall before the trip, and got the highest fever of my life but was ultimately okay. Interestingly, this didn’t really ease my fears during the flight. Nobody got Covid from the Seattle trip (though we were probably just lucky) and instead I got some of the most precious memories of my life so far. I also had a surprising lack of anxiety once we got there. We visited a long list of places including most notably the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, Seattle Aquarium, Pike Place Market, and the National Nordic Museum. There were no Covid-19 restrictions remaining in any of these places. I had packed one reusable mask in my backpack in case I needed it, and it turned out the one time on the whole trip that I entered a space where masks were required (a small independent bookstore) I didn’t have it with me and had to borrow one. I still thought about Covid every time we pushed through a packed crowd in Pike Place Market, but more so than being afraid I thought about how during the peak of the pandemic I was convinced it was something I would never do again. I don't believe the pandemic is truly over even now, but I drastically felt how much things had changed in that moment. The picture I included to tell my story is of my friend Carlie and I on the top of the Space Needle (I am sitting on the right). We went back twice, and spent literally hours sitting on the glass floor and watching the city go by as it slowly rotated. It's one of my fondest memories of the trip. I’ve heard some people say the Space Needle is overrated, but as small-town Midwesterners we were pretty fascinated. I’m grateful to those who spent the pandemic under harsher restrictions in bigger cities like Seattle so that I can visit these places now. It was nice to feel so small looking down on Seattle after the world felt so small during restrictions just a few years earlier.
• 2021-10-11

  Disney Wedding 2021

  My wife and I were supposed to go to her best friend's wedding in the fall of 2020. Well, with millions of other weddings and events that year, it had to be postponed. The wedding ended up taking place at Disney world in the fall of 2021. We flew from New York to Orlando, and I remember that everyone was still wearing masks in the airports and on the planes. And if I remember correctly masks were required on the plane for the whole ride. While staying on Disney property and in the parks, masks were required inside buildings. But outside you could have them off. During the wedding, which was on Disney property, we did have to wear masks for the ceremony, and while dancing, but at the tables, we could take them off. Still, it was a magical time, and the VIP access to the Epcot fireworks is still my favorite memory. Even now, in 2024, I will still wear a mask if I go on a plane again, or public transportation. That is something from the pandemic I think will definitely stick with me for the rest of my life.
• 2020-09-07

  Pandemics & Wildfires

  The year 2020 was challenging for me in a couple ways. Like so many others, the pandemic lockdown kept me home for several months. I continued school online with my local university and waited for it all to be over. As summer rolled around, my family had decided that if we were going to be isolated from others, we might as well do it somewhere we love. We spent the better part of our summer at my great grandfather’s cabin at Huntington Lake in the High Sierras. It was a fairly quiet season at the lake considering California was still under many restrictions. Shortly after our last visit, the Creek Fire started. The fire burned nearly 380,000 acres of the Sierra National Forest for about four months. Within a week of the beginning of the fire, we lost our family cabin and the historic general store, Cressman’s, that our cousins had just taken over. Our family was devastated, and it is still a very painful memory. I am, however, incredibly grateful for the last summer we got to spend there. In a strange way, the COVID-19 pandemic offered our family a small blessing in disguise. Since the lockdown required many to reduce work hours, a number of friends and family members had the opportunity to visit the cabin one last time. This photograph is a reminder of a very bittersweet summer. Although 2020 proved to be an especially challenging year, the pandemic allowed my family to make its final memories of our second home before it was gone.
• 
  2023-07

  Boston & Italy During Covid; Civil Rights Trip 2023

  Prior to the world-stopping "Covid Times," my friends and I had planned to travel to Boston, MA. We were going to watch a Braves v. Red Sox game, visit Salem and the Freedom Trail in Boston. We had tickets, airfare, lodging etc. Then the world shut down. Because of life circumstances, we had to delay further after the world opened back up, and decided to shift gears and take a different trip. This would be a Civil Rights trip in the Summer of 2023. Again, life circumstances created the need to adjust. Two members of our group (half of us) were no longer able to travel, so myself and the other member of our group went. The trip was great. We flew into NC, then drove to Charleston where we spent a couple days. It was great because we were able to visit several places which were very impactful to both of us. McLeod Plantation was a wonderful & educational experience. We were given a fantastic guided tour where we learned much about the enslaved people who made the plantation function, and then about their descendants, some of whom lived there until the 1990's. We also visited the Old Slave Mart which was one of the most prominent sites in Charleston for slave sales. It has now been turned into a museum and memorial. From Charleston, we visited Savannah. We were only there about 12 hours, but were able to visit the house of a very prominent slave trader and see the living and working quarters of the people enslaved there. From there, we went to Atlanta (I got to watch a game at Truist Park!) for the night, and then on to Montgomery. If we could do it again, I would spend much more time in Montgomery. We visited the Legacy Museum which was, in a phrase, life changing. The experience was phenomenal and extremely visceral. I think it is something every American should experience at least once. We spent the whole day, and barely scratched the surface. And that was just the museum and monument. From Montgomery we drove to Selma and were able to walk the Edmund Pettus Bridge. We also drove around town a little and were able to see some of the churches, and neighborhood that were so influential in the Civil Rights Movement and the powerful Selma to Montgomery March. From there, we went to Memphis where we visited the National Civil Rights Museum. That was also a wonderful experience. This was such an awe-inspiring trip. It was very quick, but it was fantastic. It is a trip that I would take again though next time for longer.
• 
  2020-12

  COVID and Disney: Population and Contamination

  This story discusses my trip to Disney and Florida following the pandemic, and the lasting effects it had on me, society, and the world as we knew it, as well as the differences among people in how they handled this event.
• 2024-03-09

  A Trip to the Algarve

  In October 2021, my wife and I went to Portugal for two weeks. It was our first trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We went to the southern coast of Portugal, the Algarve. Our purpose was a reconnaissance with an eye to relocation. We'd been toying with the idea of moving overseas for several years. Spain had long been at the top of our list––we spent almost three months in Andalusia a decade earlier and fell for the place––but the Spanish tax and import regulations were a bit difficult, so we looked next door to Portugal. Portugal had inviting tax and import regulations. By that October, Portugal's COVID-19 travel restrictions had eased. You just had to have up-to-date vaccines and documentation of a recently conducted, negative test. That was easy enough, so the time was right for getting on a plane. The more difficult thing was returning to the United States. For that, we had to get another COVID-19 test within hours of travel, it had to be of a certain type, and it had to be administered and certified by an approved agency. Fortunately, a company had cracked-the-code on meeting the requirements through online monitoring of a self-administered test. We bought and took with us three tests each––backups to the backups. The strangest-feeling part of the whole trip was the hours-long layover in Newark on the outbound leg. People were walking around without masks on, and we reluctantly took our masks off to eat. We had both received boosters of the Moderna vaccine, but we felt naked and vulnerable. We left our masks on throughout the flight. After landing in Lisbon, we got our rental car and drove a couple hours to Albufeira. It's a coastal town about dead-center on the southern coast. We stayed in a house, which we rented because we wanted to make our own meals. Portugal is not much of a culinary destination––the best meal we had in a restaurant was a simple margherita pizza. On top of that, we are vegetarians, and my wife has a shellfish allergy, neither of which works well in a food culture based upon seafood and pork. Also, because this was a reconnaissance with an eye to establishing residence, it was important to shop around and see the pricing and availability of goods. An unexpected opportunity to do some shopping came early in the trip. My wife and I had packed for the typical Algarve weather for this time of year: cool, windy, occasional rain. Instead, what we got was very hot and very dry. So, it was off to the mall to reconfigure our wardrobe. We found that we dislike Portuguese malls just as much as we dislike American malls. But we like beaches and long hiking trails, and the Algarve coastline has plenty of that. This is where Portugal shines: miles and miles of walkable beaches, and miles and miles of coastal trails. Our days were spent driving to, and then walking trails and beaches at, coastal destinations along the entirety of the Algarve coastline. We also like friendly people, and the Portuguese are definitely that. My wife and I have travelled extensively, typically staying in each destination a month or more, and the Portuguese are at the top of the friendliness scale. Two days before our departure, we took the US-mandated COVID-19 tests. We logged into an online teleconference system and self-administered our tests at the direction of a talking-head on the screen of our laptop computer. We both received negative test results, which we forwarded to the airline. Then we drove to Lisbon, where we spent our last two nights in a downtown hotel. We walked around the city for hours, quickly discovering that we had arrived on one of Portugal's many holidays. But we were impressed by Lisbon as a city that felt safe and walkable, much unlike typical American cities of similar size. Our return flight was easy on the Portuguese end. On the American end, we met the lines and discourtesy typical of the US customs process. Then we caught a connecting flight to Richmond, Virginia, and from there drove a couple late-night hours to our house in Tidewater Virginia. A year after this trip, we moved to Portugal. As I type this, we have been residents for seventeen months. We currently live in the Algarve, a twenty-minute drive from the house we rented in 2021. The long beaches and friendly people more than made up for the bland food and the trip to the mall.
• 2020

  Continuous Travels Throughout The Pandemic

  As an Active Duty Soldier during the COVID-19 pandemic I was able to travel; albeit my movements were extremely controlled and job-related and not for leisure. On 13 March 2020, when the entire Country literally reacted to and shut down due to COVID-19, I was out of town and hours away from traveling back to my duty station. The sudden reality we were all faced with felt like The Twilight Zone, especially since it was also a Friday. In May of 2020, I drove to my hometown of San Antonio, TX. My mother was a COVID patient in the ICU, and I needed to get home to help take care of my father. Thankfully, my mother recovered, and I returned to Tennessee, where I was stationed at the time. The COVID restrictions from Tennessee and Texas could not have been more different; whereas Clarksville, Tennessee treated public separation and mask-wearing with a laissez-faire attitude, San Antonio was very strict with its public safety ordinances. A few months later, I deployed to Iraq; transiting to and from the Combat Zone was extremely restrictive. Prior to the Pandemic, we could enjoy local sightseeing if we had a layover in Spain or Germany; naturally, during COVID we were confined to our lodging. However, in January of 2021, as travel restrictions began to lift ever-so slightly, I participated in a unit training exercise in California. To my surprise, we had to fly commercially to Las Vegas, NV. To ensure 6-foot separation, we were each allowed our own rental vehicles, and our own hotel rooms while we trained in the California desert. In all my years in the military, that was the only time I wasn’t required to share a rental or hotel room with anyone. After we had concluded our training, we commuted back to Las Vegas. The original plan was to use military lodging on Nellis Air Force Base, however our Commander allowed us to find our own hotels in Las Vegas, as our flights would not depart for Nashville for another 36 hours or so. At that time of course, no one was traveling or booking rooms; I was able to find a room at the 4 Queens Casino on Fremont Street for forty dollars a night. This turned out to be far more cost-effective to the US Government, as we would have paid around ninety dollars a night had we stayed on Nellis AFB. Restaurants in Las Vegas during the Pandemic opened no earlier than noon, so we had a lot of time to kill in the morning. We walked up and down Fremont Street, the Strip, and it felt as though we were the only group of people in the city. Casinos were empty throughout the day and remained empty well into the night. Being thirsty Soldiers, we visited a Speakeasy and a couple of restaurants; again, with the eerie feeling like we were the only “tourists” there. We even visited the Mob Museum and enjoyed all the history and Prohibition artifacts at our leisure! Between multiple quarantines, working remotely, COVID tests, memorandums clearing us to leave the country, and the eventual vaccination, we continued military travel. It was impossible for my unit to cease all operations due to the Pandemic; we adjusted on the spot and continued to learn throughout the entire experience. It was impossible for me to narrow my travels during COVID to just one single memory; rather it felt like one continuous surreal dream. Today if anyone asks where or how I spent Lockdown, I have to ask, “When during the Pandemic are you referring to?”
• 2020-09

  Yosemite COVID Camping

  Living in San Diego at the time, once travel restrictions were lifted, I went to Yosemite National Park as I thought being in an outdoor open-air environment would mean less COVID-19 restrictions. As an avid backpacker and nature enthusiast, I could not wait for the national parks to reopen so once Yosemite opened its proverbial doors I jumped on the opportunity, as I had never been there before. My memories of the trip are very fond ones. I remember the emptiness throughout the park. One of the COVID restrictions implemented by the park was the limitation of people who could enter on a daily basis. Due to this finite number of visitors, and me being one of them, this made the park feel fairly empty, which was amazing. Not having congested trails and camps made my trip seem like I was in some remote forest, vice one of the most famous national parks. So, besides the stunning views and crisp air, one of my primary memories is the feeling of seclusion throughout my time due to COVID-19 entrance restrictions. Also, I remember a lack of masks and overall COVID-19 consciousness throughout the park. Even though the park had a mandatory mask policy, I remember not seeing many masked people. I honestly thought the mask restriction was overkill due to the already implemented restrictions and being outside, but I did notice we all would use masks if coming near other people on trails. Yosemite still had several COVID-19 restrictions implemented throughout the part. Aside from the aforementioned entrance cap and masks, all their restaurants, hotels and general facilities remained closed. Also, they spaced out the campsites, so each camp had at least one camp space between them, limiting the sharing of space. They even closed specific trails due to the lack of workers at any given time. The park employees were few and far in-between due to a COVID-19 restriction, which meant less accessible trails since they would not supervise them all with such limited manpower. Besides that, the COVID-19 restrictions were not abundant, which was likely a product of the open-air environment.
• 2023-10-11

  Return to the Big Island

  I was stationed in Hawaii with the Army for 3 years. Due to regulations, I was not able to participate in the many hunting and fishing opportunities that can be found there. I was discharged in 2020 just before the pandemic really started. I spent most of 2020 fighting my state for unemployment benefits and looking for a job. I did not travel during the pandemic and only afterwards for work. I want to some day get back to Hawaii and enjoy those missed opportunities. Unfortunately, I think it will be a long time before I am financially stable enough to travel.
• 2020-05-07

  Pandemic Creates a Crowd at the Animal Sanctuary

  The pandemic lockdown ended, and businesses were opening up. There was still a sense of caution in the air. Masks and social distancing were still enforced. Still, travel started to boom again. People were going on trips by car, train, boat, and airplane. I traveled to William, Arizona. I had driven two and a half hours from Mesa, Arizona. The travel wasn’t hectic or riddled with traffic. I had made great timing. The scenery was beautiful. Went up the mountain and saw green everywhere. It was a nice change since I live in the desert. My family and I hopped in the car and headed off on an adventure. In Williams, a small little town was an animal sanctuary that I journeyed to. There were a diverse sort of species: wolves, bears, bison, mountain goats, and deer. It seemed to be an exciting trip. Bearizona’s park had a drive-through section, where I was able to drive to each habitat in my own car. The plus side was I didn’t have to worry about exposure to other people. I felt safe in my car. It had seemed that everyone had the same idea to come to Bearizona. There were long lines inside the park and where I drove through the habitats. There were times that I was at a complete stop for several minutes. It appeared that the animals didn’t like all the chaos in their homes. There were people honking their horns, yelling, and rolling down their windows when that was not allowed. I sat still and waited until I could move on. The animals started blocking the entrances and jumping up on cars. They were revolted, this made other drivers laugh and roll down their windows and take pictures. There was even a little girl standing up out of the car's sunroof. The whole experience was awful. I was not happy with the crowds. I understand that since Bearizona was a safer experience than being in a crowd walking through the zoo. I didn’t take pictures or buy souvenirs. I simply drove off in my call and headed back down the mountain. I reflect on this experience about how people were starved to travel, and stuck at home. When the lockdown ended everyone wanted to get out of their houses and go anywhere. We are used to going where we want when we want, but at the start of the pandemic life had changed for us all.
• 
  2022-10-01

  Chan Yak Ja Pbai (I Want To Leave)

  Unfortunately, I have not been able to travel since the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. The last two years of my undergraduate were affected by the pandemic, and initially, I was planning to study abroad during my senior year. Unfortunately, that was not possible and I was barely able to complete my student teaching placement for my Secondary Education Minor as the program was constantly under revision to ensure student safety. Now, as a graduate student, if I could go anywhere it would easily be Thailand as that is where my personal historical focus is. While my Thai is far from fluent, I have been steadily learning the language for about a year now as I hope to have an opportunity to complete an extended stay for scholarly or leisurely purposes. In terms of specifics, I would first like to travel to Chiang Rai, Sukhothai, or across Isan as Northern and Eastern Thailand have some of the richest historical and cultural sites, combined with the fact that individuals who I am very close to are from these areas as well. I have worked part-time at a Thai restaurant in Houston for a significant amount of time which helps considerably with practicing the language. As I am one of the only foreigners that works for the restaurant, the owners, my co-workers, and the individuals I have been introduced to through them have become like a second family to me, and I am very grateful for their generosity, inclusivity, and willingness to teach me as an outsider to the culture. Thus, I would love to be able to visit the areas that have meaning to them as well as fulfill my own historical ambitions. Two of my closest co-workers and I discussed traveling to Thailand and Laos together, and we agreed it would be interesting if we started a vlog to document the process. Not every temple or historical landmark allows photography or video to be taken, but I do think a vlog would be a great way to capture the moment as I am not the best at actively documenting things through social media. Video documentation also has the advantage of directly capturing the emotions and excitement of traveling as opposed to journaling or even photography. The photo I chose is of my co-worker and me at an event for the restaurant promoting Northern Thai cuisine in the traditional "Mo Hom", or the shirts worn by rice farmers.
• 
  2013-03-14

  Pandemic Dream Vacation

  This is a photograph i took on my last major vacation to South Carolina in 2013. If I could travel anywhere I would go back there and I would go back to Disney World and my dream vacation that I have never been on would be Hawaii. Due to circumstances that happened in 2013 I have been unable to return to South Carolina since. I would go back because I have some positive memories there and it was the last trip before my mom got paralyzed two months later and it is one of her favorite spots too. I have also enjoyed trips to Disney World and have always wanted to visit Hawaii. I did have a trip planned to South Carolina and Florida in February 2020 but had to cancel because of Covid and I have not had a chance to go back since.
• 2020-06-22

  Milestone Year

  To get to this story, I have to go back a few years first. I'm an immigrant from El Salvador. I came to the U.S. as a teenager in 1994, and never went back. I was in my 30s when I decided it was finally time to visit the grandmother I'd been missing for so long. I started to save and plan. Then she died. It took several years before I finally took my first trip back in November of 2019. I spent the time vacationing on the coast. I avoided my grandmother's house, my friends, and my family. I wasn't ready. But I decided that for my 40th birthday, in 2020, I'd return for a longer stay and visit my childhood home and all the friends and family left behind. Then there was a pandemic. The trip was cancelled, but it was the least of that year's problems. I lost my job and went back to school to start a new career. Our dog got cancer and died. My partner had a friend in El Salvador who died of COVID. I can never reschedule that same trip. Too much has changed. I'm planning to return this summer. This time with a firmer grasp on life's impermanence. I want to visit the white sand beaches at Playa Mango before it gets turned into a "surf city" tourist trap. I want to visit all the important cultural landmarks, especially those from which I can learn about my ancestors. More importantly, I will not avoid friends and family. On the contrary, I want to cherish the time I will have with them as if the next day isn't guaranteed. I plan to take dozens of photographs, portraits of everyone I see, I want to write down their stories in my journal, I want to record every visit, every meal, every experience possible in my journal. I plan to say "see you later," but not leave anything unsaid. Just in case.
• 
  2021-08-11

  Venturing to California Once LIve Concerts Resumed

  As pandemic restrictions began to ease up, we decided to travel with our family from Arizona (where things had been less strict) to California (where things had been more strict) to see a concert. Many of the music artists we enjoy had only been performing via live stream for the prior year and a half, but now a band we enjoyed was having an outdoor concert at a large venue. After buying tickets though, we worried because we began to see information on the venue's website that indicated only California residents would be permitted. We tried calling, but there were no responses. We went on the trip, not knowing if we would be turned away. Luckily, the website for the event updates the day off and we were able to enter. It was an awkward feeling as masks were still required for an outdoor event, but the vast majority of participants didn't have them on. The picture is my son in outdoor seating wearing his mask despite everyone around us not. This was much less an act of social defiance or morally based compliance, and more of confusion about what was really expected and fear of stepping across unclear lines in a neighboring state.
• 
  2021-04-27

  The Masked Magic Kingdom

  This is a story about a family trying to experience the World of Disney in a post pandemic world. It shows that even at the end of a pandemic, a family can still make the most and be together and make memories to last a life time!
• 
  2022-07-01

  Delay to The Bay

  My plans to visit San Francisco in 2020 came to a halt with the outbreak of the Coronavirus. As a high school teacher, I was looking forward to my long awaited-spring break. It had been quite some years since my last visit to the San Francisco, and I knew a trip to ‘The Bay’ was long overdue. I booked a flight, hotel, and waited patiently as the weeks went by. Spring was coming up and there were heavy concerns about COVID 19 spreading into North America. I was slightly concerned but figured I would be safe to make this trip. As news broke out about cases emerging in San Francisco, the nation went into hysteria. I was not skeptic about the hazard of Coronavirus, but selfishly planned to proceed with the trip. Then my father called me. My parents, both in their seventies were definitely at risk, especially my mother who struggled with health since my childhood. My father asked me kindly not to go to San Francisco. Without hesitation, I canceled my flight and hotel. I had booked everything online through a third party and was unable to receive any refund. Bummed out, I knew it was the right thing to do. Coronavirus spread, schools shut down and my spring break prolonged. At first I was spending time kayaking, but the weather in Phoenix got so hot I had to stay inside. The Phoenix summer of 2020 had record breaking heat with 55 consecutive days of 115 degrees plus Fahrenheit temperatures. I was miserable. With concerns of my mom’s health, social distancing, living alone and bored, I was very unhappy. The unjustifiable killing of George Floyd caused anger, and rightfully so, across the nation which contributed to more hysteria. The only positive that came from that hot summer were my experiments in the kitchen. I would then deliver tasty meals for my parents. This was the one thing that made me happy. Unfortunately, my mother did not survive past the summer of 2020. She passed away in her sleep peacefully due to an unrelated COVID cause. I was on an all time low. Sad, empty, missing my students, and missing normal daily life. We had no idea how many people would die and when things would normalize. It was truly scary. Fast forward to 2022 and things were much better. I figured surviving 2020 made me stronger and much happier. Vaccinated and boosted, I decided to pursue my trip to San Francisco. I made the best of this short trip. I went to a party outside the Chase Center for the NBA Finals, in which the Golden State Warriors played against the Boston Celtics. For the first time, I took a ferry to Alcatraz. In China Town, I saw locals dance with dragons, in which one bopped me in the face while I was taking photos! Caught by surprise, I did not take offense to this. Observing how the dragons behaved with mischief, I knew it was all for fun. This made me laugh. This was a much-needed trip indeed. 2020 affected everyone around the world. With global hysteria, people getting sick, people dying, racial injustice, everyone except pandemic deniers and those oblivious to political issues resonated with fear. Passing through time, my 2022 trip to San Francisco was a rebirth. A rebirth to normalization. A rebirth to my passion of exploring culture. A rebirth of sanity, and a rebirth of controlling fear. A rebirth to laughter. With dragons, noodles, basketball, and Ghirardelli, the delay to ‘The Bay’ will forever be a golden memory.
• 
  2022-06-01

  Old Faithful Yellowstone National Park

  The first trip my family and I took once COVID restrictions were lifted was to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. My family enjoys being outdoors and in nature and had been discussing a trip to Yellowstone for years. We rented a cabin a half hour north of the park and drove in everyday for four days. Each day, we took a different road so we could see as much of the park as possible. The most memorable part is that on the northern road, up in the mountains, there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground. About a week after we left, all that snow melted, flooded the Yellowstone River, and destroyed the road that we went in on everyday. I also enjoyed seeing the wildlife in a natural habitat, even if there were buffalo in the road a few times a day. The busiest day was the day we went to Old Faithful. Old Faithful is probably the most popular tourist attraction in the park aside from the wildlife. Everything in the area was busy; the gift shop, hotel, restaurants, boardwalks, parking lot, everything. This was the most people I saw in one place the entire trip. When we took this trip (June 2022), as far as I remember, there were no COVID restrictions in place. I would not have minded, and maybe even preferred, if there were as some places were quite compact. They did encourage social distancing in the indoor areas but nothing was enforced. It was, however, nice to experience the park in what could be perceived as normal.
• 
  2022-09-09

  Back in Boston

  The story is of me and my father going to see the Red Sox play at Fenway. The hat in the picture is the one I got at ballpark. It is important to me because it was the resumption of a tradition that me and my father have done for years.
• 
  2021-11

  Masks Aren't Meant to Be Worn for 38 Hours Straight

  My first trip post-Covid was greatly affected by Covid-19, from expensive tests to missing two national landmarks to a flight delayed by lack of crew to wearing a mask for nearly forty hours straight. I was finally able to travel again, but the signs of the pandemic were still everywhere.
• 2020-08-04

  Lonely at the Lake

  My family has owned a small cabin by a lake in Northern Minnesota for over 60 years. This is my favorite place in the world and was our family vacation destination every year. As years went on my dad and I are one of the few who continue this tradition. After quarantining in April and May and businesses slowly reopening in June we decided in August 2020 that it would be safe enough to go up there. However, this trip ended up being much different than usual. While Minnesota was under a mask mandate the area we were in was much different than the suburbs of Chicago. At home more often than not people did adhere to the mask mandate and there was a mandate to self-quarantine when returning to the state after traveling. The area where are cabin is located is very densely wooded and not exactly populated. The small town has about four hundred people and the nearest large grocery store is a forty-five-minute drive away. While grocery shopping in town it was clear the mask mandate was not as strictly followed up here. Only about half of the customers in the store were wearing masks. The likelihood of adhering to the mandate dropped even further once we reached our township. Even though there were signs posted to “wear your mask” my dad and I were considered the odd ones out at the bait shop or lumber store, as I did not see a single person with a mask on in the ten days we were up there. All of our neighbors who live on the road that hugs the bay are all older. I have known most of them my entire life and some have even watched my parents grow up. Many of them live downstate near the Twin Cities, and some even live out of state, but very few of them live up there full time due to the harsh weather and isolation. It wasn’t until the last few years that the country started to plow our road in the winter. This ten-day vacation is normally packed with multiple dinners at neighbors' houses, tubing and fishing, parties and yard games, and finally ending the night around a fire with our neighbors, their kids, and often their grandkids. This trip, there was none of that. Windows and doors were boarded up because out-of-state neighbors never made the trip up to open their cabins. Jetskis and other water toys were locked up because most older neighbors did not risk leaving quarantine. As far as we could tell it was just my dad and myself. Fishing was just the two of us, the only people we had to argue with over card games were each other, and we both fell asleep more than once on the boat or dock while reading books because it was so quiet. It might have been much more lonely and quiet than normal, but it was still relaxing to be surrounded by nature and absorb its sounds uninterrupted. COVID-19 changed my vacation, but not necessarily in a bad way. I am lucky to have a lake house that was isolated enough that COVID did not seem to touch it. Although we missed our neighbors and have since seen everyone the loneliness allowed for a sense of stillness, the ability to fully emerse myself in nature and relax.
• 2021-05-03

  Business As Usual

  I am a software engineer at a small, fairly conservative, company in PA. Because of its small company status it was never required for our employees to work from home, at least that was what they told us, and throughout the pandemic it was in fact a requirement that we work from the office. I wasn’t surprised when I was told I would be traveling to Washington state but I was apprehensive. A few of our employees were getting stick but I had so far been safe. On May 3rd 2021 I drove to the airport with a mask on my face and hand sanitizer in my hand. The airport was fairly empty as it was early but the few people that wandered the terminals were wearing masks. My flight was long but I got some sleep with the help of some Dramamine. That night my coworkers went out to eat but I decided to order in. The next morning I headed downstairs to head out for my first appointment. At the registration counter there were brown paper lunch bags sitting out in a neat row, the woman behind the desk asked me if I would like a breakfast bag to-go. As I walked over to pick up one of the bags she explained to me how due to Covid-19 they are not longer serving a hot buffet breakfast but are instead were providing this to-go bag options, I smiled from underneath my mask and thanked her. The bag had a banana, a granola bar, a yogurt and a bottle of water. I drove to the meeting site and headed inside, there were few people around but I noticed no one was wearing a mask, I felt like my light blue mask was a huge neon sign directing everyone’s attention to me. When I arrived at the designated meeting room I set up my computer and prepared the demo while I waited for others to arrive. One by one they walked in, greeted me, shook my hand and took a seat. Still no one was wearing a mask or if they were it was not secured properly, I felt embarrassed being the only one with a mask on. Once everyone arrived I stood up and looked at the room, everyone was looking right back at me, waiting. I took off my mask and began the meeting. The rest of the week was more of the same and the trip home was uneventful. A few days after getting home I tested positive for Covid-19 and was finally allowed to work from home, at least until I got better.
• 2020-10-05

  Water Slides in the Days of Covid

  My family resided in Columbus, Georgia during the Covid-19 pandemic. In October 2020 my sister-in-law’s family came to visit us from Arizona. We decided to take our families to Great Wolf Lodge in LaGrange, Georgia, just 45 minutes from my home, for a two-day vacation. This was my first experience traveling after travel restrictions were lifted. Great Wolf Lodge houses an indoor water park, restaurants, and family entertainment attractions, as well as hotel accommodations all in one building. My family had visited before the pandemic, so we were familiar with the resort and procedures. This made changes in policies and behavior more evident than they may have been otherwise. Safety protocol set in place at Great Wolf Lodge included mandatory mask wearing in the hallways and open areas of the resort. Masks were not required in the waterpark; however, signs were posted throughout detailing mandatory social distancing protocol. Individuals were to remain at least six feet apart from each other in all areas, especially when waiting in lines. The guidelines were a nice idea, but large swarms of children eager to get onto a waterslide cared little for waiting in lines any distance apart. The adults seemed to feel the same way too. There was no personal space while waiting in lines, much less six feet social distance. In normal times, Great Wolf hosts bedtime dance parties and stories in their main lobby for the kids. Due to Covid restrictions, however, these dance parties were canceled and instead were broadcast on a set TV channel that could be viewed from guests' rooms. Our families arrived around 1:00 in the afternoon on day one. One person went in to do the checking in and then we headed to our rooms to change and head to the park. Everyone played for at least three hours. A few of the older kids tired out earlier and headed back to the rooms. The rest of us headed back to the rooms for dinner with the plan to meet up again afterward and play until the park shut down. Over the next hour, almost all of my kids started coughing. We started to wonder if they were having a reaction to the chlorine. Then the runny noses started and even the most excited kids said they were too tired to go back that night. After talking to my sister-in-law, the same thing was happening in her family. We decided to call it a night and check back in the morning. By morning, we had to call it. Even mild cold symptoms were enough in those days to get you thrown out of public places and we had to be cautious with even the smallest symptom that might indicate Covid-19. We knew the only responsible thing was to pack it up and head home. We had a great three hour vacation the day before, but the rest of it just wasn’t going to happen. It was the most expensive three hour vacation I think I’ll ever have. We felt like criminals smuggling our tightly masked children through the halls that morning and begging them to hold in their sneezes or coughs until we got outside. We were so glad we had chosen to vacation only 45 minutes from home that time. The colds passed, and eventually we returned to Great Wolf Lodge to enjoy a full vacation. We still laugh, though, about our attempt at a “normal” vacation in the midst of Covid-19.
• 2020-12

  Hawaii - December 2020

  In March of 2020 my family and I were supposed to go to Hawaii for our spring break. When I was at work around St. Patrick's day, the school administration announced that all sports were postponed because of covid-19. A couple of days later I found out that we would be moving to virtual learning until spring break. During this time I remained hopeful that we would be back in the classroom after the break and that I would still be able to visit Hawaii. As the weeks went on it became clear that this was not the case. Eventually we moved to permanent virtual learning and the airlines canceled and refunded my ticket for Hawaii. As 2020 continued on I became more and more frustrated over the impact of covid, especially as what seemed like 3 weeks at home, turned in to several months without travel and in person interaction. In December of 2020, after completing a semester of half virtual, half in person learning I was in need of a break and a change of scenery. On Christmas my family and I found really cheap flights to Hawaii, however these flights were leaving the next day. Since I was a teacher on Christmas Break I had the time off, the only issue was that we needed to get a negative covid test before landing in Maui. We quickly booked the flights and scrambled to find a place we could get a covid test. In order to get off of the plane in Hawaii we needed to take a covid test 12 hours before arrival and our results needed to be negative. We did not have enough time before our flight to have a test shipped to our house nor did we have enough time to wait 2-3 days for results. Luckily we found a place 45 minutes from where we lived that had an opening for four rapid tests. After acquiring our test, 18 hours before our flight we eagerly awaited the results. All four of us had a negative test and we were able to board our flight to Hawaii. When we landed in Hawaii, in order to get off of the plane we had to show our negative test results. If someone did not have test results they had to remain on the plane and wait for it to return to the mainland. After showing our tests, we had our temperatures taken again and and our visit, including our accommodations, had to registered. The remainder of our trip to Hawaii was relaxing. Although it was weird to walk on the beach with a mask and sit far away from other guests, it was nice to get away. While we were in Hawaii I remember talking to a waitress we had that explained that from March to July residents were not allowed to enjoy the beaches. She described how lonely and isolated she felt stuck in her small apartment by herself. Even though it was difficult to get to Hawaii during covid, we needed a getaway and the hospitality workers in Hawaii were glad to see things slowly picking up again.
• 
  2023-01-29

  Travelling Post-Pandemic: Reflections

  Deciding whether or not to travel post-pandemic has been weighing on me emotionally. Here, I identify reasons I should vs should not travel, as well as where I would go and why.
• 
  2021-03-30

  Mojo Leaves

  I took this photo of Watson Lake near the Dells five days after restrictions were lifted. From what I remember, there were no travel restrictions at the time. I was one of the few that lived on a large property, and I could stay busy feeding my animals, chopping firewood, and working on homework. However, concerning the photo, I was coming home from getting guitar strings in Prescott. It was the first time I had thought about playing music since my good friend Joseph Morganfield passed away in December 2020. He's the son of Muddy Waters and was one of my biggest supporters as an artist and musician. I always tell folks if I could have chosen a dad, it would have been Joseph. This day was important because I realized life would go on, after Covid, like it or not.
• 2021-06-06

  My Reverse Homecoming

  The first trip my wife and I took after the COVID travel restrictions were lifted was a doozy. Our first flight in over a year was a three-hop journey from our small Montana town to Alaska for an old friend’s wedding. With a six-month-old. On our laps. The whole time. My wife and I had our first round of vaccines but worried about our daughter, who was still far too young to have a dose. After much risk assessment and consultation with our pediatrician, we decided to go for it. Mask wear was strictly enforced on the airplane and in most of the public places we found ourselves, and there was a profound and somewhat discomforting sense that we and our fellow travelers were searching for a way to exist comfortably in this new not-yet-maybe-never-post-COVID world. The thing I remember most, though, was how incredibly freeing it felt to be somewhere new again. So much time spent at home, however necessary, had inflicted an unhealthy solitude on much of society, and my first time solidly stepping away from that felt energizing. I’ve always loved to travel and doing so after the darkest days of the pandemic felt like a happy return to form. A reverse homecoming, if you will.
• 
  2020-08-11

  Virtual Learning in California

  The American response to the global COVID-19 Pandemic was multi-faceted. However, of specific importance to the nation were the changes made to public education. As the Pandemic resulted in the closure of businesses, teachers and students were required to continue their educational programs online from the privacy of their homes. Although the effects of distance learning will continue to be seen, virtual learning severely limited the ability of students and teachers to use sensory perception as a tool for learning and instruction. First, distance learning no longer enabled American teachers to utilize the sensory perception of “proximity.” Throughout public education “proximity” is used to encourage student engagement with both instruction and content. Many teachers will walk their classrooms during student activities and use sensory perception to sensorially inform students that they are near to them and are assessing their engagement. Teachers use this strategy as a reinforcement tool to develop students’ ability to stay on task. Yet, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, social distancing policies made “proximity” not only impossible, but also illegal, limiting to what extent teachers could use sensory perception to foster engagement and learning. Second, not only were educators no longer allowed to use the sensory perception tool of physical proximity, but also many educators were forced to rely solely on the sensory perception of sound. School districts throughout the state of California, for example, did not permit educators to require their students to verify their attendance in live video format. The result was educators and students were engaging predominantly through speaking and listening. Furthermore, being denied the sensory perception of sight, educators could not assess to what extent students were engaging with instruction and activities. In conclusion, the COVID-19 Pandemic enacted emergency response strategies which directly affected the education of Generation Z. For both students and educators, sensory perception became more limited for every student. Yet, the sciences, including social science, are built upon the empirical information a human being receives through them. Perhaps this video will serve as evidence to answer the question, “To what extent were students denied the right to sensory information and science?”