Items

• 
  2022-03-03

  Wellbeing and Travel to Hawaii During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  tourism changes and effects on local economy
• 
  2023-01-21

  Our Family's Winter Road Trip

  Here, I share a bit about myself and my family. Though many people are still not traveling, my family and I have done quite a bit, especially with my work as a grad student, an educator, and a coach. The pandemic slowed a lot of things. And my very demanding schedule is always a factor. But with the help of family, we are able to do much more than expected.
• 2021-03-07

  Story of Sickness, Vices and Travel

  I remember when then Covid-19 pandemic first started, I was working at my current suit store, and we did not know what was going to happen at first. I did not travel anywhere, as at this point the global travel market was almost completely shutdown. There was discussion between the managers as to whether we would close the store and wait this out until government officials set the release date, or stay closed indefinitely. Eventually as more earlier information was released, we closed the store. As the pandemic spread, most of Florida as well as the rest of the country was shutdown. I spent most of my time at home. I tend to enjoy a cigar with a whiskey and/or another drink while enjoying the cigar. Eventually the whole state was shutdown and completely incapacitated. I spent the time eventually trying to remain entertained within the "Tiger King" series on Netflix, but once that was over with, I went through other modes of Coping. Eventually I went through my late Fathers Cuban cigar collection to try and have some type of enjoyment. I smoked close to all of his Cuban cigar collection, which in case of misinformation, Cuban cigars in the USA are impossible to obtain by retail standards, otherwise my grandfathering them in pre-personal consumption ban. I smoked close to 90% of my late fathers Cuban cigar collection, something which I didn't want to do other than celebratory or personal reasons. Covid-19 was most definitely not a reason. Therefore with the smoking also came the drinking and drank almost every bottle of anything, within the 5 month period in the state of Florida for the outright shutdown. I think eventually after a long lookback into the vices that were involved in being so isolated, the vices reign supreme when human beings do not have each other. Which speaks to the point that throughout history we, as humans, are extremely social beings. Isolation does not work well for long term, and state sponsored isolations. I think that if i were to travel, given the chance, I would not have traveled anywhere being so close to the genesis of the disease. Not in terms of China, but being so close and available to the disease without further info, would have been disastrous for my family. If I would have gone to any country would have been either to Israel or Rome, Italy, more specifically the Vatican. I believe my faith is primary to life, and either the homeland of the Christ or the home of the church during those times would have helped me spiritually, and physically, in tremendous ways. I probably would have documented my trip via my own phone camera or Instagram in whoever was viewing at the time. I would have definitely been sure to have gone to see St. Peters Square, The Sistine Chapel, and other sites in the Vatican City. Other than that the Israeli areas would be the supposed areas where Christ walked and spoke. Such as Golgotha, Garden of Gethsemane, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. These places during the pandemic, assuming they were open, were locations at the top of my list. Date: These thoughts and events happened on March 19-20 of 2021. Location: These memories and forethoughts would have taken place at the same time.
• 2020-08

  Trip to South Lake Tahoe in 2020

  Shortly after it was announced that some of the most restrictive measures in place due to the covid 19 pandemic were to be lifted, I took advantage and planned to leave town. One of my first trips was to South Lake Tahoe in August of 2020. I choose this trip because I figured it was the safest option since I would mostly be outdoors and could stay away from people as much as possible. I was also desperate to be outdoors after being stuck at home with family. The trip went without a hitch and got the rest and release I needed. Along the way however, I did notice several changes because of the ongoing pandemic. Thankfully the areas we visited were mostly to ourselves as there was hardly anyone. Still the people we did encounter seemed almost as relieved as us; I'm not sure if it was because they were also in the great outdoors or if they were just happy to see another person who was also just wanting to be out in nature. Still, mostly everyone maintained more than sufficient distance from one another. Restaurants still offered reduced capacity and keep guests distanced. Although some businesses and locations did not require masks anymore, many still wore them (including myself). I observed mothers wiping their children's hands. Fathers carrying extra masks. Hand sanitizer was still hard to find (thankfully I had some). Occasionally there would be that person who defiantly denied a mask or just didn't wear one when everyone else. Many people would stare at this person. I would personally get nervous around groups who were particularly loud or in large groups, although I must admit I've always been a bit socially anxious. It was just that now I was not only uncomfortable with unfamiliar groups of people, I also wondered if they were sick, or if they ever were, and did they even care. I thought these things as I watched spit fall from people laughing or eating. I paid special attention to employees and staff at restaurants and establishments. Would they wipe the spit off the counter? Did they wipe down the tables? I was especially hyper vigilant and felt guilty. I was traveling during a deadly pandemic with my family still back at home. Thankfully, I didn't get sick. That didn't happen until after I was called back to work since I was deemed an "essential worker." Then I would become ill for about 4 torturous months.
• 2020-05-23

  An Anxious Stroll Through the Japanese Tea Garden

  Although I have taken longer trips to New Orleans, Costa Rica, Boston, and Mexico since COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted, I consider the local afternoon stroll through the local San Antonio Japanese Tea Garden to be the first real COVID trip. It was May of 2020 , and, at that point, the most of outside I had experienced since late March of 2020 was sitting in my backyard or making hasty trips to the grocery store. With the weather so gorgeous and with doctors and politicians saying it was safe to go to parks so long as we kept our distance from other people, my boyfriend and I decided to venture to the Japanese Tea Garden for a stroll and a picnic in the park, just outside of the gardens. Unbeknownst to us, this was a very popular idea; we arrived to the gardens to find it swarmed with other people hoping to get some fresh air. The Japanese Tea Garden can be tricky to navigate with an abundance of people around; it consists of narrow pathways, bridges, and stone staircases surrounding large ponds, streams, and waterfalls, so we found ourselves having to squeeze past people, only inches away from them. What was worse, we neglected to bring masks, thinking we'd be far away from park-goers. Not having my mask made me feel incredibly anxious. We cut our walk through the gardens short and continued with our picnic in the larger park, safely away from the crowds. I felt like I could finally breathe safely. When I got home, I was very nervous that I may have come in contact with someone with COVID. This feeling persisted for a while. At the time, it was still very difficult to get tested for COVID if you were not a healthcare professional due to the scarcity of tests and testing locations in San Antonio. Additionally, our mayor, county judge, and local health advisors warned of a spike in COVID-19 cases which did not ease my tension. I essentially waited on pins and needles as I monitored myself for symptoms. While I didn't catch COVID (the first time I caught COVID was in November 2022 actually), I didn't make another venture like that for another three months due in part to the anxiety I experienced that day.
• 
  2022-05-15

  Bahamas 2022 - First Trip Post-Covid

  My first trip in the post-covid era was to the Bahamas in May 2022. It had been years since I was last out of the country. The family of one of my close friends has a timeshare and I was invited to spend a week down there with a handful of friends. Heading into the 2022 trip, I was nervous about international travel, especially to a place I had never been before. The fact that I was with my friends made things a little more comfortable for me, but I still didn’t know what to expect or if I would even be able to make it to the Bahamas and back home. See, at the time the Bahamas still required a negative covid test to enter the country as part of their “covid visa” protocol. The country also required a negative test to leave the country. The friends I was with were very cavalier when it came to covid and covid restrictions. I was nervous, and I was and am considered high risk due to the nature of my asthma, but I was still determined to have a good time with my friends… and it ended up being one of the greatest trips I ever went on. New experiences, new food, a break from my life (which had become aggressively difficult to deal with), that trip was everything I had hoped it would be. I always kept a mask in my pocket just in case, but the nature of the negative covid test at least gave me some peace of mind that I’d be okay. The picture I included is of a smaller part of the group - 5 guys having a time on a lazy river. I remember laughing hysterically with each lap we did. That was the first time post-covid where I finally felt free and relaxed.
• 
  2021-03-19

  Easing Into Travel

  This story details how our family eased back into travel once restrictions were lifted, by starting close to home and venturing further and further out. It reminds me of how much we value family trips, and how a positive outcome was that COVID forced us to discover things closer to home.
• 
  2023-04-15

  Las Vegas Wedding April 2023

  The weekend of April 15, 2023, I flew to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the wedding of one of my best friends from college, Anthony Dramisino and his soon to be wife, Amy Menegay. I realized I was attending my first post-Covid wedding after the government lifted CDC recommendations and restrictions. I flew United Airlines in economy that Friday afternoon and touched down around eight in the evening due to the time zone difference from Washington DC. The airline did not force us to wear masks but recommended we do so due to confinement in a small space with a lot of people. Other than the presence of a lot more hand sanitizer stations around the airport, Harry Reid Airport in Las Vegas bustled with the activity of people enjoying Las Vegas to its fullest. The first thing I saw when I deplaned was a group of slot machines. I ubered to the hotel, the Flamingo Resort, a Las Vegas icon since the mob sponsored its initial construction in the 1940s. Renovated in the 1990s, it stood as one of the oldest still running hotels in the city and this is where the wedding party reserved a venue for the ceremony. Overall, one could not tell there was ever a pandemic by how the hotels and casinos functioned. People strolled in and out of the building at all hours and the Strip pulsed with noise, lights, and activity. I met up with the wedding party and we stayed up till 3 in the morning on the casino floor socializing unimpeded. The next day, I got lunch with Anthony and some of the wedding party. We went to a Yard House restaurant on the Strip. Like many restaurants, it converted to a QR code menu or optional touch pad ordering system. The server still took our drink order and brought out the food. I had a steak frite bowl over quinoa to steel myself for the wedding day. The ceremony took place in a private outdoor garden grotto that somehow blocked out the noise from the surrounding resort. The moment stood out as strange but beautiful as an Elvis impersonator married my two good friends to each other. Afterwards, the reception dinner lasted well into the night. The balcony at the Caesar's Palace stood isolated from everyone, but overlooked the Vegas Strip glowering in its nightly desert beauty. The venue let us stick around well past the end of the reservation. I went back to my hotel room at midnight to pack for my six am flight back to Washington DC. I took a picture of the new massive globe telescreen built during the pandemic. It danced in a complex light show at night, but apparently it can play full videos as well. I would say my first major post COVID trip was a rousing success and an excellent first time experience in Las Vegas. I would definitely go back again.
• 2020-10-15

  Travel with Your Worries

  When travel restrictions were lifted from COVID-19, I waited a few months to take a trip away from home. One was to Flagstaff, Arizona in October of that year. At this point, mask mandates were still in affect in many places and there was restrictions on how many people could come in with me to the doctors office, which is what I was traveling for. This was the first time I would be seen by my doctor in over a year, as with COVID restrictions, they had shut it down to telehealth. It was also still scary after being cooped up for months to be out, and having to eat out, something we hadn’t done in nearly 8 months. The second trip I took was only weeks later to go to the Children’s hospital in Phoenix. Again, masks were still required in most places, and even a sneeze made everyone jumpy still. My child could only have one person escort them into the hospital and we had to wear masks, which was fun with a child that was under 2 years old, but it worked. It also made things go much slower than it has been since 2020 as well as they were extra careful sanitizing and spreading people out. I also remember the housing for people that needed to stay at the Children’s hospital was also limited to one adult with the child being treated at the hospital, which made it harder for parents that had to stay with their children. I remember a lot of fear traveling, making sure to have sanitizers, masks, and anything else we might need for everyone. I remember a lot of worry.
• 
  2023-09

  My First Solo Trip

  During the events of COVID-19, I was in recovery from a serious illness that attacked some pretty valuable organs and, therefore, was immune-compromised. It was pretty shocking as I had been perfectly healthy up until that point and was just entering my early twenties. Therefore, I did not and could not travel during COVID. So, by the time of my first trip, post-COVID, travel restrictions had been lifted. I am currently as physically recovered as it gets from what happened and living life in a new normal! The first trip I took was to visit my sister in Alaska, where I stayed for about two months. We had a blast, and it was great catching up. I saw the ocean for the first time, and it was a particularly emotionally moving trip to experience. I will be heading out to see her and her lovely puppy, Honey, again in January, and I am excited to see them and explore new places! I am also hoping to rockhound in AK to add to my ever-growing rock collection.
• 2022-09-09

  Seoul-Searching During Covid 19

  Although Covid restrictions were slowing fading away by the end of 2022 in the United States, it was a process for me to travel to Seoul in 2022. Before traveling I had to fill out various forms of documentation indicating that I was healthy enough to travel. In Korea, you were still required to wear a mask in public places but other than these mandatory requirements, the trip was extremely enjoyable. I personally didn't mind it and thought the extra precautions showed a sense of care. In some ways it also showed the difference in societal standards and cultures. I got to go to museums, shops and eat delicious food. I loved it so much and it was an immerse learning experience.
• 
  2021-03

  First Time Traveling after COVID-19

  At the end of March 2021, I took a trip to the Idyllwild Mountains in Southern California. Getting to the base of Idyllwild Mountains was a 15-minute drive from where I lived. I rented an Airbnb with my family to enjoy the upcoming snow. Having multiple members in my family with compromised immune systems, we were still taking self-isolating and social distancing very seriously. During this period in California, Disneyland reopened, and restrictions eased around the state. Right before the trip, California leaders announced that anyone over 16 would be eligible to receive the vaccine the following month. While I wanted to go out and make happy memories, like enjoying Disneyland again with my family, I remember the anxiety of even staying in the Airbnb with my family and the worry that we would catch the virus. However, because of the cleaning policies and the relative isolation of the location, it felt like a safe way to travel while still being able to take enough precautions to limit exposure. While there are excellent restaurants in Idywild, we brought groceries to our rented cabin. We felt this was safer because we were still uncomfortable dining out then. Although we only stayed on the rental cabin property, it was still such an enjoyable experience. I got to watch the snowfall with my niece and nephew. We made snow angels, played board games, and ate homemade chili. It was a magical experience after prolonged stress, fear, and worry. While we were still socially distant and isolated during the trip, it was such a memorable experience, and I will forever treasure the memories we made together during our first time traveling after the start of COVID-19.
• 
  2020-08-20

  Coming Back Home

  When lockdown happened in March of 2020, I was in college in New York. I was immediatly picked up by my uncle and taken to their home in Long Island were I stayed basically stuck in an 8x8 room with a large bed and a dresser as a desk for the next 4 months. When flight restrictions were finally slightly lifted I took the first flight out to my home, Puerto Rico. Everyone had to wear masks, disinfecting stations at every corner, and it was very empty. When I got to PR, the baggage claim turned into a medical security depot with people in hazmat suits everywhere, plastic curtains draping every hallway, and incredibly tight restrictions on movememt. It was a miracle I got back. When I was home, I was finally able to walk outside in my neighborhood and decided to explore the river by my house that I had never really been to, even though I had lived there for 18 years. That's what this video represents. It represents the first real moment of freedom and nature after months of isolation and flourescent lights. That video also represents refuge, I was seperated from my homeland for over half a year at that point, 2 months by choice and 4 months by force. And though I was out in the jungle by myself, it was a much healthier form of isolation than what I had been doing in New York. So I appreciated my flowing river and low hanging tree branches all the more.
• 2022-05-01

  First Trip After Lockdown: A Journey Through Cheese, COVID, and Care

  In May 2022, fully vaccinated and cautiously optimistic, I boarded my first flight since the lockdowns to attend a cheesemonger conference near St. Louis, Missouri. I was masked, wary, and meticulously followed all the precautions—barely even touching a beverage on the plane. Traveling again felt strange and exhilarating, though the pandemic was still very much on my mind. The conference was a whirlwind of cheese-related knowledge and networking, and everything seemed to be going smoothly until an unexpected situation arose. A young woman attending the conference broke a tooth but had no rental car or easy way to get to a dentist. Since I was the closest to forty among the group and happened to have a rental, I drove her to an emergency dentist. Stepping into the medical office, I was struck by the fact that no one was wearing a mask—something I was not yet accustomed to seeing in a medical setting. In California, most medical establishments still mask up. But I brushed it off, thinking it was just part of returning to the “new normal.” After the conference, I flew to Texas to visit family. Ever cautious, I took a COVID-19 test in the rental car before returning it to the airport. NEGATIVE! Safe to fly. Everything seemed fine until I began feeling unusually warm mid-air, but I was double-masked and very anxious. Maybe I was just panicking. When I reached my Texas hotel, my nerves were on high alert. I called my wife, who teasingly dismissed my worry as paranoia. But as soon as I took a test in my hotel room, I got a positive result. I called her back on FaceTime to show her the results, and reality hit only then. The following day, my stepmom picked me up from the hotel. I sat in the backseat, masked, windows rolled down, and tried to distance myself as best I could. We went straight to urgent care, where they confirmed my positive test with a PCR. Given my pre-diabetes and higher BMI at the time, the medical team recommended monoclonal antibodies. In my dad’s small town of Lake Hills, Texas, the local fire department and medical staff came directly to his house to administer the treatment. They hooked me up to an IV and provided fluids and antibodies, returning two days later for another round of fluids. In a town where only a few people took COVID-19 seriously, I was quite the Dramatic Californian Gal. Luckily, my parents did not get sick, and I was incredibly grateful for their care and the support of my family. A week later, I tested negative—just in time for a long-awaited cruise to Belize, Honduras, and other parts of the Caribbean. Testing on Cruise Ships was super strict then, and you even had to do a rapid text live on a Zoom-like platform 24 hours before boarding the vessel. Boarding the cruise ship in Miami felt surreal, a return to something like freedom. At that point, there was no risk that I was going to be infected with COVID-19. However, after my recent infection, the fresh sea air was a balm, and the sense of safety I felt, knowing I’d just recovered, made it a unique experience. But the trip left its mark; I am still vigilant about masking on planes, keeping up with vaccinations, and taking COVID seriously. While the fear has subsided over time, that first experience with travel after the lockdown taught me the importance of caution, the medical community, and gratitude.
• 2022-06

  Travel to Disney Orlando

  Went to Disney in Orlando, specifically Hollywood Studios to experience Star Wars Galaxy's Edge and Star Tours since I really enjoy Star Wars, specifically Star Wars Legends, not exactly a big fan of the Sequel Trilogy, but I do enjoy Disney's Andor, Rogue One, and Mandalorian. I had been to Star Tours a long time ago, and it was interesting to see how the ride had been updated with more enhanced graphics. However, Galaxy's Edge was a little bit of a letdown since it had extremely high prices and not that much merchandise. Also, there were no Star Wars action figures, which were present in vast quantities when I had previously gone. There were no COVID restrictions in place.
• 2022-06-04

  My 21st Birthday in Las Vegas

  During the pandemic, I didn't get the chance to celebrate my birthday through a party or the drive-by birthdays that became common. My Grandma was high risk and because of this I was out of work and could not go anywhere aside from the grocery store or her house to bring her groceries. This caused me to feel sheltered in our home for almost two full years until I returned to work late in 2021. Even whilst working I tended to keep a mask on and gloves just to be cautious and protect my family. Despite the difficulties we still ended up getting sick several times, but we kept our time away from the house minimal. This changed with my twenty-first birthday which took place in June 2022 when the restrictions were much lighter. We decided to take a trip to Las Vegas as I could do many things that come with being 21, including gambling, drinking, and the sort. Even though this was long after things had reopened, I still felt very uncomfortable to be in public. The idea of staying in a hotel felt as if I was begging to catch COVID again. This is because it looked as if there had never been a pandemic to most of the people walking around, since nobody was wearing masks or trying to be overly clean (myself included). It looked the same as it had many years prior when I had last visited the city. I did not think about it at the moment but it felt as if we had achieved a level of normalcy that I had taken for granted for so long. It made me understand how grateful I should be for having the luxury of travel or being outside for that matter. Some people will never have that type of luxury again, much like my grandma who I still have to wear a mask around. As she is in her late 90's we still cannot take the risk of exposure, this makes me remember the pandemic and how tired I was of being at home. She is still living through that and this is years after we have left lockdown.
• 2021-11-25

  Thanksgiving Travel 2021

  After COVID 19 restrictions were lifted in November of 2021, I did take a trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving. My daughter had recently moved to be with her mom in Texas for the year and we decided that since we could travel, we would meet in Arizona with my ex-wife’s family for Thanksgiving. I took a flight from Oregon to Arizona and had to wear a mask in the airport and on the plane, it was not a problem for me because I had worked in the service sector for the entire pandemic and was accustomed to wearing a mask for hours at a time. Once I was in Arizona we mostly stayed in the familial group at the house, I took my daughter to an outdoor park, and a few of us shared a car trip to a convenience store. I had to wear a mask the whole trip back to Oregon as well and I took a COVID 19 test a few days after and watched for symptoms, but I did not contract it.
• 
  2021-12-01

  A Very Covid Christmas!

  it was December 2021, covid vaccines had come out earlier in the year and many people were excited to get it, while some were completely untrusting of them. My whole family was on board with vaccines and beleived that as the vaccines were becoming availabe to everybody, the worst of the pandemic was behind us. We needed a vaccine card in order to travel to England. We had been vaccinated and were willing to abide by the conditions for travel that the US and the UK had in place. The night before we were supposed to fly out to Enlgand, "Omicron" came out and we did not know what to do. If we didn't go we would lose thousands of dollars that were non refundable. If we went we were risking our health because, according to the reports, Omicron was a different, more potent strain that the vaccine did not cover. My family and I talked about it and made the decision that, so long as we used N95's, took precautions and were safe we would be ok. We did that, we traveled to England at the height of Omicron, we went for 4 days and even though the virus was potent, we were safe and had a great time. The masks actually helped in two ways, one: they kept us safe from the virus and two: they kept our face warm as it was about 30 degrees. We saw a lot of people in England that abided by the health mandates, everyone was respectful, it was a trip that we will never forget.
• 
  2021-11-26T20

  Indie Rock Amid a Pandemic

  My first major break from the COVID-19 pandemic was attending a concert. I saw Houndmouth perform at the Vogue theater in Indianapolis on Nov. 26, 2021. I flew home for Thanksgiving from AZ to IN and my friends invited me to see one of our favorite bands. I thought, well I've already had so much exposure to other people on this trip, what more could this outing do? I felt safe enough to put myself out there maskless for the first time in a year and a half. November of 2021 was a significant lull in the number of COVID cases, likely the downturn from the Delta variant. I was glad to get out for this experience because barely a month later the Omicron variant hit nationwide and discouraged us from such outings for a few more months. The concert was an absolute blast. There was a recent change to the band's lineup after their new album Good for You came out. I got to stand right up front with loud bass, thunderous drums, and some very good friends I hadn't seen in a long time. It was like a literal breath of fresh air to "get back to normal" even though we'd be masking back up once again for about another year. Since I was coming from the Navajo Nation where I teach high schoolers, our mandates and regulations were far stricter than Indiana's where many folks had enough of the rules and ditched their social distancing and mask early. Returning back to the Rez, I had to resume conforming to tight regulations, especially in my classroom.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 2020-11-14

  The Plague Wedding

  My husband’s cousin got married outside Cincinnati, Ohio in the fall of 2020. The invitation said the event was outdoors, and we expected it would be small. My husband and I drove his mother across multiple states so she could be there for the ceremony and celebration. We had some hope that people were being mindful of pandemic precautions, as most establishments required employees and patrons to wear masks in shared spaces, and there were plenty of signs, paid advertising and graffiti, that suggested locals were disappointed by the botched handling of the pandemic to that point. Spray paint scrawled over a Trump campaign poster reading “Trump lied and my mother died” was especially memorable. When it came time for the actual wedding however, all hopes that the wedding guests would be responsible were quickly dashed. Ignoring signs and pleas from the woman at the hotel’s front desk, guests waited for the “party bus” in the hotel lobby, maskless and chugging White Claws, then leaving the empty cans for the same woman to clean after the bus arrived. We had hoped that these guests were going to a different wedding, but when it became apparent we were all going to the same place, we opted to drive ourselves to the venue, not wanting to be in close quarters on the bus to and fro with these fools. The small, intimate wedding we were expecting to attend had over 150 guests. The ceremony was outdoors as the invitation mentioned, but the reception was zipped up in a large party tent, and the only ones wearing masks were the three of us. I took a picture of the guest list, not so I could remember at which table I was supposed to sit, but so I would know who to sic the Health Department on when I inevitably tested positive for COVID in the following days.
• 2021-03-15

  ARUBA 643

  In March of 2021, my girlfriend and I went to the beautiful island of Aruba. I had been several times prior, but this was her first trip there. Neither of us had traveled outside of the US since the inception of the pandemic and we both were a bit concerned. I think some of the concern came from getting so much varying information. Who to believe was always a bit of a question. Several friends had gone prior to us and had very different experiences. The real disconnect seemed to be about getting their required return test for COVID. Several of the people we spoke with displayed their anger at how the test was administrated. They stated the brush had “gone into their brain”. Understanding the exaggeration made the concern no less worrisome. Despite what we heard, we went anyway and had an amazing time. Aruba is one of my favorite places in the world and I had been several times before. Being familiar with many of the spots helps navigate and lessons with anxiety. Two days before we went home, we arrived serious to take our tests. The bush seemed to be of normal size and my girlfriend bravely went first. She came out and jokingly claimed that it really hurt. The cruel joke caused me some concern, but I went through and was surprised to find no problem at all. We had a great time, and perhaps the lesson learned is to explore things for yourself to find the right answer to your questions.
• 
  2021-05-20

  Arizona with my cousin

  This is a story about the first time I traveled post COVID restrictions lifting. This story comments on how isolating the pandemic felt to many of us and thus the importance of traveling once we were able to. This particular story is important to me because it was the first trip I had taken by myself as a newly moved out adult.
• 2020-03-03

  Pandemic Honeymoon

  Our wedding was on Leap Day, February 29th, 2020. The honeymoon followed shortly after with still whispers of a pandemic possibly looming. It was the newlywed phase of ignorance, but the pandemic was still viewed as something that wouldn't happen. We first went to Napa Valley without seeing one person wearing a mask in public. Traipsing around vineyards and imbibing on wine also helped stave off reality's harshness. When we arrived in San Francisco for the week, we realized maybe this was bigger than we realized. Walking the busy and heavily inclined streets, you would see about 50% of the people wearing masks and whipping out their hand sanitizer every so often. However, once we started walking through Chinatown, that number nearly doubled. Still, we somehow were not phased. Why would we be? We were on our honeymoon with an endless supply of matcha ice cream, dim sum, walking, sights to see, and more walking! The city was still bustling and alive; you could barely notice the Grand Princess cruise ship loitering in the bay for days, waiting for permission to dock that never came. The cancellation of a Warriors game? Oh well, our boat to Alcatraz was still ready to set sail! On the last day of our trip, we noticed a couple of restaurants closing early, with one owner asking, "Don't you know what's happening?!" On the last day of our trip, we decided to take the long drive home and go down the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping at Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea. In walking the streets and making our way to Monterey Bay Aquarium, we were shocked by the sight of people in hazmat suits spraying the exterior doors of the building. This image would later replay on the news once we made it home. They implemented strict lockdowns and travel restrictions within the hour of crossing back into Arizona's borders. We were so lucky we made it back home just in time and didn't realize until we made it home just how oblivious and ignorant we were. Looking back, I cringe at our naivety. Those concerned people wearing masks in Chinatown? Some of them would later become victims of racism due to COVID fearmongering. That ice cream shop we frequented? Vandalized and destroyed. That curious cruise ship at the time claimed seven lives and infected over 100 people. Once we were home safe and realized this pandemic's seriousness, we stayed home. Within a couple of weeks after returning home, we found out we were expecting, bringing even more intensity and fear. The carefree attitude and carelessness, as exhibited on our honeymoon, were now met with complete awareness of the pandemic and the strictest adherence to lockdown guidelines. We didn't travel again until our pandemic baby was two and a half years old—all of the innocence of life before COVID was forever gone.
• 2022-03-11

  Post Covid, Yay Hawaii!

  When the COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted, our family immediately headed for Aulani, A Hawaii Disney Resort – this was already planned as a Christmas gift (‘21) for Spring Break (‘22). In fact, upon arriving, we found out that the lockdown for the island was going to be lifted the very next day. So masks and other PPE were not necessary when moving about the exterior hotel. In fact, events around Oahu (Polynesian Cultural Center) were also relaxing C-19 measures for tourists and all guests. Small precautions were still in place, like one family in the elevators at a time, no character meet and greets (with full contact), and masking indoors. Due to Hawaii being landlocked, the importance of C-19 measures meant we all had to do our part to stay covid free. We were happy to do whatever it took. Our memories of this trip were refreshing. It was nice to get out of the house and to the islands (not the desert where we are from), experience and learn the culture of Hawaii, take in a little dose of Disney, and be mask-free, even with precautions being taken in some areas (which we were okay with).
• 
  2020-03-31

  Locked down, Locked in

  I was a SSG in the US Army when the lockdown hit. The isolation let my personal demons almost get the best of me, but lessons were certainly learned and I pray we never get to that point ever again.