Items

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  2021-06-20

  The Best-Laid Plans Go Awry but Mojitos Soften the Blow

  The pandemic torpedoed a very important trip for me – a trip paid for by my place of business to attend a conference in London and give a presentation on an archival project and connect with fellow librarians. I intended to bracket my trip with a visit to Ireland, the home of my ancestors, and conduct some genealogical research. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I probably won’t be working at my current workplace when the next conference is held (once every three years), so I don’t expect to have the opportunity to get a free trip to a lovely part of the world from them in the future. And I need to have boots on the ground to conduct more research: following up on facts and documents my family has shared with me and which I wanted to confirm or debunk during my research in Ireland. So my genealogy work has stalled as well. There hopefully will be opportunities in the future to visit the UK, to conduct research in Ireland, and to attend conferences, but the perfect combination of all of these that had been arranged for summer 2020 is lost forever. Since I live in a very hot locale during the summer months, and count on getting out of town to maintain my sanity, I wasn’t able to create a staycation to counteract the lost of this trip and vacation—unless you count being huddled in the coolest room in my home with my feet in a kiddie pool sipping mojitos and reading travel and Irish history books to be an acceptable alternative. Although, come to think of it, those mojitos were pretty good.
• 
  2020-10-19

  As we approach the holiday travel season, is it safe to travel yet?

  Many people travel during the holidays but COVID-19 has affected how people view traveling. Many people are being cautious about traveling and looking for alternatives to air travel such as road trips and "staycations". Others wonder when air travel will return to its previous state before COVID-19.
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  2020-03-20

  Texas family's 'staycation' recreates canceled Disney vacation at home amid COVID-19 closures

  I think this is a great article that shows the resilience of people during trying times. The Hern family in Texas was all ready for their trip to Disney when Covid struck and cancelled their trip. They would not let that get them down through, this video shoes not only their love for Disney but their creativity and positive attitude while they recreated what their trip might have looked like. This is such a great depiction of not allowing social distancing to change your positive life, of going with the flow and making the best of a tough situation.
• 
  2020-07-05

  Staycation

  After over 100 days since the initial quarantine orders were created in the US, myself and others are going a bit stir crazy having been stuck inside. Summer, which is usually a time for vacation and travel, seems to have transformed into a staycation at home. This item was added TAGS v6.1.9.1. I originally searched under the hashtag #thisyearmysummervacation. Within that search, I have chosen to add the following tweet because it showcases some of the humour that individuals are using to make light of the quarantine situation.
• 
  2020-05-24

  A family on the edge in San Francisco

  Went on a drive during the COVID 19 shutdown and ended up at an overlook to the Golden Gate Bridge. May 24, 2020 at Seacliff District of SF. The Goldenberg Family, experiencing the outdoors in the new normal.