Vacation places opening up.

imwjl · #1 08-01-2020, 10:05 AM

Are any of you watching travel options open up? Making plans?

We've done Caribbean travel countless times and mostly independently and where most tourists don't go. I got a message from the people we're rented from on Grand Cayman saying the 13% tax is waived for the first who return. I was reading about Jamaica's routine for getting through customs and testing.

I'm really stressed by work so longing for an escape but a lot of stats have me concerned about committing too early. My family leans toward Cayman Islands because of the water (snorkel and dive) but I lean towards Jamaica because of the people, size, food and mountains plus sea.

Forgetting about any value, it seems like you could be stuck in a place longer than planned - a big risk for work right now. A mountains trip by car in September might be a safer bet.

We have a cabin that's a great escape but the grocery store or water close to home can't replicate what I miss.

JCave · #2 08-01-2020, 11:32 AM

This area is a popular vacation destination. We're inundated with visitors from across the nation. Those visitors just don't get the need for social distancing, face masks and etc. Just yesterday I was visiting the local fly fishing shop when a dude walks in. He didn't want help, just here looking around "I'm from Texas" he says with no face mask. The owner pointed him out the door. And yes, the store has clearly posted that face masks are required. Oregon governor is making noise about closing the state to vacationers..

Sorry about the hijack and rant. Yeah, no I'm not...

imwjl · #3 08-01-2020, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCave

This area is a popular vacation destination. We're inundated with visitors from across the nation. Those visitors just don't get the need for social distancing, face masks and etc. Just yesterday I was visiting the local fly fishing shop when a dude walks in. He didn't want help, just here looking around "I'm from Texas" he says with no face mask. The owner pointed him out the door. And yes, the store has clearly posted that face masks are required. Oregon governor is making noise about closing the state to vacationers..

Sorry about the hijack and rant. Yeah, no I'm not...

I understand that well. My state is a summer tourist destination and we have a cabin in the north. We've watched hot spots grow, and a sparsely populated county just became on a per capita basis one of the fastest growing pockets of sickness and apparently aggravated by the age, incomes and lack of health care facilities for year-round residents. Taking a walk by the cabin I counted license plates from Florida, Illinois, Texas, Massachusetts and others.

Closer to topic, I had a thought that going to a cousin's place in Rocky Mountain area after labor day might be relatively safe. Past peak tourist time, I could camp on way there, but that's not that tradition of a Caribbean break in winter.

Relatively poor Jamaica did a really good job so far and I'd rather see my money go there than other tourist areas. That is different that home, a beautiful place and after a lot of travel in my life, what I consider a heck of a lot of beautiful people.

I would also like to visit my wife's family in Europe. Probably a lot of dreaming going on here as far as getaways.

buddyhu · #4 08-01-2020, 12:23 PM

I have enjoyed travel a great deal in years past. But things are different now. I don’t really want to go anywhere until “things settle down”, in one way or another . I’m Tired of dealing with oblivious people, careless people, and people who want to assert their “liberty”. I like my home, love my wife, enjoy my dog, and have a handful of friends and neighbors with whom we share socially distant conversations, drinks, and meals. These people are easy and relaxing to be with, because they value social harmony and they are interpersonally responsive. For now, that is more than enough to keep me feeling content.

sayheyjeff · #5 08-01-2020, 12:41 PM

A vacation to somewhere that takes me away from life in lockdown sounds good to me and probably sounds even better to folks who are still working and faced with a more complicated life than mine is right now. However, my wife and I are going to be staying put and ride the current situation out. That said, we have just outlined a few long day trips to take over the next couple of months. We are planning a birding trip to the eastern shore of Maryland the Delaware border. We have another trip planned to hit the Blackwater Wildlife Reserve near Cambridge. A trip to western Maryland is under consideration too, as is a trip to the Shenandoahs. Long days but good getaways.

Jeff

Mr. Jelly · #6 08-01-2020, 12:45 PM

We went on a vacation in the Colorado Rookies about a week after things opened some. We rented a house so some meals we cooked ourselves. Traveling we ate drive up window fast food and did the credit card gas thing. Everyone distanced at the rest stops and Nebraska rest stop bathrooms don't have doors and have self flush toilets so you don't have to touch things. We did ate at a couple of open air restaurants. They had social distanced tables and masked servers. On the trails and biking everyone distanced.

RP · #7 08-01-2020, 01:32 PM

I'm very fortunate in that I live in a cabin at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains just west of Charlottesville, VA. During the lockdown when my indoor pool was closed down, my escape was to jump into my Mazda MX5 and head down the Blue Ridge Parkway. Right now I'm watching hummingbirds flying frantically around their feeder; deer meander through my wooded neighborhood like they own the place, and multiple squirrels frequent my front deck. We also host the occasional bear so my bird feeders come inside at night, and my trash doesn't go out until "Trash Day" on Friday. In short, I live in what would be considered a vacation destination by many. That said, I'd really like to get down to the beach, but that will have to wait....

Neil K Walk · #8 08-01-2020, 02:40 PM

In my mind, the best way to go on a vacation nowadays would be to travel via RV and somehow avoid KOAs. Given my current level of anxiety I would not consider a vacation to be something that I would find restful or rejuvenating.

Dru Edwards · #9 08-01-2020, 04:10 PM

The four Atlantic provinces have a bubble and we can now travel freely among the four provinces but outsiders are not welcome. If anyone leaves and comes back they must self isolate for 14 days and they are not allowed to leave their home. BTW, the four provinces have a population less than the city of Toronto.

So, yes, vacation places have opened up here over the past couple of weeks when the bubble was first announced and people are happy to visit family and friends.

imwjl · #10 08-02-2020, 06:34 AM

We discussed this last night in the context of just finishing isolation because one of our kids' friends tested positive and then negative, negative tests here. My wife expressed concerns about risk and my age.

Unless things change a lot and fast I'll probably have to dream about our tradition of adventure in the Caribbean.

Who knows if we're fooling ourselves, but I think escapes to our cabin are safe, and possibly take a trip to Lake Superior areas after Labor Day. Trips where grocery stores are the biggest risk.

dwalton · #11 08-02-2020, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imwjl

We discussed this last night in the context of just finishing isolation because one of our kids' friends tested positive and then negative, negative tests here. My wife expressed concerns about risk and my age.

Unless things change a lot and fast I'll probably have to dream about our tradition of adventure in the Caribbean.

Who knows if we're fooling ourselves, but I think escapes to our cabin are safe, and possibly take a trip to Lake Superior areas after Labor Day. Trips where grocery stores are the biggest risk.

No - feel free to avoid Lake Superior. 🙂 I live next to the big lake, and there are already way too many annoying tourist pests running around here ruining what little we locals have this summer. And when tourists show up, our COVID rate always spikes.

MrDB · #12 08-02-2020, 08:02 AM

I have this conversation with my wife pretty regularly. We have no vacation plans but I am retiring in Oct. We winter down south and have a place rented on Padre Island in TX for Jan/Feb 2021.

My wife is hesitant to go with the Covid situation. My position is if I'm going to have to shelter in place somewhere I'd rather do it where it's 70F as opposed to 15F. At least we can sit outside, grill, enjoy the weather, drive down to the beach.

We will have to wait for the situation to clarify before we make a final decision.

KenL · #13 08-02-2020, 08:07 AM

My little town in central Colorado is a summertime tourist destination, and is overflowing right now. Seems half the state of Texas drove up here, judging by the license plates. Lots of Ohio plates too.

Not complaining, because our shops and restaurants need the revenue to survive the rest of the year. And most everybody has been good about wearing masks and keeping distance.

We live 5 miles outside of town, so we don't really have to deal with the hoards, unless we choose to go down to town.

We have no plans to travel for a while.

Dru Edwards · #14 08-02-2020, 08:21 AM

How about day trips? The past two days I left at 8 am and got home at 7pm. Just pack a sandwich, drive a couple hundred miles, and seek out nice rural destinations where social distancing can easily be maintained. Get off the highway and take the back roads.

Earl49 · #15 08-02-2020, 08:24 AM

I gave up completely on air travel five years ago, long before the current situation. Any trips we take are by car, maybe pulling the camper depending on the destination. But we have no active plans for anything this year, or (as yet) for next year. Mostly we would either visit mom in Arizona or hit music festivals and camps. But those are all cancelled and the nursing home is on lockdown, so nowhere to go really.