As a child I always looked forward to summer vacation, it was two months of pure bliss. That bliss was largely because there was no school and we could hang out with friends and do a lot of nothing. As you get older this summer break holds true until you start working, though your choice of activities might change. Then as if by some cruel act of fate, summer breaks are cut short, pretty much at the knees. You have to squeeze them in, like fitting in pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The biggest challenge becomes convincing yourself to actually take the summer vacation.
I look forward to my vacation, I plan for it months in advance but that’s because you need to book the best campsites early! My summer vacations are simple, we have an RV so we camp as a family most long weekends and if it’s possible 1 longer trip in the summer. It’s such a departure from everyday life in a big city that it lets me unwind in a way I really enjoy. Normally these trips involve a road trip with a few stops but nothing strenuous.
This year is a little different. Covid-19 has forced a lot of changes including some vacation planning.
We were supposed to do a road trip to Michigan that has unfortunately been canceled. While the parks are now opening up there is still the pesky issue of not being able to cross the border. We’ve adjusted and assuming everything keeps opening up at a steady pace we should still be ok to take a summer trip. It won’t be the one planned but at least we will be able to go.
In our case, we had to scramble to adjust our plans and we ended up having to spend a little bit more to make the adjusted plans work. Camping is a lot cheaper in Michigan apparently, which drives up the cost for us. We reacted quickly enough and as of writing this post, it looks like our revised trip is going to happen. I’m just glad our bathroom travels with us, no worries about using shared facilities.
What about all of the trips that were planned where there were flights involved. A once in a lifetime European or Asian vacation? All gone! Have you had your trips canceled?
Contingency planning – the new normal?
For the next couple of years, I think, people will be cautious to travel. The possibility of infection aside, the whole travel industry has suffered, and the landscape might end up looking very different. Hotels, restaurants, attractions all operate with pretty tight margins – if we’re not there will they be able to maintain? The uncertainty of it all will cause more than a few people to rethink their travel. Time will tell what the travel world will look like but at least initially there will be a lot of changes.
I know that I am going to have back up plans in place and I will definitely think twice about cancelation insurance I always ignore. Have you had to alter your summer vacation? Were you able to make it work?
Photo by Greg Ortega on Unsplash
I have had to alter so many plans due to COVID-19! Like you, I have been taking it fairly positively and as an opportunity to work on my side-hustles and projects.
Even if I don’t have a lot of wiggle room in my checking account at the moment, my retirement accounts and diverse money earning skill set has made it so that I don’t have to worry too much about the basics.
I have been traveling for over a year and a half, and I was really looking forward to visiting California and seeing my family towards the end of the year. Unfortunately, I’m not sure when that will happen but I do hope that travel gets cheaper to incentivize us to spend money again. If that ends up being the case, I will for sure enjoy seeing more of the globe!
Thanks for the comment Kat! I’m glad that you’re managing well despite the circumstances. You have to stay positive because dwelling on the negative doesn’t solve problems and can be unhealthy. I’m really curious what the travel industry will look like when this is all over – if we’re all lucky we’ll get a chance to travel but if the attrition is really bad it might end up a lot more expensive.
I hope you get a chance to see your family this year, I’ve always loved Cali. Maybe one day I’ll get a chance to hike the PT.
Great post and I’m glad you can still do some sort of a vacation. It sounds like you will be safe, since you have your own bathroom at all times and don’t have to come into too close contact with many people.
My easter plans to visit my family were cancelled, so I never made any plans for the summer yet. I will probably take a long trip to see them, including a quarantine time before actually interacting with them since some are high risk. We’ll see, I think I will make a decision in early July.
Thanks for the comment! Having the camper is a great benefit, not sure I’ll like dealing with the cleaning but it will be worth it to get out of town and enjoy nature.
Hopefully, everything will keep opening up and you’ll be able to take your trip to see them. Are the airlines in Europe starting to fly more or are this still pretty much on lockdown?