Cancelling Vacation

Covid-19 has taken its toll on travel, though this Thanksgiving a lot of people took their chances to see trusted relatives in person.  When I went to pick up a few items at Total Whine for my own Thanksgiving, a lot of other shoppers had full baskets that they could not possibly consume themselves.  I felt a need to get away too, and began to act on it.

 

It's been a confining time.  I went on three small day trips this fall and air travel over Labor Day weekend.  My son's wedding was worth some prudent health risk, though far fewer attended than originally planned.  I went virtually nowhere, getting food at a supermarket on arrival and having two dinners, one outdoors, the other in a tent.  The hotel had closed its pool.  In lieu of a buffet, it offered a doggy bag, which I declined in favor of the munchies from the supermarket.

That vacation overdue feeling had arisen, emphasized by a goal I had set for myself to visit a National Park by year's end.  I could have driven to Great Smokies, probably a reasonable  Plan A.  It would take a lot of driving, but offered detours to either Asheville or Knoxville. But there didn't seem to be all that much to do at the park itself, maybe hike or drive on trails.  It is also the most visited of the National Parks, so undesired crowds might be expected.  As an alternative, I looked at the Everglades.  By travel standards, this looked too good to be true.  Airfare less than regional intercity train fare in the Northeast.  Hotels about a third less than I usually pay for a chain hotel.  Rental cars seemed something of rip-off with Florida gouging its visitors as best it could, but as a package, it could not be beat.  Reservations made, with a modest penalty for canceling the car.  Looked forward to getting away until the reports of accelerated infection rates starting making the news.  Most of the trip would not have been that unsafe.  Air travel requires masks and we would sit together.  Hotels and cars also leave us by ourselves.  The hotel district can be accessed on a variety of internet maps.  There is a cluster of them near ours, at the edge of a shopping center district with ample takeout.  And the Everglades have assigned roads and open spaces, far larger than any of the parks near home.  However, to see what's in the Everglades, the National Park Service franchises tour concessions who take tourists around in some form of land or watercraft.  The State of Florida has been a little loose about protecting it's inhabitants, with far more people than we have rejecting infection control precautions as infringement on their personal or economic liberties.  That part is not a prudent risk.  As reports of illness, hospitalization, and mortality disseminated, responsibility for the health of my wife prevailed.  Son's wedding, take a chance.  My amusement, no way.  I cancelled it all, forfeiting an auto rental deposit, accepting an airline credit good for nearly a year, and perhaps staying at a different hotel in an area where the people have a better level of regard for each other.