On the road again?  Since May, I have driven from Florida to Utah, via Ohio; flown to Phoenix, AZ; flown to Columbus, OH; flown back to Orlando, FL; flown to Seattle, WA and taken one weekend trip to Park City, UT.   So, what is travel like in the Covid-19 apocalyptic world.   Well if you have patience, a sense of humor and low expectations you will be fine.

Driving: In general, there is a serious lack of workers that is impacting everything.  If things are open, expect that the hours are shorter.  This is making everything more complicated. Also, every State has its own set of rules and requirements which change often and even between different parts of the state.  When we left Florida, every car entering the state was being stopped and every person questioned about their destination and where they had been. In West Virginia, the rest areas were almost abandoned and urinals and sinks blocked off to ensure social distancing. In Illinois, the only bathrooms available were at gas stations. Only truck drivers could use the restrooms in fast food restaurants and at the rest areas. All along the way, there were road signs advising us of the rules and regulations. This was the first part of May and several areas were still imposing curfews at night. There was no reason to try to see much along the trip since everything was closed.

Rental Cars: Rental cars have been a particular difficulty.  Closed rental car desks, long lines and a lack of clean cars were a real surprise for us.  During our trip to Phoenix, we had to wait almost two hours for a car.  In Phoenix, Payless, Avis and Budget rental car counters were consolidated into one counter with two employees.  No one was available to clean cars so only about 15 cars were ready each hour.  In Cleveland, the Budget car counter was empty when we arrived.  A young lady eventually showed up and was obviously upset.  There was about 6 people in line and only one worker.  The Fastbreak office was closed and we didn’t see any other Budget workers at all in the parking lot.  It was Father’s Day and the lot attendant shared that she had recently lost her husband….we were completely depressed leaving Cleveland (even more than usual).   In Orlando, we used an off-site Agency (ACE Rental Car).  There after going through an insurance interrogation and signing a waiver regarding the sanitation of the car; we were given a car with two tires that required air daily.  This was also a 90 minute ordeal, but I didn’t dare change my reservation. I almost did consider just using Uber for that trip.  But then again who knew if Uber was even available.  On the positive side, traffic has been very lite everywhere we go.

Hotels: When we drove across the country, we stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn (22,000 points) and a Holiday Inn Express (1^st night 12,500 points, 2^nd night $65 with tax – Priceline).  Both hotels were operating at a reduced capacity and had implemented controls to keep things cleaner than normal.   Rooms are now cleaned weekly and rooms at the Hilton properties have a tape seal on their doors to indicate that the room has been sanitized and no one has been in it since.  We also have noted several hotels adding air purifiers to some rooms and offering them at a premium.  In Phoenix, one of the Managers drove us to the airport since there was no one else working.  Most hotels have dropped breakfast, but a few have added it back.  Usually, its just a bag with a stale bagel or muffin and a bottle of water. However, buffets are gone and selections are extremely limited.  Fitness rooms and pools are mostly open but with special limitations.  Occupancy rates in open hotels appears to have increased from 10-15% in April to about 30% today.  However, some hotels are still limiting bookings, since they don’t have the staff to clean the rooms.  It’s a whole new world than it was in March.

Restaurants: Restaurants in each state were dramatically different.  Restaurants were open for dine-in seating in all the States we traveled through, but many were not allowing it.  It seems that several fast food restaurants have decided that inside dining was not worth the extra hassle.  Taco Bells in Ohio won’t even let you in the door for carryout…. drive-thru only! Very weird to see a line at the drive-thru around the building and the parking lot full of people eating in their cars.  Heaven forbid you need to use the restroom or want to wash your hands.  Drink refills are mostly a thing of the past unless you ask for a new cup each time and all condiments have been removed.  Now the restaurants that do allow dine-in eating are implementing social distancing but we have yet to encounter any wait time.  One interesting observation is the amount of paper being used.  It appears that waste minimization and recycling is a thing of the past.  Trays are no longer used at any of the fast food restaurants we visited….and we visit a lot.  Everything is in a bag…maybe even two bags! Remember the paper straw push?  Looks like Covid-19 killed that as well. 

Flying: Airports are all requiring face coverings be worn most times. Compliance is actually pretty good, but what constitutes a face covering is questionable. We have seen Halloween masks (I at least hope they bought that for Halloween), scuba masks, people in full scrubs and a variety of respirators. Airport clubs are mostly closed. You would think alcohol would good during a pandemic but you can’t even buy it on the plane anymore (at least not Southwest). The middle seats were all empty unless you are traveling as a group. The only service was a small bag of snack mix and a glass of water. The number of planes parked was unbelievable. In several of the airports, entire terminals were closed along with almost all services. My perception was that Southwest was doing better than the other major Airlines. There was almost no international flights and the number of flights in and out of airports have been cut in half (at least).

Cruising: Gone…just gone! One of the saddest travel experiences for us during this Pandemic was the demise of the Pullmantur Cruise line. This Spanish line was partially owned by Royal Caribbean and filed for bankruptcy in the spring. We had sailed on six Pullmantur cruises and paid as little as $99 for a week cruise ($914 per couple all inclusive including alcohol). They were great cruises! Unfortunately, we had four future cruises booked with them, including two in the Mediterranean and two in the Persian Gulf. Now their ships have been sent to the scrapyard. Additionally, on other cruise lines, we had cruises to Japan and Bahamas canceled and felt compelled to cancel two South American ones. Traveling is our passion and cruise ships are one of our primary means of transportation. So this has dramatically modified our plans for the next year. Our next cruise is a 15 day one leaving on November 13th from San Diego, but we are expecting it to be cancelled as well.

Other Observations:

The idea of providing $600 a week to unemployed individuals was a great idea … on the surface.  Giving an additional $15/hour to supplement the existing State unemployment benefit created a situation where those making less than $20 an hour made more at home than at work.  Therefore, it’s to their advantage not to work and they aren’t going back.  I would do the same.  Now the employer can force the issue and have their unemployment terminated.  But no reasonable person would punish an employee for a problem the government created.  The unfortunate workers who didn’t get laid off, are required to do more and work harder while their former coworkers make more at home.  So, workers are generally pissed-off and in short supply.

Travel is not as much fun now as it was in March. To me the social distancing and the mask wearing has taken away most interpersonal interactions and the ability to meet and talk with other travelers. This was always a highlight of travel for me. Luckily, I have a fantastic travel companion, so I will survive this inconvenience.

Also, there is a clear sense of concern or fear that you can feel as you wander through the airport, board a train or wait for a rental car. I am looking forward to getting things back to a more normal state. But in the meantime, we will keep wondering around and staying off the beaten path….that’s where the most fun is anyway.

Luckily, many people are keeping up their sense of humor during this pandemic and none may be better than the Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants. I think it’s appropriate to close this blog with a few of the comments from a far too happy flight attendant on a flight from St Louis to Seattle last month. “Ladies and Gentlemen can I please have your attention. We are honored to have with us today on this flight a man celebrating his 90th birthday and this is his first flight ever. Can we please give him a round of applause?” All the passengers immediately began clapping. The flight attendant followed that up by saying, ” As you depart the aircraft today, please congratulate the Captain.” He also added a few riddles and jokes, which really helped improve the mood.