It was like Covid hit the US and time stood still; or, at least that’s how it felt a little for me. I had been traveling in Guatemala and Belize when things really started shutting down at home. Restaurants, bars and schools were closing; events with large audiences were rescheduling; international boarders were closing; flights were canceling, and the list goes on. With the uncertainty of what not only each day but what each HOUR would bring, my friend Trish (who I was traveling with at the time) and I reached a point where we decided we needed to get back home ASAP before we were stuck abroad. Needless to say it was a stressful ordeal but we thankfully made it… And then came the stay at home orders. And the travel bans. And more border closures. And then my parents and I had to cancel our trip to the 24H race at Le Mans. And then my friend Trish and I had to cancel our trip to Oktoberfest in Munich. And then any other trip that I may have gone on this year was out the window. And people everywhere were asked to work from home. 😰😩
If I’m being totally honest here the reason I haven’t posted anything on my blog in the last few months is because thinking about (NOT) traveling made me super bummed and uninspired to work on it. Yes I recognize that 2020 has had a whole slew of serious issues and my not being able to travel isn’t even a drop in the bucket of them. But the serious matters aside, I think I needed to grieve a little over the way Covid has affected me personally. Not being able to see my family as often as I usually do; the impact it’s had on the airline industry and my job as a flight attendant; and yes, not being able to travel. (I think?) I’ve finally reached the acceptance stage of my grieving and I’m ready to start thinking about traveling again. 😄 (Even if it’s still a while off before I’ll actually be able to. 😕)
As a flight attendant I was (am) considered an essential employee and so I’ve continued to work as I normally would. Except in April especially there was nothing normal about it. For the entire month flights canceled on the regular. Flights that continued as scheduled had only 2 or 3 passengers onboard. Huge international airports that are usually FILLED with people were eerily EMPTY. It’s picked up quite a bit since then but it’s definitely still not completely back to normal.
A fellow flight attendant and friend who had taken a few months of voluntary leave couldn’t believe how empty the airports were in some pictures I shared with her. She told me I should document everything because it was all so crazy and unbelievable. I think she was right. I’m sure I’ll look back on these pictures one day with even more shock and surpise than I feel looking at them now!
So here’s a few pictures I took of empty airports I passed through in April and the beginning of May.
ORD – Chicago O’Hare
IAH – Houston
IAD – Washington Dulles
DEN – Denver
SFO – San Francisco
OKC – Oklahoma City
DTW – Detroit
PHL – Philidelphia
SLC – Salt Lake City
BUF – Buffalo
So what happens next on this blog? The answer is… I’m not sure. I mean, I’d love to say I’ll be posting regularly from now on; but I also know, I could potentially fall back into the “bummed about not being able to travel and uninspired to write about it” slump. So to be realistic I’ll leave you with this: I hope to stay on the “inspired to write about my travels train” and post regularly on here. But if I fall back into the “bummed out slump” it might just be a little while before I feel up for posting again. And that’s going to be ok in my book. 😉
*Know that anything I do post from here on out is with the hope that everyone follows proper Covid procedures and protocols for the places they’re traveling to.*
So until the next post and long after that as well, safe travels friends.
CE
