Shaking Off the Rust: A Return to the Road

(Note: For those of you who receive e-mail notifications of new blog posts, I received a notice from Google Blogger that the feature will no longer be available after July of 2021.  There is currently nothing to replace it so e-mail notifications will go away unless I can find something to take its place. My apologies for the loss of that convenience.)

The last time I posted to this blog was in early March of 2020 reporting on my birthday trip to Las Vegas during the last week of February.  Little did I know at the time that it would be the last post in this travel blog for over a year.

Last week, May 8th to the 14th, Val and I took a trip to Lake Tahoe, our first trip since the pandemic struck.  This blog post is not so much about the trip itself, but about the hurdles, both mental and physical, to overcome and actually go back out in the world again.  

I'm telling our story not because I think we are unique or have had a worse time than others during the pandemic (in fact we have probably had it easier than most), or even that I think this trip was very interesting. Although I am glad that we do have followers who enjoy reading about our travels, my main motivation in writing this blog is for myself so that I have a record of our travels and consequently of our post retirement life, and this past year and a few months has been like no other in our life.

 COVID

On March 16, 2020, Val and I made what turned out to be our last trip to the grocery store for more than a year.  Three days later on March 19th, the governor of California ordered a statewide stay at home order for all but essential trips due to the rapidly increasing severity of the spread of the Corona Virus.  At first we thought, as many did, that it would only last at most for a few months, but it soon sank in that this was a very serious situation with no end it sight.  We canceled all of our upcoming travel plans and hunkered down for the long haul.

Val and I, both being over 70, followed the guidelines strictly.  We didn't go out, we used Instacart for grocery delivery, we sanitized all packages and washed all the fruit and vegetables, we quarantined our mail and any packages for a day before touching them, etc.  Except for taking an occasional drive to just get out of the house, we stayed home.  When we got tired of our own cooking we occasionally would pick up take-out, cautiously wiping down the containers with Clorox wipes.  It all seems a little ridiculous now, but we were very cautious and at the time that's what was recommended.

It wasn't all bad, though.  Despite being stuck at home with only each other to talk to, we continued to enjoy each other's company and our relationship only grew stronger from the experience.  We learned how to use Zoom to keep in touch with friends and family.  We got a lot done around the house.  Val organized her family history.  I digitized all of our financial records.  I also got all of our photos organized and even went back and scanned all of our color negatives that we have saved from the pre digital camera era.

A lot people had it a lot worse that we did.  People lost their jobs and income, people who lived by themselves were isolated, and many people lost their lives or lost their loved ones.  It was a very bad time and still is, even though things are much better.  Val and I were lucky, we had each other and being retired, our income didn't change at all.

The Vaccine

When the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were announced in the fall of 2020, it gave everyone a ray of hope, Val and I included.  Still, the predictions were that it would be months, maybe even not until the summer of 2021 that it would be available to most.  Luckily, things went faster than anticipated, especially for us older folks and by February Val and I were anxiously waiting for our age group (65 and older) to be eligible for the vaccine in our county.  It finally happened and Val and I were on our computers the minute appointments were made available and luckily we got appointments right away and on February 18th we got our first dose of the Pfizer Vaccine.  Exactly three weeks later we got our second shots and by the beginning of April, we were considered fully vaccinated.

Getting Out and About

We were elated, but getting out and about again felt pretty strange at first, like we had been living in the backwoods and were coming into town for the first time.  It was nice though, to do our own grocery shopping and I was able to go to the hardware again when I needed to do something around the house.

Most importantly, we were able to visit with our friends and family who were vaccinated, which was a big step in getting back to normal, but of course things still aren't really back to normal.  There are still people getting seriously sick and dying from the virus and even though things are looking much better in the U.S., there are other places in the world such as India that are being ravaged by the virus.

Travel

When Val and I were waiting our turn to be vaccinated, we said the first thing we wanted to do was get out and go somewhere.  When we were fully vaccinated, we found that it was going to be harder than we thought to actually do it, not necessarily physically, but mentally, which was a bit of a surprise.

For the first time in over 20 years, we weren't able to take our post New Years  January trip to Lake Tahoe so we thought that might be a good trip to break the ice and start traveling again.  We still weren't really sure of how safe it was so in the middle of April we both made appointments with our doctors to talk to them about it.

To our surprise, both doctors said "go for it".  I say surprised because both of our doctors are very cautious and have been very vocal from the beginning of the pandemic about the importance of wearing mask, social distancing and only going out when absolutely necessary.  With that endorsement, Val and I decided we would go to Lake Tahoe sometime in May.

As the beginning of May approached, I told Val that we needed to decide on a date so I could make the arrangements.  She said OK, but every time I reminded her she procrastinated and finally told me she just wasn't ready to get out and travel yet despite what the doctors said.

It turned out that Val was not alone in her anxiety; I had read articles talking about vaccinated people still having anxiety about getting out and doing things even though they were considered safe.  I was very disappointed, but I would never force Val to do something she wasn't comfortable with so I gave up on making plans.

After thinking about it for a few days, I decided to have a talk with Val, not to try to convince her to go, but to ask her to consider her reasons for not wanting to travel.  After thinking about it for a couple of days, she decided to make another doctors appointment and go into more detail of what the trip would entail and what her fears were.  She asked me to go with her so I could hear what the doctor said.

Without going into too much detail, her doctor told her he thought it was safe to get out, stay in a hotel, eat in a restaurant, visit a casino and do all the things that travel entailed.  He did indicate that mask wearing was still important indoors and continue to wash your hands and be cautious.  He said because we were fully vaccinated he was actually more concerned with us getting a cold or the common flu than he was for us catching the Corona Virus.

After thinking about it, Val decided to put aside her fears and take the plunge and take the trip.  I made sure that she was really OK with going and she said despite having reservations about it, she wanted to go.  The next day I called, made the arrangements and two days later we were on Interstate 5 heading north on our way to Lake Tahoe.  What a whirlwind of events.

Lake Tahoe 

Congratulations if you've made it this far, now for the actual trip.  As we always do, we didn't drive all the way the first day, but stopped for the night in the town of El Dorado Hills east of Sacramento.  This gives us a short drive the next day to Lake Tahoe essentially giving us an extra day.

We really didn't know what to expect so we were a little nervous when we checked into the Holiday Inn Express the first night; this would be our first night in a hotel in over a year.  It went well, everyone wore a mask when not in their rooms and respected social distancing.  We got checked in and headed to our favorite fish taco place that is within walking distance of the hotel.  Again, everything went well, we opted to eat inside as it was windy outside and everyone wore masks and sat well apart.

Sunday Morning (Mother's Day) we made the short drive to Stateline, Nevada on the south shore of Lake Tahoe.  We normally stay at Harrah's, but due to making our reservations at the last minute they were full for one of the nights of our stay (that was a surprise).  Instead we stayed across the street at Harvey's, which is also part of Caesars Entertainment so we still got our comped rooms and amenities and there is a pedestrian tunnel that goes between the properties so we could spend time in both hotels and casinos.

It was obvious right away that this wouldn't be a normal trip.  First off, valet parking was suspended indefinitely, which is a very convenient way to park and not have to get your luggage from the parking garage to the hotel, which is a bit of a hike with some stairs in the mix as well as having to walk through the full length of the casino.  After driving through the parking garage and seeing just how far it would be to carry our luggage, we drove back to the short term check-in parking and found a bellman to handle our luggage.

After finding a place to park, we checked-in and were very pleasantly surprised to find that our room was ready.  And even better surprise was how nice the room was, we were on the 18th floor with a great view of the lake and the room was newly renovated and very nice.

The view from our room.

Sunrise on the Sierras.

I'm not going to continue a blow by blow description of our stay as it was pretty routine and not really all that interesting, so here are a few of our impressions.

First, we were very pleasantly surprised at how safe it felt. Any time you were out of your room and not outside, you wore a mask, no exceptions.  If you didn't have a mask on and security saw you, you either put one on or were escorted off the property.  Every member of the staff wore a mask and there were hand sanitizer stations throughout the hotel/casino.  The public areas were constantly being cleaned and slot machines were being wiped down.  On the table games there were plexiglass sheets separating every seat.  Slot machines were mostly rearranged so that you never sat next to someone else and those that weren't rearranged had plexiglass shields between them.  In some cases where there were no shields they would just shut down every other machine.

Elevators were a bit of a concern as we weren't looking forward to being in one with a crowd of people, but those fears were never realized.  First off, most people were just as concerned as we were and would wait for the next available elevator instead of sharing.  Other times if there were just another person or couple waiting they would ask if you minded sharing and we would do the same.  The elevators are large and it didn't feel unsafe to have another couple of people inside.  Also, after several days of being there Val pointed out to me that the elevators never stopped between where you got on and where you got off and she was right.  They must have been programmed to never stop at intermediate floors to pick up other passengers which meant that most times you rode the elevator by yourself.

Eating was a little more difficult, but understandably so as the primary need was to keep everyone safe and healthy.  Some of the restaurants were closed and others were operating with a reduced menu.  The restaurants all offered takeout and even some delivery to your room with a phone app which also allowed you to order from the room service menu.

Val and I didn't really want to eat in our room, but we did get a little tired of eating in mostly the same restaurant for every meal.  Tables were kept spaced apart and the only time you could take off your masks was when your food arrived.  Again we felt very comfortable with all the safety protocols in place.

We did have one treat, we once again ate at Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen Restaurant that is located at Harvey's.  When we were there in January of 2020, they had just opened and were booked months in advance, but by walking up and checking with the host we able get a reservation albeit for 4:30 in the afternoon.  This time was no different as they were fully booked through June, but once again by going to the restaurant and asking the host we were able to get a 4:15 reservation.  My guess is those early reservations are not included in the online reservation system and kept available for walk ups.  Keep that in mind if you are ever there and don't mind eating early.

Who is that masked man?  Here I am waiting for my dinner at Hell's Kitchen.  For those of you that watch the show, the prize for the winner of this year's competition was the executive chef position here at Lake Tahoe Hell's Kitchen.

 Not much else to say, we gambled and although there were no big jackpots this time, we did have a good time.  Except for Hell's Kitchen, the food was pretty mediocre, but that should improve as the pandemic eases over time.  The real enjoyment was just getting away and having a change of scenery.  One final comment about wearing masks.  Val and I are strongly supportive of wearing masks for our own and other's safety, but wearing a mask all day long, although a necessity, got very old, it gave me a new respect for everyone whose job requires them to wear a mask all day long.  

So overall it was a great trip.  I commend all the staff at both hotels who worked so hard to keep things safe for everyone and also to our fellow travelers who followed the rules and were considerate of those around them.  It's nice to see everyone taking this seriously and thinking of someone besides themselves, it made me feel good.

What Next?

What's next? Who knows at this point.  Unless things take a turn for the worse, we will certainly be taking more short trips.  I missed my annual birthday trip to Las Vegas so we'll do that sometime.  We would like to do some road trips, but there probably won't be any cruises until next year.  Our scheduled 2020 cruise (a three month cruise circumnavigating Africa) was canceled and reschedule to the fall of this year, and then cancelled again and rescheduled for the fall of 2022.  We are still booked on that trip so hopefully that takes place.  Anyway, who knows what's next, but we will continue to report our travels in the blog (at least the longer trips).  This is very much longer than I imagined it would be so if you have read it all - congratulations.  So that's it and hopefully, we'll see you on down the road.