Looking Back – Letting Go – Moving Forward

Travel is back in full force after three years of uncertainty. The WHO has ended the worldwide emergency and in general the world has opened up, allowing travel to most places. I think we are finally getting back to normal after COVID. So where will you go?

But wait… what about the last three years? So much happened. So much changed. There’s been so much pain…

The Beginning…

Just before COVID shut the world down, we traveled to Italy for a week. It was an amazing time of experiencing new places, flavors and culture – and seeing history close up – an unforgettable experience.

Then… COVID struck Italy just a month later. It was surreal to think the horrors we were witnessing on television might be happening to people we had met. It was so shocking that it felt disrespectful to write about our amazing trip in a time of so much anguish and pain. Plus, who could travel there anyway – and who would even if they could…

Now, three years later, the sharp feelings have dulled enough to write about it – and I long to go back. I want to see the people we met, check out the places we went before to make sure they are still there, and just experience the awe again without the shadow of COVID’s devastation in Italy casting a pall over the experience.

But Italy is not the only place affected or changed. Here in Central Washington State a lot has changed as a result of the stressors COVID placed on people and businesses. Many of our restaurants closed new ones have opened. This is especially true in our little tourist town of Leavenworth. Patterned after a Bavarian village, the town survives on people traveling to see it and the beautiful mountains surrounding the town. Since tourism was basically shut down… well many restaurants in particular did not survive.

How has COVID reshaped your area of the world? Are you getting back to normal? Take a few minutes to reflect – acknowledge how you and your town have changed.

Making the Best of It…

Despite all of the death, controversy, and lingering problems that COVID brought or made worse, we still managed to get some travel in. Initially it was camping trips here in our local mountains. I’m grateful that the snowpack in 2020’s winter/spring season was low. Because of the low snowpack, we were able to get into the mountains early, breathe the fresh mountain air, and release some of our worries about what was happening in the world.

With fall came a trip to England to help my daughter move there for school. For a three-week trip, there was almost no sightseeing… 14 days of quarantine, then 1 day walking Newcastle, 3-4 days moving her into the dorm, then 1 day walking London, then it was time to go home. I did do some quarantine cooking which was quite fun. I blogged about it on my travelogue here... if you want to see more.

Isn’t It Over Yet???

With 2021 came the hope that we were seeing the end of this virus, so we planned a trip to Ireland…. However, rules changed and we had to do a last minute switch to England. The trip started out great with visits to the Cotswolds’ and Stonehenge, but then we came down with COVID and the trip went downhill from there. I have to say, quarantining when you’re well is much more fun than when you’re ill. I ended up having to stay an extra week, though thankfully I was able to stay with my daughter. By the time I tested negative and was able to get home, I didn’t want to travel for a good long time. So much had happened… none of it anything I wanted to think about or experience again.

Getting Back on Track & Moving Forward

Eight months later I did get on a plane again… a family reunion, supporting a survivor, seeing people I hadn’t seen in many, many years. Getting through that trip successfully really helped me get past my lingering travel nerves, and another trip in the fall sealed it. I was ready to travel again.

This winter has seen short trips that I’ll write about later, but our return to normalcy is bringing with it a “need” to squeeze in as much travel as we can.

What about you? How are you getting back to normal? Are you ready to move forward and travel again?

It’s important to look back, seek to understand your thoughts and feelings about what was going on. Acknowledge the ways you responded well and the ways you could have done better. Then let it go. Take a deep breath, and step into your new tomorrow.

Join us – a wandering family, now scattered across the globe – as we explore, experience and savor the world around us.

Let’s wander on…