January 2020. My family had returned from our annual beach holiday and I was itching to plan an exciting trip. I began listening to travel podcasts and started following travel planning blogs with the intention of heading overseas in December 2021. We needed time to budget and we knew that it would be hard to fit a big holiday around school and work commitments any sooner than that. I went so far as to find out when school would finish in 2021 and set up a countdown timer for our ‘2021 Adventure’. Fellow travel lovers will know that those countdown timers are fantastic for building anticipation!
My husband and I excitedly researched Caribbean cruises (perhaps, if I'm honest, the excitement was only mine, but he did look at cabin options, pricing and dates). We seriously discussed whether we should be home for Christmas Day 2021. We thought about having a white Christmas, so I downloaded an app to help me brush up on my French, thinking I could help us navigate Quebec. We were in the thick of travel anticipation and had almost two years of fun planning and preparation ahead of us. We even began a Sunday morning ritual of holiday planning before we got up for the day, which was a nice way to mete out the anticipation while enjoying the process together.
Then we, like the rest of the world, felt the impact of COVID-19. Suddenly, our days were consumed by schooling, online lessons and online work. Borders began closing and the possibility of travel became more distant. I watched and listened to podcasters and bloggers as the destinations they covered began to close to visitors and then, within just a few short weeks, travel beyond our neighbourhood became prohibited.
A first world problem, I know. But travel is one of my few indulgences - we don’t spend money on gym memberships, massages, mowing, cleaning or many other regular things that could make life easier. We limit dining out and our lives are so busy that we rarely go to the movies. We really look forward to holidays when we can stop everything for a bit and enjoy family time. All of a sudden, life was much harder and the possibility of a getaway and the fun of the anticipation was gone.
At first, I kept dreaming about a future trip in the hope that the pandemic would be brought under control quickly. After a couple of months, the reality to began to dawn on me and I turned to this blog as a way of connecting with travel memories and channeling my interest. I started off blogging with purpose but soon felt that starting a travel blog during a time when nobody could travel was a bit ridiculous.
I have started many posts and will continue to work on those drafts, which I'm sure will be helpful when destinations start to open up again. In the meantime, I've turned to some other strategies to help with travel withdrawal. Over the next few posts, I'll outline some of the strategies we have used to enjoy aspects of travel how and when we can.
Have you done any travelling or travel-related activities during the pandemic? Let me know your suggestions in the comments section!
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