No Traveling Allowed
I wrote the following blog post in November 2020 during NaNoWriMo; thankfully, a vaccine has been developed since I wrote this, and I have been able to travel some:
Back in March 2020, the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, and the world came to a screeching halt. All of a sudden, no one could travel anywhere, and everyone was asked to stay home to stop the spread of the virus. Several industries were forced to shut down including the tourism industry. Hotels, planes, trains, restaurants, tour companies, buses, entertainment venues, and travel destinations all closed. Thousands of people were without jobs, and no one could travel anywhere unless it was a true emergency.
This travel ban has put a damper on my year. I was looking forward to spending a few days in Cincinnati, Ohio to celebrate my birthday in April, but instead, I stayed home on my birthday. This was highly unlike me, as I love to travel, and I enjoy doing something exciting each year on my birthday. My plan was to try to meet up with my cousin and her family and do an escape room. I love doing escape rooms, and we had such a good deal on tickets. I also planned to get Graeter’s ice cream, which is a local treat and on the next day, eat breakfast at the Taste of Belgium restaurant. I planned to visit Loveland Castle and Jungle Jim’s. My cousin and a few others had recommended Jungle Jim’s to me. They say it’s a huge international market with foods from all over the world. Jungle Jim’s seemed like an adventure to me, and also, who doesn’t want to see a castle?! Sadly, I had to cancel our hotel reservation and our travel plans, but thankfully, a few months later, we were able to see Clayshire Castle in Bowling Green, Indiana.
I felt bad for all of the employees affected by the travel ban and the pandemic. I also felt cooped up in my own home, and I just wanted to get out! When I told a fellow NaNoWriMo writer that I was going to be writing travel blog posts, she joked that I could write, “Day 1: Couch!” I could follow that up with Day 2: Bedroom! It’s been such a tiring time staying indoors all the time. I am so used to traveling and seeing new places every year. It is so weird that I have not been on an airplane at all in the year 2020! I am so used to taking at least one flight a year for the last several years, so it feels a bit unnatural that I haven’t been on a plane this year. However, I want to be safe and healthy and keep others safe and healthy too. I understand the need to stay home, but I worry about what this will do to our world and the tourism industry. I hope this pandemic will go away soon and a vaccine will be developed quickly!
*If you’ve forgotten, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month which happens every November.
