By My first post in the midst of a global pandemic and it’s oddly going to be about air travel. What a weird time to be alive! The last post on my blog detailed an amazing culinary experience at a luxury ski resort in the middle of a fantastic ski season. Little did I know, only a couple weeks later, I would be bedridden, experiencing the worst sickness of my life. Vail became an early Covid-19 hotspot (thanks to our worldwide visitors) before most the US was even affected. I was in so much pain with barely enough energy to even open my eyes. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t walk, I could barely move for 6 days. By day 9, I had an appetite again but I couldn’t taste anything. By day 21, I still struggled to walk outside, barely moving my feet as I inched around my block. As a typically active person, I fell into a depression because it hurt so much to breathe.
My doctor encouraged me to stay home and continue to quarantine. Testing was limited and had a hefty price tag. I left my doctor’s office with an assumed positive and an ongoing fear that this would happen to me again. After a total of 6 weeks to recover, I told myself I’m not going anywhere in 2020!
As the rest of the country started to quarantine, I felt like I had a head start. As everything shut down and people were getting angry, we found ways to enjoy this “new normal”. We went outside, we took mini road-trips and just kept to ourselves. In May, we stayed at 2 hotels for quarantine vacations. I knew I wanted to travel but I would do it safely and in areas taking precautions. After months of road trips and hiding out in hotels, I figured it was time to try air travel.
We decided to fly with Southwest Airlines for our first flight in 2020. I loved how they were taking Covid precautions seriously. Mandating masks and keeping middle seats open were a plus for me. When I would see comments on social media from anti-maskers saying they would never fly Southwest, that made me more confident in my decision. On both our departing and returning flight, I was so impressed with how clean the plane was. In addition to the free bags and the always friendly service, the cleanliness of the plane and the mandated social distancing made the flight very enjoyable. Everyone on the plane respected each other which feels like a rare occurrence these days.
Overall, it was a good experience. I’m not rushing to get back on a plane anytime soon, but my experience with Southwest definitely put my mind at ease when it comes to air travel. It may take the world a long time to go back to normal, or we’ll never experience our old normal again. In the meantime, let’s do our best to enjoy our lives while respecting others and taking the consequences of this virus seriously. We will travel the world again!
thevaliantlife.com 
Wow, glad you are okay! Appreciate you sharing what you went through. Assume Riley and hubby were okay through your COVID-19 experience?
Self isolating in our RV in New Mexico-we ran into you all at a State Park south of Roswell-I believe you were all just starting out on your travels then 💕 Stay safe and well! And keep adventuring🤗
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Oh my gosh, thank you for commenting! I often wonder about the people we met while we lived on the road, we really miss the RV community!! My husband was completely fine while I was sick, he slept in the living room and wore a mask when he had to attend to me. He had zero symptoms. Riley was down for about 3 days with extreme fatigue and a mild fever, then by day 4 he popped out of bed like nothing happened! He was completely back to normal within days while I still struggled. It was overall very scary, so many ups and downs physically and mentally for me.
Please continue to stay safe while you’re out there! I think if we continue to take precautions, we can still be “normal” without putting people at risk. Happy adventuring!!
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