Including my one BIG eye opener in LAX!!!
In case you were wondering, here is what I experienced flying May 12th Traverse City, MI—Chicago O’Hare—LAX—-Honolulu
I didn’t really know what to expect as I embarked on my journey back to the island. Like most of you, I have seen conflicting reports about near empty planes side by side with full flights.
Are passengers really afraid? Are seats full? Are planes clean?
Here are the highlights of my recent trip!
1) Plexiglass shields at each ticketing counter.
You slide your passport to them, they take your bags, your on your way. Hand sanitizer stations are EVERYWHERE…use them.
TSA seemed to run as normal.
Didn’t notice anything particularly different?
2)No full flights
None of my planes were full. However, ORD-LAX had more passengers than I expected, but even that was handled so well by the crew! Seat spacing was observed where necessary and people were even moved around if needed to keep distance as best as could be.
Traverse to Chicago is normally a small plane and can be very full. I had a large plane and it very few flyers.
Flight attendants and airport personal are working tirelessly to do everything they can to maintain protocol and staff offer excellent service. 😊😊 ❤❤
Bottled water is offered as well as prepackaged snacks. Delta did this in plastic bags with an assortment already packed together and handed over in one pass.
My flight to Hawaii was a very large plane with maybe 20 passengers and 6-8 crew members. (Photograph below)
3)Can you buy food/drinks at airports?
Yes.
I didn’t starve or need to fill my carry on with sustenance.
I purchased a coffee, water and a delicious fresh made Breakfast Bagel with all the trimmings in Chicago while enjoying a nice chat with a friendly worker.
All of this came with a side of 60% alchohol hand sanitizer free for the taking.
However….most sit down restaurants appear closed unless they have found other avenues to offer pick up style service (more on that when I arrive in LAX)
3) Are people careful about social distancing?
**Answer a)…Yes. I would say a vast majority are respectful of the airport/airline guidelines for boarding in small groups, allowing spacing in lines etc.
**Answer b)…No. Some moments *better lend themselves* to keeping a distance than others do. Right?
Anyone been to the grocery store lately? Have you found that it is easy when you are the only person in the ice cream aisle….but a bit more difficult when 5 carts meet at an end cap to grab from the same paper plate display?
Traveling is no exception.
4) Are airports really THAT bare?
Yes.
Chicago and LAX were so quiet….eerily quiet. So few travelers.
5) Do people wear masks?
Yes. The airports announced covid protocol at a nauseatingly frequent rate.
Many people are not walking around with them on, but they wear them when interacting with cashiers/ticketers etc.
6) Can you have a glass of wine? Beer? Are the bars open in airports?
Yes…and No!
Photo below of my glass of Cabernet. 🍷
So yes I could get a glass of wine. I could only order it to drink while I was waiting for my take out order of food. 🤷♀️🤷♀️
Also. While waiting, I could not sit down to enjoy it, but simple stood in a corner of the would-be restaurant amidst a pile of chairs and tables that had been removed to follow guidelines set forth.
All bar stools are removed from bar area
NOW…when my food was ready to *take-out* I needed to return my glass (whether finished or not) and proceed out of the space to find another place to eat….so that I didn’t break the *guidelines*
I slugged down my last 4oz, handed over my glass and took my bag of food.
**EYE OPENER @LAX***
So where am I going to eat the take out food that I couldn’t eat sitting down in the cafe because I might eat too close to someone and break the rules?
IN THE COMMON AREA OF THE AIRPORT!
Where, you guessed it….dozens and dozens of my fellow travelers have now congregated to eat the food they ordered at their restaurant and were also forced to leave with. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
So now we are all staring at one another with our bags of *take-out* with no choice but to sit down at limited number of tables beside one another and enjoy our dinner while exchanging our “did that really just happen” smirks and smiles!
Sharing moments of irony and laughter and fellowship that only come from sharing common experience under unique circumstances. ❤
👀I guess the eye opening lesson here is that even with ALL the precautions, ALL the preparations, ALL the attention to details, there is never going to be a perfect list of rules to govern all the fine points of logistics! 👀
And obviously piling rules on top of rules on top of rules doesn’t work well in reality. 🤷♀️
I am sure that someone recognized that this scenario would play out….when they were stacking restaurant chairs, pushing tables out of the way and training staff to monitor that travelers drank their libations in and standing position with great speed!
Surely someone asked “Where will they eat?” And you can almost picture the authorities slowly turning toward the common area with the same smirky smiles that we all shared when they realized that they had trapped everyone into an even tighter space with very limited seating in order that they might distance themselves in the name of COVID…..irony!
7) So, IMO, is it safe to travel?
I say Yes! Definitely.
Just as safe as any other experience you are having outside of your home.
It confirmed to me that I am in control of what steps I am comfortable with in reducing my exposure and risk of exposing others…not unlike any other time I have traveled.
I respect that others have a different level of comfort/fear and therefore I may need to walk a bit more slowly, hang back a few extra steps in line, offer social distancing when asked and be mindful of my fellow humans ❤
But I can accept those things as an act of love and kindness toward others without feeling that I need to compromise my plans to see new places, visit family, or plan an adventure with loved ones.
I hope this helps ease any fears of booking travel for some of you?
I spent weeks feeling apprehensive about how I would feel boarding a plane.
What I found was that I can be fully in control of myself and my practices and that the airports/airlines are WAY on top of all the safe protocols….if anything they are over the top extreme to insure that everything within their power is being done. And they are excelling!
And guess what? Other humans can be equally as self governing and respectful and most are more than willing to. ❤
So whenever and wherever you decide to traverse in the coming future, be blessed! ❤✈🌍
**But as an aside…I would steer clear from Hawaii at this time unless you have 3 or 4 weeks time frame to stay…this 14-day quarantine is strictly observed ($4000 fine, jail time and exportation) and you can easily mimic the experience by locking yourself up alone in a bedroom for 2 weeks…. no contact with any other human…. having boxes of food set outside of your door, washing your clothing in the sink & hanging over doorknobs to dry while looking through online photos of beaches, mountains, waterfalls and sunsets that you can feel around you, but cannot visit! 🤪🤪🤣🤣
Cheaper to simulate than to experience. 🌍
3 more days until I can Breakout of Lockdown and get to that water!!
Thanks for reading!
From My Island 