All my bags are packed,I'm ready to goI'm standing here outside your doorI hate to wake you up to say goodbyeLeaving On A Jet Plane - John Denver
Tis the season of traveling and vacations, but this year we have curtailed most of our vacation plans because of the virus. Many have paid for their airline or train tickets or have paid for a cottage and now we have to make a decision… to go or not to go. And it is compounded by the fact that the states and Trump have said it is okay to go on vacation but we do not feel safe and could lose our deposits.
The cottage next to me have had several renters this summer already, a family pulled in Sunday afternoon and probably will stay a week. So far the license plates were from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York
It has been difficult for many Americans who are struggling to balance staying home during the pandemic with feeling like they need to get out of their immediate space for both self care and enjoyment. Many have not taken breaks from working from home, or have struggled with being unable to see family members. So it is natural to ask how to take some time away to re-charge. But what is the best way to do it? And when are there serious issues to think about? What options may work for tricky situations? We asked health experts to help you navigate how best to get away and what pitfalls they see along the way.[…]What types of Covid-19 precautions should people take this summer while traveling by car? By plane?Dr. Jay C. ButlerButler is the deputy director for infectious diseases at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.Airports and security lines may put people in close contact to others and social distancing may be difficult on crowded flights so it will be extremely important to wear a face covering, cover coughs and sneezes and wash your hands. Traveling by car may expose people to others and infected surfaces when stopping for gas, food and bathroom breaks. So anticipating your travel needs are important. Bring alcohol-based hand sanitizer, wear face coverings in public places and pick up food at drive-throughs or curbside restaurants.[…]What types of trips or vacations might be feasible before a Covid-19 vaccine is widely available?Dr. Jay C. ButlerButler is the deputy director for infectious diseases at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.It all depends on the final destination. It is possible that you may be visiting a state that decides to put into place travel restrictions, such as stay-at-home orders or shelter-in-place orders, mandated quarantines or require a negative test result prior to entry. So check on local updates before and as you travel.
I have been watching where I travel on the Cape, for the most part my guests and me have been eating outside. The one time we did eat inside the tables were spaced over six feet apart and all the doors out to the deck were open and a very good breeze off the bay was coming through the doors. The one beach that I went to people were more than a safe distance apart. Provincetown was crowded on the 4th we way down from normal and everyone wore a mask. The local grocery store had mandatory masks rules and limited the number of people in the store (We decided not to go shopping because it was too crowed and there was a line outside waiting to get in.).
Global NewsBy Meghan CollieJune 6, 2020[…]Now, as the weather gets warmer and provinces like Ontario begin to allow short-term rentals, including lodges, cabins, cottages, homes and condos, Canadians are wondering if they’re allowed to head north and, if so, how can they do it without spreading COVID-19?The top worry for health officials is people who live in densely populated cities with high rates of COVID-19 moving into smaller, more rural communities where the virus may not exist yet, said Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto.“There’s a lot of COVID-19, relatively speaking, in Toronto and very little in cottage country (north of the city),” Furness said.“It’s not so much about protecting oneself … it’s really about protecting where you’re going and not bringing COVID-19 with you.”TWEET THISHypothetically, it should be relatively easy to maintain social distancing at the cottage, said Dr. Stan Houston, a professor of medicine at the University of Alberta.[…]The first step is to eliminate one of the riskiest behaviours known to spread COVID-19 — grocery shopping. Furness says you should pick up anything you want to eat or drink in the city where you live full time before leaving.“Bringing your own food and your own stuff to drink and not going to any grocery stores, (liquor stores) or drug stores is the No. 1 thing,” Furness said.
I checked the Massachusetts website on COVID-19 and Wellfleet only had 5 cases.
For trans people traveling carry extra worries.
This from BBC The Travel Show:
Sue Pascoe shares her experience about travelling as a transgender woman.She told The Travel Show there had been times when she wanted to "shrink away" when she heard negative comments about her from other passengers on a plane.But on a trip to India her view of the world was transformed where a different culture meant she received a warm welcome."That was my moment when I decided that I had found one place in the world that no matter if everywhere else didn't accept me as Sue, here was a place where I could be Sue," she said.
And then there is airport security...
Everyone hates going through airport security. But if you're trans or nonbinary, it's a completely different ballgame. Writer Kam Burns details the specific challenges you may encounter as a gender-nonconforming person — both abroad and stateside — while offering tips to ensure your vacation is the relaxing trip you deserve.AllureBy Kam BurnsNovember 23, 2019[…]ProPublica recently reviewed all data that’s publicly available regarding complaints against the TSA and found that five percent of civil rights complaints filed with the TSA between January of 2016 and April of 2019 were from trans and gender-nonconforming individuals, despite the fact that we make up less than one percent of the population. And that was just of the people who chose to report.The TSA body scanners that are used in standard security protocols in airports were not designed for people with bodies that aren't gender-normative. TSA agents have just a few moments to hit a blue or pink button before a person steps into the machine. If there’s a penis or breasts where the machine thinks there should not be, an alarm goes off.
The article offers some tips on going through security for trans passengers.
Things You Can Do to Prepare and Feel More At EaseIf you fly frequently, consider getting TSA PreCheck. Your line to get through security will generally be shorter, which will give you more time to deal with any issues that might come up. You’ll have an expedited screening process and the perk of not having to take your shoes off in an airport, according to the TSA website. However, it does cost $85 for a five-year membership, so if that's prohibitive for you for whatever reason, there are other things you can do to ease anxiety.[…]For those who choose to wear a packer, a binder, or any other restrictive or enhancing garment, know that there’s a chance it will set off the machine. If that happens, respond as directly as possible and in a straightforward way. For example, if you’re wearing a binder, pull the agent aside and say, “This is a chest binder I wear to make my chest appear smaller, because of my gender identity and presentation.” Having a prepared response in advance can alleviate anxiety, and if you can provide an answer with confidence, you may be able to avoid further questioning. If the TSA agent continues to make it difficult for you to move forward, providing concise yet honest answers will also likely give you more success in filing a complaint later.
The last tip is,
Know what to do if something does happenIf you or a friend ends up having a negative or unsafe experience, it’s important to know your rights. The National Center for Transgender Equality has a guide on who to talk to and how to file a report in the case of discrimination. There’s even an app called FlyRights that will let you file a report from your phone immediately.The way transgender people are treated in airports is unfortunately just a symptom of a much larger problem. Unfortunately, lack of awareness around gender is a huge issue, and though it's one that extends outside of the baggage claim, TSA body scanners and airports are designed for a binary society that puts anyone outside of the norm at risk. Luckily, there are people working to make those changes on a more systemic level. But in the meantime, do what you can to take care of yourself and your friends.
I know that I avoid flying, even though I haven’t flown since 1999 I would rather take the train or drive to my destination.
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