We’re fast approaching one year since COVID-19 brought the world to a halt. It was February 27, 2020, when I realized last year wasn’t going to go the way any of us thought it would. By March 13th, Chicago was canceling dying the river green for St. Patrick’s Day. Hello, lockdown – remember Tiger King?
How Much Blog Does a Travel Blog Blog When a Travel Blog Can’t…Travel?
So, yeah there’s been zero travel to write about. Though I am hard at work on a special trip that I hope I can pull off before my United PlusPoints expire! It’s been six months since I moved to Orlando. That flew by in the blink of an eye, yet felt like a lifetime all at the same time.
It struck me yesterday that I’ve officially entered the Travel Blog Twilight Zone. How? Well, look at what I got in the mail yesterday:
That’s right. A United Airlines Hemispheres magazine. (Mind you’ve they’ve been mailing it out to a variety of MileagePlus members for a while now.) What really threw me for a loop was the destination promoted on the cover – Tampa, FL. Here it’s been over seven months since I was on a plane. And, I’m getting an aviation magazine promoting a city I can drive to in about an hour and 15 minutes.
I had to laugh. Not that I don’t love writing about different deals. Or different ways to earn points and miles when you’re not traveling. But, I’d really like to start writing more about actually traveling, and not just the planning.
A World Where We’re All Making Up Our Own Rules
So, while I’m not jetting and visiting coworking spaces worldwide, I am very much going to Disney World. (More on that later…or sneak peek here.) I know that people think I’m nuts. However, in my mind, the WDW resort is one of the safest public spaces in Florida. Strict mask enforcement, reduced capacity dining, majority of spaces that are outdoors. These are all things that aren’t easily found in the sunshine state.
I feel comfortable. But if I were to write about going to Disney World (in a pandemic, no less), some people might have negative or shaming opinions. But I know plenty of people who are planning or already have returned to travel. Perhaps it’s that they have gotten a vaccine already? Or, they believe masks and air filters in an airplane to be relatively safe? Maybe they are quarantining each end of their traveling and testing and only staying in an isolated rental home? You get the idea.
So much seems to be cloudy. In particular, the different standards we hold ourselves and others to. Do I judge other travel bloggers (or anyone for that matter) for their traveling? What if it’s required for the person’s job? What if it’s just because they miss traveling? Am I absolved for going to a theme park with many people just because it was only a 20-minute drive? Some would say yes, others – no.
So, until I can see my way through this other “dimension,” I’ll do my best to keep it as lively here with award travel, digital nomad, and remote work content. And, maybe – just maybe – I’ll finally get to all those trip reviews I keep telling myself I will one day write. 🤣
The post The Travel Blog Twilight Zone was first published on Coworkaholic.