PRIME SEASON
Travell ravelling ing tips
for today No one loves traveling more than I do. For years I was a travel writer, getting on a plane eight, ten, 15 times a year, jetting off to paradise usually in the Caribbean, occasionally farther away. Paul
Before I renewed my K andarian passport last year, its pages were packed with faraway destinations, from Bermuda to Central America to the Far East to Europe. I lived to travel, loved to travel, I couldn’t wait to go to an airport, hang out and watch people, and then get on a plane bound for the next adventure I don’t do travel writing anymore, but if I did, Covid would have put an end to that. But I still love to travel and love the adventure of not knowing what’s around the next corner. So travel these days is closer, smarter, but no less adventurous. And as I find myself in an aging demographic I’d much rather not be in (but considering the alternative, I’ll take it), I find myself also looking into ways to be safe in these pandemic times fraught with seeming
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S ou th C oast P r ime T imes
peril. According to the Centers for Disease Control, upwards of 80 percent of all Covid-related deaths happen to folks 65 and above. Sobering thought, especially for people like me who count themselves in good shape, people who exercise, don’t smoke, eat healthy and have active, productive lives. That helps keep Covid away, but the fact is, we oldies are more susceptible to disease, just as we’re more susceptible to falls, scams, and wearing bright white
N ov ember /D ecember 2020
Velcro sneakers and hiking our pants too high. But we oldies also still love to travel. So poking about, I found a bunch of good tips, some very obvious, some not, and they are:
Mask up, people That’s so basic it’s hardly worth mentioning but I mention it because wearing a mask, and washing your hands often, are by far the best ways to keep Covid away. It’s annoying remembering a mask but the more we do it the less bothersome it is. I look at it this way: our parents sacrificed far worse during World War II for the common good of all, so Covid is our war and we’re just doing what we can to help. It’s patriotic to protect not just our own
The CDC advises we oldies book flights with actual Covid protocols in place, and try traveling mid-week when planes are less crowded
