March 10th, 2021 marked one entire year that I have not been on a plane. This time last year, I had just arrived home from a trip to Morocco with some of my best girlfriends. Last week, when March 10th came and went, I unsuccessfully tried not to notice. I felt if I said it aloud, I’d give that unbelievable truth too much weight, and I would crumble under it. There’s been too much crumbling for me this past year.
As a travel podcaster, blogger, influencer, leader in my industry, I have felt so torn about traveling during Covid. Travel is so deeply ingrained in who I am, that I questioned far too many times who I was or could be without it. I need it to tick, to keep the blood pumping through my veins, to keep my life muscles from atrophying, and now that I’ve built my business(es) around it, I also rely on it for my income. But travel is so much more than my livelihood, it is the very mortar with which I’ve built the foundation for my entire adult existence.
I wanted to travel during Covid. To get on a plane and go somewhere. But I wanted to set a good example, too. As a person with a platform, as an expert in my industry, it is my responsibility to set a good example. What would it look like if I decided it was okay for me to hop a flight and go take a vacation somewhere? Would others then think hey, if she’s going, I’m going too, and as a result, would I just instigate a domino effect of exacerbating an already bad situation? Probably. Who knows, really. But, then again, what about my mental health?
Torn.
As badly as I wanted to buy myself a plane ticket and go somewhere, anywhere, even just one hop away to Denver to see friends and be in airports again… I couldn’t bring myself to do it. This is a personal decision, just like opting to accept or refuse the vaccine. Planes were flying, people were flying, I just couldn’t bring myself to take part. I feel too much in the spotlight, and my integrity said, “not yet.”
So, I’ve waited. I turned the focus of my podcast to backyard adventures in the US, and I took a few road trips, and that’s it. For an entire year.
With news of the vaccines progressing, I’ve watched the phases in my county and hoped along with everyone else that we can move quickly through them, so that I can get my vaccine before I absolutely lose my shit and decide to just get on a plane anyway. I will un-proudly confess that “Lose My Shit Day” seemed to be getting closer and closer.
And then…
I received some encouraging news. Apparently if I drove just two hours to another county, I could walk in and get a vaccine. Just like that. No appointment necessary. In my county, they are refusing anyone who isn’t part of the current phase. In other counties in Montana, it turns out, not enough residents are signing up for vaccines or taking advantage of walk-in appointments, which leaves extra doses. Extra. Doses. Of the gateway to the future.
I drove the two hours, walked into a pharmacy where I was the only one there seeking the Covid vaccine, and walked back out 15 minutes later with a bandaid over my left arm, tears in my eyes, and optimism flowing through my body. Just like that.
According to the nurse who administered my vaccine, this pharmacy was deeply proud to be part of the process of speeding up distribution and administration. They want to help vaccinate as many people as they can, as quickly as they can. Period.
I am grateful for the opportunity to be an active part of the solution I want to see.
The solution that will hopefully lead to borders opening up, entire industries (not just travel) coming back to life, my friends who have been on furlough since April being offered their jobs back… and maybe, finally, getting to act on that plane ticket I’ve been waiting to buy.
Onward. With hope and optimism.
FAQ // FYI
Do you get something official saying you’ve had the vaccine? Yes. It is a small white COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card.
Will they stamp or sign an official International Certificate of Vaccination (the yellow cards approved by the World Health Organization)? No. You will get the white COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card – officially approved by the CDC, which you can then staple to the inside of your yellow International Certificate of Vaccination if you want to (this is what the nurse told me and this is what I plan to do once I get my second dose and official card).
Which vaccine did I get? Moderna (I would have accepted any). I’ll go back in 4 weeks for my second dose.
Will we be required to show proof of vaccination to travel internationally in the future? Not necessarily. See this post for quick access to all the links that matter for post pandemic travel.
