Looking Ahead
Well, it’s mid-July and right now we’re working on travel planning for 2022 and 2023. As I’ve mentioned before, the COVID Pandemic has put a crimp on our travel plans.
When we retired we’d envisioned 4-6 years of traveling ¾ of the year. The remainder of the time we’d planned to spend in Florida or with family. Grandma-Grandpa Camp with the grandkids was an absolute requirement every July as well.
COVID-19 Impact
Well, COVID forced us into changing our plans. In early 2020 we were in Florida when it became apparent that COVID-19 was going to have a significant impact. That year should have began with a trans-Atlantic cruise followed by a couple of months in Europe. Well, that didn’t happen.
The fall of 2020 called for a trans-Pacific cruise to Japan, China, and South Korea. Then we were spending 3 weeks exploring Japan and then lounging in Hawaii on our way back to the US. Again, that didn’t happen. Instead, we spend 2020 huddling in a rented house in Bonita Springs, Florida. But, hey, 2021 was going to be the year to look forward to…, right?
Both Julie and I got our vaccines in March; Florida has done a great job distributing the vaccines. Unfortunately, a great deal of the rest of the world has lagged. Most of the planet lacked the technology and funding to undertake an Operation Warp Speed type effort to develop and distribute vaccines.
Today we relax in the early part of 2021’s second half. The outlook is good for large parts of the US, and we’ve got a trip scheduled for August-September across the Western US. We’re hitting many of our favorite national parks, and some new ones that we’ve not experienced before. We’re also starting the 2022-2023 planning process.
Planing Ahead
When we retired, we quickly realized that the planning horizon for travel should be at least 12 months out. You could work with a shorter planning horizon, but rental and hotel selections were more limited and often the preferred tours were also booked up. So now is the time to start planning for the summer of 2022 and beyond.
Early 2022 looks questionable for international travel, but we’re booked to trek across Argentina and Chile in Feb-Mar 2022. We’re giving the plan a 60% chance of happening. After that, Iceland, Portugal, Italy, and Greece are top prospects as we plan the next 24 months. You can read about our planing at our website.
The travel plans are in a constant state of flux right now as we’re still gathering information. If you have travel experiences or ideas, send me information. The more information we have, the better our adventures will be.