We have returned from our first real vacation in 18 months! A trip to Texas for sightseeing and a family wedding. Some of our observations along the way:
Airports: Crowded. Everyone was masked in the airports we used. We were a little nervous at first upon departure, when we arrived and saw the security line stretching almost the entire length of the concourse. It turns out for “social distancing” they had the line stretch out instead of using the “hairpin turn” method, so we had plenty of time to get thru before boarding. In general few were social distancing.
Airplanes: We flew Southwest. Everyone was pleasant, no fighting, no mask issues. On our departing flight, there were about 15 empty seats, so DW and I had our row to ourselves. Our return flight was completely full, but we lucked out. We were in the high “B” group but when we boarded, amazingly the 2 seat emergency row was empty, so again we had a row to ourselves (we were amused a a couple of folsk asking to sit by the window, and we had to point out “unfortunately, there’s not a seat there”).
Rental car: We used Hertz as I have a Gold Plus membership (thank you, Megacorp). The weekly rate was double what it cost us last August in Florida; it would have been triple had I not used some of my Hertz points. When the shuttle brought us to the Hertz lot, there was a single car (Impala) in the Gold section – no choices like in the past. The car was very clean, but after a couple of hours driving we kept getting warnings about the passenger air bag needing servicing, and its warning light would go one but back off for periods..
Hotels: We stayed at Hilton chain hotels in the San Antonio and Houston areas. Both had what seemed like a normal amount of guests, but there was definitely a staff shortage. Daily room cleaning had to be requested. They asked if we would mind picking up clean towels from the front desk instead of housekeeping delivering them, no big deal. They were back to serving cooked/buffet breakfasts. Both had a “please mask if you are not vaccinated’ signs. Houston the staff was always masked, in San Antonio they only masked when someone approached the desk. Both hotels had the plastic barriers up around the desk.
The most entertaining aspect at one hotel was the fledgling baby vultures practicing flying in the walkway between the hotel main lobby and pool. Vultures had nested there and the local folks said they were a protected species so once the nest was found it could not be moved.
Public behavior: Few masks and social distancing anywhere, but we did not feel "crowded", even at the sightseeing venues. We did not see any stores in San Antonio with a mask requirement. In the Houston area a few stores still had “masks required” signs. At the wedding
Sightseeing: No real restrictions at any of the places we visited. Signs requesting, but not mandating, to wear a mask of you were not vaccinated and to social distance. Rarely being followed, but we still felt safe.
In general we felt very comfortable. It was great to see my siblings, siblings-in-law, and many of my nieces and nephews in person after so long. The wedding itself was fantastic. We ate way too much Mexican, Tex-Mex, and BBQ so lots of walking the golf course and gym this week
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[FONT="]We hope to make an international trip in July or August to visit other relatives, but that may be tricky due to the target countries rules so we are playing this by ear.[/FONT]
