I know it’s controversial, but we decided we are going to travel to visit my mom and brothers for Christmas in Colorado this year. Any other year, this would have been a no brainer – get plane tickets, pack, and go. This year with COVID in the air we had to really think through this decision with a list of pros and cons and strategize our pandemic travel plans.
Pros
- Annie is 14 months old, and my mom hasn’t seen her in real life since she was two weeks old. Facetime is great and all, but it’s just not the same.
- We passed on several trips to visit my family throughout the year, and they passed to come see us too – it feels extremely overdue.
- Flight prices were right! We’ll never be able to fly that cheap again.
- We have time. Working from home has given us flexibility to stay for a while. We can stay for 17 days (or even longer if we do end up needing to quarantine). Usually, we’d only be able to go for up to a week maybe.
- My grandfather just passed away. The funeral won’t be until next summer, but it feels like we should be together now.
Cons
- Mom is in the higher risk age group.
- Being pregnant I am at higher risk.
- Travel exposes us to a lot of people, which increases risk.
We checked the comfort level of my mom and brothers, and everyone agreed that they are willing to welcome us. So, we’re set to go. Now we just need to come up with some strategies for pandemic travel that will mitigate the risks.
To Fly or To Drive, that is the Question
First thing we considered was whether to fly or drive. Driving takes about 26 hours with no stops. Before kids Ned and I made the trip in about 3 days. Now Annie gets antsy after about 20 minutes, assuming the sun is not in her eyes. We did a 5-hour trip to Boston and that was doable, but tough. We could probably get there in 3 days again, but they would be very long, exhausting days. Also, driving would still expose us to gas stations across the country, multiple hotels, and restaurants. That all adds up to potentially more exposure than flying when all said and done.
When we saw the price of the flights, it basically made the decision for us. Seriously $300 round trip for three seats – that can’t be beat! It usually costs that for one seat. Oh, and there’s no change fee in case we can’t go or change our plans. Plus, based on some research we think the risk on the actual airplane when it’s in flight is pretty low. So, the risk is limited to a couple hours where we can hopefully minimize and manage some of that risk.
Off Peak Travel Dates to Minimize Risk
The flights we picked were intentional. We’re leaving on a Thursday a week before Christmas. Our hope is that the big travel rush won’t start until that weekend, and we’ll miss some of the lines. Same thing on the way back. We’re coming back on the Tuesday after New Year’s hopefully after most of the travel rush is over. And I tried to pick off-peak flight times that were still direct flights so we wouldn’t have to change planes.
Our biggest concern about flying is the time spent in security and the terminals. We’ve thought a lot about it and will do our best to socially-distance by allowing a lot of extra time and finding spaces to sit while we wait that are away from crowds. There is usually a gate nearby that is pretty empty. We will also take advantage of the opportunity to board early since we will have the baby.
New Hard Suitcases
We ended up buying a whole new set of Samsonite suitcases. We needed them anyway but decided that the hard cases would be easier to wipe down with sanitizer wipes before putting them in the car after traveling through the airport. I haven’t seen any research recommending this really, but it satisfied my own peace of mind.
Disposable N95 Masks and a Rain Cover
We got disposable N-95 masks to offer the best protection in the airport and then toss before getting in my mom’s car. We didn’t want to have to carry used masks around with us. Just throw and go.
Since Annie is still too young to wear a mask, we put her in the stroller and kept her under the rain cover to protect her. It’s not a perfect solution since there are air holes, but it’s better than nothing.
With all of this in mind I am cautiously optimistic that the trip will be an enjoyable time to spend with our family. I can’t wait. I’ll post and update after the trip.
Post-Trip Update
The trip went really well. I’m so glad we decided to go, but still glad we took extra precautions. Luckily, no one got Covid, and we really enjoyed seeing everyone. Annie even took her first steps!
The Denver International Airport even had a special program that you could sign up for in advance of flights leaving from DIA (so our return trip) where you did a health pre-screening. Then once you get to the airport you get your temperature taken and there is a special security line you can go through. After security, there is a dedicated train car to take you to your terminal. When we went through, we were the only ones. Can’t be more socially distant than that!
What are you doing to safely travel during the pandemic? Let me know if the comments!
