Thursday, April 29, 2021

Hola! Last week I wrote about how I'd canceled my flight to Florida at the last minute. There were numerous reasons why, which you can read about here but one of them was, no doubt, fear. When I was in my late teens, I used to not only be afraid to fly but to leave the house, but obviously I conquered my fear as I began traveling weekly in my adult life. 

But COVID-19 definitely awakened some of those latent fears and I know I’m not alone. When the pandemic first hit, my wife and two little kids (now aged 4.5 years and 20 months) hunkered down. To be team players, we followed all of the advice from the CDC and medical advisors and we took it to the next level; we didn’t even order takeout from a restaurant for two months. We only had our first  restaurant dining experience two weeks ago, outdoors at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel (here’s my review).

The CDC only recommended essential travel and there really was no where essential for me to go. My 92-year-old dad, who I used to visit every three weeks, was on lockdown in Florida and every travel conference and speaking gig I had was canceled. It was a long year but thank God, the vaccines appear to be working and COVID-19 cases in the USA are dramatically going down. 

Once I got vaccinated (here was my experience), it really helped me mentally and obviously protected me physically. So yesterday, after over a year (432 days to be exact), of not stepping on a plane, my no-fly streak came to an end. 

Avelo Airlines Inaugural Flight
I flew on Avelo Airlines' inaugural flight! Here’s what it was like and where we went.

My Best Travel Advice For Summer Family Travel
On Monday, I was on KCAL9/CBS Los Angeles talking about summer travel. Of course, as with almost every TV news interview, they only took short soundbites from our entire interview, which allows them to pack more information into their story. But we discussed tips about summer travel, family travel and alternatives to Europe so I compiled everything that wasn't in the news clip into an article. Read it all here.

European Union To Allow Fully Vaccinated Americans This Summer
The New York Times broke a story that the European Union is going to allow fully vaccinated travelers to visit this summer! Here are the details and my take.

Avoid This Airport During These Times
There are runway closures at this major US airport that will cause some delays for the next several months so it's best to avoid it if possible, during these times. Here's the story.


PLUS: More great Mother's Day gift ideas here.

Credit Card Deal of the Month
ENDS APRIL 30: Incredible Limited Time Offer! This top credit card just got an 80,000-point bonus boost (worth $1000), $50 for groceries, plus Lyft, Peloton, & DoorDash perks that can save you money.  

3 Websites To Cross-Reference Before Traveling Internationally
In light of the European Union now saying that they’ll welcome vaccinated Americans this summer, I recommend that before you travel internationally, you also consult these three websites. 

Can You Guess The Only Country Listed As Level 1 (Safe to Travel to) on the U.S. State Department List?
There’s currently only one Level 1 country on the State Department’s travel advisory list (this is the safest ranking and means ‘exercise normal precautions’) and I would have guessed it was New Zealand but it’s not (find the answer here). However, New Zealand is the lone Level 1 country on Australia’s list so I wasn’t that far off base.

12 Things in Travel You Need to Know Today
Here are the story headlines:
— Spain plans to welcome all global travelers in June
— Hotel rates on the rise as travel demand ticks up
— U.S. tells citizens to leave India as Covid crisis deepens
— Airlines who boarded planes back-to-front in response to COVID-19 actually doubled passengers' risk of exposure, a new study says
— Puerto Rico Governor: Visitors must comply with laws after American tourist found beaten to death
— Flight canceled after man arrested for throwing 6 coins into plane engine for good luck
— Delta to resume hiring pilots in June as travel demand recovers
— Travelers are 'all in' at duty-free stores, snapping up luxury goods as air travel returns
— JetBlue COO on the future of airlines and the demand for air travel
— NRA chief's elephant shooting video sparks outrage
— 'I love my airline, but they didn't love me back': Southwest flight attendant blames airline for husband's COVID death
— Sun Country adds more routes, airport destinations
— A vaccinated couple flew their family to Hawaii. Their young son died of Covid-19 on the trip
+ More (Read it all here in today's travel news round-up as well as the 84 other top travel news stories from this past week!)

Potty Shields: A Must-Have for Traveling with Kids
Great news! We have a sponsor for this month's newsletters and it's a travel product that Natalie and I absolutely love. They're called Potty Shields and parents and grandparents of young children should seriously consider buying them because they're a game-changer for travel, whether you're taking a flight, a road trip or even a day excursion. Read why they're such a travel essential here.

In Case You Missed It  

Hands Down the Best Beach Toy for Kids
After one toss, my son was hooked. He seriously would not stop asking for one and he’s never done that before and since then, I've had countless readers email or tweet me to say how much their kids love it. Here's where to get it ... and it's inexpensive, too.

This Week’s Travel Contests