GatewayRedbirds.com

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/revenge ... d29a416

Demand for vacation travel - pent up revenge against covid. I think it will be interesting out there.

Took my kid out to SF and NorCal for HS graduation and beat the Crush but not without some hassles.

Rental cars reserved was not there. packed airports and flights. Southwest StL having issues - cancelling direct flights.

I think the travel industry could be a little strained at hotels, eateries etc.
and people out of practice.
pack your patience. Or plan self-sufficient - semi off-grid stuff. Shoulder or off season may be the way to go.

Just an example - when our rental car reservation fell thru, It was a nice morning and I saw on google maps that there were several rental agencies to walk to nearby - one was gone, the other closed -no cars. got it on the 3rd try. if you're looking at Google maps for places to go and eat etc, they may not be there or the hours might be way diff.

Also, had plane change in Vegas. that airport looked like hell. Chicago Midway is a [expletive] show. wall to wall people and nary a seat to wait at or a wall to lean against without someone right next you. it's an adjustment to be back in lines and herded.

SF and North California are awesome places btw

Renting a beach condo in NC for a week in mid-June. Driving. So we will really only have trouble if we try to dine out. I need a week off desperately.

Revenge is a dish that is best served cold.

-North Dakota Division of Tourism

Leroy wrote: ↑

May 26 21, 12:23 pm

Revenge is a dish that is best served cold.

-North Dakota Division of Tourism

haha. ND would be an excellent place to visit I want to get up there. drove thru it and Montana last summer. Leroy's Airbnb has great amenities I hear, Fiddle music in the evening, excellent woodchipper

I'm getting frustrated from non-sensical and random things still being closed due to COVID. Like if you go to a public park, they'll still have the bathrooms closed. Why? COVID. But really - why? It isn't like you are going to be touching all sorts of surfaces and be packed in with dozens of people in a public park bathroom. Can they not find people to clean them?

Same goes for a lot of fast food and fast casual restaurants. Many are still drive-through only. That's fine, but sometimes I'm on the road and I need to use a bathroom. Or I just want to eat at a table instead of eating in my car. I think they are just keeping them closed because it doesn't really reduce their business, and they can save money by not having to have additional cashiers or people to clean.

Anyway, only tangentially related to travel in the time of waning COVID.

Stopped by the snow cone place that's been open every day in the summer since I was a kid. Was baffled to look inside and see it was empty. It's 85 out. I'm concerned traveling in general this summer might not be as safe as usual due to trying to pack and rush everyone through the transport system to fit demand outpacing supply that will take time to turn back online.

We took a spring break trip in April to Gulf Shores and drove. Had a beautiful condo on the beach. It was fantastic.

Doing the same in July but going to Florida.

[expletive] you COVID

Renting a house on the beach in Exuma in July and can not wait. I'm sure the airports will be busy, but whatever.

Domestic travel demand is high as everyone is booking lake houses, beach houses, RVs, camping spots, etc. Now is probably actually a good time to visit big cities since the conventional wisdom is to visit less crowded places, thereby guaranteeing there are going to be a million people on that little lake you thought you'd have all to yourself.

Now is the time to be booking Europe if you've been wanting to travel there. They are desperate to have Americans back and the Brits who are big travelers are still effectively barred by their own government from leaving the island, so Americans are going to have pick of the litter in 2021. Also, prices are still stable but won't stay that way. If you are thinking you might travel this fall or in 2022 start booking stuff soonish. People think travel is going to be cheap because the industry is desperate for business, but the opposite is true. There is huge pent up demand, and after 14+ months of no revenue, businesses have no appetite for price cuts and don't need to. You can bet the airlines will retract all of their flexible, refundable, no change fee booking policies as soon as possible as well.

This is a true story, very much shortened. After a long night of opening for Blake Shelton, then playing a street dance, we retired to our hotel to find that our rooms had been slept in by Blake's band and not cleaned. We were upset, and decided to go home (about 100 miles). The lady at the counter at the hotel was a real crabass though, and on Monday informed the mayor that we were belligerent and we should be banned from the town.

Someday I'm going back their to whizz on her garden.

Now that's revenge travel.

The other great story of that night was that Blake's portion of the show was rained out, but they stopped at the street dance and played a set. I hung out with the fiddle player while they were getting ready, and the keyboard player was doing his best to balance an electric piano on a folding chair. I said, 'That's never gonna work'. The fiddle player said, 'I know, but he's drunk as hell'.

Also a light tower smashed into Blake's bus and missed him by a foot and a half.

Good times.