Living with COVID-19 & No Travel to Boot!

Living with COVID-19 & No Travel to Boot!

How it all began

For some years now we have been promoting and selling our tours at travel shows. Typically, we spend our weekends in January, February, and March in our booth and in front of our display talking about our tours with thousands of people. These folks arrive at the show looking to book a vacation, get a bargain, and talk about travel. For us, we make a lot of new connections, meet new friends, and even manage to sell a few of our tours as well.

The new year began very well with us scheduled to present at seven shows around the country. The shows in Boston, Chicago, Denver, and Atlanta all went according to plan. By the time the Washington DC show rolled around, news of the Coronavirus was getting a lot of traction in the media, but nothing to worry me about these travel shows and my tours to Europe, which were slated to begin in mid-March. However, I did go out and purchase some Clorox Wipes to use on the plane as we flew to DC. I shared some with my seatmate, and we both laughed. That was March 6th.

The show kicked off at 10:00 on March 7th, and within an hour, we all knew something was different. The exhibit hall was nearly empty, except for us exhibitors! Over the next two days, we handed out about half our usual supply of brochures and promotional material. The show sponsors and I noted the poor attendance and began attributing it to the ever-increasing news of the Coronavirus. Outside, however, life was going on as usual. The restaurants were packed, people were out on the streets and in the parks, and there were crowds everywhere.

As the travel show came to a close on Sunday afternoon, we were relieved it was over, and happy that we had sold a few tours in spite of the poor attendance. We packed up our displays and filled out the forms to have them shipped to Philadelphia, or destination the next weekend. Then the three of us headed to the airport and fly back home later that night. As we wiped our seats and tray tables with Clorox wipes, we watched the flight fill up with passengers bound for Atlanta. Exhausted, I think we all slept most of the way home.

ED-in-DC
Ed visited with us on Saturday and signed up for a tour!

Much of Monday (March 9th) was spent following up on contacts we had made at the travel show over the weekend, repacking promotional materials for the following weekend, and preparing for two tours to Europe scheduled to depart the following week. Late that afternoon, as I sat working at my computer and looking out the window, I coughed.

The Onset of my Coronavirus

On Tuesday, March 10, I was away from home, and as the day progressed, I began to feel worn out and run down. But, I attributed it to being gone all weekend and getting in late from DC on Sunday night. I finally arrived back home at about 5:00 p.m. and told my wife, I was going to lay down and rest. That’s when the fever hit me. I had chills and sweats most of the night, but by morning I was back to my usual self.

Wednesday, March 11 was a terrible day for my Exploring Europe tours. President Trump held a nationally televised press conference that evening and announced severe travel restrictions from all European countries except the UK and Ireland. This effectively shut down two of my tours scheduled to depart within one week and brought a dark cloud of doubt on when any of my tours slated for the spring would go as well. The CDC and US Department of State bumped up travel warnings for all of Europe to Level 4 – Do Not Travel.

Still, with all this going on, I physically felt fine and did not really give any thought about my fever and the Coronavirus. Before the press conference, I was totally consumed with final details for my two tours to Germany and Spain that were coming up in just a few days. After the press conference, I was in shock! The next day, we received word that the travel show scheduled for the weekend in Philadelphia was canceled by the city. Shortly, afterward, notice was given that our Dallas travel show was canceled as well.

On Friday, March 13, President Trump held another press conference to declare a national emergency. He said he was making $50 billion in federal funds available to states and territories to combat the Coronavirus. In true Friday the 13th fashion, this was a terrible day for all of us. Schools began to announce closures for the next 15 days, restaurants and bars shut down, and life as we knew it began to change. New terms such as social distancing, slow the spread, and flatten the curve became common phrases.

After such a terrible week, we decided to get together with our family for dinner. So twelve of us gathered at my daughter’s home for dinner. We all had a good time, played a few board games, and talked about the events of the week. I recall it being the first time it dawned on me that I might really have the Coronavirus. It was a thirty-minute drive back to our home and by the time we pulled in to our driveway, my wife, Charlotte, was sick with chills and a fever. I had the sinking feeling that I must have passed on the Coronavirus to her and to my family as well.

Coronavirus image

To be continued…

Read the conclusion here.