My fellow travelers out there have had a long and winding road during the pandemic. Our wings were fully capable of flying for the entire year of 2020, yet it felt like we were kept captive in a cage. Looking through pictures of gorgeous places to go and see. Maybe flipping through photo books of our own travel over the previous years. Hoping and waiting for that time where we could flap our wings and take flight again. As we continue to open up, you have to ask yourself, are you ready?

2021 is going to be the year we can start living our lives again, to an extent of course! Remember as a child, you first had to learn to crawl, then slowly your wobbly legs adapted to gravity? Then came standing! Wow that was a challenge wasn’t it? Our leg bones just didn’t want to stand strong against the wind! Then came walking, slowly to running and on and on. That’s what 2021 feels like. It feels like that time where we are learning to crawl again. Soon we will get better at crawling, then gain our stride and be across the pond in no time! Start with your crawl though!

Hopefully looking back at 2020, we had time to think through our travel experiences. Maybe even thinking through what’s worked well over the years, or what hasn’t. Do we try to fit too many things into a trip? Maybe we pack too many or too few clothing articles in our suitcases? Do we often leave home forgetting something? Or could it just be extra comforts to have on your flight to your destination? Review and perfect those travel situations right now. Pretty soon we will be opening up more and more.

The vaccines are being distributed right now in the United States. Much quicker than most countries around us. What this means is we are starting to be able to expand out of the small box we’ve been in for a year. Restaurants are starting to open at least to 50% capacity. Theme parks are even opening soon. Beaches, even though they are becoming a bit more crowded than they should be, are opening up more. international travel will still take some time to come back, but we will call this the final leg of our race and the all out sprint at the end. Take 2021 to travel domestically. There have always been places on my bucket list in the United States, but I’ve often pushed them to the side for international travel. Well if traveling across seas isn’t the option at the moment, look within. So many amazing sites across the United States are within reach. What’s great about this country, is that it has so many unique places. California has the cliffs of Bodega and the redwoods in Yosemite. Tennessee with the Great Smokey Mountains, maybe Florida with the Everglades and it’s beaches. Michigan and the Great Lakes, New York and it’s wine. The possibilities are there, take the time to plan for this year and jump right in!

I’ve recently started to review where to go this year. Our wedding was put on hold in 2020 and it’s finally coming in April. The planning is all going according to plan and we have a much smaller setting, along with several safety precautions in place, but we are happy with it. The stress of changing dates several times was just a bit much and a fourth date would have pushed us to the courthouse! With that comes planning our honeymoon travel! Our original plan was for our honeymoon in Indonesia. We had the itinerary all planned out. My fiancé (a fan of a more relaxed setting) had her part, I had my adventure added in. It was a perfect trip! Flying in and trekking through the jungles of Sumatra to see orangutans in their natural habitat. Heading to Java to see the beautiful temples and try some amazing coffee from its origin. Then on to the Komodo islands to see these amazing dragons and snorkel the coast. Finally ending in relaxing Bali. What a trip?! Minus the fact that it can’t happen currently of course!

Instead, we have decided to take a domestic trip as an alternative until things open up. The baby moon (maybe that’s a term used for a trip before a baby…let’s call it our mini honeymoon) is set for the week after our wedding. We chose to go to Key West. Having lived in Florida for several years before moving to California, I’ve been most places in the state. Several times to the relaxing keys off the tip of Florida. My fiancé has not. We went back and forth on Hawaii, but it just seemed to make more sense to fly into Key West and let her experience this laid back lifestyle. We’ve planned it all out for the most part. Restaurants to go to, parasailing, jet skiing, a romantic sunset cruise. It felt good just to plan again! I felt an excitement that I hadn’t had for a while now. Looking through reviews, researching times to go and top areas to see. I felt a tingle in my wings again! It feels like they are almost ready to fly!

I’m excited to continue and look at some domestic destinations to go to this year. International travel will hopefully come back later on this fall, but there is plenty to still see in the United States. I’ve often talked about going to Alaska and kayaking around the bay with orcas or going to see Grizzly bears on Kodiak Island. Or maybe going to Maine to see the beautiful autumn leaves and try fresh lobster off the boat. So many options are open and little time to experience it! I’m excited just thinking about the options!

Take some time in the coming weeks and get ready to take flight again my traveling community! It might not be off to distant lands for exotic experiences. It’s your chance to be strategic and learn to crawl. Hone in on those bucket list items at the moment. Where will you travel domestically this year? What have you held off on doing for all of these years when you traveled the globe? Were there places even in your same state that you’ve continued to put off? Most people I know, haven’t even seen the unique areas of their state or city they live in! 2021 is here and now, take the leap and relearn how to crawl! We will soon enough have the ability to fly again!