Atlanta. Georgia 10.22.2020

Fewer direct flights are among the Covid 19 strategies engaged by airlines.

I can attest to that fact. We fly standby on Southwest Airlines - thanks to Shea serving as a high seniority flight attendant. Yaaay, Shea! To get to San Francisco at the beginning of this trip, we first flew to Phoenix and then took another flight to Oakland . . . not on one flight reservation but via two separate bookings . . one to Phoenix and then another to Oakland. That's what has to be done sometimes to work around the system. On our return trip, we had to first fly to Denver and then on to Atlanta. We started home on a 7:25 am flight and landed in Atlanta at 4:30 pm. Actually, it was not nearly as bad as it sounds. We were just thankful to get our standby seats!!!

Including a few standby passengers like us, all flights were full. Each row had middle seats unoccupied as Southwest Airlines is still practicing safe distancing by not selling the middle seats.. This will change, however on December 1 when they begin selling all seats on all planes. We were impressed with the sanitation procedures Southwest uses. Each plane undergoes an 6-8 hour cleaning each night and each time a seat in vacated, it gets a thorough wipe-down. Additionally, air purification systems have been installed that disinfects the cabin air throughout the flight. Everyone fully cooperates with wearing masks and many guests do their own personal disinfectant routine, wiping down arm rests, tray tables and seats with their own wipes. Even in the gate areas, people were diligent in wearing masks and practicing safe distancing. God forbid, we might have picked-up the virus on this trip but we did feel safe in the airport and on the plane.

Once at home and feeling a little gaga, we grabbed an early dinner and watched the final presidential debate. I WILL NOT go into that.

It is good to be home. In fact it's downright exciting . . . getting caught up on things and putting our nest back in order. I'm sure we will be busy doing that for the next few days until the wanderlust in us begins to take over again. We are already thinking where we might venture next. There won't be any big trips until after the first of the year for sure, but we won't be hanging around the house either.

I hope you've enjoyed this little journey and I hope through my ramblings you've been able to imagine or maybe even recall those wonderful things we saw and did. We enjoyed this USA trip as much as any international trip we've taken. Our country is tremendously diverse, beautiful and interesting. Some places, such as Yellowstone and Bryce Canyon, for example, are unearthly, and visiting them first hand is almost like visiting another planet. We give thanks to God for all this earthly splendor and for the good people we meet along the way. We do look forward to the next adventure. Until then, stay safe, stay happy, and take care of each other.