Getting Away and Giving Thanks

 

After cancelling two trips back to Australia, we were itching for some international travel as a family. Travel in the time of COVID is tricky, but doable. You have to think carefully about where to go, research the travel precautions, make sure everything is refundable, try to be careful and less social leading up to the travel, and then just hold your breath and hope nothing goes wrong. 

We decided to go to Iceland because of its high vaccine rates, relatively low COVID numbers, and low population density. We would go in Fall because it would not be the primary tourist season. We would rent a car and mostly do our own thing, as opposed to doing tours and going to many places where we would be indoors with strangers. 

There is a reason few people travel to Iceland in November, and that many fewer attempt it with a three-year-old. The weather is harsh and unpredictable. We hoped we would see the northern lights, but we were never so lucky. Food and pretty much everything is expensive. 

Iceland has a beautiful and unique landscape, unlike anywhere I have travelled in the world. We swam in hot incredible geothermal baths, roadtripped, and stayed in different hotels/apartments/cabins nearly every night. We walked breathtaking waterfalls, canyons, black sand beaches, and glacier ice. Penny had the mature premonition that even though she missed home and wanted to see her friends  she would miss Iceland when she was back at home. I came home at least temporarily renewed - getting out of the USA and being reminded of the larger world, that current events are small in terms of the scale of time and history, and that we are resilient. 

And now we are home. And we just had a Thanksgiving very much like those in pre-COVID times. We saw family, and more family. Penny played for uninterrupted hours with cousins. We ate, and ate, and ate together. 

Last night we virtually attended an Aussie wedding we had originally planned to travel to and attend in-person. We were probably the only ones watching it from North America; many more watched it from the UK. It was nice they could stream it, but obviously not as good as being there in person. While we can slowly do more and more, there will still be moments and events like these for at least the next year that will be modified. 

I am thankful this year, as I always am. But, particularly, I am thankful that it feels like we are starting to make plans (with fingers crossed) enjoy life again. COVID is still always in the background, and we weigh our risks. With vaccines, testing, and precautions, it's less scary. I burned out on doing the constant mental math a long time ago anyway.