Thursday, March 18, 2021 Greetings from Santa Barbara! I hope you had a happy St. Patrick’s Day. Believe it or not, this is the first time in over a year that I’m sending this newsletter from someplace other than home. Pre-pandemic, I would normally be writing it from a different location each week as I crisscrossed the globe. Now, I’m excited my first real trip is just 95 miles from home but it feels like a world away in more ways than one. How times have changed, huh?
At the beginning, I just kept thinking of the words “baby steps” from the Bill Murray movie What About Bob, which is what this trip has really been all about… baby steps. My wife created a list and started packing days in advance, something she hasn’t done in years since travel was so routine. But after not traveling for so long and for the first time as a family of four, there was lots to consider. The experience has been both scary and liberating.
The only reason we left our house was because it needed emergency electrical repairs and we didn’t want to be there with workers in and out of our house all day for a week. So we called our friends up at Visit Santa Barbara and they helped set up our trip.
It’s been a fantastic experience. I’m not quite finished writing my detailed posts about the hotels, restaurants and places we visited so stay tuned for that.
FYI: The photo above was taken yesterday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. We visited their ongoing outdoor dinosaur exhibit. The kids loved it and I really enjoyed the walk around their grounds. What was exciting is that I kind of felt like we were part of history because when we arrived, a docent welcomed us and said that it was the first day in over a year that the indoor galleries were open. COVID-19 numbers are drastically dropping in California. Let’s hope and pray they stay this way.
When we got back to our hotel (the Goodland, which we just checked out of) last night, I logged onto Tourism Ireland’s live St. Patrick's Day celebrations, which I featured as one of yesterday’s travel tips. They had live broadcasts from three much-loved pubs in Dublin, Belfast and Dingle. I only watched it briefly but they were in front of Johnnie Fox's, which is Ireland’s highest pub and I realized I’ve been there. It brought back great memories, which is why we travel in the first place, isn't it?
There’s a lot of travel news this week, and even today. For starters, it really does feel like we’re turning a corner in the USA. There’s a buzz in the air thanks to the success of the vaccines and more people are traveling. TSA screened 1,140,624 passengers yesterday (March 17) marking the 11th day this month over a million people and the first time in 2021 where there were more people traveling than on the same day in 2020 (953,699).
Most medical experts agree that you still have to use extreme caution (wearing a mask, keeping a distance, staying home if not feeling well or have a cough, washing hands frequently...) even if you’ve been vaccinated because they’re worried about the different variants so if you make plans, make sure they’re refundable or changeable just in case. After this trip, we do feel like we can travel safely, at least by car, since everywhere we’ve been, people have been respecting the rules. Our next baby step will be our first flight, which I hope will be sooner than later but we’ll see.
Santa Barbara Hotel Sale
Speaking of Santa Barbara: They’re having an incredible hotel deal right now with 33% off. Here are the deals.
Southwest Airlines Super $29 Sale
And if that’s not enough incentive, Southwest Airlines just launched a super sale on one-way flights to and from Santa Barbara. The newest airline to serve SBA has yet to take flight but they are offering a special $29 fare sale for their customers in California. The fares will be available through March 19. Details in this week's 12 Things To Know in Travel Today (scroll down to see more stories).
Credit Card Deal of the Week
Heads up! There are new limited-time offers of up to 125,000 bonus points and up to $200 in statement credits available with this major hotel.
Genius iPhone Hack for Travelers
I don’t know about you but I’m constantly taking screenshots of things on my phone that I want to save. And when it comes to travel, I’ll often screenshot important information that I want to make sure I can access quickly, especially if my phone doesn’t have service or if I’m offline … things like news stories, travel itineraries, directions, admission tickets with QR codes and digital boarding passes. That way, if my phone is acting up, I can quickly pull up the information I’m looking for. Check out this genius iPhone hack that I only just learned myself.
An Ex-Cop Has Pulled Over Vehicles For This Reason – Save Yourself Headaches and Hassles With This Car Rental Tip
We’ve been writing a ton of road trip tips and tips about renting cars lately. Because so few people are traveling by air due to the pandemic and more and more people are taking road trips, these tips are relevant for a lot of you. Yesterday, we ran a tip about checking the VIN number on your car rental. Read more about why here. A reader wrote in with an addition to that tip with one I've never done before but will for sure the next time I rent a car since it takes all of two seconds. Read it here.
Get Your Favorite Food Indulgences Delivered Straight To Your Door
I just recently used this website for the first time and during a pandemic especially, it's brilliant since we can't travel and visit our go-to restaurants. You can get your favorite food indulgences from restaurants, delis and bakeries across the country shipped overnight to your door. It also makes a great gift. Check it out here and get a $15 credit towards your order.
12 Things in Travel You Need to Know Today Disneyland reopening on April 30 but just not anyone can go China to only allow foreign visitors who have had Chinese-made vaccine Spirit Airlines removes boy, 4, with autism for not wearing Covid mask Southwest Airlines Super $29 Santa Barbara Sale Covid cases in France surge to highest level since November Witnesses: Elderly Asian Woman Beats Up Man Attacking Her In San Francisco IATA Travel Pass successfully trialed on first international flight Diamond Princess cruise COVID quarantine shown in 'The Last Cruise' Norwegian announced it would halt all cruises through June. See when major cruise lines plan on operating again. Royal Caribbean is about to sail from a new West Coast home port for the first time in years Airlines face headache over 'use-by' date on some jet parts Some Random Flight Schedule Changes This Week
Read it all here in today's travel news round-up. In Case You Missed It
A Brilliant Reader Travel Tip: How to Protect Your Belongings on a Road Trip
We recently ran a few tips last week about road trip safety (Tip 1, Tip 2 and Tip 3). One of them prompted a reader to write in with his genius tip that had never crossed my mind before. Bill P. shares what he and his family do when taking a road trip. He says: I’d previously spent a year in Europe before our marriage and have been many times so my family has generally profited from my past mistakes. Here is a tip that works for us. With six of us traveling, typically from point to point with tourist stops on the way, we have a lot of luggage. So, we bring a ... Read Bill's tip here.
When Can We Travel Safely?
This week, I wrote about how disappointing it was that the CDC's new guidelines for those who have been fully vaccinated still discourage travel. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see multiple cautious doctors disagree. Here's when they think it's safe to travel and when I will be comfortable.
When can you travel to Europe again? Why buy plane tickets and reserve a car now?
Another busy week for the travel industry and I just wrote a post on why you might want to buy your plane tickets today for spring and summer travel. Also, when will you be able to travel to Europe again? Read it all here.
Hands Down the Best Beach Toy for Kids
After one toss, my son was hooked. He seriously would not stop asking for one and he’s never done that before and since then, I've had countless readers email or tweet me to say how much their kids love it. Here's where to get it ... and it's inexpensive, too.
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