Traveling during the coronavirus pandemic

I am a UTM alumna who decided to book travel in Virginia Beach, Washington, DC, New York City, and Philadelphia for slightly over a week in March that ended in a major disappointment.

A fatal pandemic originating in Wuhan, China, called COVID-19 or coronavirus has impacted travelers including myself.  Before I started my journey, the coronavirus cases spread into Italy that led to American travelers in Europe to carry the virus back to the United States with them.  This is when the virus hit all states, including Tennessee, which lead to schools, higher education, government, nursing homes, and bars and some restaurants shutting down.

I spent the first night in Virginia Beach and did not experience issues.  The next day, I arrived in Washington and the news poured in on government building closures.  I received emails over the weekend that my White House, U.S. Capitol, State Department, and FBI Experience tours were cancelled. 

I went into a Ross store in Washington to use my coupon and a man in the checkout line behind me was making loud, profanity-laced comments that he is out of his job at American University for the rest of the year and does not know what to do during the shutdown. According to the New York Times, stimulus checks will be sent to Americans and small businesses impacted within two weeks. The wealthy will not be eligible for the checks.

Friday, I had to go to the Smithsonian museums because they were scheduled to shut down the next day.  I went into the National Air and Space Museum and noticed that a couple of exhibits on the lower level are shut down.  I thought that there is no use visiting until there are exhibits open on the top floor.

Arlington National Cemetery also reduced their public services the next day to funerals only.  There was a technical glitch at the Pentagon Metro Station on Monday that forced Pentagon credentialed employees to access the shuttle buses at the Arlington Cemetery Metro station.  Operations resumed Tuesday.

I went to New York City for the day on Saturday and it seemed to be a normal day as long as I went within my time range.  I paid a lot of money to skip the line at the Empire State Building and was glad that they were open that day.  A McDonald’s restaurant on Times Square closed off the barstools and would only allow customers to eat in one of the few tables available.  Greyhound Bus Lines was nice enough to get me on an earlier bus back to Washington with the $20 fee waived in the wake of coronavirus.  I just read on NBC News this afternoon that Mayor Bill DeBlasio asked city residents to prepare for a shelter-in-place order within 48 hours. My thought is that if cities have shelter-in-place orders, what will happen to the homeless who are desperately panhandling on the streets?

I spent Sunday in Philadelphia.  It was a cooler day, but sunny in Philadelphia.  I had no issues except that security checkpoints at Independence Hall and Liberty Bell are limited to one person at a time, which formed a very long line outside. 

Meanwhile, back in the Washington area, I got into Madame Tussaud’s, but it was quiet.  They had such limited staffing that they had to trade my photo package for the virtual reality roller coaster ride.  The area around the Metro Center station was very quiet. 

Although the Cherry Blossom Festival canceled for this year, visitors can still linger around the Jefferson Memorial to take photos of the blooming trees.  I think that the purpose of the coronavirus closures and bans is “crowd control” to prevent the spread of the disease. 

I had to cancel my time with my grandmother in Staunton, Virginia, because her home health caregivers have her quarantined in her apartment to prevent her from catching the fatal disease. 

I am staying at a hotel in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia.  The hotel staff are very nice to me and go above and beyond to help me.  It is well-maintained and cleaned, but the most affordable hotel in the neighborhood.  It had to cancel free continental breakfast as of Monday leaving guests to turn to the nearby Dunkin’ Donuts.  I wish that the hotel gave out breakfast vouchers so we can go to a designated place to eat for free.  Yet, there are people who are cancelling reservations and wondering if I would have to face an early eviction notice.  I paid to stay through Saturday morning and I hope that I can stay here till then. 

I do have early mornings reserved for sightseeing knowing that many places are closed.  I may also spend time getting to-go food items or shopping at stores that are open.  I will reschedule what I had to miss until the pandemic is over.   I do practice handwashing for a minimum of 20 seconds and use social distancing as much as possible.  I hope that Americans in smaller towns do not have to face shelter-in-place orders, but if the pandemic is worse, then we will have to do what we have to do.