Coronavirus - Blanket Ban Lifted on International Travel

I came across a crazy story last week that the U.S. State Department lifted its blanket international travel ban for Americans to travel abroad. (see below)

I thought that was really odd as I am hearing about rising coronavirus numbers in India and Brazil and new outbreaks in European countries. New Zealand just reported its first coronavirus case in over 4 months.

 

So I read deeper and learned that the ban that was lifted was the level 4 warning that the State Department applied to all countries back in March. A level 4 warning prevents Americans from recreational travel to the specified country or in this case all countries. Now the State Department has set the warning level based each country's specific situation. This is the way it was before the coronavirus pandemic. For example, now Mexico and Brazil are still ranked at level 4, but most European countries have a level 3 ban and some Asian countries are ranked level 1.

 

The positive is that people can begin to dream of international travel again. Having dreams and hopes has been proven to be an endorphin booster - make a person feel good.

 

However, just because our rankings have changed, that doesn't mean foreign countries will allow Americans in yet. Spain has not lifted its restrictions on prohibiting recreational travelers from the U.S. even though the State Department gives them a level 3 ranking.

 

The negative is that for Americans who want to travel abroad the situation has become more complicated.

 

When we were told we couldn't go anywhere, we removed the idea of international travel from our mind and started planning the great American road trips.

 

When a situation is unclear, we spend countless hours and time researching or worrying about whether or not we can really book that international trip.

 

Still, the State Department decision shows that the world is trying to return to normal. Hopefully, we can all return to normal sooner rather than later.

 

Take care and be safe.

 

Posts Tuesday and Saturday

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/08/07/state-dept-lifted-its-blanket-international-travel-advisory-what-does-that-mean-americans/

Coronavirus A 4-Hour DMV Visit?

A 4 hour wait!

I had to renew my driver's license today and apply for a Real ID. This meant that I had to physically go into the DMV. Anyone who has been to the DMV knows what an arduous process this usually can be. With the coronavirus raging, I imagine it would even be worse.

 My son went for his drivers permit a month ago and his story is an example of what I feared. He arrived at the DMV at 2 pm and the security guard told him it would take at least 2 hours. The line wrapped around the building. It was 90 degrees outside and no shade. The guard told him that people start lining up at 6 am to enter the building at 9 am. Looking at the sun, my son decided to try the next morning.

He arrived the next morning at 5:15 am with his camping chair and powered up cell phone and there was one person ahead of him. In other words, three hours and 45 minutes before the DMV opened people were already in line. When he left at 9:45 am, the line was around the building again.

At my tender age of 49, my main concern was bathroom access. Waiting 4 hours wasn't a realistic possibility.

Still I needed to get the Real ID before October 1st if I hoped to fly within the U.S. and my renewal was coming up for my license. Yes, you can still use a passport, but it is a bit more cumbersome and it feels weird for me to travel within the US using a passport.

The DMV website does tell you how long the current wait times are at each office. I figured I would monitor the site once I had all the paperwork done and when I saw a wait under two hours somewhere, I would head down.

So I started the process of renewing online as my notification said I needed to do. The online process takes a long time as you need to scan and upload four documents to the DMV website for the Real ID. I pray I have no file capturing viruses on my computer or I just made it super easy for someone to assume my identity. However, after spending 30 minutes going through the process where I even had a choose which DMV I would go to, I was rewarded with a confirmation number that said it was as good as having an open appointment to show up at any time at the office I selected and join the appointment line.

I read a review online that said they had an appointment and were done in an hour. Someone else said it was better to go later that earlier.

I arrived at 4:15 pm the next day - 45 minutes before closing - and crossed my fingers. Sure enough, there was a separate line for appointments - no one was in it. The walk-in line which had already been capped for the day had 10 people. So if you are walking in, make sure you go before 4 pm.

The attendant after finishing with his current client, called me forward, reviewed my documents, and then sent me inside. Wait outside - 5 minutes. Inside, the waiting area were 18 chairs all spaced at least 6 feet apart. Behind the counter there was a masked clerk at every other station. My number was called 10 minutes later. The employee asked me to put my documents on the table and then step back to the circle in front of her window - six feet away. She then scooted forward, did her work, and then scooted back. I came forward, reviewed my documents, signed, and then paid for the renewal. She then directed me to the camera room. After 10 minutes here, I was done.

In and out in 30 minutes. Very organized and efficient. Of course, I had the benefit of an appointment. If I had to wait in the sun for three hours, I might have a slightly different tune. So if you need a Real ID; complete the online paperwork; upload the documents; and save yourself a ton of time.

Take care and be safe.

Posts Tuesday and Saturday

Coronavirus Eating On The Street

Good bye parking, hello dining.

In Manhattan Beach today, I saw how street parking was replaced with outdoor seating. Wooden stands were constructed ten feet into the street, covered with black cloth, and low plastic walls enclosed the dining space.

Between the spaced tables were plastic partitions. Servers wearing masks and face shields served customers. The local ice cream shop had their own street-level outdoor dining area with a pink picket fence separating traffic from their cute white chairs.

Manhattan Beach is serious about the coronavirus and helping its businesses while keeping consumers safe. Driving into Manhattan Beach, a large road construction sign said, "Face masks required, fine $350." I must say 99% of the people on the street and boardwalk wore masks. The exception was the people eating outside. You can't eat with a mask on.  So there is that small risks, something could go wrong.

But, I must say that eating on the patio of a restaurant in Oregon on our recent road trip was a great experience. To sit down and have someone bring us dinner and take care of our dishes for the first time in four months felt odd at first and then energizing.

My mother told me that the Glendale Galleria, an enormous indoor mall, has converted part of its parking structure into an outdoor eating area.

In South Pasadena, Mama's Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta put up an enormous white pop-up in it's parking lot, put out a statue of liberty, and laid out tables with red table cloths for to customer's outdoor dining experience.

Fiore Market Cafe also in South Pasadena had a small three-piece instrumental band play on its socially-distanced patio for lunch the other day.

I am glad to see more and more business adapting to the new "normal" and overcoming the challenges to stay in business.

I was speaking to my barber last week whose store placed a pop-up tent in their parking lot and moved three barber chairs outside and we agreed that the worst is past us - the unknown. Now, everyone knows about the virus; it will not wipe out the earth's population; people and business have dealt with and adapted to living in the  coronavirus environment for over 5 months; and life has entered a new state of normal.

It is still scary and I bid you to take care of yourselves and be safe, but determine how you can make the best of your situation rather than waiting for something to happen.

Posts Tuesday and Saturday