I have been fortunate during the COVID-19 pandemic to be able to travel to San Francisco from my home in Vancouver to visit my daughter and her family not once, not twice, but three times. As the pandemic has progressed governmental regulations have evolved to make travel not really more difficult, but certainly more inconvenient and have finally become nonsensical. Here’s my story.

Act 1

Almost a year ago, four months into the COVID-19 pandemic, I flew to Seattle, rented a car and drove down the Pacific coast highway to San Francisco. You can read about my trip here.

Preparing for my trip meant getting a negative COVID test – not required by government or airline, but as peace of mind for my family. I repeated the COVID test upon arrival in San Francisco, my second in what would eventually be many.

The Vancouver airport was virtually deserted. I took the photo at the top of this post at 11:34 am on July 7th. In pre-pandemic times this photo would have included perhaps a hundred people. Needless to say (yet I am saying it anyway 😉 ) check-in, security and customs were a breeze.

Aside from my worry about sitting too close to strangers on the aircraft, the entire trip was a joy. In my mind I was speeding, helmetless, on a motorbike (which I would never do BTW!), wind blowing in my hair. Think Peter Fonda in Easy Rider sans the cocaine. Such an amazing feeling of freedom! There was very little traffic, few people at hotels, everyone welcoming and friendly. Here are a few memories from that four-day drive.

Following eight wonderful weeks in California, returning to Vancouver proved painless. I once again donned my high fashion air travel ensemble and again found both the San Francisco and Vancouver airports almost empty, the aircraft less than half full. By then I had developed a safety protocol of my own. Sit in the back row of the aircraft next to the window. That way no one can sit on two sides of me, better than having strangers sitting on four!

Once home, quarantining for 14 days was a snap. Federal rules said stay in your place of residence, leave only for medical emergencies. Provincial rules said exercise – get out for a walk or a bike ride each day. I called the feds and asked which protocol to observe and was told to go with the province’s regulations. Which I did. All I had to do was stay six feet from others and not enter any public spaces like stores, cinemas or libraries.

During quarantine, provincial contact tracers called me twice to ask how I was managing, was I able to source food and any medicine I might need. Did I need support to get me through this difficult time? No, I replied, I have discovered the joys of online grocery shopping and delivery and need no medications.

And with that, I began to plan Act 2.