It was the second try, I don’t need to tell you what happened in 2020. We were anxiously watching the ups and downs of the Antarctic cruise season: this sailing going, that one cancelled at the very last minute, another moving ahead but hampered by onboard cases and staff quarantines. Despite all that, things were looking good, until they weren’t.

Well at least we hadn’t flown all the way to Argentina like many others. But still; years of planning, months of extra, extra caution to avoid the omnipresent omicron Covid variant. We were looking forward to an adventure; to going somewhere exciting. Actually after the long, seemingly endless delays and cancellations of the last few years we were thrilled to go ANYWHERE!

Yes, I realize that these are first world problems. But still… having cleared the next 3 weeks we considered what we might do instead. Even if just for few days. We narrowed down our criteria: No airplanes, not too crowded, some active outdoor possibilities, not colder than PA. We looked into places friends had suggested as well as bucket list, always booked forever in advance, no way they will have an opening, places. But it is off season, and COVID, so we got lucky.

Virginia. It’s so close that we don’t think of it as a special “destination”. Plus I have logged enough hotel nights on business and conference travel near DC that even after a few year’s break, heading that way on 95 doesn’t sound like much of a treat. Virginia to me invokes nights in the Marriott/Hilton/Hyatt by the metro and days in windowless meeting rooms or navigating the latest metro construction and capital hill security measures. Plus the weather was always bad.

But that was Business Barbara, not the new Explorer Barb. Time to let that go, along with the business suits that no longer fit. We’re going for fun, and we will have some. As soon as we get past DC….