By now many of you are probably aware we got caught up in the Coronavirus global issue while we were in Florida.
We left here early March driving to Florida confident that the Coronavirus was pretty much isolated to China, Italy and Iran. There were no major amount of cases in the US or Canada and no pandemic had been declared. There were no travel restrictions or travel advisories between either country, so we felt safe to travel and to spend our planned 5 weeks in Florida.
We arrived in Florida 4 days later to find things were changing. Many of the long stay Canadians who stay at the same resort as us were getting nervous and thinking about returning home. We on the other hand just fresh to the welcoming warm weather were thinking people were over reacting. Unfortunately by the second day there we began to realize that things were changing and changing rapidly. So we decided at that point to "self isolate" ourselves, a new term then, and to pick up sufficient groceries to enable us to eat at the hotel so we didn't have to eat at restaurants. We also decided not to go shopping and not to go to public events that we planned to attend. So all car shows, air shows, farmer markets, any group gatherings etc were out.
On our third day there Canada released a "Global Travel Advisory" recommending all Canadians who were traveling internationally should return home as soon as possible. There was some doubt expressed that airline travel could be affected. We read this to mean it affected only those requiring airline travel should return home and whereas we were driving that we should be ok.
It was obvious too at this point that major entertainment events such as the Magic Kingdom, Universal and others were closing effective that coming weekend. At that point we too were getting nervous but still confident that our own self imposed reduced social contact would suffice in prolonging our stay. The weather was so beautiful with temps in the high 80's and the Olympic size pool kept calling our names throughout the day. Hard to give it all up only being there for such a short time.
On the fourth day, my son who had been emailing us daily with Canadian updates advised us to check into our travel insurance update as he heard some were terminating coverage. So we did just that and found to our surprise that our insurance company in fact were cancelling all travel insurance effective 10 days after the Global Travel Advisory had been announced. Had it not been for our sons advice it would have been a fews days later before we were notified of this by our insurance company.
At that point we knew that we had to return home. Not having travel insurance especially with a growing pandemic in a foreign country was just too risky. So at this point we decided it was time to return home.
We left a few days later pretty much retracing our trip down routes. We had packed our lunches for the trip back home and planned to stop at the many rest stops that are integral to the US highways. Unfortunately for us most were closed or had reduced services as measures against the spread of the virus.. So we ended up eating our lunches in the car. For our evening meals we would get restaurant take out and return to our hotel to eat it. By this time most en route restaurants were closed or at reduced services with only take out service. Being vigilant and careful we were able to maintain our "self isolation" throughout the entire return trip.
We gassed up many times in the 3000 km trip and in most cases hand sanitizers were provided at the gas pumps. Even after I would use Barbs own home made hand sanitizer i.e. alcohol (not my Scotch variety). It pays to be inventive in crisis situations like this especially when critical items like this are limited or totally unavailable. Barb also found out that hydrogen peroxide is also a good hand sanitizer alternative which we also had lots of.
En route, we seen what I would call "a mass exodus" of Canadians on the highways heading north mostly from Quebec and Ontario. At some points it appeard there were more Canadians on the highways than local traffic. Something we have never seen before and something we won't soon forget. This too heightened our awareness of the growing severity of the situation that we and many many others found ourselves in. It certainly focused our need to get back home.
When we finally made it to Houlton Maine we stopped for lunch in a gas station parking lot. We noticed a parked Ford pick up that was beckoning 3 or 4 other vehicles just entering the parking lot. They all parked alongside one another and proceeded, we think to celebrate someone's birthday, without getting out of their vehicles! One of them used one of those arm extensions that people use to grasp glasses from high shelves, to pass things between the vehicles. This shows that some people are getting the message to reduce their social contact. That was encouraging.
Anticipating a lengthy border crossing, thinking of the many NB'ers returning, the lengthy questionnaire that we would undoubtedly have to endure and Gods knows whatever else. We were totally surprised to see only 3 cars ahead of us and each of these were processed in a short period. When it came our turn, we were asked only 3 questions one of which was do either one of us have a fever or have flu like symptoms. Answering no to this last question we were given a Coronavirus information sheet. That was it! Very anti climatic to what we anticipated but also much appreciated owing the fact that we were back in Canada. I can't tell you how much of a relief that was. That all said, now having time to rethink that border crossing process we experienced, sure doesn't give much credibility of filtering those who do have the virus from crossing our borders.
Needless to say we are extremely happy to be back home safe, sound and healthy to this point. We will continue to maintain our 14 day self isolation(aka - quarantined) knowing too we have sufficient food and supplies to get us through this period. We also have close family and friends who are prepared to do any shopping for us if needed.
I would like to thank all those club members who have contacted us to find out how we are doing and the offers to pick up food and other needs if required.
While I'm sure this is not over by a long shot, this is an experience we will all learn something from. All in the hopes it will reduce the chances of this reoccurring in the future and if it does that we will be better prepared to deal with it.
It seems to me these global viruses are becoming more frequent, more powerful and therefore more difficult to contain. Once we get through this one we need to ensure our country is better prepared to handle the next one. We also need to ensure we are NOT dependant on our southern neighbor, China or any other country to supply our emergency needs in critical times of need like this.
Take care everyone and please practice the now critical need to socially isolate yourselves in an effort to get ahead of this terrible situation. Looking forward to seeing you all once this is all over which will hopefully be sooner than later.
All the Best,
Gary
