Hello, old friends. It’s been a while since I’ve written here, and you can likely guess why. March 2020 is a month that will forever stand out in my memory. D and I were talking about booking our next getaway, but little thing after little thing kept preventing us from firming up the details. That ended up being a bit of a blessing, as we didn’t have to deal with the headache—and heartache—of canceling a much-needed vacation.

We spent much of that spring and summer enjoying what we lovingly called Puerto Backyarda. We were fortunate to at least have a pool out there. Little did we know that it would be nearly 18 months after that fateful month before we would take our next flight.

It was July of 2021, and we decided to hop down to the Caribbean in celebration of my 40th birthday. The wave of Delta-strain infections was just starting to take hold, but we were both vaccinated and desperate to get away. Turks & Caicos was delightful—even with the cloud of potential infection and getting *stuck* there hanging over our heads (I mean, there are worse places to be stranded…).

Since that time, I’ve taken a few more flights here and there. But now, in May 2022, it feels like things are starting to return to somewhat normal, even if the pandemic is still quietly raging on.

There are few things I like as much as just hanging out in the sky, gazing at the clouds with my noise canceling headphones on. There’s nowhere else you can go. Nothing that can really get done. Some find flying stressful. But to me, it’s where I find an unparalelled peace.

And this was my first flight in a while where face masks weren’t required, which was especially nice, if for no other reason than there wasn’t that tension in the air that comes with the possibility that someone vehemently opposed could have caused an issue.

I’ll say that I’ve drafted tons of travel related blog posts in my head over the last few months, patiently waiting until it felt like publishing on this blog made sense again. It seems like so much has changed with travel since I started this blog all those years ago, yet many things remain the same. And even in the last two years, I’ve learned quite a few new things that can’t wait to share.

So keep an eye out for more tips, stories and reviews coming here soon. For now though, I have to wrap this post up. While I’m still on the high of my first truly peaceful flight in quite some time, reality calls.

I know that if I don’t unpack now, I’ll be living out of that suitcase until my next trip.

Which I hope will be very, very soon. Because, damn it feels good to be back in the sky again.

-jz