Note: what follows is a first world whine.

If I’ve learned anything since the pandemic began, it’s how to pivot.* No where has this newly honed skill been put to more use than in the canceling and rescheduling of my repeatedly thwarted vacation plans. *Sigh*

I’m not sure I could count the number of reservations I’ve needed to cancel in the past year. Flights to multiple countries and accommodations in a half dozen cities…domestic and international airlines…credits, refunds and vouchers…it’s been quite a trip, shall we say.

A few weeks ago I received an email from United Airlines informing me that the nonstop flights I had booked for my son and myself to Madrid for July had been canceled. While I was offered the chance to rebook that leg of the trip at no expense, should I have taken that option only to subsequently have another portion of my flight canceled, I would have expended my one time only courtesy. Meaning that I would then be on the hook for any additional expenses incurred by further changes to my itinerary.

Um, no thanks. Europe will have to wait until 2022.

So, instead of Spain and Greece this summer, we’ll be going in a completely different direction. West, actually. The new plan is a 15 day road trip from Seattle to San Francisco.

The last time I visited Washington, I was pregnant with the 6 ft tall, 16 year old who is accompanying me on this vacation. He’s been remarkably accepting of “his” promised trip to Spain being postponed, again, and is enthusiastic about exploring the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. This will be his first trip to the West Coast, on the outside, and he’s interested to see the Space Needle, Mt. Ranier and Pike Place among other sights. Additionally, I’m hoping to ferry to Bainbridge Island or maybe even the Olympic Peninsula. We’ll see. I don’t like over planning and it’s impossible to predict what the situation with Covid might be.

While driving isn’t my first choice for transportation when on vacation, I’ve organized the trip so that I only have a car for five days. Minimizing our dependence upon a car is beneficial in a number of ways – it eliminates the headache of parking, saves money (have you seen the price of rental cars?!) and leaves the opportunity open for a drink with lunch. It is vacation, after all.

The itinerary currently in place gives us 4 nights and 5 days to make the trip from Washington to San Francisco. I’m hoping to pace those days in a way which allows for some spontaneous exploration. If possible, I’d really love to work Crater Lake into the trip, but I’m not sure it’s feasible because it is quite a distance from the coast, the place we most want to experience. I’m doing my best to not yield to my tendency to make decisions about our exact route quite yet. There are a lot of variables, things like the pandemic, potential forest fires and weather conditions, that give me the sense that I should wait a bit on those details.

We’ll finish our trip in San Francisco, spending a few nights with friends who have happily offered their services as local guides, followed by a few nights in an Airbandb in Haight Ashbury. I’m so excited to spend some time in San Francisco, a city that is essentially new to me, eating Chinese food, visiting Alcatraz and Golden Gate Park, and spending time with dear friends.

if you have any travel recommendations to share, please do so with a comment. In return, please let me share a tip with you regarding canceled airline reservations. If you should find yourself in a situation in which your flight is canceled by the airline, your best move is to insist upon a cash refund rather than a voucher or credit for future travel.

Obviously, getting your money back gives you the opportunity to book on an alternate airline, but it additionally will prevent you from finding yourself in the position I’m in with United Airlines. Apparently, because I used the credit for my canceled 2020 trip to in part book my 2021 trip, when they canceled this second time, my “refund” was limited to a credit to the form of payment I had used. Since I had used a voucher to purchase the ticket, that was the only available option for receiving my “money” back.

I guess I’ll have to take another trip.

*I mean, haven’t we all?