I apologize for the lack of interesting travel images, etc. I decided to refrain from coronavirus images as well. I wasn’t planning on doing a post on this. However, it’s just getting too tough not to address this in some way.
Greetings to all from sunny Orange County California, where the current count of those infected with COVID-19 hovers around 2, with a possible 3rd awaiting test results. Is this not the way we describe locations and destinations now, by the total number of those infected and how rapidly that count is growing? It’s quickly becoming a strange, strange world, one in which the value of a pump-bottle of hand sanitizer has perhaps surpassed a bar of gold…and my biggest current preoccupation is related to how serious the run on toilet paper might get! How blessed a life we have all lived to have never even had to think about what life would be like if store shelves were void of TP? Seriously!
As it relates to travel…
How many people have cancelled their travel plans in the last week or two? I have absolutely no idea, but I’m sure it’s a big, big number. Our family is NOT included in that count. We are all-systems-go for our trip to London next month, and we’re super excited!
I know some readers might be thinking that I’m not taking all of this seriously enough. After all, a few thousand people have died from this virus. That is absolutely tragic and the global community should be doing all it can to fight this thing. So, please understand that I believe this is a serious issue and that we all need to take appropriate precautions. Our family will take all appropriate measures as our trip approaches. However, life. will. go. on.
Brian’s Panic-to-Threat Ratio…
I’ve come up with my own metric for this whole COVID-19 issue. I’m calling it Brian’s Panic-to-Threat (“P/T”) ratio. On this scale I’ve created, an appropriate and rational P/T ratio is 1:1. This balanced ratio represents an appropriate level of panic created as it relates to the threat being faced. Does that make sense? So, if you’re sitting on a lounge chair at the beach sipping a margarita with full awareness of an approaching tsunami, your P/T ratio is probably something like 1:100,000. I.e., your level of panic is dangerously out of proportion to the threat. In this example, you should be at the highest level of panic humanly possible, quickly moving into action and seeking higher ground. We seem to have things a bit reversed here with the current COVID-19 threat. I’d say we’re about 100:1 on the P/T ratio scale. Our thoughts and actions are being governed by a disproportionate amount of panic. Concern and precaution with COVID-19 are warranted, without a doubt. However, our panic level may be upwards of 100 times what it should be based on the facts and the associated threat. Can we, as a global community, try to figure out what a more balanced P/T ratio might look like? What would we be hearing from the news media? What would the stock market be doing? How would the travel industry be faring? Would Costco still be handing out those delicious samples? Man, I’d sure love to see us all to move collectively in that direction.
Now, what do we do about our travel plans? Should we all stay home and indoors, fist-bumping, elbow shaking, and “Wuhan Greeting” our friends, family and neighbors (if we do actually opt to venture out into the wild outdoors)? Or, should we generally move forward with our vacation plans, taking all due precautions and then enjoying wonderful trips with Inspirato? In our case, we have thoughtfully decided on the latter.
We fly from Los Angeles to London on April 9th. We’re staying at the beautiful Taj 51 with Inspirato, and greatly looking forward to our first family trip to England.
Some parting thoughts…
Going forward, let’s use this global reminder of our humanity to make some great life decisions for our benefit and the benefit of our greater community. Here are my (completely non-expert) tips as we all move forward (as appropriate) with our travel plans and life in general:
- Wash hands often (we’ve all heard this a million times now, but it is just a most important truth)
- Eat clean, stay away from junk food, and exercise. (Yes, really!) A healthy body and strong immune system is our best defense against COVID-19 (and most all other sicknesses for that matter!)
- Spend quality time with loved ones (of course Inspirato vacations are great for this!)
- Be a good neighbor and check in on those that may be at-risk due to advanced age or poor health
- Keep panic in check. Shoot for a 1:1 P/T ratio 🙂
There you have it. Those are the things I’m going to try to focus on personally during this season. I know I can sure do a much better job with all of them! But wait! Shouldn’t we be doing all of those things regardless of whether we are facing a coronavirus threat or not?? You got it!! Absolutely we should, so let’s stay after it!
Happy Travels my friends!
We are scheduled to leave on Friday for a Bespoke planned trip to London and Barcelona. I’m not as concerned about the virus as I am at the possibility of getting quarantined overseas, or not being able to get home due to canceled flights. And I just read that while Trump still thinks this virus is a hoax being blown out of proportion, he is considering a mandate banning US citizens from traveling abroad.
Brian- what is your P/T Ratio now that it is 3/29/20? And are you still going on your family trip to London in just over a week? Things have really changed rapidly for the worse it seems. Stay safe everyone!
Hey Eric! Thanks for saying hello. As they say, some posts/articles/comments don’t age well. My post is an example of that. All of our travels have been cancelled through May, including England. We were so excited for this trip, but our disappointment now seems so trivial considering where things are at in the US and the situations that so many find themselves in currently. As far as a P/T ratio, I think we’re in most rational place. I feel that panic has subsided a bit and we’re now more focused and strategic about reducing and then eliminating this threat. One of my closest friends is head of Cardiology at a large hospital here in Orange County. I get regular updates from him. To say this virus is serious is an understatement. All that being said, we look forward to a day (hopefully not too far off!) that we can all travel and explore and enjoy time with loved ones in special places. In the meantime, we pray for health and protection across our nation and our world!
Has Inpirato put a hold on your monthly charges or are they giving you some kind of an adjustment for trips that you can’t take?
Hello! Yes, they have created a three month pause option for Passholders and have been wonderful to work with throughout this crazy season. They also provided refund credits for our London trip as travel was shut down.