Pandemic travel

Well, a lot has changed in the world since I posted here last month. I do hope you are all healthy, safe and trying to stay intact during this tumultuous time in history.

We booked our trip to Scotland back in January, and left for Glasgow the night of 3/11. The flight from Columbus to Charlotte went without incident. After we boarded our flight to London, there was a band on board who just found out their tour of Europe was cancelled and they asked to get off the plane. Their request was granted and our flight was delayed while all of their luggage/equipment was taken out of the hold.

Mid-flight, I was watching CNN and the dipshit in chief was giving the initial travel ban speech which effected all European travel, but not the UK. Felt horrible because there were people and school groups who had connecting flights to other places in Europe. They essentially had to turn right around. We had a connection to Glasgow.

After we all boarded that flight, the Captain announced that there was a scratch on front of the plane and we had to switch planes. After talking to my brother-in-law pilot, this is something that does happen. A drone or bird could have hit the plane and they cause damage. I did see what looked like a deep gouge where they said the scratch was, so better safe than dead.

When we got to Glasgow, our room was not ready. It was a crazy trip there.

We met up with my wife's sister, and her husband flew in from Dubai on his working flight. So we got to see him for a bit before he had to fly back to Dubai the next day.

Glasgow was cautious, but people were going about their lives. Places were open, but crowds and business were down in most places. We still had a flight home the next Friday.

Oh, toilet paper hoarding is universal.

That all changed Saturday morning when the UK travel ban was announced. My airline (American) and agent (Expedia) were no help at all in trying to get us home. We are very lucky we could simply afford to buy a one way ticket out of Glasgow for Monday morning on Delta.

(I still have heard nothing from American or Expedia in making good on the cancelled flight)

We were able to spend a few hours with my wife's father, who is not in the best of health, before we left.

The flight from Glasgow to Amsterdam on Monday morning was fine, about two thirds full maybe.

Schiphol Airport is one of the busiest in Europe, it was a ghost town. Flights were cancelled and very few people were traveling. It was almost as people were preparing for a hurricane, or war.

They said our flight was full, but there were a few empty seats, as we left for Detroit.

I had seen pictures of absolute horror shows at customs in O'Hare, Dallas, and other US airports and was prepared for the worst. I expected to miss our connection and was prepared to find a hotel room and drive back to Columbus if there was no connecting flight the next day.

Even the pilot was not sure what we were coming into, but he said lines were minimal, about 25-30 minutes.

When we entered Customs Hall, it was very quiet in comparison to other customs we've been to that have been loud and had shouting agents (You, Philadelphia). There were plenty of agents and we got through line one with no real difficulty.

When we left the plane, I'm pretty sure CDC personnel looked inside and I saw one fully masked person in CDC gear after we got out.

On the plane, we had to fill out a health screening form which essentially asked where we had been and how we were feeling. We got in the health check line and masked personnel checked off our forms. Everything was handled very professionally and calmly.

We entered another room and our forehead temperatures were taken, then we were grouped in about 8-10 and given a brief lecture about symptoms of the virus and that we had to self quarantine for 14 days. Then we were sent to another line when an agent took our names and typed things on his computer and sent on our way.

Security was a breeze and after a lengthy trek through the Detroit Airport we arrived at our gate just in time for the pre-boarding announcement. We were going to get home that night. It was a surreal and numbing five days, but I have no regrets about making this journey.

Detroit got it right, it took roughly an hour and a half to get off the plane, to go through customs and screening and to our gate. Impressive.

My wife and I are fine, symptom free and registering our vitals with the County Board of Health twice a day. We both will be working from home until the end of April, at the least. My son is well, and his mother agreed that we go back to his normal schedule so I will pick him up in the morning and drop him off with her on Wednesday morning.

We're in uncharted territory. I hope we can get through this one without too many deaths or damage.

Be well everyone.