COVID has calmed down a lot. However, visiting destinations now has changed drastically. Businesses are learning all over again. They are learning to work with all the government guidelines in order to open their doors and keep them open. Sadly, if people don’t know what to expect at destinations, they might have a horrible time.
Resort Destinations-
We actually braved Pine Ridge Dude Ranch at the very beginning of July. They did everything the best they could. The website is super informative letting people know what to expect when they are visiting. A lot had changed since the last time Adventures of Abby Girl was there.
At that time, there was still no indoor dining. We ate outside and waited online to be served our food. The food and people were behind protective shields and everything disposable.
Many activities were modified or cancelled. However, it’s a resort and there is still plenty to do. No nightclub. But, dancing and a band outdoors.
Mask up. Masks were required pretty much everywhere. This included entering the pool area.
There was also hand sanitizer stations available. However, parents weren’t watching their kids and sanitizer was being shot everywhere. So if you go, please keep an eye on everyone.
You could tell they were still trying to figure things out. However, they were doing the very best they could under the given circumstances.
Abby Girl was sad because she remembers Pine Ridge Dude Ranch before the Pandemic. The wooden horses couldn’t be sat on. The mechanical horse, she couldn’t ride, no board games or crayons.
Now, that the weather is becoming cooler, it will be interesting to see how they adapt to it and also as government rules and regulations change.
The takeaway was that having an informative website made all the difference.
Visiting a Museum Type Destination-
Fast foward three months later. Places such as museums are reopening. Sadly, we adventured to Liberty Science Center and had a very bad experience. We are however, excited to visit other destinations of this type as not all experiences are the same.
- It’s extremely overpriced for what is currently offered.
- Many of the really fun activities are closed with a little sign informing visitors of the closures or hidden behind curtains.
- A lot of the programs that used computers in the exhibit were not working. It felt as if the safe is very overwhelmed.
- Staff approaches young children and tells them to pull-up their masks instead of informing the caregiver standing right there. This is highly invasive.
- No neck gators or bandanas
- The food business that was there, left. Now there are vending machines and you must eat outside or can call and have takeout brought to your car. However, if you physically leave the grounds in your car for food, you must repay parking. Rumor has it that they are looking into food trucks in the future.
- The staff has fanny packs on with comp tickets. We turned them down.
And the takeaway …
The website needs to be adapted better. They do have a page about COVID on their website however, the closures and changes need to be more clearly stated. Honestly, if we have been more informed, we would have done something else that day and not wasted money. Please send us an update if anyone sees things changing here so we can adapt our review accordingly!
Restaurants in General-
Different states have different rules. Our advice is coming from the experiences we had in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Vermont.
Restaurants have reopened. Bars in New York have to offer food and that means in order to drink, you must eat. We Had to order roasted chick peas when my husband and I adventured to our parents getaway at the Diamond Mills in Saugerties.
A lot of places now have indoor and outdoor dining as well as curbside pickup. If you take the option of eating at a restaurant, there has to be an empty seating between you and other diners. Masks are not required at tables. However, they are required everywhere else. I guess being at a table puts in an invisible bubble shielding people from germs. Sorry sarcasm.
All the restaurant staff wears masks.
When we visited Vermont, we had to place our reservations in advance as every destination is at limited capacity.
Speaking of Vermont Have you Visited Clarendon Gorge? It’s a great destination during these times!
The Great Outdoors-
Some places tell you that you have to mask up. All places say to pullup your mask when social distancing isn’t possible. There is a trail etiquette to follow now. Sadly, there has been a spike in trail pollution since COVID hit because of the increased amount of traffic. However, the great outdoors is still a good bet. Just make sure the place you want to adventure is open and get there early or go during the week. Many places shut down at a certain capacity.
Whatever you do, don’t be the trail idiot. Read post
Fun Fact:
Did you know that even yard sales are often asking that you wear a mask? However, there are have been plenty recently since most of the spring and summer yard sales were missed.
Watch our latest ride-along yard sale video here!
What you can do when visiting destinations now-
Ask questions. Do research. Go in those mom groups you belong to and see what other people’s experiences were at places. Read the reviews. Call if you need to and even make a list of questions before you go because there is always a plan B. If you have a negative experience, let them (politely) know what you felt went wrong. Everyone is relearning again and it’s not easy. So let’s all hang in there together and adventure on to new cool destinations.
Thoughts from a Travel Agent
Sarah Fredericks of Dreaming of the Mouse has her own thoughts about the current travel situation.
I can’t stress the importance of making sure you and your party have reasonable expectations when choosing to travel and/or visit attractions during this unprecedented time. When you decide on an attraction or destination, do your research. Check the website to see their COVID policies, check their social media outlets to see recent guest reviews, and pick up the phone and call if you have additional questions.
With the current regulations in place regarding social distancing and masks, many businesses are open but operating much differently than you and your family might be used to, in order to keep their staff and their customers healthy and safe. It’s never a good idea to assume that besides the addition of masks, nothing else about your visit will be different. Making sure you know what to expect will make all the difference in deciding if you’d like to visit now or hold off for more “precedented” times.
If you’re considering traveling during this time, I strongly advise booking your vacation with a travel agent. There’s typically no cost to book through one and we are keeping up with the changes, policies, and procedures that are in place to make sure your visit is fun while adhering to health and safety guidelines. Dreaming of the Mouse & Beyond has been working tirelessly with our clients as they make these decisions for their own travel. The destinations we offer have been very clear on health and safety measures that are being taken to ensure a clean, safe and fun visit for all that may be different from past experiences, but still fun and enjoyable!
If you would like to Contact Sarah Fredericks please visit her information below.
Sara Fredericks, (845) 542-3408
Dreaming of the Mouse & Beyond Travel Agency
Click here to schedule a Phone Appointment
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Final Thoughts
We wrote a post a view months ago about how we thought adventuring to places would go. All we can tell people at this point is that is a very fluid situation. In addition, each state and each country has different rules. All these rules are constantly adapting and changing. It’s crazy times, and we are all just trying to learn to adapt to everything so we can still just adventure on even if looks a lot different now.
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