In the midst of Corona-mania, William and I change our venue from Racine, Wisconsin to Mesa, Arizona. We will be staying with my mother until at least April 30th, when we have a flight booked to Ecuador. Both of us are 90% certain that we will not be allowed into Ecuador, but at this point American Airlines has not cancelled our flights...so we hold out hope and cautiously watch the Covid-19 reports out of Ecuador.
My flight is on American Airlines from Chicago O’Hare to Phoenix Sky Harbor on a cold, overcast Wednesday. I make sure my face mask and alcohol spray are easily accessible in my backpack during the one hour drive to the airport. As William pulls up to the terminal I put on my mask. There is only a handful of people checking in, and I breeze straight through TSA. The massive walkway leading to the G and H gates is eerie. Even at 6 am on a normal day there would be several hundred people. Today there are five.
My flight is on American Airlines from Chicago O’Hare to Phoenix Sky Harbor on a cold, overcast Wednesday. I make sure my face mask and alcohol spray are easily accessible in my backpack during the one hour drive to the airport. As William pulls up to the terminal I put on my mask. There is only a handful of people checking in, and I breeze straight through TSA. The massive walkway leading to the G and H gates is eerie. Even at 6 am on a normal day there would be several hundred people. Today there are five.
My flight is only 25% full - I learn from a flight attendant that it is more full than most flights she has been on during the past few weeks. As I wait for the plane I can’t help but notice some of the precautions taken by my follow travelers. In addition to face masks one gentleman is wearing a plastic raincoat and another has a plastic face shield. My upgraded seat in business class (net $47) provides me with more legroom, a white wine in a plastic glass and a 20 oz bottle of water. Only one person is in each row, alternating between the left and right sides of the plane. When I arrive at Sky Harbor it is similarly vacant and retrieving luggage is a breeze. My Lyft driver is wearing a mask when he picks me up and asks if it’s okay to leave the windows partially open for fresh air along the trip - of course, that’s my preference as well!
I settle in to my mom’s spare bedroom and spend a unique Easter with her. Our entertainment outside of the house is to walk the desert trail behind the house. Services are not allowed in the churches, but the church doors are open a few hours each day so of her friends picks her up and they go to the church to pray the rosary on Good Friday. On Easter Sunday we watch the Bishop say mass on TV.
William spends Easter with his mother and his sister’s family. On Monday his sister drops him off at the Milwaukee airport for his $55 Southwest flight to Phoenix. The Milwaukee airport is also a ghost town. William didn’t pay the extra fee to have the Southwest system automatically check him in (for earlier boarding). No need, there are only 21 people on the flight and everyone has a row to themselves with a lot of social distancing.
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