Jason has been writing his adventures for a number of years now. This his stab at travel blogging. He's the main contributor for Jason Gets Around since it's him actually going places. He is a traveler, an adventurer, storyteller, kickball player, a pool shark, a software engineer, and now most recently, a licensed pilot.
I wanted to give a follow-up to the Making Travel Plans in 2020 post I made in September. Specifically, our trip to Whitefish, Montana by Rail and give some more info while I’m at it.
With the way 2020 has gone so far, making travel plans in 2020 seems like it may lead to more disappointment as many plans will likely fall through, however, I’m happy to be making new ones again. Yes, everything originally planned for in 2020 was either postponed or canceled, but perhaps these new plans will come through!
In light of the current situation going on, the trip I was planning for my mom has now been postponed for another day. This just after the trip to Italy was canceled/postponed a week ago (would have been there today if it hadn’t of been – thankfully we didn’t go!). My mom has some health complications that would be at risk with COVID-19 and it just isn’t worth taking the chance just to go on a vacation. Thankfully Alaska Airlines refunded the full fair which will be used another day.
With everything going on with regards to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we have decided on postponing our trip to Catania, Italy. It’s worth saying that I am not afraid of traveling to Italy, in fact, I think it would be a wonderful time of year to go and probably much less crowded than normal (bonus!), however, I am afraid of it spreading further do to my want, not need, to visit a place that has been set to Category 3 by the CDC (Avoid Nonessential Travel). I really wanted to go to Catania and see Sicily, but it just isn’t worth possibly spreading this to my friends and family after I return.
Even though jetBlue primarily only flies domestically, as far as I’m aware, it is great to see coronavirus has jetBlue waiving fees! It’s great that an airline is stepping up early to help out its passengers by waiving change and cancellation fees.
I likely fly more often than most and tend to forget the effect I have on carbon emissions – my carbon footrpint. One thing to consider is how to actively perform ‘carbon offsetting’ to reduce my footprint. As much as I want to do my part, it’s great to see an airline like EasyJet making big efforts on how they can perform ‘carbon offsetting’ themselves (makes my offsetting easier!) to reduce their own carbon footprint. EasyJet has a great writeup of what they’re doing to reduce their own carbon footprint. (more…)
It all started with a spark of an idea to meet up with some great friends in Europe in March. That spark and an email turned into an interest to attend TBEX Europe 2020 in Catania, Italy around the same time. Early tickets for the conference were on sale and being that I’ve never been to Italy, it seemed like a great reason to make it happen. I asked my girlfriend, Jackie, if she would mind if I went to a conference while we’re on our trip. She asked, “so, you want me to spend a few days in Italy on my own while you go to a conference – yeah, no worries – I’ll be just fine!” I grabbed the conference ticket and began keeping an eye on flights – that’s when I stumbled across an email from ScottsCheapFlights that would lead us to get tickets from Portland to Rome for less than $250 each!
I’m excited to share that I’ve got 136 airports down over my last 10+ years of traveling! A lot of those are small airports that I’ve flown into as a pilot usually in a Cessna 172! I’m stoked for so many more to see around the globe!
The journey to Hong Kong has begun. I started my journey by meeting Evan, Claire, and their beautiful baby, Luna, at Caper’s Café in the Portland Airport (PDX) for breakfast, complimentary of the Priority Pass Select I received by signing up for the American Express Platinum card.
After breakfast and spending some time playing with Luna, we sent our separate ways: them making the long trek to Ethiopia to visit our friends Kyle and Beckie who moved there last November, and me, headed to San Francisco for the day before making the 14+ hour flight to Hong Kong.
As much as I love Alaska Airlines, I’m pretty sad to see Virgin America go out the window. Alaska Airlines is pretty relaxed overall but pretty focused on business. That being said, I’ll be missing Virgin America’s relaxation and focus on making flying fun. Their safety video alone is way more entertaining than any other airline out there.
