The great getaway: People can't wait to travel as COVID restrictions lift, especially for Memorial Day weekend

May 29—For Daniel Whalen, 25, this Memorial Day weekend is the start of a journey of a lifetime that will lead to a more than 2,000-mile road trip from Texas to Enfield.

Whalen is among countless people across the country who planned getaways around the Memorial Day weekend — the unofficial start of summer and the first three-day weekend of the vaccination era — where, finally, the COVID-19 pandemic is receding into the past as restrictions are lifted and a year of quarantine is over.

Whalen, an Enfield native who's been living in Stafford while finishing a graduate program at the University of Connecticut, is first taking a train to Chicago, then flying to Houston to visit a friend from his hometown, Bill Holden, 35, who teaches music and percussion at Klein High School in Klein, Texas.

Once in Texas, Whalen and Holden plan to explore Houston and Austin and attend a Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros game at Minute Maid Park.

Then the two friends — both graduates of Enfield's Fermi High School — will embark on an adventurous road trip back to Enfield that will take around five days and span more than 2,000 miles. They plan to make stops in Memphis, Nashville, Washington D.C., and Atlantic City.

Whalen is most excited about traveling through Tennessee.

"I have always wanted to see Memphis and Nashville," he said. "I'm super pumped."

Holden is a collector of vinyl records, so the two also plan to visit as many record stores as possible along the way. Otherwise, they're keeping their itinerary open for spontaneity.

"It's just an adventure," Whalen said.

Whalen is excited at being able to take a long-awaited trip after a long and tedious lockdown due to COVID-19.

He said the idea of embarking on such a journey wasn't firmed up until the COVID vaccine rollout began and the country started to open back up.

"Everything lined up really well," Whalen said.

The lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions allowed him the freedom to not have to plan a strict itinerary for the trip, he said.

Whalen and Holden are both fully vaccinated, which means they'll have much less to worry about.

"Being fully vaxxed I cannot hold back," Whalen said. "We don't really have to worry about every place we might stop along the way."

According to Amy Parmenter, AAA spokeswoman for Greater Hartford, there's a tremendous demand for travel emerging as the country comes out of the pandemic.

In a survey conducted last month by Destination Analysts, a travel and tourism market research firm based in San Francisco, nearly two-thirds of respondents indicated having a high level of excitement about a trip they had not previously considered.

Parmenter added that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has definitely added to people's desire for travel.

More than 80% of travelers surveyed by Destination Analysts said they're more comfortable traveling once they're fully vaccinated.

VACCINE ERA TRAVEL

TRAVEL SURVEY: Found that more than 80% of travelers indicated they're more comfortable traveling once fully vaccinated.

TESTING: CDC says that fully vaccinated travelers in the U.S. do not need to quarantine or get tested for COVID-19 before or after travel unless their destination requires it.

AAA: People are booking longer, more extravagant trips to make up for a lack of travel last year due to the pandemic.

"First it was, 'Where can I get my vaccine?' Then it was, 'OK, now where can I go,'" Parmenter said.

For more than a year, people have been following protocols to stay home and avoid travel in an effort to decrease the spread of COVID-19.

According to AAA's holiday travel forecast report, which was released on May 11, fewer people traveled for Memorial Day weekend last year than ever before.

"Last year only 23 million traveled, the lowest on record since AAA began recording in 2000," the report said.

Enfield resident Patti Grimmett, 62, was among those who had to cancel vacation plans last year due to the pandemic. She canceled a Caribbean cruise and a trip to Las Vegas.

While Grimmett, who is a travel advisor and runs Patti's Vacations, was able to receive refunds or vouchers for future trips, she knows of others who weren't so lucky.

"It's been a nightmare," Grimmett said.

Luckily for her and other travelers, that nightmare is coming to an end.

On April 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its travel guidance to recommend that fully vaccinated people can travel throughout the U.S. without having to submit to a COVID-19 test or post-travel self-quarantine as long as they take COVID-19 precautions while traveling.

On May 16, the CDC updated those guidelines to allow fully vaccinated people to resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing themselves, except where required by local rules.

One emerging phenomenon that Parmenter referred to as "revenge travel" has to do with people booking longer, more extravagant trips to make up for a lack of travel expenses last year.

"AAA travel advisors are seeing a trend towards extended, more lavish vacations with family and friends who they may not have been able to see for a year or more," Parmenter said.

She said she anticipates a huge amount of travel to national parks and other popular vacation destinations like Orlando and Las Vegas.

For this Memorial Day weekend, Grimmett and her husband Les, 58, who've been married for 21 years and raised three daughters in Enfield, are visiting Hampton Beach, a popular destination spot in New Hampshire. Patti Grimmett calls it one of her favorite places to visit and she's excited to be able to return this year.

"We love spending time with our family and relaxing, which is what Hampton Beach gives us and what we look forward to the most," she said.

That's exactly what she missed during the era of lockdowns and quarantines.

"I missed the thrill that traveling gives you," she said. "For me, travel opens your mind and heart and allows you to experience things that you might not experience in your normal life."

According to Airbnb spokeswoman Liz DeBold Fusco, travelers still wary about COVID-19 are seeking vacation spots off the beaten path.

"Searches for rural destinations are increasing," DeBold Fusco said.

Rural destinations currently make up 42 percent of the nights booked for summer 2021 family travel, up from 32 percent the summer of 2019, DeBold Fusco said.

Enfield residents Laura Arsenault, 37, and her husband, Roy, 50, are among those traveling to a less populated destination this Memorial Day weekend.

The couple will be celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary over this weekend with a camping trip to Macedonia Brook State Park in Kent.

They plan to do some hiking, fishing, and general exploring of an area that offers outstanding views of the Catskills and Taconic mountains.

Laura Arsenault was thrilled about being able to take a much-needed vacation.

"I am ecstatic, relieved, happy, and most of all at peace with being able to celebrate our anniversary out in Mother Nature," she said.

She also said that while her husband is already vaccinated, she is not, but feels the remote location of their vacation will allow them both to experience the same level of comfort and relaxation.

"Because we are camping — just the two of us — I am not making plans for the vaccine at this juncture," she said.

DeBold Fusco said that avoiding hotspots for the virus and the desire to be "out in nature and unwind" is driving the desire for remote and rural destinations.

"People have been stuck inside for well over a year now," she said. "They want to get outside and disconnect."

Overall, travel for this Memorial Day weekend and beyond is expected to increase substantially in comparison to last year.

According to AAA's holiday travel forecast, a significant rebound in the number of Americans planning to travel this Memorial Day weekend is expected.

"From May 27 through May 31, more than 37 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home, an increase of 60% from last year," according to AAA.

Adam covers the towns of Enfield and Suffield. For more updates, follow Adam on Twitter: @AHushinJI and Facebook: Adam Hushin.