We’re going to Bermuda tomorrow, so this week has been occupied with all the usual pre-trip chores — stopping the mail and the NYT, washing all the laundry so everybody has their favorite shirts and shorts ready to go, pulling down the wheelie suitcases from the top of the hall closet. Thanks to COVID, we have a whole host of new chores for this trip.

We got a COVID test three days ago. We purchased new passport and vaccine card holders. We registered our vaccine status with the airline. We are allowing ourselves three hours at the airport. Then when we get to Bermuda, we have to get tested at the airport, and register with the government ($75 charge). Then we have to take a special cab to the resort on the other side of the island.

When we get to the resort, the reception desk person will come to the cab to process our registration, because we aren’t allowed inside the resort buildings until we get the test results in 8-16 hours. We will be allowed in our room, the beach, the pool, and one restaurant on the resort that has outdoor seating. We are not allowed to leave the resort. Then we have to get tested again on Day 4 at the post office forty minutes away from the resort. We’ll have to wear a bracelet showing our testing/vaccine status for the entire trip.

It took me about 20 minutes to read through the lengthy rules to fully understand everything. Steve and I divided up the pre-trip chores. COVID rules do not make international travel very easy, but we’ll deal. I am thrilled to get hell out of here.

COVID is also making shopping difficult. To make sure that packages wouldn’t arrive when we are gone, I tracked down the status of some outstanding purchases. Back in June, I ordered a summer dress from the Sundance catalog that I could wear to Ian’s graduation and take on this trip. It still has not arrived yet. The customer service lady said that the dress is made in India and their supplies are stuck in customs.

Last September, I ordered a sofa from Pottery Barn. It finally arrived in January, but with uneven legs. After many phone calls, they gave me a deep discount and promised that they would send new legs by June. In the meantime, I evened out the sofa with some pads under the stubby legs. I called about the legs today. They will arrive in November. Maybe. Again, the problem is that the sofa is made overseas.

Will American companies continue to outsource manufacturing to other nations, if items like sofas and dresses never reach their customers?

At the same time, we’re leaving hotspots like Afghanistan and neglecting countries with a 1% vaccine rate. Gossip about Prince Harry is the closest thing to international news that we get on the evening news. It’s like our year and half of COVID hell has made Americans more isolated than usual.

Real obstacles to moving people and products across boarders, and our own challenges threaten to separate America from the larger world. Probably a bad thing.

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Yes, we’re going to Bermuda. It’s very exciting. I booked this trip last spring when a trip to the Jersey shore fell apart (the owner double booked our rental and we got bumped). I got a package deal through Expedia right before everything opened up, so this vacation is actually cheaper than a week at the Jersey shore.

I’ve been watching White Lotus all week, so I’m totally ready for cute outfits, drinks on the beach, and depravity. I just got a pedicure to match my evening outfits. I am going to be SERIOUSLY girly for a few days.

I’ll be back on Wednesday, but I’ll most likely be online posting pictures on Instagram.