Thursday, February 18, 2021 Greetings from sunny and windy Southern California. It's so windy that we went to the beach yesterday and flew a kite for the first time in a long time. The good news is that the $12 dinosaur kite I bought worked great. The bad news is that my kids weren't nearly as excited as I was to fly a kite as they would rather build sand castles. It’s difficult to think about travel and to fathom what’s going on in Texas right now -- my heart goes out to all those who are impacted -- so I’ll keep this short. About a month ago, I started publishing a travel news update on Mondays with all the travel news you may have missed over the weekend. But because it’s been so popular with readers and there’s so much travel news every single day, I’m going to do it daily. The URL won’t ever change so you can always find the travel news here. I usually update it each morning but sometimes I do it at night or if there’s a really big story, I will update it immediately. Today’s stories vary from tips on how you can help Texas during the winter weather emergency to the sad Marriott news.
With the exception of what’s going on in Texas, things are looking promising for travel. The best news is that COVID-19 rates, hospitalizations and deaths are all trending down and that the Pfizer vaccine is effective at blocking the new viruses (though they might need to create booster). My 92-year-old dad got his second dose two weeks ago and yesterday, he had dinner with both of my sisters for the first time in a year. So he’s a happy camper.
Next week will mark a year since I’ve seen my dad in person and since I’ve been on a plane. I’ve been playing it safe and being a team player by following the advice of health officials. But I’m starting to get that travel itch like everyone else. Last night, I bought a ticket I had on hold to go see my dad in early April because it was $60 round-trip. That’s right … sixty dollars. If you receive my Travel Deals Newsletter or Daily Travel Tip (sign up here) then you knew about the crazy American Airlines (AA) sale between Los Angeles and Miami. Here are the details of my ticket and this week's travel news, deals, tips and stories. | 