For the most part, we are living our lives during the CV19 ‘Lockdown’ without a lot of issues. We are blessed. Fortunately, most of the activities that we enjoy this time of year are outside and that’s about the best place you can be to stay safe and keep others safe.
Everyday, in my Facebook ‘History’ feed, I see pictures pop up from great trips we’ve taken the last few summers: last year’s Los Angeles trip, our trip to Israel & Petra, highlights of Tokyo & Kyoto, and two weeks driving through Scotland & England. These trips are part of what we budgeted for in FIRE, but we are definitely not spending to budget in 2020.
Related: FIRE Travel Framework & Budget
Of course, we always say the summer in Minnesota is beautiful, so why not stay close to home?
We did decide to take a small trip in a few weeks to celebrate our Thirtieth Anniversary. We’re going to go up to Minnesota’s North Shore and maybe ‘collect’ a few more waterfalls. I’ve been discovering and photographing a waterfall every week since the start of the pandemic.
It’s not a glamorous overseas trip, but it should be fun.
Related: Weekly Waterfalls
Anyone else planning on taking a ‘mini vacation’ any time soon?
Image Credit: Gooseberry Falls, MN – (c) MrFireStation.com
MrFireStation 
We just hit the North Shore two weeks back, staying in a wonderful shoreline “cabin” near Two Harbors and visiting Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock State Parks while we were there. We were thrilled to try out EV touring, and had charging stations at our lodging as well as finding primo parking with free charging at Gooseberry Falls.
Coming from a much more Covid aware region, we were surprised at the crowds at some of the state parks, and our choice of lodging was specifically to ensure that we could prepare our own meals and socially distance. Passing through Wisconsin on our way, it seemed like the wild west compared to Chicago area restrictions.
We were surprised that our lodging had a restaurant, but it was closed 3 out of the 5 days we were there. Had we stayed somewhere without a kitchen, it might have forced us to survive out of a cooler, or on fast food. I would recommend calling ahead to get a clear understanding of how restrictions are going to affect your use of facilities where you stay.
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That sounds like good advice to call ahead. We’re staying at Grand Superior Lodge. I daytripped up to Duluth/Two Harbors in June when hardly anything was open. While waterfalls are always available, we hoped to poke around Grand Marais while we are up there this time.
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We were just south of there at Larsmont Cottages, another property in the same group. Just an impression, but they seemed deliberately vague about amenities (sauna, etc.) giving answers like “it will depend on the governor’s orders on the day of your stay”. The restaurant being closed Tuesday and Wednesday wasn’t even mentioned as a possibility. That said, it was a wonderful cabin and I will likely return.
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We’ve been doing a lot of kayaking day-trips on the rivers near our home. We are fortunate to have a bunch of water options where we live. We also have a nice bike trail on a converted railway trail that is rarely utilized and quite beautiful as it runs along our two local rivers, so we’ve been able to continue to bike a fair amount too. Of course we are also enjoying the lake where we live daily. We simply kayak, swim, and float many days when it’s too hot to bike.
Honestly, I traveled so much during my Mega-Corp days, that I’ve actually enjoyed the down time this year! We’ve been on a travel kick since retiring three years ago, that it’s been nice to stay home IMO.
We are researching potential Florida gulf coast beaches for our annual winter trip, but I’m not quite convinced it will be possible given the current spike in COVID. If we reserve a place, it will have to be refundable in case things take a downturn again. We also had close friends who just moved to the Villages in FL, and are already asking us to come visit, so I can see us possibly driving down for a few weeks. We are definitely (also) banking a lot of travel money this year! So it’s not all bad!! 😄
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We have never kayaked too much, but as I have been out looking for waterfall hikes, I’m running into a lot of rental places for kayaks, canoes, and inner tubing. Definitely want to make some time for that before summer is over.
We are in the middle of discussing our winter Florida plans too. I’m thinking we plan for the best with the virus, but like you, keep it refundable if it has to be cancelled.
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