Music of Untraveled Trips

As you may have noted from my frequent reference to classes I've taken through Great Courses Plus in a blog that should be about travel adventures, the past year has found me frequently perched in front of my computer screen searching for something to occupy my time.  Many of you also found yourselves spending much more time online.

This boost in consumer demand for online content and high tech delivery mechanisms in conjunction with governments printing vast sums of money to keep economies afloat resulted in big tech companies booming in what could have been a terrible stock market era.  

If you think way back to a year ago, you will remember a stock market crash at the outset when Covid-19 kept everyone indoors except protesters which spawned destruction of cities and a "redistribution of wealth" industry called looting.

The cruise and leisure travel industry, on the other hand, has been devastated by over a year of lockdowns that stretched on month after month.

Small businesses in other service industries also paid the price for serving the public directly when  many state and local governments forced them to mangle their business models if not shut down entirely, so many hair salons, manicurists, gyms, restaurants and bars closed their doors permanently.

Shutting down live music venues caused obvious ripples that hurt musicians cut off from their livelihoods.

While classic rock icon Peter Frampton long ago squirreled away enough acorns to make it through retirement, he nonetheless felt the pain of not doing what he loved, which he captured in the video at the top with his instrumental take on that apt George Harrison tune.  He was forced to cancel what he thought would likely be his last concert tour due to a non-Covid-19 medical issue.

In any case, as I've noted recently to our Cruise Planners clients, the clouds may finally be lifting on travel.  This morning I learned that the CDC has finally reopened its dialog on re-opening for the first time since the hopeful time six months ago when they were pushed by the prior administration to allow cruises and other travel to return to service.

As such, I am hopeful this means a rapid expansion of plans to reopen in Greece, Iceland, Bermuda and, in an end run around the CDC, the Caribbean embarking from island ports like St. Maarten, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Bermuda to avoid CDC jurisdiction in US waters.

Last night, I happened upon what is sort of a travel video visiting historic Venice, hosted by the keyboardist from the rock band Yes, Rick Wakeman.  I found this free video as interesting as my Great Courses, so I thought I'd share it here.

Of course, the theme of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" turned out to be appropriate after more than a full year of shutdown where we had the chance to watch this drama unfold through all the seasons at least once.

If you're not familiar with these concerti --- and trust me when I say that even if you don't believe you are, you will recognize some musical phrases --- this rock opera version of the work might be a relatable introduction, especially for babyboomers who love progressive rock amalgamations.

And by the way, if you are ready to travel to Venice or some other great resort --- especially if you are one of those lucky office workers who found themselves banking a lot of money by working at home and having no place to go to spend your earnings --- start planning your next great adventure today.

"Better service leads to better trips!"