Nobody saw a pandemic in 2020 coming. Okay except maybe scientists, Barack Obama, and Bill Gates.

But us regular folks, us travelers, us bloggers—we were not ready. None of us were ready. And it seems we’re still not doing a very good job of adapting and defeating this virus.

While my travel plans shifted this year, so did my approach to this blog. I went from writing about long-distance international and domestic adventures to writing about walks to my local park.

That is what deviating is all about, though. We deviate, we adapt, we evolve beyond the current norm. Although we all found ourselves in a “new normal” this year, we still had to find ways to make it through responsibly and with our sanity in check!

This year’s Destinations

International: Grand Cayman
Domestic: Denver, CO, Melbourne, FL, Hudson Valley, NY

Beach party in Grand Cayman for New Years Eve 2020

I kicked off the year jumping into the Caribbean waters of the Grand Cayman Islands at midnight. I was partying with a hundred locals and travelers at a beach bar. Who knew this year’s New Years Eve would look so different?

Before COVID-19 hit, I was about to book a flight to Morocco for July. I was going to meet my then-girlfriend and her friend in Spain. All of that changed with the entire travel industry shutting down. I even ended my long-distance relationship (made longer by the pandemic) shortly after that.

I am so grateful I made it out to Denver to see my bestie, Dasha, right before the shutdown. I had an amazing time hiking up the Rocky Mountains, exploring an ice castle, and eating one of the best meals of my life with her.

By June, the pandemic was not letting up. On top of this, I was feeling the pressures of my social-justice-oriented job in the midst of international attention to anti-Black racism in the USA. I felt lucky (and incredibly privileged) that I could safely get away for a few days—a mental health break—for my birthday in July. I kayaked with manatees and experienced my first tiny house stay in Melbourne, FL.

Manatees in the water next to my kayak near Titusville, FL

With case numbers surging this Fall, I committed to quarantining, testing, and driving the 1500 miles up to New York from Miami for Thanksgiving through Christmas. I knew lots of people traveling by plane for the holidays—nobody was planning to drive such a distance. But I knew it was the right thing to do for me to responsibly see my family this year.

My family played lots of Cards Against Humanity as we quarantined together through the holidays

More than ever and for more people than ever, this year has been about accommodating, adapting, and changing things up. People have had to change jobs, change relationships, change old habits, and reprioritize who and what matters most.

I’ve had to build an entire staff around me at work completely remotely. I’ve had to find new ways to make and maintain friends via Zoom and other adjustments to my comfort level.

Similarly, I’ve had to adapt this blog to fit the changing tide.

Getting Creative With This Blog

This blog is most easily categorized as a travel blog. But that would be a lazy, oversimplification. This blog is about breaking habits, doing things differently, finding your own authentic path in life, listening to your intuition, and ignoring all the nay-sayers.

The pandemic forced almost everyone on this planet to break their day-to-day norm. All year, people were wishing things would “get back to normal” or argued that “this is the new normal.” The norm, as we all knew it, was no longer the norm. We collectively experienced a forced deviation. And we all, collectively, had to adapt.

For some, this meant resisting change. They refused to wear masks, they kept going out, they got together in large groups without social distancing. But they couldn’t and can’t escape the consequences—we all can’t.

COVID-19 case rates in the USA are higher than ever, with 1 in 1,000 people in the USA currently infected and rates of over 3,000 deaths per day. And it’s so much worse for people of color and indigenous people in this country who suffer higher rates of cases and deaths compared to white people. January doesn’t look like it will get any better after airports reported the highest number of travelers this year (still about 1/3 of the numbers in December 2019).

COVID-19 deaths by race (SOURCE: covidtracking.com/race)

You can deny or resist change all you want but there will be consequences and change will still come. The only constant in life is change. The challenge is what to do to adapt.

And so, I adapted this blog in 2020. In June 2019, I broke 15,000 unique visitors to this site. This was a major milestone for this blog which has been a totally organic, non-monetized, personal project. I still had about 15,000 unique visitors in January 2020.

My visitor count then dropped to 4,000 by April 2020.

There was an overall 40% decrease in unique visitors to deviatingthenorm.com in 2020.

My travel blogger friends talked about going bankrupt. They started seeking new jobs and new industries to work in since travel went belly up and it would be that way for the foreseeable future. Once I finished posting about my trips to Grand Cayman and Denver, I had nothing left to write. Or so I thought…

Looking Back: 2020 Highlights

Despite everything, I managed to cover a lot of travel and travel-related content. The basic premise of “deviating” is still there even when I’m writing from the archives.

I dove into my photo archive (and my brain archive!) for memories of past travels. London was the first one I decided to resurrect! And there’s more to come in 2021.

I wrote about the Black Lives Matter movement and how racism is not isolated to the USA. I reflected on some of the racism I observed in countries like New Zealand. Yes, even the country that has beaten COVID-19 has its flaws!

I learned to appreciate new adventures and experiences locally. I became obsessed and incredibly grateful for the local Kendall Hammocks Park that I can walk to from my home in Miami. I also found lots of fun places near and far from my home to kayak and experience Miami in all its seaside glory.

A maskless moment alone in Kendall Hammocks Park

I took one big and unexpected road trip this year—to New York! I wasn’t anticipating driving up from Miami until I decide to move back. Alas, we make plans and plans change. I drove instead of flying for the holidays since airports are still not safe.

While the vaccine gives us all hope, I knew this time with my family was fleeting. Soon we would be returning to our separate homes and back to the reality of this pandemic. I especially know I won't be driving up to New York again anytime soon. So I decided to amp things up this xmas.

There's nothing my family loves more than time spent laughing together around good food. So I built a charcuterie/grazing table as my gift to them this year for xmas eve. It kept on giving all evening long (and for days after). It was a distraction from the realities of this year, a reminder that we are so fortunate to have abundance in a time of scarcity for so many, and a representation of my gratitude and love for each of them for staying safe and healthy this year and next.

I am so grateful to the local grocery store curbside pickup workers who gathered all the food for this table after submitting my order online. It's a service that has kept my family in quarantine all year and it worked beautifully for this monstrous spread!

We are truly in debt to all essential workers—from the doctors to the custodians.

Looking Ahead: Responsible Travel

I have always advocated on this blog for responsible, ethical travel. I have mainly focused on animal tourism and not exploiting local communities of people. But ethical travel now also extends to health and safety for me. This is going to continue to be an important part of my travel experience well into the future.

This year has been about thinking not just of ME but of the well-being of WE. I believe wearing a mask, washing your hands, and vaccinating are necessary parts of responsible travel of the future.

The number of visitors to this blog has more than doubled since April. This site hit almost 9,000 unique visitors in December 2020. The page that received the biggest hit this month was 10 Must Do’s in New York City for First-Time Visitors.

These numbers are hopeful for the travel industry but they also make me worried.

New York was the epicenter of the pandemic back in the Spring. The governor of New York put a ton of travel restrictions in place recently to counter the inevitable holiday rush. New Years Eve in Times Square will not have an in-person audience. I just really hope people followed those precautions and were safe.

Perhaps the increase in numbers is a reflection of people making travel plans for 2021? If so, I really hope they hold off on their plans. Until the vaccine is widely administered, I do not plan to even start making travel plans.

I am hopeful that by summer 2021 we will have at least an idea of when it will be safer to travel by plane again without catching or spreading the virus. But I will follow what doctors and scientists say, first and foremost—not politicians.

In the meantime, I only plan to continue to quarantine, travel by car, and adventure locally while masking and socially distancing. I’ll keep posting about the ways in which I continue to deviate from this “new normal” without compromising my health or anyone else’s. For me, this is the only way to be a responsible traveler in the time of COVID-19.

Happy New Year!

My dear readers—this year was the absolute pits. Despite the tanking travel industry, I’ve made every attempt to keep this blog going and I think I surprised myself with the content I still managed to write.

Perhaps what I wrote gave you some ideas for how to keep the adventure in your life despite stay at home orders. Or maybe you read an older adventure of mine that is helping you get through the present and plan for the future!

Regardless, I am even more grateful than ever before for your continued readership.

I hope that my writings in 2021 continue to inspire and show you that change is not bad—it’s an opportunity for growth and adventure!

❤️ Rikka

Happy New Year: Adapting In 2020