We embarked yesterday on our journey home. Kazan to Moscow to JFK to New Hampshire to Portland.   Our trip to the Kazan airport was uneventful. Kids were troopers wearing their masks and gloves, saying they were in ninja training.  Many others on the plane were casual with their masks, hanging them on their chins or not wearing at all. I complained, hoping they would move us to the empty first class section, but no luck. The flight attendant asked everyone around us to put on masks, but they continued to let them droop below the nose.

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In Moscow, we had to ride a crowded bus to the next terminal. The international terminal was fairly empty as there were only 2 international flights leaving the whole day. Some people wore face masks and clear plastic face shields while others wore nothing at all. To board the plane you had to have a mask and gloves, but once on board nothing was enforced. I asked the flight attendant if masks were optional or required, nodding to the two twenty-something guys sitting behind us and she asked them to put on masks. They did, the guy glaring at me, and then after about 5 minutes took them off. Aggravating! We each watched a double-feature, kids a triple-feature and after about 10 hours we landed in NYC! A relief to make it back after so many months of uncertainty as to whether we’d be able to get home. We decided to stay the night in a hotel, as we were desperate for a shower to wash all the perceived plane germs away. The kids managed to stay awake until around their normal bedtime, but were wide awake at 3 am 😫

We decided to take advantage of our early wake up and headed into the city. I have never considered driving as a reasonable way to get around New York, but with the pandemic we managed to get downtown and park without any problems. We wore masks, as were the majority of New Yorkers we saw, and kept our distance as we strolled Central Park. The kids liked climbing rocks and we saw a beautiful bird by the lake (a double crested cormorant).

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Walking back to our car we passed through an area that had been the site of protests and riots with boarded up shops for blocks. And later, as we drove through Times Square, it was impactful to see so many blacked out billboards supporting Black Lives Matter.

We ended our short visit to NYC with a picnic in Battery Park with a view of the Statue of Liberty. We devoured massive sandwiches from Katz’ deli. Mila declared her half of a pastrami sandwich “a big sandwich for a little girl.” After working her way to the last bite, she amended her statement: “It’s a big sandwich for a little girl, but not for THIS little girl.”

Definitely surreal to be in such a different New York where stores are shuttered, parking is plentiful, traffic is easy, and the few people out and about are masked. “I am tired of wearing masks,” Mila commented as we drove out of the city. “Everyone looks like dentists!” We are now in NH where we kept our distance from my parents until we got our negative covid test results. Hooray! So excited to be with family after this whirlwind of a spring!