My husband and I were fighting over the last tube of Shanghai Tang lotion. Little did we know that the last time we mindlessly took home a couple of miniature amenities from the Conrad, one of our favorite hotels, that we would be cooped up and quarantined for months and months like the rest of the world.

Little did we know that it would be more than a year before we could check in to another Conrad again, when we typically stay at a Conrad location at least twice a year, from Tokyo to New York and a few other places in between. Little did we know that one whiff of that scent will take us back to the pre-pandemic days, when we meticulously planned for our vacation days, when we would save up dollars and Delta miles, when my biggest complaint about our day was room service forgetting to bring up the extra mayo for our late night fries. Of the many things I learned during this pandemic, I’ve never been more grateful for the life we have and will have in the future.
We haven’t been on a plane together this year, and I’m not sure when we can fly for a vacation again. I took a few work trips in January and February to Chicago, Detroit, and New York, but work trips – while they can be fun and memorable – don’t hold a candle to when I travel with my husband. Matt, who never once laughed at me when I first showed him my travel spreadsheet (itinerary, outfits, and packing list in one), who lets me pick restaurants from hole in the w...