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TRAVEL
recently ran into this dilemma
when her result from a Friday
test was not back in time for her
Monday departure,” she recalls.
Fortunately, they found a facility
that would do a rapid PCR test,
and she made her flight.
A comprehensive travel
insurance policy can also
increase your peace of mind,
says Jennifer Rubinstein, a
travel adviser with Embark
Beyond, a luxury travel agency.
“Especially these days,
circumstances can change in an
instant, forcing travelers to
change their travel plans. While
some hotels have been flexible
about changing dates, this is not
always the case.” Additionally,
travel insurance companies such
as Allianz have 24/7 help desks
that can find you a testing
center when you’re away from
home.
So what could make you even
more nervous than a last-minute
coronavirus test? Failing it. If
you haven’t left home, it’s a
major inconvenience, but you
can always postpone, isolate and
travel later.
If you’re at your destination,
you could be in a world of hurt.
This is when planning ahead
will really pay off. Before you go,
check with a knowledgeable
travel adviser who can help you
find a hotel with a coronavirus
testing center or isolation
options. If you’re taking a multi-
destination trip, ask your travel
adviser to pull up this
information for each potential
isolation location. Knowing your
choices before you leave can
ease some of your fears.
Jaime Zuckerman, a clinical
psychologist specializing in the
treatment of anxiety and mood
disorders, says a positive test
result can hit travelers
particularly hard. “It’s feelings of
anxiety, anger and
disappointment,” she says. “But
if you test positive, at least you
know, which means you can
begin to take steps forward to
plan and regroup.”
If you’ve taken all these steps
— insured your trip, taken a
rapid PCR test and developed a
contingency plan — you can
remove some of the worry. But
not all of it.
Jean Holthaus, a therapist
who treats anxiety disorders,
says feeling nervous is normal,
even in the absence of a
pandemic. That’s because travel
comes with inherent risks.
“Our bodies are designed to
feel anxiety in response to
external threats which could
harm us,” she says. “This means
you are experiencing normal
anxiety when you think about
the increased risks currently
associated with traveling or the
possibility your travel plans will
be disrupted.”
If you’ve done everything you
can to minimize the risk of
traveling, you have to accept
what you can’t control.
“Acknowledging your anxiety
is important and will help you
relax and engage in strategies to
manage it,” Holthaus says.
That may be the hardest part
of managing coronavirus testing
anxiety: accepting that the
outcome may not be up to you.
I’m still working on that part.Elliott is a consumer advocate,
journalist and co-founder of the
advocacy group Travelers United.
Email him at [email protected].A positive
coronavirus test
result can end a
vacation before it
starts. If you’re
worried about
testing positive
before your
upcoming trip,
you’re in good
company. So are
the rest of us.
Some countries won’t let you
in without a negative result,
while others will. But with a
subvariant of omicron spreading
in Europe, everything could
change at a moment’s notice.
“Testing anxiety is completely
understandable,” says Rajeev
Shrivastava, CEO of
VisitorsCoverage, a travel
insurance marketplace. “The key
is to plan.”
Although no one can
guarantee the outcome of your
test, there are ways to ensure
you’ll get your results faster. And
there are several coping
strategies that can help you deal
with pre-trip coronavirus testing
worries.
When it comes to coronavirus
test anxiety, I have firsthand
experience. At the start of the
omicron surge, I found myself in
Doha, Qatar. I had enjoyed
several relaxing days touring the
Souq Waqif, riding the new
Metro and exploring the dunes.
Before leaving, I took the PCR
test required by my next stop,
Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates, and waited for the
results.
And waited.
The test results didn’t show
up. I paced my hotel room at the
Al Najada. I couldn’t sleep. I
stopped eating. It turned out
that Hamad General Hospital,
where the PCR tests were
handled, was experiencing
understandable processing
delays. (Spoiler: I missed my
flight while I waited for my
results, but I made it to Abu
Dhabi the next day.)
There are better ways to
handle this kind of anxiety.
Colleen Cira, a clinical
psychologist specializing in
trauma, recommends
eliminating as much guesswork
as possible on the front end.
Book a rapid PCR test, for
example, even if it costs extra.
“Find out exactly how long it
will take to get results back —
and get it in writing,” Cira says.
“Often, the people answering the
phones may not be entirely clear
or are so busy they struggle to
listen well. Take the time to do
your research so that you can
feel confident that you are
booking the right test at the
right place, which helps ensure
that you will have what you need
when you need it.”
Rapid PCR tests can be
expensive, but they’re worth it.
When I flew from San Francisco
to the Azorean island of São
Miguel in November, I took
three PCR tests: two free ones
offered by a public clinic in Los
Angeles, and the other a rapid
PCR test that cost about $120.
Only the rapid PCR test
provided results on time.
Timing can also be a factor in
other ways. Tracy Schatz, owner
of Elite Travel Journeys,
counsels her clients to avoid
traveling on Mondays, because
weekends can cause delays. “A
friend’s daughter who was
traveling for a semester abroadNeed a covid test to travel?
Don’t panic, just plan.
The
Navigator
CHRISTOPHER
ELLIOTTThis sign was spotted in Ballyvaughan, Ireland, by Cindy Albert of
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SIGN LANGUAGE
place. In the dining room, som-
melier Marine Conn recom-
mended 2017 Clos des Porrets
St-Georges, a storied Nuits-
Saint-Georges Premier Cru wine
from Burgundy. We chatted
about her French background,
her training in Bordeaux and her
family. (She comes from a line of
chefs, sommeliers and butchers,
a home where food and wine are
sacred, she said.) After a starter
of a half-dozen oysters, our en-
trees of monkfish and venison
arrived, rounding out an alto-
gether satisfying evening.
Chef Jan Van Haute, who joined
the inn six months ago, told
me he aims to make the restau-
rant a major culinary destination
and garner a Michelin star, a
reasonable goal given his inter-
national experience working in
two three-star Michelin restau-
rants.
In Harpers Ferry the following
morning, we met park ranger
Isaac Wickenheiser of the Na-
tional Park Service for a private
tour. He started us at the “begin-
ning,” taking us to the Point —
the area overlooking the conflu-
ence of the Potomac and Shenan-
doah rivers. He explained that
Harpers Ferry exists because
President George Washington se-
lected the strategic site for a
federal armory, spurring the
economy and birthing a bustling
town. Wickenheiser talked and
walked with us around Lower
Town (the restored 19th-century
historic district) and described
highlights from the town’s his-
tory, which include the John
Brown raid, a precursor to the
Civil War, in which Brown seized
the armory in a failed attempt to
foment an uprising of enslaved
people and like-minded aboli-
tionists. The event emboldened
Northern anti-slavery sentiment.
To get some exercise, we decid-
ed to hike to the Overlook Cliff
above Harpers Ferry using the
Maryland Heights Trail. We fol-
lowed the pedestrian bridge over
the Potomac River, a footbridge
that is part of the AppalachianTrail. Fun fact: The faded sign on
the mountain face seen from the
bridge is from an early 1900s
advertisement “Mennen’s Borat-
ed Talcum Toilet Powder.” At the
bottom of the bridge, we walked
north a short distance on the
C&O Canal Towpath until signs
to the trailhead appeared. The
hike is marked well and leads to
the scenic overlook, about a four-
mile hike total. When we arrived
at the overlook, it started snow-
ing. We joined a hushed group of
more than 20 hikers admiring
the view amid swirling snow-
flakes.
Back in town on the highly
trafficked High Street, I poked
my head into a few shops. At True
Treats Historic Candy, spokes-
woman Maryann Fisher said the
store is the only research-based
historic candy shop in the coun-
try. Supplying museums around
the country, it’s chock-full of
treats from “the first candy ever”
through the 1900s, and I watched
parents anxiously monitoring
children, who, with shining eyes,
were grabbing handfuls of candy
to plop into their wicker shop-
ping baskets.
Back in our car after a quick
walk to Jefferson Rock to see a
view Thomas Jefferson praised
extravagantly in 1785, we stopped
for a quick bite at a place that
bills itself as the state’s first
vegan restaurant, Kelley Farm
Kitchen — whose building re-
sembles a dollhouse — only to
learn that it suspended indoor
seating during the pandemic.
Given the cold weather, we took a
rain check.
We rolled into Shepherds-
town, the oldest town in West
Virginia, dating to about the
1730s, and parked along German
Street in the downtown historic
district, a street that looks like a
painting. Settled by German im-
migrants, the town is perched
over the Potomac River about 12
miles past Harpers Ferry. It’s
home to Shepherd University,
which creates an authentic vibe
blending old and new as stu-dents, shoppers and families fill
German Street, the main town
thoroughfare. The singular white
public library building won my
vote for most architecturally in-
teresting, occupying the 1800
market house. We disappeared
into Four Seasons Books and got
lost for a while. Through German
Street Marketplace Coffee & Can-
dlery, I learned about ramps,
wild onions native to West Vir-
ginia — the shop sells wild ramp
jelly and aprons emblazoned
with the message “Let’s go ramp
hunting!” More items will roll in
for spring, when ramps are in
high season.
With growling stomachs, we
ducked in for an early dinner at
Bavarian Brothers Brewing, rel-
ishing the lively atmosphere and
Erwin’s Angry Ale. I arrived han-
kering for a burger and didn’t
bother looking over the menu’s
details, so I was surprised to
discover it was topped with a
bratwurst slab — a nice German
touch. Outdoors I spied an ex-
pansive terrace, sure to be full on
a nice day.
After another night at Hill-
brook, this time in the Snuggery
— a cozy space, as the name
implies — I bundled up after
breakfast and walked to the spa
for a facial with aesthetician
Angie Atkins. The small spa team
stays busy serving the area and
overnight guests, Atkins said,
with the couple’s massage being a
favorite.
After checkout, we packed up
for our quick drive back to D.C.
Over my shoulder, the sun
streamed through the trees of the
woodsy property, illuminating
the quaint bridge over the quiet
stream.Streeter is a writer based in
Washington. Her website is
kathrynstreeter.com. Find her on
Instagram: @kathrynstreeter. For the author’s suggestions
on what to eat, where to stay and
what to do, head to
washingtonpost.com/travel.BY KATHRYN STREETER
We are lifelong, happy urban-
ites. But Beltway tensions cou-
pled with the omicron wave and
a long, cold winter left me and
my husband yearning to disap-
pear over the weekend to change
the scenery and catch our
breaths. Cozy fireplaces, quiet
walks in the woods, good food
and historic streets were what we
had in mind. A long drive was
not. We quickly homed in on
West Virginia as the perfect des-
tination. Over the border, an
Eastern Panhandle trio of quaint
towns — Charles Town, Harpers
Ferry and Shepherdstown — pro-
vided the soulful retreat we need-
ed.
We got on the road late morn-
ing on a Friday at the end of
February and just over an hour
later pulled into Charles Town,
W.Va. Hungry, we made our way
to Sumittra Thai Kitchen & Bar
on West Washington Street, the
main drag of town — the county
seat of Jefferson County. We
ordered bubble tea and the
shrimp and avocado roll appetiz-
er before devouring red chicken
curry and stir-fry. The little res-
taurant, with its fresh Thai fla-
vors, was a real gem.
During the afternoon, we ex-
plored the town founded by
Charles Washington, George
Washington’s brother. We
worked off our lunch strolling
through the historic district, and
paused at the formidable Jeffer-
son County Courthouse. Our on-
the-spot research revealed that
the fiery abolitionist John Brown
stood trial here in 1859. Curious,
we discovered Brown was execut-
ed in a field a few blocks away, a
site now marked by a historical
plaque. Using Google Maps, we
followed walking directions to
Zion Episcopal Church cemetery,
where 70-plus members of the
Washington family are buried —
more than in any other place in
the country.
We caught a much-needed caf-
feine boost at the popular Sibling
Coffee Roasters, where locals
were hanging out and the barista
was greeting customers by name,
then stopped at Abolitionist Ale
Works to pick up a four-pack of
brew — including the IPA Haze of
the New — to take home.
The 15-minute drive to Hill-
brook Inn is along curvy, pictur-
esque country roads. A snaking
driveway leads to the sprawling
inn, the 1920s home of Brig. Gen.
Frank E. Bamford. After checking
in, we were led through a maze of
rooms and up a couple of short
flights of narrow stairs to our
room, the grand Bamford Suite.
To accommodate our preferred
weekend dates, the inn had invit-
ed us to spend our second night
in the Snuggery, because it would
show us two different setups. For
now, we found ourselves in an
expansive suite — decked out
with sofas, a full vanity set and
regal four-poster bed — with a
separate entrance where we
could park. We caught up on
reading and emails in the cozy
sitting area facing a fireplace
before changing for dinner.
Along with other guests, we
enjoyed predinner drinks in the
intimate, low-lit bar with a fire-
A weekend respite in West VirginiaPHOTOS BY KATHRYN STREETER FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
TOP: More than 70 Washington family members are buried at the Zion Episcopal Church cemetery in
Charles Town. ABOVE: The restored 19th-century historic district of Lower Town in Harpers Ferry.
Three quaint Eastern Panhandle towns — Charles Town, Harpers Ferry and Shepherdstown — offer
plenty of dining options, opportunities to exercise and enjoy nature, and sites of historical significance.