And so we press on

On this week’s episode of COVID-19….

It really does feel like a one hell of a TV drama with a new surprise twist every week with a season finale episode right before summer break. Or maybe I’ve just been on a mega Netflix bender. (new Ozark and Tiger King!!!! YAASSS!)

Diving into COVID news has become my morning ritual these days – check US regulations, local destination regulations, and international regulations. Take a deep breath, and press on.

Press on. This is what we are doing through all of this. Yes, some days are tougher than others. (Hell, yesterday I couldn’t stop the tears). But this team – pictured above – together we press on.

With your emails, messages, shout outs of love on Instagram, chit chat on the Facebook Tribe, hanging with you on Friday Nights for our Netflix with Chicks parties – YOU FUEL US to Press on.

I launched Explorer Chick over 5 years ago from nothing. It was just a crazy ass idea born at the bottom of a wine bottle. With some hustle, passion, and grit, Explorer Chick has grown up into a women-owned, small business in Cincinnati that now employs 12 other spectacularly bold women that have become my sisters from other misters. (I’m talking, I would give up a kidney for any one of these women).

But what’s even more is the accountability I feel to the hundreds of women we travel with yearly – from our short trips like our Backpacking workshops in the Red to Jordan, Belize, Peru and beyond.

Yes, I’m talking about YOU! 

With 5+ years under our belts, we have witnessed the transformative power of starting a fire for the first time, overcoming fears jumping from a waterfall, or learning a new skill – That’s empowering stuff right there.

You have become our friends. I mean we have survived National Emergency floods in the Dominican Republic, electrical outages in the Smokies, and tent destroying winds in Moab. We’ve picked you up when someone inevitably falls down on the trail or on a glacier. We have watched you stand up on a surfboard for the first time and felt immense joy in our hearts. (Yeah, I think I get more stoked than our actual surfers). We’ve talked through your hardships. We have too many inside jokes. We’re probably hanging up somewhere on your walls or in your cubicle. I know I have a few of you in my living room. We have shared the teary goodbyes with you at the end of our trips. (And then felt like mama birds whose babies just flew the nest).

What I’m getting at here is: We’re in it for our Explorer Chicks.

Thus, our COVID policy has been evolving with the changing situation. The purpose is so we can continue to operate in the back office, answer questions from you, our Explorer Chicks, and be at the ready to travel again when this passes. 

This morning I updated our COVID policy with the most recent news from the Trump Administration – social distancing now through April 30.

1. I have canceled all tours through April 30. We have reached out to all of our Explorer Chicks traveling through May 1. If you missed your email, please contact us: Info@ec-old.design-works.com

2. For ALL TRIPS departing now through June 1, you have the option to cancel your trip for a travel voucher equal to the amount paid to be used for future travel with us. Vouchers are good through December 31, 2025.

3. We will run ALL trips May 1 and beyond, unless travel restrictions are put into place.

4. If your trip gets canceled due to COVID full travel restrictions, we will issue you a travel voucher equal to the amount paid to be used for future travel with us.

Our travel vouchers are good for the next five years, which is more lenient than most airline companies (1 year). This gives you the flexibility to travel when it’s right for you. Maybe it’s as soon as the travel bans are lifted because you are losing your mind. Or maybe money is tight right now, and you would rather use that credit when you can walk out of that Duty-Free Store with more booze than a Kardashian.

Thank you for being there for us and we’ll be here for you when this passes.

Stay safe and healthy Explorer Chicks.

Nicki Bruckmann

Bonus Material- Click Below: Our Dream Team singing Colors of the Wind at our Training Retreat in January. I promise this has NOT become a regular part of your trips. We love you all too much to poison your ears on vacay!