Good evening and welcome to Living in the Lehigh Valley, a health and wellness show for everyone.

I'm your host, Brittany Sweeney.

Coming up tonight, pack your bags.

We are boarding a flight with PBS39 reporter Genesis Ortega to find out how to safely take a vacation amid a pandemic.

And we'll discuss safety protocols in place at Lehigh Valley International Airport right now.

Plus, pencils and books go hand in hand with masks and sanitizer.

this year.

We'll talk about sending kids back to the classroom after a difficult year of remote learning.

Lehigh Valley therapist Shonda Moralis will join us with more on how children, parents and educators, all of us, can mentally prepare.

Then it's time to tie up those laces as our Grover Silcox takes us for a stroll to answer the question, is walking really exercise?

First up tonight, air travel is reaching peak passenger numbers for the first time in two years.

Genesis Ortega is back from some much deserved, a much needed time off.

Genesis, it's great to see your face, have you back.

And of course, you're joining us via Zoom because you're still quarantining from your trip.

But it's great to have you.

So where were you off to?

Let's start there.

- Well, it's good to see you, too, Britney.

I went with my 18-month-old to Dominican Republic.

As you know, I was born there.

So really the purpose of my trip was to introduce my son to family that hasn't met him.

- Well, you are a brave soul for taking an 18 month on a plane.

So that's a task in and of itself.

But then you add a pandemic into the mix.

So it must have been, you know, not as smooth as you'd like.

So what were some of the precautions you had to take?

What were some of the extra steps?

- There was a lot of extra steps that I had to take.

Like you said, traveling with a toddler is a journey in and of itself.

So I had to make sure that I was overly prepared in case anything happened for me and for him, you know, making sure that I had the right documents, making sure, you know, what the visa requirements were, what the Covid testing requirements were, masking requirements.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I went to Dominican Republic.

You can read as much as you can on the internet, but it's only until you really land in the country that you really find out how the situation is.

And even with the vaccine, the Delta variant just raises questions about just how safe it is to travel abroad or even domestically.

So I spoke with the travel agent to get some guidance on how people can do their due diligence in keeping themselves and their families safe.

After over a year of quarantines and pandemic precautions, planning a family vacation came as a sigh of relief.

Jennifer Doncsecz is president of VIP Vacations in Bethlehem.

She says traveling these days requires more effort than just booking a flight and packing a suitcase, something I quickly found out.

- We recommend that you look at the destination you're going to, look at the Covid cases.

You prep yourself with needing to get a Covid test, whether you find a facility where you can get one before you return - many hotels are also offering rapid tests - if your hotel isn't providing them free.

And you just have everything all plotted out.

This is not the time to be traveling if you kind of go by the seat of your pants, plan something at the last minute.

- Doncsecz says the most important things to know prior to traveling are the guidelines and protocols in place along your route.

- From the airlines to public transportation, and depending on the destination you go to, they might have their own set of rules, even if that means wearing masks outside, showing proof of vaccination status.

So it's real important to not only check with the destination you're going to but also the airline's rules or if you're taking a train or using an Uber.

A lot of policies vary from even state to state in the US.

- My mind-set?

Prepare for the worst, but don't let it discourage me from my first piece of R&R since just a few months before the pandemic began.

A quick Google search and a few phone calls to customer service helped me get some of the information I needed to plan our vacation, Doncsecz says some may prefer letting others do the heavy lifting by booking the trip through a travel agent.

- We get up-to-date information about each destination, sometimes before it's even put out there on the public space.

And we also can help guide clients through the process of traveling to that destination.

If there is an authorization form you need, if you need to submit certain paperwork ahead of time or show up at the airport with certain paperwork like a Covid test or a vaccination card.

We can also fill in certain questions like does this destination require masks outside?

- Another important tip, make sure you have the proper paperwork, like whether your destination requires a passport, visa or a negative Covid test.

It takes some extra planning but can help ease aggravations down the road.

- For destinations right now, they're requiring that you have six-month validity, which means that if you were traveling in September, if it's valid through December, that doesn't work.

You still need it to be six months valid.

Look at them now, because even renewing your passport is taking weeks.

- And when you go to book your flight and secure your hotel.

Doncsecz also says it doesn't hurt to plan to pay extra for travel insurance for some peace of mind.

- We always recommend travel insurance, and not to cancel before, but just so that you have it when you're there for medical, because out of country usually means that your own health insurance won't cover you.

But for sure it would cover a certain amount per person per night.

- And after all that, you can go ahead and pack your bags.

Just don't forget to pack extra masks, hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes.

- I would also take your little what I call your little medicine cabinet with you, whether that be your Advil, your Tylenol, your extra tissues, Band-Aids, those sort of things, which is always good to have.

- Once the day arrives, Doncsecz says to make sure you pack your patience through the hours of checking in, security checkpoints and moving through TSA.

When you reach your destination, I found it best to keep the rules simple, use common sense to keep yourself and your family safe.

Doncsecz says that while there is no formal quarantining policy for vaccinated folks that travel, it's better to play on the safe side.

- And if you do travel, get a test.

There's a bunch of companies that will even mail one to you and you can drop it in the mail and overnight it or do the rapid test at home.

But the only way you can stop this spread is to be on top of how you feel, even if you've been vaccinated so that you don't get anybody else sick.

- Now, Britney, as we've all come to learn, living through a pandemic is an ever-changing situation.

Information and guidance are always subject to change as health officials monitor transmission rates and variance.

So if you are planning a trip, just make sure to check out the latest travel guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

- Some really great information, Genesis, there.

I'm glad you had such a great trip.

But here's the big question.

Was it all worth it?

Would you do it again amid this pandemic and traveling with an 18-month-old?

- 100%.

It was a smooth trip from start to finish, but I think preparation is key.

So just make sure you overprepare and I think you should be good.

- Thank you so much for all of that information.

- Thanks, Britney.

- Let's now bring in the executive director of the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority, Tom Stoudt.

Thank you so much for joining us.

- Thanks for having me.

- The past year and a half, it's been a bumpy road for airports.

People weren't traveling as much, but those numbers are starting to come back, we're starting to see people travel more, even hit some record numbers.

So my first question for you is, what are things like right now at the Lehigh Valley International Airport?

- Well, travel is back and vacations are popular this summer.

We've seen, really, a return of people traveling, wanting to get to those leisure destinations.

And we're really back to almost the 2019 levels that we were seeing, when we were almost getting to that one million passenger level.

And so certainly it's back, but we're not seeing the business travel just yet.

- Things were doing really well these past few months and then all of a sudden, Delta variant.

So where do we stand now?

How is that impacting things?

- So, what we just saw this week, TSA has really just released some new information about mask mandates taking us into January now.

We thought some of those might be expiring in September.

As you point out, the Delta variant now a factor for us and so still required inside all of the spaces at the airport.

And that's going to really take us into next year at this point.

- There's another project in the works right now at LVA.

There's a connector project that's going to make more space for security.

How's that going?

And is it on track even with the pandemic?

- Absolutely.

So, we continue to push forward on that project.

And, yes, we did break ground in May, so we're excited to be delivering that project.

Now, keep in mind, that's a two-year project.

So this takes us out to 2023 for being able to have the facilities in place.

But it takes our two-lane screening checkpoint, and it's currently underground, and brings that up to ticketing level, four screening lanes and a much quicker, easier connection to the gate area.

- Great.

Something to look forward to in the future.

- Absolutely.

- I do want to ask about traveling now.

What should folks know if they are going to the airport, they're getting ready to travel?

What can they do to make their trip a little bit more smooth?

- Absolutely.

So, we're still allowed to take hand sanitizer with us.

If that's something you want to do, you can take that in your carry-on bag.

You can take that container of hand sanitizer with you.

Again, keeping your TSA's 3-1-1 rule in mind, you're making sure you're keeping all your liquids, your aerosols, your gels in those smaller containers in a quart-sized clear Ziploc bag, making sure you're having that available, your documents, your driver's license.

We know that REAL ID has been extended.

The requirement to have a REAL ID has been extended.

So we've got a little time there.

But you still need your driver's license, boarding passes.

A lot of these things are now electronic, people have them on their smart device.

Don't forget to charge that, make sure it's fully charged when you come to the airport if you're relying on that for your travels.

- We've heard of reports throughout the country of unruly passengers, people not wanting to comply with those mask mandates.

Have you seen any of that at LVA?

- We haven't.

So that's really been something that we're glad to see, that people continue to understand.

We're all working through a federal protocol at the airport, and this is really coming from the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration.

- So what does the future hold?

Where do we go from here as this pandemic kind of lingers on?

What does the future hold for LVA?

- The lull in activity allowed us to really expedite a number of projects at the airport.

So you might see some new parking equipment, repaved parking areas and other things that we were able to accomplish during that lull.

In terms of the future, there's a lot of great things and we're seeing a number of things happening with our different passenger carriers, some new routes that were added even during the pandemic, some service to Washington, DC now directly from the area.

We've also seen growth with the announcement of the Allegiant crew base that was added just prior to the pandemic starting and so really now just starting to see how that's really impacting what's going on at the airport.

And the opportunity for new routes is really something that we're excited to look into as we move forward.

- Some very useful information for us from the executive director of the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority.

Thank you so much for joining us, Tom Stoudt.

- Thank you.

Appreciate it.

- Many schools are officially starting the 2021/2022 school year as the coronavirus pandemic continues on.

Covid-19 cases among children have been on the rise since early July as the Delta variant has created another surge.

I caught up with a family in Bethlehem and an Allentown educator to talk about their feelings heading into this new school season.

Ready?

- Race!

- We're having a race?

OK, I'll race you!

Hunter Moore is racing back to school.

Way faster than me!

Like many children getting back into the classroom, this kindergartner is eager to see her friends.

- Who else?

- Teacher.

Although she will be in person learning at the Swain School in Allentown, the 2021 school year is proving to be yet another abnormal year, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

What do you think you're going to do on the first day?

But the Moore family is taking it in stride.

- I don't know, - Of course, apprehensive in the beginning of what was happening in September of 2020, but we feel really good about what's going to take place in the fall of 2021, and Hunter is very excited to get back into the building to be with her teachers and then go to kindergarten.

- Veronica and Quartez Moore say they trust the protocols schools have in place to keep kids like their daughter safe.

- What is this?

- A menu.

- It's a menu!

- Now they are ready to get her back up to speed on socializing.

- What's on the menu?

- It says...

I don't know what it says.

- That's kind of like my biggest thing.

You know, this whole year has kind of held them back from being able to socialize and kind of have that be normal for them.

So this is a big part of it for us.

- The concept of getting kids back together and mental health in general are also on the minds of educators.

- How about this one?

- Kristina Michner is a seventh-grade literacy teacher in the Allentown School District.

- I bet you that's something you'll do in science class, too.

Well, I'm definitely excited, in a sense, to go back to what traditional schooling should look like, because the virtual schooling, the hybrid schooling, first of all, you had less students in the hybrid model, but also that relational aspect was missing in the hybrid model and in the virtual models.

- Michner, who is also a mom of two, feels remote schooling has been taxing on students.

- I think we were asking a lot of kids.

I think we were asking a lot of them to learn in a way that they're just not capable of learning, not for anything other than they're just not cognitively able to learn for seven hours a day by themselves without somebody with them.

That's the point of being in school.

- How do you keep kids social distancing and with their masks on?

That can't be an easy task!

- The distancing is very difficult.

Just, kids are so used to being close to each other, being next to each other.

And so that was really hard.

And we have a really highly populated school district, so I'm talking over a thousand kids.

It's really hard to tell a thousand kids they need to stay six feet away from each other in a hallway that's about eight feet wide to begin with!

- Both the Allentown School District and the private Swain School will have universal masking policies in place as the school year begins.

The Moores say although things aren't completely normal for their daughter, they feel confident in sending her back into the building.

- Because the school did such an amazing job with preparing the students and having them in the environment and the ways in which they were learning, I think that the transition for the students will be easy, right?

They'll be excited and flying out of the cars when it's time for them to be dropped off.

And maybe the parents will be the ones that are like, oh, I'll miss you!

But I think that she's prepared and ready to go.

- I love the Swain School!

- All right!

- Joining us now to help ease some of those back-to-school nerves is psychotherapist and women's empowerment coach Shonda Moralis.

Thank you so much for being here.

- Thanks for having me, Brittany.

- It's great to have you.

Now, this time of year can be crazy.

It's stressful as it is back to school, sending the kids after a long summer.

But then you throw in a pandemic and the year we just had and a lot of kids are going back into the classroom for the first time.

So how do we cope with all of this?

As parents, how do we send our kids back into the classroom?

And for those educators, how do they start to cope?

- I think for adults, we need to put our own oxygen mask on first, teachers and parents, which is all about knowing what's going on for us emotionally.

Are we feeling stressed and fearful and overwhelmed and worried?

Because we need to manage that and be aware of it so that we have the capacity to care for our kids.

- Taking care of yourself so that you're calm and ready for your children.

Speaking of your children, what should we be saying to our kids as they head back to school?

What should we be preparing them with?

- Right.

So we want to start with open-ended questions.

Instead of asking, are you nervous?, are you feeling scared or worried?, we want to say, how are you feeling about going back to school?

How are you feeling about getting on the bus?

And that kind of open-ended question.

It opens up that that conversation and then they can let us know what the emotions are.

Sometimes they can name what their emotions are and sometimes they can't.

So we need to also be on the lookout for some of those somatic complaints, physical complaints.

That might be headaches, stomachaches, not wanting to go to school, irritability, meltdowns, depending on the age.

And sometimes with older kids, it's about they might isolate themselves in their rooms.

So it's paying attention to all of those clues so we can be on the lookout and help them identify what they might be feeling.

- Sure.

It can all be really overwhelming.

I know as an adult the pandemic has been overwhelming, so I can't imagine as children how overwhelming all of this can be.

So how do you combat that?

How do you kind of calm yourself down and think, you know what, I can handle this, I can make it through?

- Right, exactly.

And so we say name it to tame it.

So we name what the emotion is.

And again, we might need to help, especially our little ones, identify it.

It sounds like you're feeling nervous.

It sounds like you're feeling worried.

When we name an emotion, we get a little bit of distance from it.

Then we have an opportunity to choose what we do with it.

And so tips like you're saying, recognizing that this is temporary.

Emotions can feel really big and strong and overwhelming, but it will pass.

It's temporary.

We need to remind them of that, reminding them that it's normal and also recognizing that we can feel all kinds of emotions at one time, so we might feel nervous and excited.

And if we can put those ands in there, it can really reframe how they might be feeling.

- Sure.

That's some really great advice there.

So what are some signs to look for as a parent?

If you've sent your kid back into the classroom, what are some signs that they may be struggling through this?

What can you look out for?

- Headaches, stomachaches, irritability, saying I don't want to go to school, I don't want to get out of bed, nightmares, trouble falling asleep.

Sometimes it's just behavior that's out of the ordinary and you're thinking, this isn't like my child.

- Any other self-care tips you can share today for people who are sending their kids back to school or for those educators who are heading back into the classroom?

- So, a helpful breathing tool is called the 4-7-8 breath.

It's a very calming tool because what we know is that when we're feeling stressed and anxious and worried, we hold our breath in our chest.

So when we take these deep breaths, we calm our physiology, we calm our body down and it sends a signal to our brain that there's nothing to be threatened by or so worried about.

So we breathe in through our nose to the count of four.

We hold our breath to the count of seven and slowly breathe out through our mouths to the count of eight, and it really helps amazingly calm us down in a moment of stress.

So we can do that.

Getting outside preventively, being outside on a daily basis, getting some exercise, getting some of those nerves out is really helpful.

And also creating some routines.

So as we move back toward the school year or in the school year, getting those bedtime routines going, which are very soothing for kids, that they know this is the order.

- Shonda, I'm already practicing that breathing as we stand here.

And I already feel calmer, so I think that these are some great tips.

Shonda Moralis, thank you so much for joining us with some great information tonight.

- Thanks for having me.

- Walking as exercise.

Grover Silcox joins us now.

Grover, these days, many people are taking things step by step, quite literally.

- Absolutely.

You mentioned walking as exercise.

Actually, it's America's favorite exercise.

- I'm on board with that.

So, do you walk?

- Well, I didn't always walk.

I just started.

And the reason I did was because I lost 55 pounds over the last year or so.

- You look fabulous.

- Thank you.

Feel good.

And when I hit my goal weight, I said to myself, how can I maintain, you know, how can I improve my health overall?

You know, I'm not an athlete, not an outdoorsman.

I wasn't big on exercise, but I thought to myself, hey, even I can walk.

Psychologists tell us, researchers say, that if you just walk for 12 minutes, it will elevate your mood, you'll feel better.

Even if you're not going for exercise, there's all kinds of other reasons to do it.

- So, Grover, you're going to share with us the trick to walking as exercise.

- I have some experts who are going to share the how and why of walking.

You know, one of the great things about walking is that it's free.

You can do it anywhere, any time.

It's liberating, especially during this pandemic.

And there are a heap of health benefits.

According to two recent polls, more Americans are going outside.

Many who identified as indoor people before the pandemic identify as outdoor people now.

I happen to be one of them.

Walking has multiple health benefits, and all you need to do is take that first step.

Here's a primer on getting started.

Bethlehem Township resident Suzanne Moore loves walking.

- I love walking.

It makes me feel great, energized and helps stabilize my moods.

- According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, walking is America's favorite exercise.

How good is the Lehigh Valley for walkers?

- The Lehigh Valley is filled with walking trails for walkers.

You have the D&L Trail, you have the Saucon Valley Rail Trail, you have the Plainfield Trail, and you even have Jacobsburg State Park.

- A seasoned runner and Walker, Suzanne has raced in marathons and half-marathons over the years.

But nowadays she simply enjoys walking without the pressure of competition.

- I try to get out three to four times a week.

When I go out for a walk or a run, I will go out for a minimum of 30 minutes and sometimes that can be as long as four or five hours.

- Suzanne is not alone.

A 2010 study conducted for UnitedHealthcare shows that even more people are going outdoors to walk since the Covid pandemic began.

- Three of the main benefits that are involved with walking are, one, fitness in terms of weight control, cardiovascular and stroke prevention.

The third one is emotional wellbeing and cognitive health care.

Dr Zander Arwand, sports medicine specialist at Lehigh Valley Health Network, advises new walkers to take it one step at a time.

- For people who are novices and new to the game, always get a physical, always touch base with your doctor before you start and start slow and ramp yourself up as tolerated.

As you build up your endurance and your tolerance, you can go faster and faster or longer and longer.

- Suzanne's regimen generally meets or exceeds the American Heart Association recommendations.

- In terms of cardiovascular benefits and reduction of stroke risk, the AHA recommends 150 minutes a week spread out as evenly as possible, maybe 30 minutes five times a week or 50 minutes three times a week.

- Many walkers count steps and aim for 10,000 a day to burn calories.

Whatever the distance, walking properly can prevent injuries and make the walk more effective.

- Keeping the head up nice and straight, keeping the eyes pointed forward, not down, not up, keeping the shoulders pinned back, hips even and walking with a nice, even gait is really important.

- Whether walkers aim for a thousand steps or a thousand miles, they must first prepare, and that begins with footwear.

- People come to us primarily because we specialize in running and walking footwear.

- Bruce Haines owns Aardvark Sports Shop in Bethlehem.

He and his staff are all seasoned walkers and runners.

- The footwear is very important, running footwear in particular.

Unlike other types of athletic footwear, it's designed specifically for certain types of foot structures.

For someone who may have a moderate to low arch or someone might have a high arch, someone who needs additional, you know, support.

- Pay really, really close attention to your footwear.

If you look at the bottom, your shoes, the tread, and you see uneven wearing, you can maybe say that maybe the footwear is incorrect or maybe the gait is incorrect.

- This may cause incremental injuries to the feet which lead to bigger issues later.

- What we try and do is put people in what we call the neutral position.

So that means having people not roll in excessively or not roll out excessively in their stride.

We also want to talk to them about their history.

And based upon that conversation, as well as the observations, you can make some pretty good recommendations in terms of footwear.

- The American Heart Association recommends a brisk walk of about two and a half miles an hour for an effective cardio workout.

Dr Arwand offers this tip if walking with a partner.

- If you're able to hold a conversation with some breaths in-between and being forced to breathe, that's a good pace.

- As Suzanne or any avid walker can attest, one of the best fitness centers lies just outside your front door.

- It is one of the most inexpensive exercise programs that you can try.

- And it's still among the safest outdoor activities you can do, even in a pandemic.

Dr Arwand also noted that, based on studies he's read, one of the safest, optimal places to exercise aside from your home is the great outdoors, where there isn't a bunch of other people, where you can safely distance six feet apart from those who are there, in the fresh air and the sunshine with the wind blowing.

You can walk or run feeling safe, confident and effective for a healthier, happier you.

You know, Britney, there's every good reason to start walking and keep walking.

- I love that.

But it almost seems too easy, right?

Walking as an exercise?

But it really can prevent chronic illnesses and conditions and add years to your life.

- Absolutely.

And we've known the benefits for a long time now.

Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States, he actually walked four miles a day and he lived to be 83 at a time when the lifespan was 40 years old.

- Wow.

- And to put it all in perspective, comedian Steven Wright says everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.

- I like that.

Words to live by.

Grover, thank you so much.

Let's go take a walk after this.

- You got it.

- Grover Silcox, thank you.

On the next episode of Living in the Lehigh Valley, going to the gym - how the pandemic has changed our workouts, maybe for good.

Thank you for joining us this evening for Living in the Lehigh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney.

We hope you stay happy and healthy.

Goodnight.