We asked 5 pediatrician parents how they're spending spring break with their kids, even if it's cancelled - again

• Insider talked to 5 pediatrician parents about their spring break plans compared to last year's.
• Only 1 may fly across the country, a college visit trip she deemed "essential."
• Other families are staying close to home, visiting local beaches or starting their gardens.

Spring break 2020 was cancelled. So, too, were traditional celebrations for Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Burnt-out parents and restless kids are hoping, just maybe, spring break 2021 might be different. After all, COVID-19 cases are declining in some places, vaccination rates have surpassed case rates, and many typical spring break activities are in the outdoors, which is generally safer.

Insider surveyed five pediatricians with school-aged kids about how their spring break plans compare to last year's. Only one may travel by air, but some others are pursuing activities they wouldn't have last year. All are trying to find ways to have fun.

"I think we all have COVID fatigue," Dr. Candice Jones, a pediatrician in Orlando whose kids are 12 and four years old. "But for my family, we're still not ready … to jump on a plane and venture out too far."

Jones said while last year her family stayed very close to home, this year they may venture to a beach

Jones and her husband, who's also a physician, are fully vaccinated. Their kids, given their ages, aren't at high risk for serious illness from the disease.

"We're seeing some numbers trend down, but then now we have this new variant, but then people were getting vaccinated," she said of the pros and cons of taking a trip. "So we talked about feeling a little more relaxed."

More relaxed doesn't mean planning a spring break like the old days, however. It may mean taking a day trip to a not-too-crowded beach town or find another local, relatively safe activity. "We have found creative ways to still get out and have some fun," Jones said.

That's an improvement from last year's spring break, when the pandemic was very new.

"We were all very worried, and so we stayed home," Jones remembered. "We just ventured around the house and in our neighborhood and walked our trails and rode our bikes and swam in our own pool, but we stayed home."

Dr. Yolanda Evans cancelled last year's air travel, but this year is welcoming a vaccinated grandparent

Last year, Dr. Yolanda Evans, a pediatrician in Seattle whose kids are eight, six, and two years old, cancelled the family's air travel spring break plans. Instead, they went on a short road trip to a friend's cabin, where only Evans' household stayed.

This year, the family is staying home, but opening it up to one of the kids' grandparents, who has received the coronavirus vaccine. "We'll start our garden and work on projects at home, at the same time taking a break from school and work," Evans added.

Dr. Jaime Friedman might visit a college in Boston with her son

Dr. Jaime Friedman, a pediatrician based in San Diego, doesn't have any fancy spring break plans. However, depending on the number of COVID-19 cases, she may travel to Boston to visit a college with her son, which she deemed as "essential travel."

Friedman said when making a huge decision, like where to go to college, it's crucial to see the place in person, and figure out if you mesh with the people. "I would be really uncomfortable with him making choices of where to go without visiting places," she said.

Dr. Shilpa Patel is hoping there will be fewer travel restrictions by Memorial Day

Dr. Shilpa Patel, a pediatrician based in New Jersey, will not be spending spring break with her daughters this year because they will be their dad. Last year, they played board games, cooked dessert, and watched movies. But Patel is yearning for her vacations to look different by Memorial Day.

Those hopes are hinging on travel restrictions, however.

"If traveling is still a restriction, then I'm screwed because I would have to follow a 14-day quarantine," she said. Those quarantine orders would be impossible to follow, as Patel has to go to her office and tend to her patients.

But if travel restrictions ease up by Memorial Day, Patel would take her daughters to San Francisco to visit her niece, who was born over Thanksgiving.

Dr. Sara Bode and her family turn to nature because they can't travel

Dr. Sara Bode, a primary care pediatrician at Nationwide Children's Hospital, canceled her 2020 spring break plans to travel to Hilton Head, thinking she can easily reschedule them for 2021.

"When we called to cancel those plans we were thinking 'Oh, we'll just go back there next year.' Not even realizing that we would still be in a similar situation a year plus later," she said.

But COVID-19 remains a real threat, forcing families like Bode's to stay local for vacations.

For spring break, Bode and her family will continue to embrace nature, which is how they've been coping in the pandemic. If the weather is warm, they will go geocaching at a local state park. Otherwise, her family will play tennis or basketball outside.