Presidents and Grandsons

Life on the road in the times of Covid are a balancing act.  It is very easy to shut off the outside world and follow the open road.  The problem is, once you stop you have a few new extra steps that are a constant reminder that these times, although sometimes they feel normal, are not normal at all.  To get out of the car first you put on your mask, then you assess the situation.  Are there too many people between you and your goal?  If so, move on.  If not, get out of the car and head to your goal (usually the bathroom).  Be sure to try your best not to touch any surfaces with your hands, if you must, make a mental note to keep your hand far away from your face!  Once your goal has been achieved, wash your hands like you are doing surgery on your favorite person, dry them, keep a paper towel in your hand to open the door if needed and proceed cautiously to your cabin of safety, aka your car.  Yes, life on the road is not as glamorous as it may look in my pictures but it is still proving to be better than melting away in Houston while we long for our beloved Nova Scotia.  

We left Houston almost 3 weeks ago.  TJ researched hot spots for Covid and spots of low infection rates.  We chose to stay in the low infection spots and it turns out the two stops on our way to Madison, Wisconsin were presidential birthplaces.  We stayed in Hope, Arkansas, birthplace of Bill Clinton and Springfield, Illinois, birthplace of Lincoln.  We were able to drive by Clinton's house in Hope and fully explore Lincoln land.  Turns out the best time to visit downtown Springfield is on a Sunday morning at 8:30 in the middle of a pandemic.  We were the only people walking around the capital, the Lincoln Museum and the Lincoln Library.  None of them were open but the statues were lovely and the buildings were even more beautiful!

We were here in Hope, Arkansas

Illinois State Capital

The Old State Capital

The only other bodies out that day were inanimate.

Sunday morning and not a soul on the streets.

We made it safely to Madison on our third day and were greeted with open arms, with masks on our faces and heads turned away we hugged our grandsons!   The day after we arrived we all packed up and drove 3 more hours to one of the cutest areas I have ever visited.  Door County is between Green Bay and Lake Michigan on a peninsula.  We rented the perfect house for a week.  I could have moved there for the rest of the summer and been perfectly happy.  The cherries were in season, the water was surprisingly blue and clear, the air was crisp and clear and I truly felt like we had escaped.  The grandsons took it on as their job to swim at as many different beaches as possible in 6 days.  Turns out they still had a few more beaches to visit!

A nice place to get away from reality!

Pebble Beach, aptly named.  They could have kept throwing
until there were no more rocks on that beach!

Cherry season!

Two boys cliff jumping with Grampy!

3 heads pop up...whew!

We played many Clue games, rode bikes, went for long walks along Lake Michigan, explored a different beach every day, had a couple of bonfires complete with s'mores, and enjoyed out time together.  You have not lived until you have played five consecutive Clue games with the Lee boys...or one particular Lee boy!   John, age 7, was a Clue master.  He would play any time, any day!  I made the mistake once of letting him set the game up while I made some tea in the kitchen.  We began our game and it was over in one turn with John nailing the culprit, weapon and location.  Hmmmm, might he have set me up?  I was a bit more cautious after that.  He loves that game and we loved playing it with him.  We also got to spend time with TJ's brother and his family who have a place up there, thus the attraction to visiting Door County.   I think we all needed some fresh air and a change of scenery.  It is amazing how those two things can affect your psyche.  We went back to Madison refreshed and ready for the second half of summer 2020 as we know it.

Had lunch on the way home outside Lambeau Field in Green Bay

Christopher wanted to jump into one more body of water...

And I went on my bi-annual boat ride....

It was time to move on after a little more than a week.  We were revived and maybe a bit exhausted from all of the fun but in a good way.  Mister Green, with the wrench in the Conservatory!

We Have Opened Pandora's Box

I have a new respect for bloggers who are able to write while on the road.  I have such good intentions but somehow never seem to get it done.  This was written a couple of weeks ago.  The fine tuning had not been done until tonight.  At this point it is old news, my apologies.  Still, I figure why not set it free into the blog sphere, it does have some exciting news if you give it some time! 

Because we all need a break in this pandemic to pretend that life is normal I bring you this post.  If you are like me, you will read this and wish you too lived in a house near the ocean with blue skies and peaceful waters.  Unless you already do and then lucky you.  Before we went to California a couple of weeks ago, I had the occasional pity party looking out the same windows at the same trees and the same sidewalks while I just knew there were people in the world who get to live in places that look like postcards.  I mean if you have to self isolate wouldn't it be nicer to do it in a house on a hill with a view of the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other?  Just saying.

If I lived here this would be the view from my closet window.

Enter youngest daughter and husband.  They moved back to the states from Berlin the day before the international border was closed in March.  It was good timing on their part.  They moved to his parents' house in California, quarantined for 2 weeks, and both started looking for new jobs....amidst a growing pandemic.  Not so perfect timing.  Fast  Slow forward to June, they needed a change of air.  I volunteered to rent a house, near the ocean, and give them some "space" for a week.  It was not a totally altruistic offer.  We also needed to change the air which meant they would be trading one set of parents for another.  Win some, lose some.

On June 20th we risked flying and headed to sunny California for a week.  It was surreal.  Aside from the whole flying thing, being in California felt indulgent....and so nice.  I cannot tell a lie, it was a real escape.  An escape from just making it from one day to the next.  It was an escape from the past 3 months.  It was and escape for my senses, visually, emotionally and physically.  To feel the dry, cool air and breathe it in was heavenly.  Unless you live in the south... you have no idea how oppressive the summer air can be, not just for a week here and there but for months and months with no respite.  I soaked up the California air for that week.

We hiked up to this lookout on our second day
and were treated to whale sightings and this view.

For a whole week, our days were spent exploring nature.  What else does one do when trying to distance from other people?  We hiked, we played golf, we took scenic drives to places we had only read about.  We did our best to stay to ourselves and we were perfectly happy.  One day we drove to Carmel by the Sea.  TJ and I left on our honeymoon 42 years ago in my parents station wagon pulling a pop up camper and were heading to California.  I wanted to see Carmel by the Sea.  We had high hopes....and a low sense of reality.  We made it to Colorado Springs and once we parked that camper next to the lake at the campground and I tasted the ice cold Coors beer, we decided to just "stay on".  We never made it to Carmel so I decided we really needed to check that box now.

Our expert tour guide aka our son-in-law, gave us a great tour, we saw Carmel (worthy) and then Pebble Beach golf course and drove the 17 mile drive.  All in a lovely day.  We also walked around Monterrey, which in non COVID times I would love to visit again!

The water in Monterrey

That is our table for lunch in Carmel.  Perfect!

Apparently the wind from the ocean does this to the trees.  Very cool!

After our trip I promptly went home and planted my own bougainvillea !
They are just beautiful!

along the 17 mile drive

We all really enjoyed our break from reality.  Sometimes in order to maintain sanity, you just have to shut off the news, grab your mask, go for a hike or a walk and try to put things in perspective.  We were so glad we had this opportunity.  One other driving motivation to make this trip was to see our daughter and son-in-law and congratulate them and celebrate the fact that they are expecting a baby in January!!!  I have waited several long months to be able to share this exciting news!  Everyone is so happy for them!  In the midst of Covid and the challenges facing our country, the promise of new life is a true blessing!

We flew back to Texas and stayed home for a couple of weeks just to be on the safe side.  After our trip to California though, our travel appetites have been stimulated.  Two weeks together at home can be dangerous.  Stay tuned for stories of life on the road in the times of Covid.

My Moving Meditation

Every morning there are a few precious moments between sleep and wakening when everything is peaceful and good.   Those are the best moments of the day sometimes. Then I wake up and realize we are still in a pandemic.  Life should not be lived best in a semi conscious sleep state.  I miss so much!  Please tell me we won't forget the things of living our lives fully and together . 

How time flies when you are experiencing a pandemic.  At this point I would like it to fly to a time where we are not in a pandemic any longer and while I'm asking maybe we could fly right to the point where we all live in peaceful harmony?  Not necessarily back where we used to live but far beyond and better.  Asking too much?  As my Mother always said, "You never know unless you ask.".   Unfortunately, I think we will have to do more than ask this time.

Has anyone else looked at how their life and mindset have changed since March?  What have you done since March?  What have you NOT done?  For me, March is the line between "then" and "now".  We had no idea the first day of March that in June or July we would be in the middle (?) of a pandemic.  We stayed home.  We did puzzles.  We spent weeks upon weeks avoiding physical contact with anyone, to our best ability.  We have not hugged a person other than the one(s) we live with for MONTHS!  How wrong is that?  I do hope that someday hugging makes a comeback.  I have never been know as a hugger but damn, I want to hug people when I say hello and goodbye sometimes.

We have settled into a routine of predictability.  TJ works from the home office every day, except weekends.  He rides his bike a few days a week for many, many miles!  He is working on his golf game and on every fix-it project that has been neglected for years.  I have been playing golf like it is my job!  If you consult my handicap entries, I averaged 15-17 rounds of golf a month since March.  Thanks to the unbelievable weather for the first few months of Covid-19.  Golf covered all of the bases.  Socially distant but still social.  Outdoors in the sunshine and the fresh air.  It also used up about 4 hours a day... one step closer to passing another day in the pandemic and coming out the other side.  A sad way to live your life if you think about it. 

In addition to golf, I have logged more miles walking or running than probably in any other 3 or 4 month period in my life.  "Walking is a moving meditation"... a quote I read recently in a book and it definitely hit home.  I have found sanity in my walks.  When I am tired of "filling" time doing busy work at home or even productive work at home, I take a walk.  I listen to books, podcasts, Mass, music or nothing.  My eyes search for beauty.  My mind searches for peace and reason.  I pray when I walk.  I think when I walk.  The repetitive movement provides a perfect meditation.  My mind responds when it feels my body walking.  If I go more than one day without a walk I get agitated and restless.  Walking...Covid sanity.  (no such thing)
Scenes from my walks....

Where I found my sanity in Covid.

Good morning glory!

Last week we left our cocoon of predictability and safety.  We boarded an airplane and flew to California to visit our daughter and her husband.  At some point we weighed the risk and the reward and decided to fly.  Armed with our masks, our sanitizing wipes, our own water and snacks and our best "leave me alone" faces we boarded a plane and tried not to breathe.  I admit that the week before the flight I found myself a bit anxious.  Having not flown since February and in this uncertain time, I was hesitant. 

One good thing...
Plenty of overhead storage available these days.

Walking through an empty airport makes a person think.  The closed down kiosks, the saran wrapped restaurants, the closed shops, the absence of travelers all felt a bit apocalyptic.  It also made me think about all of the lives that have been affected by this pandemic.  Think of the people who are not working at those shops and restaurants.  The people not manning the gates for the flights and the ones not working on the flights that are not flying.  The people not loading or unloading bags.  The people not directing air traffic.  The people not traveling for work.  The families not taking vacations.  The list goes on and on and in one respect, yes, they are all home being safe ( we can assume) and in another respect so many are unemployed and the wheels of the world are not turning.  After 63 years maybe one would think they have seen it all... not even close!  The airport is just one microcosm of our world and in every part of our world this scenario is being played out over and over.  The lives and livelihoods changed by this are mind boggling. 

You can't sit here, eat here or work here.

Our flight was very calm.  Every middle seat was vacant.  They passed out prepackaged snacks and water.  People behaved very well if you ask me.  There was very little up and down or walking the aisles.  And on a four hour flight, very few people even got up to use the bathroom.  Everyone stayed in their seat and minded their own business.  Very civilized.  I think we were all in the same mind set, get me there quickly and safely, I'll stay in my space and you stay in yours.  It is still very hard to maintain your distance when on an airplane though and after all these months being that close to that many people is a bit unsettling.  It has been one week since we returned and every time I feel anything the least bit "off" or even sneeze I wonder if I caught "it".   I find myself making sure I taste and smell everything possible just to make sure my senses are still intact.  Six more days and I will rest easy.  Was it worth it?  Ask me in six more days but as of today, yes it was. 

I hope this wasn't too much of a downer post but lately it seems that is just how life goes.  We keep putting one foot in front of the other and make the best of a challenging situation but sometimes you just get down.  Is it all bad?  No!  Stay tuned for the good stuff!  I'm going to go take a walk!