COVID-19 Life At Home

In March life became weird. COVID-19 outbreaks caused most of the country to shut down or dramatically change how we interacted with each other.

When I left the office on Friday, March 13, 2020, I didn't know that I wouldn't return on Monday to resume normally. On Monday, I went to the office to collect my computers, monitors, standing desk and a few desk items. The table in our spare room became my office.

Our home is fortunately in a location where we can get out and go for walks without concern that we'll get too close to others. The common term used, social distancing, means we all try to maintain at least 6' away from each other to avoid each other's breath vapors. When I make my weekly grocery run, I wear a mask, try to avoid getting close to people and wash my hands for at least 20 seconds when I return home.

For some, this has become an opportunity to create more distance, increase distrust and even hate. President Trump, for many of us, has left us lacking leadership that might help build bridges rather than increase polarization. Recently, there were armed groups of people protesting the closures. Most of these groups have been white and seem to take their queues from Trump. It is a bit surprising to not see any reports of arrests.

Others are taking this opportunity to increase personal (mostly virtual) connections, offer assistance, care for others and spread love. Jen, my spouse, began creating masks for the doctor's office where our daughter works. Jen, and others, do things like pay for already scheduled massages/appointments even though they are cancelled. We are fortunate that our income doesn't stop because we are still providing education to students at home.

Looking forward to fall, we aren't sure what school will look like. Will we start up normally? Will we have to continue virtually? These topics are still under discussion at the state and local level. We all hope that the numbers of infected and dying people drops to a point where openning back up is relatively safe. Who knows.

Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite Falls/Valley/Village

Our last day in Yosemite.
We left the cabin later in the day. The sun had already started baking anything exposed.  Jen mistakingly thought that riding in the back of the Nissan would help subdue queasiness. The opposite was the reality.  She toughed it out and just endured the sweats brought on by weaving mountain road driving.

Our first stop was Bridalveil Falls. It is an extremely short hike, but a beautiful sight.  We scrambled over the slippery granite boulders, past the signs warning of our impending doom (we were below the Falls, not above), to a spot somewhat closer to the splash and spray.

By the time we returned to the Xterra Jen was feeling much better though it was quite hot outside.  We drove a short way down the road to a long parking lane along a meadow in the valley. We then hiked over to the lower Yosemite Falls where we parked it for a while in the fall-induced winds on a large rock below the falls. We soaked in the scene.

After that, we hiked over to the Yosemite visitor center and wandered around the Ahwaneechee Indian village they have partially recreated behind the Ahwaneechee museum.

We hiked back along the Merced river to our vehicle and stopped along the way back to our cabin for several photo opps.

Sentinel Dome & Glacier Point 6-6-2013