Took a picture of a couple of mushrooms yesterday. Within the image was a little red wild strawberry. Once the photo was enlarged and the red berry zeroed in, the details of the berry came into focus.
That looks eerily close to COVID
Immediately the shape of the berry looked very familiar. Yes, that shape has been displayed just about everywhere since, oh, sometime around March 2020. It does look way to much like the renderings you see of that damned COVID-19 virus.
Sher and I had been running errands, shopping and visiting a winery in Indianapolis, and it was time for a stop for a light supper. We have not been to a Bob Evans since before the pandemic hit, but we knew their menu featured items we both liked.
Extra partitions installed above booth benches for patron separation
The Bob Evans at the intersection of I-65 and Southport Road, just south of Indianapolis, was on our way home. The restaurant was fairly busy, but not packed. Most of the staff wore masks and about half of the customers we saw also were masked up. We watched staff clean a booth in preparation for the next patrons. The effort that went into the cleaning was impressive and very thorough.
Our food was delivered in a short time, and the service was excellent at this Bob Evans location. We did felt safe and comfortable here, and were able to really enjoy our meal and each other’s company.
We’re 15 days away from our second dose of the COPVID-19 vaccine. Shortly after that it should kick in and offer us a measure of protection from the virus.
Bourbon Street in New Orleans, known for music, food and revelry. Note the famed balcony iron work in the background
Red beans and rice with smoked sausage
The band at Bamboula’s
We are standing in front of the tomb of Marie Laveau, the famed Voodoo Queen. This is reportedly the most visited tomb in New Orleans.
We are not sure exactly when we’ll decide to travel again. But one place we do want to visit again is New Orleans. Sher and I both so enjoyed our last visit there back in 2018. We loved the food, the music and the atmosphere of this exciting place. There is so much to see and do in NOLA. It will definitely be on an upcoming itinerary of ours.
King Neptune on the Virginia Beach, VA Boardwalk
Compare Neptune’s size to the bike rider!
Neptune and his turtle
The octopus
The bronze statue of King Neptune is the spectacular creation of artist Paul DiPasquale. It was dedicated in 2005 and to this day reigns over the sea (and the boardwalk). Neptune holds his trademark trident with a hand on a sea turtle. He is also surrounded by many other sea creatures on the statue base.
We lived in Virginia Beach in the 90’s and loved the beach and boardwalk, spending hours and hours enjoying the ocean waves. Imagine our surprise when we returned in 2016 and saw Neptune as we strolled north along the boardwalk. Photos do not do him justice. Virginia Beach is a marvelous vacation destination with year round activities. Hopefully the city will be getting back to post pandemic conditions sooner than later.
OK, for some of you, maybe it would not be a big deal. But for Sher and I our trip to the Buck Creek Winery was the first time in a year that we actually went out and went into a store. Yes a place where people go, talk, buy things and act kind of normal.
Our son drove us out and about today. Yesterday we noticed that our wine supply was running, well, low. So off to the Buck Creek Winery, about a half hour from our place. We had our masks on and there was only one other customer in the winery when we went in. We felt comfortable, Joseph set us up to have a sampling of 6 different wines.
Our assortment purchase today
We ended up buying a case of assorted wines after a fun sampling experience. We belong to the Buck Creek Winery case club, which enables you to enjoy a 20% discount on case buys. Refer to the Buck Creek website for details.
Even though we have had our first dose of the Moderna vaccine, we were still somewhat leery of getting out. But we felt ok at the Winery today. Joseph maintained social distance, was most polite and informative and he poured our samples. Oh, it was different wearing jeans with a belt instead of sweat pants.
Sher and I have been waiting, like most, for the vaccine. One of the things we miss since we’ve been “in isolation” is going out to eat. Such a simple activity that tons of people used to do before COVID. One place that we really miss is Cheddars Restaurants.
Famous potato soup
Legendary onion ring tower
Cheddars is really our favorite casual restaurant, followed by Olive Garden. It will be really nice going back out for a nice meal even if the tables are spread out and everybody is in masks. I guess we’ll all have to get used to that, it’s gonna be the norm for a while.
We have received our first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, and our second dose is already scheduled for March 15th. Shortly after that we’ll have what the experts are saying is a high percentage of immunity.
In case you missed our last post, our COVID vaccine appointments were canceled due to the snow storm that basically buried the country. OK, so yesterday our son and I went to Walmart to pick up one of my prescriptions. We almost didn’t go because I really didn’t need it til next week, and it was snowing at a pretty good clip.
My son went in to get the Rx. When he came out he told me the pharmacy tech had asked him if his parents had gotten their COVID vaccine yet. He told them no, their appointments were cancelled. She said for us to come in, they had extra vaccine today, no appointment needed!
I called Sher, told her the news, and to get ready. We drove back to the house and I changed into a shirt for easy baring of the arm. We were back at the Walmart soon, and within about 40 minutes we were vaccinated, held the safety 15 minutes after the jab, and had our follow up appointments made 30 days out. What a great surprise on a snowy day.
Completely unrelated but kind of cute photo
Which do you want first? Ok, the bad news: We had appointments for our first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine scheduled for 3 PM this afternoon. Last night the State Department of Health sent us text messages stating that due to the impending snow storm our appointments were cancelled. Rats!
This large storm is all over the news. It is touted as one that affects millions and millions of people. (When did they start tallying how many are affected by snow, rain, hurricanes, etc.) We had about an inch of snow overnight. The big storm is supposed to hit here about 3 PM dumping up to 9 inches they say.
Oh yea, the good news. This morning we called the information number for vaccine scheduling. First we found out that after our appointments today were cancelled that we went to the back of the line. We were able, however, to get scheduled for next week on the 23rd. We will have to go to an adjoining county’s hospital, about a 20 mile drive. (The soonest we could get in our county was March 15th.)
So we’re losing 8 days, and don’t yet know which vaccine, Pfizer or Moderna, so we don’t know about timing the second dose. We had made reservations at an RV park in Florida based on our first appointment date, but may have to change them. Time will tell.
The local noon news announced that Indiana health officials today dropped the age for seniors to be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine from 70 to 65. We immediately got online to the State Health Department website and started the registration process. Within about 45 minutes Sher and I both had confirmed appointments back to back two weeks from today, on February 15th at our local Health Department Office.
Won’t be too long before we’ll be able to be back in the rig on the road again.
We’ve been really stewing over when we would be able to get the vaccine. We’ve even looked for states where we might be able to get the vaccine without having residency in that state. Fortunately we can stop that search now. What we have now is the chance to let loose with a sigh of relief and have a timeline in sight for future travel plans.
Watching the CBS morning show this Sunday we saw a report on “The 500-year history of the pocket” The video was very interesting as I had never really thought about the story of how pockets came into being in clothing and fashion. The piece showed lots of history as well as quite a bit of past and current controversy over the inequality of men’s and women’s fashions use of pockets throughout history. Check out the link above for the CBS report.
After the segment on TV, Sher and I started talking about it. Sher asked what I carried in my pockets. I replied that since our being stuck with the virus I haven’t used pockets! Actually I have not really used many pockets since my daughter gifted me with the sling bag pictured above with the things I usually have with me. Guess this leads to a hopeful additional purpose of this post. What do you carry in your pockets? Do you even have pockets? Agree with some of the gender inequalities brought up in the CBS report?
