Covid-19 Costco Update Day 2 of state Lockdown

Yesterday I braved Costco.

There was a line to get in because they were limiting the number of people shopping at once. There was a priority line for customers over 60. As soon as 25 people exited, they allowed 25 more in. I waited about 15 minutes to get in.

There was a lady with a sign listing everything that they were out of (frozen meat, canned meat, rice, beans, tp, bleach and Lysol products, flour...).

Once in, I picked up what I wanted (fresh fruit, ground beef, chicken, eggs (limit 1 pack), milk (limit 1 pack), cereal, yogurt, cheese and bacon. I was out within 20 minutes or so. It was strange how quiet the store was while shopping.

And now we sit tight.

As of 12 pm PDT,

World wide cases: 256,176 (172 of 195 countries infected)
USA cases: 15,888
Nevada cases: 95
Minnesota cases: 89
Illinois cases: 422
California cases: 1,039
Florida cases: 514
Guatemala cases: 9

Stay safe, friends. <3 nbsp="" p="">

Coronavirus - My life right now

Hello. Long time, no blog. :)

First, we are fine. We are safe, healthy and have food and supplies.

But this is such a strange time. Sporting events cancelled. Casinos and hotels closed. Schools closed. Libraries closed.

Today I went to two different grocery stores. They were out of:
Bread
Fresh and frozen meat
Produce (a few things left, but basically nothing)
Eggs
Milk
Flour
Beans
Canned goods
TP
Paper towels

It was hard to not feel a bit anxious over how quickly there wasn't much left. Granted, I have no idea when the regularly scheduled shipments are, or when they restock since they have cut hours. Maybe first thing in the morning is a bad time to go.

But, this morning, I also saw:
People smiling
People letting others go first in line
Birds singing
Sun shining

Kids have been disappointed as their regular activities have slowly been cancelled. But, the neighbors are out of school for 4 weeks, so they have been running around the neighborhood being kids. And that is the best.

It's an interesting life right now. But I know we (both my family and the bigger we) will get through this. Sure, there will be more hardships on the horizon, but we will get through this.

Love to all!

Africa Day 9: Surprises

Remember the bad weather that I mentioned that had us change up our plans? Well, thankfully our flight wasn't until the afternoon, so we had just enough time to squeeze in the last of the activities that had been originally scheduled for us - Table Mountain!

Our export local guide had some friends on the inside, so we were able to skip the very long line for the cable car. The cable car was pretty cool - it rotated while going up, so no matter where you were, you could get a 360 degree view of the area.

Once on top we made our way to the abseil base. Ben and I got to go first. We got into our harnesses and safety gear and we were on our way down! It was so cool. There's a part called the "surprise" that was, well, a surprise. At that spot the cliff wall that you were going down disappears! When I got there I said to Ben, "Um, I ran out of rock!" So with a deep breath, I let my feet off the rocks and was suspended in mid-air. It was awesome!

When we got to the stopping point, we got our gear off and waited for Alex and Erika to make their way down. It was fun to watch them as they made their way to the surprise. Once they made it down, Ben and I took off and left them to watch DJ and Poto. We followed the trail back up to the top. We took in the views, had a snack, then started to wonder what was taking the others so long. After awhile we gave up and took an uber back to our hotel since we didn't want to miss our flight. Turns out, the other 4 zigged when they should have zagged. They were rushing to get packed and to the airport on time. Luckily, we all made it. And Ben and I got a bonus surprise - we got upgraded to First Class! After our busy time in Africa, it was very nice to have a comfortable seat on the long journey home.

And then we were home. The best place to be.

Africa Day 8: Making A Splash

As I mentioned earlier, due to weather our schedule was thrown off a bit. That made Sunday our day to see Great White Sharks!

It took a couple of hours to drive to the shark "hot zone." Once there, we had lunch provided while people talked about sharks, their operation, etc. Once everyone signed waivers, we went to collect our gear. A short walk to the shore and we got on the boat. The ride out was chilly. I was not looking forward to taking my outer layers off, even though I knew a wet suit would be waiting for me.

When we got to the site, we were told to get our suits and booties on. I was handed a weight belt and a face mask and told to get it. I was a little confused... I didn't think I would be in the first group! But they hurried me along and into the cage (securely attached to the boat) I went! Once in the (freezing!) water, I realized that part of our group was in the cage too. Oh, yeah, the boat had probably 30 people, so we were just half of the tour. Anyway. The crew on the boat got busy putting chum in the water and throwing decoys out. When they came close they would yell for us to get down into the water to see. Unfortunately, the water was pretty murky so you actually couldn't see much. But, at one point a great white smashed into the cage! That was pretty exciting! My group got out of the cage and were greeted with warm cocoa and towels. As fast as we could with numb fingers and a rocking boat, we changed out of our wet gear.

Ben was in the second group, so into the ocean he went! Ben's group was in the water forever. And no sharks. I felt so bad that I had gotten smashed into by a shark and Ben, who was more into this activity than me, saw nothing. Finally, they pulled the second group out and the third went in. And of course, the third group saw a shark almost right away. After the last group saw a few sharks, they offered to let the second group go back in for a second chance. If it were me, I would have stayed out of the cold water (I was still trying to warm up!), but most of the group headed back in. And thankfully, they saw sharks! It was a cool experience, but wasn't as cool as I thought it would be.

Back in Cape Town we got ready for our farewell dinner. We were picked up by classic cars! We were in a 1930's something or another. Our guy seemed upset that he had to take us to dinner, so we didn't talk much about the car or anything. Dinner was amazing. We had a chance to share our personal highlights as well as thank people in the group. It was so nice. We are truly blessed to be part of such an awesome group of people. 

Africa Day 7: Waddle, Waddle

This morning was glorious. No one stomping up the stairs to get to breakfast. No chairs scrapping against the floor. And of course, poached eggs. MMmmmm....

After breakfast we waited outside for our rides to an unknown adventure. After a few minutes, a fleet of Jeeps pulled up. Our people from the other hotel were already in them, so we were trying to figure out where to put ourselves. Sophia told Ben and me to go to the street corner and wait for our ride. As we walked away from the group we joked that they were trying to leave us behind. Nope! Turns out that we were too many for the number of Jeeps, so a handful of us got to ride in a limo! It was funny... in Vegas there are limos everywhere. Even not in Vegas they are pretty common place. Not so in South Africa. EVERYONE stared at us as we drove by.

Our first stop was on a hillside that overlooked the Cape Town valley. The views were pretty good. On top we had champagne and took pictures.

We loaded back up and headed down to the sea. Those of us who were up for some adventure got ready to kayak in the bay. The wind and current was in our favor, so it really took zero effort to go the few miles along the coast. The reason for the kayaking... penguins! We saw them pop up in the water and then dive back in. So cool to see them in nature!

After getting out of our kayaks, we changed clothes and headed back out in the Jeeps. That didn't last too long.  They took us to helicopters! They were based on weight, so we had assigned seats. Of course, people wanted to change, so after a few shuffles we were off! The views were fantastic as we flew along the coast. Our pilot (per request) made it an exciting ride getting super close to the ocean's waves. Just about when I had had enough, we landed at a vineyard and greeted with champagne. After a short walk, we were in their restaurant for a wonderful lunch with wine pairing.

After that, we got on our bus and headed to another winery. At this one we got a brief lesson on different wines from that area. Then we were brought into a tasting room to sample the three. After tasting the wines, we were given empty bottles for us to make our own custom wine! It was a fun experience, although I think all of us have a long way to go in our mixing skills!

We had dinner at the hotel that the other of our group was staying. It was a very nice, low-key dinner.

Africa Day 6: Fancy Free

Friday's forecast was for rain and wind. All of our activities required not that. So we shuffled our activities around and ended up with a free day. The "plan" for a bunch of us was to hang out in a cool place with food and drinks.

After a leisurely morning (and being woken by the breakfasters above us), Ben, Meredith and I headed out. We found a place along the shore called "Blue." We ordered drinks and appetizers. We updated the rest with where we were. Not long after that we found out that Blue is where dinner was going to be that night. We decided to finish our order and then find another place.

Just up the street was The Cod Father. Ben said we had to go there. So we did! I am sure glad we did! The place was cozy and slow, so they didn't mind us hanging out for hours. We wanted a wine recommendation, so we ended with the manager at our table. He must have been bored, or entertained by us because he kept finding reasons to sit at our table with us. We didn't mind. He was a hoot! A few hours in, Dori joined us. But everyone else kept ditching out on us. We ended up having so much fun, that we ditched the group dinner and just stayed there. Excellent choice! The food was terrific! The people were outstanding!

An interesting thing about The Cod Father.... they don't have a food menu. They had sushi that you could pick up from a conveyor belt. For the rest of the food, you just went up to the fish counter and told them what you wanted and they would prepare it. I know we had squid. It was fabulous! It was just grilled with seasoning, but it was so tender and tasty. So delicious! The fish we had was good too. I don't remember what kind it was.

When we got back to our hotel, we were told that they moved us into a new room. No more people walking above us! So happy.

The day wasn't how we planned it, but to me it was a perfect day with perfect companions. 

Africa Day 5: Time Flies

Another early morning for our last game drive. Having seen all the animals most of us wanted to, it was a relaxing drive. We saw some more giraffes!

After a delightful breakfast, it was time to load up and leave Ulusaba. Our rangers drove us one last time. We said our good byes and then off in our little planes to the main airport in Kruger. Things took longer than expected so we were pushing the time to check luggage unto our flight. Sometimes it's a good thing that your group is most of the flight... they made exceptions for all of us and we all made it.

I should mention that today was our 15 year anniversary. :) On our flight to Cape Town Ben and I were sitting by Paul. Towards the end of the flight he got up and was talking to one of the flight attendants. We saw hand gestures and looks coming our way. We knew he was up to something! A few minutes later, the flight attendant came over and congratulated us on our anniversary. She said that the captain wanted to invite one of us to the cockpit. I wanted Ben to go. He wanted me to go. We decided on me. I started to get up and she quickly said to sit down and that she would get me later. We then thought that perhaps we had misunderstood her and I would get to go to the cockpit after we landed. Not nearly so cool, but whatever. We went back to chatting. A few minutes later, the flight attendant came back and said the captain was ready for me. I guess we were right the first time!

I got escorted to the cockpit door and then it was opened and I was ushered inside. The captain introduced himself and his copilot. He helped me get settled into the jump seat. He told me about our approach. At this point we were above a huge layer of clouds, so beyond clouds, I couldn't see anything. It was slightly unnerving for me to watch us go through the clouds knowing that we were relying on equipment and maps to keep us from plowing into the side of the mountains. But once we passed through the clouds, it was a beautiful sight! I quickly made out the landmarks the captain had told me about. He pointed out a few more things as we made our way to the runway. And then, we had landed. It was then that the captain told me that the copilot was picking up his mom and sister and flying to Johannesburg to propose to his girlfriend.

After getting our bags we loaded up into a bus and made our way into the city. In Cape Town we were staying at cute little boutique hotels. Because of this, we had two hotels to accommodate us all. Slightly disappointing to be separated, even if it were only by 600 meters. We were in the second hotel. Our host, Emmy, was fabulous! Just a bubbly lady with happiness following her around. Unfortunately, our room was directly underneath the reception and dining room. And we could hear just about everything.

Soon it was dinner time so we headed out to catch our bus. One of our guides came by with her car and said there was a problem with our bus but they had chartered a city bus for us. Whatever. Soon the bus pulled up. I told Ben, "Look, there are randoms in the bus. That's weird." But whatever. A few blocks into our journey and the most amazing thing happened... the randoms started singing! They were an a capella group! It took us seconds before some of us were up and clapping and singing along. It was so much fun! One song they sang was "Welcome to Cape Town." We sang it for the rest of the trip.

Our destination wasn't what we were expecting. It was someone's house! The lady there offered tours and from her home, cooking lessons. So we all got to help make roti, curry chicken, samosas, and some fried corn balls. We had a lot of fun. And the food was delicious! Although it was a fun time, not exactly what we were thinking would be a nice anniversary activity. We had talked about just going out the 2 of us, but part of the reason we love going on trips is the interactions with the others in the group. We can always hang out just the 2 of us. Had we known though, we may have been selfish (mainly because we were so hungry when we got there and then we didn't eat for another 1.5 hours). But I'm glad we stayed.