On June 13th Vicki hit the lock down wall. She spent most of the 14th searching for a cottage on the eastern shore of Maryland with no success. Her friends will till you she works things to death looking for paradise which she rarely finds, but close sometimes.
We have been having virtual yoga sessions with family members from several states for over a month now. I had set it up as a distraction for my 20 year old niece but others decided to join in also. In time of lookdown, it has turned into pleasant experience with health benefits, thanks to my yoga guru Wendy and her cats.
During the Monday class Vicki was upstairs and I was down stairs on the zoom class when a message came in from Sammy in Grenada that even if the country did open up they would not open the hotel until 1 October. Going to Grenada had been our life line in this time of travel turmoil. The hotel is isolated and only has 16 rooms and is rarely full in the summer, so we felt safe going there. I announced this over the zoom link to upstairs. Vicki ordered me to immediately go and find her a place to stay at Cedar Key as soon as possible. I have written about Cedar Key numerous times as it is a favorite destination for us and our scooter riders. This is about as old Florida as you can get now days. I called McCormick reality as they seem to control every rental property on the island.
I told J.D. that I wanted something familiar to us, not wanting to take a chance on a unknown in our personal moment of crisis. Of course, our favorites, one of the Hodges several cottages on the water
where booked. Our backup, and where we will be this Thanksgiving, was Whitman Point Townhouses. The other end unit was available for 11 days and I said we will take it. Less than 48 hours later Vicki was setting on the screened balcony with a sea breeze drinking gin and tonics and reading a book.
I was left at home. Though we are doing fine in lockdown our relationship for over 35 years has survived by not being joined at the hip and I felt this was a good thing of me staying home, giving her a few days of alone time and me taking care of logistics like cat sitter, etc. Besides, it is a rare time I get the house and cats all to myself.
On Monday the 22nd I loaded Big Red and headed north on the those loooong straight, way to familiar, roads to join her.
Of course the virus affects everything we do now days and is our first concern wherever we go. Vicki had recon'd the whole town and there was only one cafe that met most of her covid criteria. It is very interesting that Cedar Key literally shut off the town from the outside world by closing their bridge to all outsiders. But, once the state opened up they went straight back to the old ways. No distancing or masks. In fact, the only place doing it, the 1842 Daily Grind coffee shop, run by two great guys and our happy spot here, does demand masks and distancing and they are quite stunned at the negative reactions they are getting from some long time clientele. They have been told that they are taking away peoples "freedoms" by making these rules.
The house medical officer gave a compassionate pass for my niece that the yoga was set up for, to come for a visit. We imagine it is extremely hard for a 20 year old in covit times. She appears to be responsible with her behavior and her new job at cheer gym emphasis the dangers of not being responsible and has fired several instructors when it was found out they were frequenting bars known for mass crowds.
This is the first time I have spent extended time with her without her Mamma around. It was an enlightening experience. I was a little disappointed in her life aspirations. She was called back to work early as one of the top instructors quit (most of the help are UCF cheerleaders). She thinks before she got fired for being caught in a bar. The nieces trip was cut short but we enjoyed it while she was here.
On Wednesday we rode over to Larry's in Newberry to troubleshoot his scooter and some maintenance on Camp David. The side benefit is we got some of the best peaches from the rural vegetable stand. From there we drove back to the gulf on the route that Bill and I had taken just a few weeks ago in hopes of seeing some of the wildflowers. Sadly the grass had been cut by the highway and the ones in the fields seem to have moved.
We came to Steinhatchee because we knew there would be safe dinning outside on the deck at Roy's. We both had combination seafood platters, her's fried, mine broiled. Large portions were taken home.
This is Trump country with lots of signs and some flags on their boats. A mother came out on the deck very excited to get a picture "of my boys flags on the boat". And there, on the boat driving up and down the river, where the American flag and the Confederate flag proudly waving in the wind.
This is also the area you will see road side signs "no solar power plants". It makes me afraid, very afraid.
Saturday Bill and I met at the Pyper Kup at the Williston International Airport. It is getting to be regular stop. I like as there is usually no one there and we can easily social distance outside until Carol, the owner comes to visit. I wear a mask but next time I will polity ask her to stand back.
From there we rode into town met Bill's friend Greg. Nice guy but they both had their XMax's out for the day. Feeling odd man out I went back to Cedar Key.
My rides recently have not been inspiring. But friend Steve posted his latest scooter video and it gave me pause and like most of his works, got me thinking. Why are you not having as much fun? I blamed on no long adventurous rides. But, it settled into I had become, of all things, destination oriented. The exact thing I have always tried to avoid.
To try this new theory, I did like I used to. Random left turns, U turns, anything to keep me off the straight line and looking for something new. This little video, a long ride to contemplate it all, and I got my groove back. Thank you Steve!!!
////////
