I got out of the house early today. Well, if 8:45 in the morning can be considered early... Anyway, I wanted to get to my neighborhood Trader Joe's grocery store about ten minutes before 9 a.m. to get some essentials. Nine is when the store opens to all customers but they have put into place a special, one hour opening each day for "seniors." I got to the store and NO ONE was in the senior line. Not wanting to be presumptuous I decided to just get at the end of the regular line; it really wasn't very long, maybe 20 or so people, all waiting patiently with their masks on and practicing a rigorous adherence to the six foot social distancing metric.
A Trader Joe's employee saw me and asked if I was there for the senior hour. I said 'yes' and she escorted me to the front of the line and into the store. I felt like a V.I.P. I was one of ten customers in the store when I stepped in with my cart.
I am a quick and organized shopper and can decide on substitutions for unavailable products on the fly. I got the stuff Belinda and I needed and then bought some splurgy treats for Ben: some great goat cheese, stone ground whole wheat crackers, some more yogurt, etc.
When I approached the check out area there were no lines and three ready cashiers. We did the "stand back" protocol as they sheltered behind Plexiglas-glas(tm) screens and I was waiting and humming to myself when a manager walked up and asked if I needed hand sanitizer or toilet paper. I was happy to get two small spray bottles of the hand sanitizer; it's grapefruit and lemon scented and is my current favorite "stay safe" product. I passed on the offer of more toilet paper.
The roundtrip from our house, including the shopping experience, was 20 minutes flat. I was impressed with how organized (and deferential to our noble and glorious seniors) the staff at the store was but I might not accept a move to the front of the line in the future. I think people who have to go on to work or who are shopping with kids at home might have less free time to spare than I do. Just a thought.
But here's my report: No shortages or outages whatsoever. The regular organic whole milk was short dated but I just upgraded to the organic, grass fed whole milk instead. All the meat and produce you could need was in inventory and looked great. The freezer cases were stocked full. One less thing to worry about in the midst of the crisis...
signage for the miniature train that no longer runs through the park...
At my trail head.
Having finished acquisition of provisions in record time, and hearing on the news that we were about to get hit with a few rain storms, I did what any logical exercise enthusiast would do. I laced up my walking shoes, grabbed a black cotton baseball cap (think Steven Spielberg, not Derek Jeter), a rain jacket, and my Sigma fp camera with its 45mm companion and headed out for the trail. I figured, correctly, that the forecast would keep the numbers on the trail to a bare minimum. I was wrong. There was no one out there. Nor did it actually rain for more than five or ten minutes, and even then not very hard.
I had my plans for "masking" and social distancing firmly in place except...there was no one to distance from and no one to protect by masking. I did, however, not feel the least bit guilty today when stopping for a few moments to take a random photo or two. It's not like I was disrupting the traffic flow or inconveniencing anyone.
Below is my documentation of the perfect social distancing while exercising to my heart's content in a manner compliant with all local laws, and both their intent and moral weight. With some captions.
There are a number of places on the trail where one goes under bridges and these can
provide wonderful impromptu cover from hail storms and lightning blasts.
Just over a little pedestrian bridge and looking up the trail to the north.
Nobody as far as the eye can see. Or the camera can image.
Then, turning around and looking to the south it's the same story... no one.
the Mopac Expressway Pedestrian Bridge.
Usually a busy conduit for runners because of the close by, outdoor showers and
water fountains. Unused and abandoned today for my own private walk.
A sighting. At last. A lone cyclist heading down the trail with a bandana covering his
nose and lower face. Heading west.
No cars on the nearby bridge...at 10 a.m.
In the heart of the park. Tables for forty?
I parked directly in front of Barton Springs Pool (which, sadly, is closed for now) and
I was happy to see that even my automobile was practicing social distancing from
the other two cars in a lot striped for hundreds...
I hung my mask on the mirror and drove off to look for coffee at
Trianon. I found coffee AND a chocolate croissant.
Oh happy days.
Hopefully, seeing this will help some of my friends and readers who live in densely packed cities understand why it's okay for people in other locations to go out for a healthy walk in a wide open park.
Staying safe and trying to live like it's the only life I get...
Tomorrow? We've got a reservation at Pedernales State Park.
Same rules apply.
Well spring is absolutely refusing to show up this year in Ontario, Canada. It was -2 overnight with a high today of only 3. It's been like this for two weeks straight. We had a howling wind two nights ago and snow yesterday morning when I went out to do groceries. It's a real buzzkill for my walks and it's kept me off my bike. My local stores have taken the extra step of marking the floor with tape to indicate the exact spot where you should wait your turn in line. I'm glad too because some people in my area seem to be very spatially challenged. I didn't think 6ft was a very difficult distance to gauge. There is mounting pressure here to begin to ease some of the restrictions and begin the process of getting things open again. I think it's a bit too early for that but I do know that this is not a sustainable model in the long term. I think a few more weeks of this and the government will have to begin loosening the reins somewhat. We aren't quite as wound up as some of your fellow citizens in the U.S. (give me liberty or give me death!) but even polite and docile Canadians can only take so much. We've been without hockey for many weeks now and the playoff season was scheduled to be underway by now so I'm expecting to see some twitchy Canadians. Social distancing we can do. No hockey is a recipe for a national uprising. Stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia’s governor has decreed that gyms, hair salons, nail salons, massage parlors, tattoo artists and bowling alleys can reopen Friday. Just maintain that six-foot social distancing. While getting a haircut, massage, or tattoo. The president applauds.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely little story to wake up to!
ReplyDeleteVery refreshing, and nice images which pass on your mood exactly.
Cheers,
Don
MM. Can't imagine WTF those two are thinking. Or if they are thinking at all. It's just crazy time here in the U.S.A. All you can do is turn off the news and shake your head. And buy new cameras... or lenses.
ReplyDeleteThanks Don, I'm beginning to think I am living a charmed existence. Very charmed. Thanks for the comment!!!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of charmed, have fun at Pedernales! That place is magical. I encountered a mountain lion at the Falls some 12+ years back. At night, so no pics. A bit spooky, that was.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirk,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post you have here because it mirrors my own morning.
The geezer hour at my local grocery is six to seven am and in anticipation I woke up way too early this morning. I tried to be as efficient as possible but they have recently reconfigured the store and have made the aisles all one way with arrows on the floor to indicate direction for the duration. I wandered as fast as I could and the only downside was that I have been reduced as a stopgap to buying grocery store coffee since all my local sources have completely closed down. I have heard that this is what directly led to The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I am unsure if it was the actual historical event or the writing of the book or both. But this obviously shakes the very roots of civilization.
When I got home there was lots of whining and moaning while I put away the groceries. This time it was not me but Bella Warrior Princess waiting for her morning walk.
Our weather here of late has been similar to that described by crsantin above about Ontario, which makes sense since I am not that far south of there (closer to Canada than NYC.) It was trash can lid chasing windy and there was ice on the puddles as we went downtown where like you Kirk, we saw almost no one.
And ending on a high note, FedEx delivered a new lens and an adapter for my Olympus OM lenses today and I will commence playing tomorrow.
Be safe.
Fred
Fred, that was an absolutely beautiful comment. So tragic to hear about the coffee situation. Common Grounds is not even doing take out? Beyond sad. Thanks for the update. Y'all up north are getting an extra dose of winter.
ReplyDeleteMuch love to Bella and the family. KT
Update for anyone keeping tabs, and solely in the interest of accuracy:
ReplyDeletePresidential applause for the Georgia governor's decision to open gyms, hair salons, nail salons, massage parlors and tattoo establishments Friday was yesterday's news. Today he "disagrees strongly" with the idea.
classic.
ReplyDeleteThe local coffee roasters here in Ottawa will ship after ordering online. I'm stocked up. I don't miss hockey but I'm really missing the spring bicycle racing season.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine tried to cut his own hair. His wife fixed it.
Beautiful, haunting, almost post apocalyptic images. Cant wait so see your nature trip photos later. Thanks as always for these posts!
ReplyDeleteHere people are straining at the leash. Almost unbelievable how many people out and about. Strange times. In Finland of course, we don't have so strict orders in place as in many other places.