Home Again

I'm very late with this post, so it's time to catch up! We had a pleasant but uneventful last few days in Florida. We explored more of the neighborhood with long walks, as well as our daily walks on the beach. Time beside the pool was also relaxing.

We actually left the condo a day early. It certainly wasn't because we weren't enjoying ourselves. But we decided to take the long way home through Kansas City to visit the grandkids there, and we wanted to be able to be there for the weekend, to avoid conflicting with work and school.

The drive was taxing! Midwesterners don't have a good sense of just how long the Florida peninsula actually is. It was a full day's drive from Pompano Beach to Atlanta. 

We actually stayed just south of Atlanta, in McDonough, GA, the first night. We expected traffic to be challenging as we went through the city at a rush hour, and decided that doing the morning rush, while we were fresh, would be preferable to taking on the evening rush at the end of a long day of driving. Surprisingly, we sailed through Atlanta the next morning, with barely any traffic to slow us down.

Every motel we stopped at did an excellent job of adapting to the pandemic, with masks required and extra cleaning evident. Since each room has its own heating and cooling unit, we had little worry about the air we were breathing. Some of the breakfasts were pretty lame, however. A bottle of water and a granola bar isn't breakfast!

Restaurants were another matter. Mary researched local restaurants at our overnight stops, and we ordered ahead for take-out. At our second overnight stop, near St. Louis, we were amazed to find the place packed with diners, and hardly a mask in sight! I couldn't pick up my take-out order and get out of there fast enough.

Rest areas and gas stations across Tennessee and Kentucky were similarly risky, as mask use was sporadic. We were also amazed at the number of Confederate "stars and bars" flags that were flying as we passed through these Southern states. What is going on it this country?

It was good to spend time with the KC family. Since both adults there have been vaccinated as first responders, we felt pretty safe. Similarly, a brief stop to visit my parents in Des Moines was not uncomfortable, as they had received at least the first shot by then.

It was good to get home after so much driving. However Minnesota, like much of the rest of the country, was in the deep freeze for the first two weeks after our return. It would have been better to be in Florida when it was -20 in Minneapolis. But at least Minnesota is prepared for such weather, and it was not life-threatening here as it was in Texas and other parts of the South.

The main task for February was finding vaccine. Though we were eligible, there was little vaccine to be had. We finally got our first Moderna shots at the end of the month. Yea!!! Once fully vaccinated, the opportunity for more travel awaits.