Pandemic Diaries Week #4

6 April 2020

We spent two nights in Virginia, at a nice hotel.  Well, it probably is nicer when they aren't following pandemic procedures.  But it was comfortable, the staff were friendly and helpful, and the landscaping was beginning to flower.

We splurged on a taxi to Union Station in downtown Washington DC, and caught an Amtrak train onward to Philadelphia.  Neither of us had EVER seen Union Station so empty - no lines, and the train was nearly empty!  We had a very nice redcap who put us on a golf cart, along with our luggage, and took us down into the deep underground of the station right to our train.  Amtrak announced that everyone needed to sit two rows apart to maintain social distancing (or stranger distancing, in reality).  

It was a really pretty trip.  The District of Columbia is known for the cherry trees that blossom each year, initially gifts from Japan but we assume the multitude of cherry trees are the descendants of the original trees.  There were avenues lined with fluffy pink trees, bright spots of color among the early budding trees everywhere.  I do love pink, it's a much under-valued color.  So I was quite happy to see all this pink on our trip north.

Richard's brother (S) met us in Philadelphia, another very empty train station.  (And a really pretty station, too.  Original train stations dating back to the early 1900s all have such lovely architecture, with soaring ceilings full of ornamentation, huge windows keeping everything bright and sunny, and lines of pillars and wooden benches.)

S brought essential supplies in his car - disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, lunch, and snacks.  We hadn't been able to find sanitizer or wipes in Peru, although I finally bought baby wipes and wiped down our seats on the plane and train.  I figured it couldn't hurt, right?

I had booked a hotel in Absecon, New Jersey, using our hotel loyalty points so we have a free stay.  So S dropped us off, we checked in, and we're now ensconced in our suite.  Me being a little paranoid about this virus, I wiped most of our things down with the disinfecting wipes, including our shoes.  Clothing including my jacket went into the laundry facilities across from our room.  A full shower, and clean clothes.  Only then was I ready to relax.  Not my usual procedure, but this is the Age of the Pandemic, so maybe this is the Strange New World.


7 April 2020

Our hotel is on sort of a highway, the White Horse Pike.  I found there was a shopping area about 3/4 of a mile away, so I braved the off-and-on sidewalk and wandered down to buy exciting things like lotion.  (All that handwashing!!!)

This is vaguely rural southern New Jersey, not too far from the shore which is more famous.  I don't know how big the town of Absecon really is, but there were several stores of major chains, as well as local places.

And flowers!!!  Bright yellow daffodils planted behind several buildings, pink buds opening into bright white apple or cherry blossoms, tiny purple flowers among the green ground cover.  

As much as I love summer with the long sunny days, the warmth, and the leisurely pace of life, I do love the flowers of spring as the world awakens after the long cold winter.  So if we need to be back in the US and in one place, self-isolating and waiting out this pandemic, it's really nice to be here in springtime! 

8 April 2020

I forgot to add that yesterday, on my walk back to the hotel, I waited for two guys walking on the path where there wasn't a sidewalk, just to keep my social distance.  As they walked by, I noticed that one guy was wearing a mask printed to look like the bottom half of a skull!  Very cool, actually!  I complimented him on his mask.  (As I was wearing a paper mask covered by my pale pink homemade mask.) 

So, during self-isolation, we're finding that it helps to have family about 20 minutes away.  Today, they brought over a full Passover meal for us, plus stuff things we couldn't find nearby (like some cups of yogurt, and a case of Diet Coke for DH - too heavy for me to walk with that). 

Our planned procedure was they would bring it over, have the front desk call us, we'd meet in the parking lot.  So Richard's brother put the bags of food and groceries on the hood of the car, and he walked to the next parking spot about 10 ft away. So I walked over, put down the little package with refrigerator magnets we picked up for them in South America, and picked up our bags of food.  And backed away, chatting with S. 

It really was kind of funny, like a hostage exchange in a movie!!! 

9 April 2020

We just finished a family seder via Zoom - I think we were six or so different family units, mostly on the east coast but one on the west coast.  We had a fun abbreviated seder.  My favorite part, though, were the two tutorial sessions I had earlier in the day, given by the two twelve-almost-thirteen year olds in the family!  Not only was it fun, but just knowing that these bright kids are so tech-savvy that they can explain new apps to those of us 60-something plus, and walk us through - pretty amazing!

So welcome to Passover 2020, in the era of social distancing!!!

11 April 2020

Our hotel is practicing social distancing as well.  There is one lady who is doing housekeeping, but only for rooms where the guests are checked out.  For those of us staying for a longer time, we don't actually have housekeeping.  Nor do we have the normal breakfast that this chain of hotels usually provides.

In the morning, Richard goes down to the lobby and picks up two "grab and go" breakfast bags from the reception desk.  They have a bottle of water, a piece or two of fruit, and a package with two muffins.  Not exactly a healthy breakfast.  (I usually eat the fruit, and skip the muffins, having a container of yogurt instead.)

After my shower, I bag up the towels and washcloths and anything else we want to change, and take those down to the reception desk.  I ask for clean towels etc., and bring those back to the room.

Trash also gets bagged up (usually by me), and recyclables go into their bin, trash goes outside into the larger bin.  After lunch and/or dinner, I usually take the packaging down to the trash or recycling as well.

And yes, reception will give out clean sheets, and I've remade our bed.

Not exactly the usual service at a hotel, but these are different times, extenuating circumstances, all of that.  We understand that this system is to protect their staff from us and our possible virus microbes, and to protect us from those of the staff as well as other guests.

We definitely are acting as if we all have the virus, and at the same time as we all DON'T have the virus - protecting others from us, protecting us from others.

We both have and don't have the virus, at the same time.

As someone said on Facebook, this is the Schrodinger's virus.  The having and not having at the same time.