What does a traveler do when he can’t travel?  Most states have issued stay-at-home and business closure orders to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.  These orders put a halt to most pleasure travel like RVing.  So, I figured I’d write a post for my journal about what I did over several weeks during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.

Quarantined for 14 Days

We drove home from Florida in early April.  It was my last RV trip without many stops.  Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, our state enacted a 14-day quarantine guideline for anyone entering and staying in the state. Once we got home, we abided by the ruling and did our best to say at home for 2 weeks.  It wasn’t that difficult.  We live out in a very rural area about a 2 hr drive west of Boston.  The nearest store is 3 miles away.  We’re surrounded by cornfields, woods, and a cow pasture.  We didn’t have difficulty staying away from other people because there are no other people where we live.

Yes, we do have one neighbor to the north of us but we haven’t seen them for weeks.  I think we busted out of quarantine once to venture out for food once, but that was it.

What’s It Like Here

Overall, things are much different in our home state than they were in Florida.  Our state is currently a Covid-19 hot-spot.  It has 9 times the cases rate and 10 times the death rate than Florida. Our state has over 74,000 cases and over 4,800 deaths.   At last count, our little town of 5.400 people had 41 cases of Covid-19.  It’s here but not at the same rate as the metro areas around the big cities.

In our town, all 5 restaurants are closed (2 have take out), all town offices are closed, the library is closed, churches are all closed, the bank is ATM and drive-up only, and the single Dunkin Donuts is drive up only.  The local grocery is open, a convenience store/gas station is open, the Post Office is open, 2 liquor stores are open, the dump is open, and a couple of car repair places are open. That’s it. Not much is happening.

In a small town, we rely on small businesses and I’m concerned with the impact to them.  My friend Bill, who owns a local car repair shop, told me his business is way down and he’ll stay open for as long as he can.  I fear many will close and never open back up.

We do our grocery shopping at a large store about 13 miles away.  Going to the grocery is now very different.  The number of people allowed in is limited to 40% of capacity.  Everyone wears a mask,  The aisles are marked one way, the cashiers are behind plexiglass, and only half the check-out lanes are open.  Everyone gives each other a wide berth and behaves like we’re all Typhoid Mary’s.  There’s no eye contact, no chatter, and no smiles,

In this grocery store, there’s still a good supply of food but some items are not in plentiful supply.  I shop early (7 am) on Friday mornings.  Over the past 3 weeks, I’ve been able to get everything we need.  But I’m guessing we’re in for some food shortages in the coming weeks.  Two weeks ago toilet paper and paper towels were in short supply.  That seems to have resolved itself but now it’s fresh meats like chicken and pork.  We have a chest freezer so I buy some extra when I can.  We’ve also stocked up on dry goods.  I never would have guessed that in my lifetime I would see food shortages.  It’s scary seeing how fragile things can get when a key supplier or plant shuts down or there’s a run on items.

What We’re Doing

Other than going grocery shopping once a week, getting the mail, and going to the dump once a week, we’re staying put. This time of year I would normally be getting ready to depart on a road trip, but that’s not happening now. 

We’re not bored and nor are we holed up inside because I have plenty to do that keeps me busy.  Being a handy guy with a woodshop in my basement, there are plenty of fix-it projects to be done.  On my fix-it list for this spring is some house painting, two window repair projects, some clapboard repairs, some RV repair projects, and regular yard work. Ever since I retired, this is all the type of work I avoided so I can spend more time traveling.  But since everything’s in lockdown across the country, its work that I’ll be doing for the next few weeks (albeit in a somewhat foul mood).

I’m also busy doing website maintenance (for my blog and my church), publishing a church newsletter, and handling social media postings.

A Typical Day

So here’s what a typical day for me looks like during the lockdown

Morning

• When I wake up, the first thing I like to do is read some news headlines, check the weather, and check social media postings. I don’t like to spend a lot of time reading the news (because it’s depressing) so I send maybe 30 mins online in the morning.
• I also like to write or edit photos/videos in the morning (for my blog or the church). I usually have some type of article or media project in progress.  The words seem to flow best for me in the morning.
• I try to respect the stay-at-home order and go grocery shopping only once a week early on Friday morning.  The store I go to has geezer hour every day from 6 am to 7 am, but I found the best time to go is right after geezer hour.
• 

  On a Zoom meeting

  Zoom meetings – I participate in two Bible studies via Zoom.  I have one with my FL church on Wednesday am.  I like doing Bible studies via zoom and I hope we keep them this way.  It’s a great way to stay connected with my church communities without having to leave home.  Sunday worship service is also via Zoom for the time being.

• Yoga – I started taking an instructor lead yoga class this past spring while in Florida and really enjoyed it.  It has helped immensely with flexibility and eliminating stiffness.  I found a great smartphone yoga app called Down Dog Yoga.  The app lets me tailor a session based on my level.  It guides me through a yoga session with a custom video, just like having a personal instructor. I do a 45 min session every other day and a short 20 min session on the off days.  I highly recommend yoga fo anyone who wants to increase their flexibility, relieve some stress, and improve muscle tone.

Afternoon

• I try to get outside most afternoons.  Usually, it’s to do some type of work – yard work, repair work, or errands.  Although there’s not a lot of errand runs
• Walking – After my surgery last year, I got back into walking.  I try to do a 3-mile walk every other day.  We live in a rural area where there are nice quiet backroads right at the end of our driveway.  I also walk on some rail-trails that are nearby.

• Afternoon meditation / reading time.  I quit working by 4 pm each day.  In the late afternoon, I like to sit on our front porch and either meditate, listen to a podcast, or read a little.  It’s a period of personal downtime that I make sure happens most days.

Evening

• We never were much for going out in the evening so the lockdown hasn’t caused any infringement on this part of our lifestyle.
• Sometimes we have evening video conference meetings (e.g., Bible Study or meeting) but most evenings we watch some TV, usually a Netflix series or some old movies on TCM.  Staying up past 10 pm is rare for us.

The Overall Impact

So that’s what I’ve been doing during the Covid-19 lockdown.  Other than not traveling, or going to music festivals, it’s not too much different than pre lockdown and it’s not been too much of an inconvenience.

I know that many have not shared my experience.  So far, none of our family has been ill and no close friends have died.  But, I pray for the people being impacted directly and indirectly by this virus – the 1.3M people in our country who contracted the virus, the 79,000 who have died, and over 20.5M who lost their jobs last month because of this.  It has been devastating for many and it can be numbing just trying to think about it.  My minor inconveniences are nothing compared to what others are going through.

We continue to pray and give thanks to those working to keep things going. We put a sign at the end of our driveway and one near the center of town to let the workers know we appreciate them and what they’re doing.

And we’ll continue to do our part to stay healthy and hope that restoration and recovery can start soon.

 

 

PS:  One thing I read is that some people are having a tough time with the stay at home stuff.  Staying home may be new for some because they’re out of work, they may be single, or they’re accustomed to a more social lifestyle.  One thing I read that helps some (and it helps me), is to have a regular routine.  As you read above, I have a daily routine and it helps.  It’s predictable so I don’t start each day wondering what I’m going to do. I make a to-do list every day.  Having interests like writing, yoga, and walking also helps.  Being part of my church and Bible Study groups gives me some social interactions and people connections.