New Reality

We are settling into our new reality in south-central Wisconsin.  Most businesses with public interaction have closed.  Based upon CDC recommendations and other information, Julia's optometry office also closed, except for emergency and curbside service.  She will be off of the schedule for awhile.

The weather has been lousy during the last couple of days:  rain, snow, cloudy skies.  I've continued to take long walks with Callie in town. The streets are mostly deserted.  With schools closed, I expected to see more kids outside, but I guess everyone is sticking close to home and inside.

Allie and Justin are both home.  Allie is taking care of Justin and getting paid for it.  Justin's previous caregivers have shut down operations in Whitewater, and the dorms have fully closed.  His care coordinator advised the status quo will remain in place until at least mid-April and perhaps longer.  Justin is on a bunch of medications, and we've stocked up on those as best we can. 

The grocery store has had shortages like many around the state, but it hasn't been too crazy.  The hardware store remains open. Bars and restaurants are all closed.  I've been doing a lot of reading online about the virus, and it takes a bit to separate the wheat from the chaff.  One of the best sources that I've found is this blog by a very experienced infectious disease physician:

Allie is probably the most bored out of the four of us.  She put together this video:

Rapid Changes

It's amazing how fast the world has changed in the past few weeks.  The stock market has tanked.  Countries are closing borders. Schools are closing.  Crowds are a bad thing.  Social distancing is a thing...a good thing.  Honestly, I didn't need social distancing to be a trend.

If it was just up to me, I would be heading out west in early April with the Scamp. Unfortunately, it is not meant to be.

Justin has a great semester going at UW-Whitewater.   He has new friends.  He is doing well in school.  Additionally, he found a new passion:  sports broadcasting.  One of Justin's new friends is a communications major and participates on the campus television station.  Justin auditioned and is now is part of the broadcasting team.

 
Each week, they do a sports talk show, covering a wide range of local, regional and national sports topics.  Also, for college team broadcasts, they provide play-by-play, color and sideline reporting.  Justin loves spectator sports, talking and the limelight, so the fit is perfect. 

Unfortunately, the corona virus has thrown a wrench into the continuation of the semester.  UW-Whitewater, along with many other colleges, is closing early for an extended spring break, and the future of the semester is unclear.  Justin is coming home tomorrow. We are planning for the probability that he will need to complete the semester from home with his classes offered only online.

While the situation is fluid, his care giving agency has advised that care giving will not be available in the dorms when online classes resume.  That means that Julia and I will likely share care giving responsibilities at home for the foreseeable future.  There is a possibility that Allie might be able to help out some too.  Anyway, I'm 99% sure that I won't be making any long trips this spring.  I will need to stay closer to home for awhile.

One scary thing is that Justin has weak lungs due to his muscular dystrophy.  He already needs a bipap machine at night for breathing assistance.  Justin rarely catches viruses, so we're hoping that continues. 

Glacial Drumlin

Today, Julia and I celebrated our last day of the empty nest by hiking the Glacial Drumlin Trail near Lake Mills, Wisconsin.  We did an in/out hike of about eight miles.  Spring is in the air.

Robins literally arrived just a few days ago.  They are fat and sassy after a trip north.  On the trail today, we saw another sign of spring:  the return of the sandhill cranes.

After the hike, we went to Lewis Station Winery, where we sampled several red wines (ok) and dined on wood-fired pizza (really good).

On a final note, I ordered 25 lbs of green coffee beans to get me through the zombie apocalypse.  I'll let other people stock up on toilet paper. 

Cold March Day

The day's weather started off like my mood:  dark, windy, rainy and cold.  The plan was to drive to Madison and walk around Monona Bay, but it was still miserable out when we reached the eastern outskirts of the city.

We decided to put off the walk until later in the morning.  Julia shopped for special yarn (she is learning to crochet), while Callie and I circled around the outside of the mall.  I then did important stuff like buying a toilet brush for the Scamp.

Yes, the Scamp.  My plan is to head west around April 1st, give or take a few days, depending upon the weather. Moving the starting day around isn't much of a big deal.  However, the spread of the coronavirus in the United States is a curve ball that I didn't see coming.

Of course, it's still early to make any decisions, but I'm concerned about closed businesses, restricted travel, and out-of-network medical expenses.  It may not be the best time for a long trip.  But I am preparing anyway as though I'm going. 

My good friend Dean installed new front brakes on my Nissan, which was good timing because the brake pads were completely gone.  Going up and down mountains without good brakes would have been a bad thing.  New tires for the truck may also happen.  I am so hoping that there is a trip.

Getting back to today.  Just when we decided to head home, the sun showed up.  We turned around and headed to Monona Bay.  Lots of fishermen were out.

Yes, there were still some clouds, but look in the other direction.

Madison Skyline

That is the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Monona Terrace and Convention Center in the lower right center of the above photo (white building).  I love how it blends into the lake and landscape.  During the summer, there are concerts on the rooftop.

Walking around the Monona Bay is a four mile loop.

Julia and Callie ready to start walking

Then we were ready for lunch.  The original plan was to enjoy some pho at one of Madison's new Vietnamese restaurants.  It has a very naughty-sounding name, but the owner (who doesn't speak much English) claims total surprise.

 Unfortunately, they were closed.

So we headed to a restaurant that we know on the other side of the strip mall:  Badung.  They have excellent food and didn't have any remodeling issues.

Julia and I both ordered Khao Soi, which is a Northern Thailand curry egg  noodle soup with beef, cabbage, lemongrass and star anise.  It was delicious.  With egg rolls, our bill totaled $20, including a generous tip.

When we came out of the restaurant, dark clouds returned.  However, with our bellies full and our exercise complete, we felt much better about the rest of the day. 

Winter can be Wonderful

Winter has been going full-blast ever since we've returned from Aruba.   There aren't that many days below zero each winter in south-central Wisconsin, but we've had several of them in the past ten days.  There's also been snow, ice and wind.

None of those weather conditions bother Callie-dog.  She managed to get an upper respiratory infection at the kennel.  I think she just wasn't getting enough outdoor time.

This morning, hiking conditions were perfect.  We took advantage of the soft snow and temperatures into the 30's and drove over to Devil's Lake State Park.   I've hiked the Roznos Meadows Trail during the summer, but this is the first time that I've ever hiked it in the winter.

The first half of the trail is flat, yet provides a gorgeous view of the bluffs that I'm usually hiking up from the lake.  It's always fun to get a different perspective on things.

Julia was off to the races.

This is an in-and-out trail, connecting up with the Uplands Trail at the top of that ridge in the back.  The trail was lightly traveled.  Just a few people and no dogs.

Callie is completely recovered from her illness and ready for whatever comes her way.  We're already planning a spring trip west.

Aruba: Final Days

As I'm writing this post, we have returned to Wisconsin's frozen tundra. The change has been shocking.  Temperatures for us have dropped from 88F in Oranjestad to an expected -12F tonight.

During our last week in Aruba, Julia spent a lot of time sunning on the beach and snorkeling in the water.  I put in over ten miles a day walking, reading books, and relaxing in the shade.  We had some great meals at the apartment and one really good meal at an Italian restaurant in Eagle Beach.

Prawns over black ink pasta

Octopus, pasta, and Chianti

On our last night, we were total tourists.  We went on a pirate ship booze cruise.  For $30, the two hour sunset cruise included an open bar and encouragement to jump off the ship (after signing waivers).

Julia getting ready to jump

The average age on the boat was over 50, so there weren't a lot of volunteers to swing off the rope swing into the ocean.  I have previously mentioned that Julia is a strong swimmer, so she was all in.

I can swim if my life depended upon it, but it didn't. I did momentarily set my cocktail aside to take photos.

The trip home was uneventful.

Aruba is a very interesting place.  On the positive side, the weather is amazingly consistent.  It rarely rains.  The temperature was always in the mid to upper 80's during the day, and cooled off only into the upper 70's at night.  It never rained for more than a few minutes.  There seems to be very little crime. In general, the island is very clean. 

No mosquitoes were seen during our two weeks.  The water, which is obtained through desalination plants, is outstanding.  The dollar is freely accepted.  Almost everyone speaks English, although Spanish and Papiamento (Creole) are spoken also.  

Some tourists absolutely love Aruba for these reasons.  We met people who've been coming to Aruba every year for over fifteen years.   While we liked Aruba and are glad we visited, we would probably not return for the following reasons.

It's very expensive.  Very little is grown or made on the island, so almost everything has to be imported.  Super Foods, the grocery store near our second apartment, was easily one of the top three stores I've ever been in.  They had almost everything you could imagine, and it was very high quality.  There were meats and cheeses that I've only seen in Europe.  Again, it was very expensive.

Some of the resorts and hotel properties in Eagle Beach are just amazing and priced that way too. 

One of Julia's favorite properties was the RIO resort that we walked through often.  It's an all-inclusive with rates that start near $600/night.  

Aruba is hot and humid.  This is a desert island, but the humidity is pretty intense, being surrounded by ocean.  During the day, I was sweating without even moving very much.  We noticed locals would get out and walk right before sunrise or right after sunset.  There isn't much exercising going on during the day.   I'm good with hot and dry, but humidity is not my thing.

Unless you are eating or drinking, there isn't a ton to do besides lay on the beach.  For some folks, that's a perfect vacation.  A week wouldn't have been enough to experience Aruba.  By the end of two weeks, we felt like we had pretty much done the island. We will always remember the sunsets.

Aruba: Eagle Beach and Beyond

During our second week in Aruba, our home base has been a lovely but economical Airbnb that is much larger than our first one. It’s a true one bedroom apartment with full kitchen and is about a fifteen minute walk to the beach. It’s also a five minute walk to Super Foods, the best supermarket on the island.

We have been taking advantage by preparing breakfasts and dinners in the apartment: The local eggs are amazing with deep orange yolks: For local fish, we have prepared grouper, red snapper and amber jack. I cook, and Julia does dishes. No complaints here.

Most mornings and evenings, we take long walks from Eagle Beach to Palm Beach—about a five mile round trip. Mornings heat up fast into the mid eighties with fairly high humidity. Evenings are delicious with cooling breezes and beautiful sunsets.

One day, we took the bus to the north tip of the island. Walking on the east side, we experienced more of the “Wild Coast” with big waves and rocky shores.

This is our favorite rooftop bar to hide from the heat and enjoy generous happy hours.

We are winding down our trip. I will do a final wrap-up after we have returned to the frozen tundra.