I am going on a virtual trip

Anyone want to join me? My sister suggested I take a virtual cruise somewhere and report on it. Especially the cuisine. Well, I thought about it and I just couldn’t get anything going. Then I started thinking about my first trip to Europe and decided to dig into my teenage musings of Travels with Grandma. Maybe I can turn that into something.

When I was 16 my Grandmother Dailey (my Daddy’s mom) took me on a 4 month tour of Europe. She wanted to go back to the Old Country as she and my daddy called Czechoslovakia. I don’t know if she really wanted my company. She told me a few months into our journey that she brought me to make a lady out of me. But I think she really needed help. She was way old. 70! I thought she was ancient. But she was pretty mobile for her years. As it turned out she could out walk me almost every day of our trip. But I was strong and I had a drivers license. She wanted to buy a car and drive from Germany to Czechoslovakia and maybe Austria and Hungary. For that she needed help. I was the oldest of her grandchildren and in some ways the most malleable so I was designated as the traveling companion. 

We made plans. We poured over Frommer’s $5 a Day tour guide of Europe. The original plan was that we would take the S.S. France from New York to Le Havre. I started acquiring a wardrobe for travel on a ship. It seemed so romantic and exciting. I read Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, by Emily Kimbrough and Cornelia Otis Skinner. About their wild (?) adventure to Europe in the 1920’s. I was ready! 

Then Grandma found a charter flight from Los Angeles to Rome that was so much cheaper than the travel she had originally planned. It was with St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Los Angeles. A mostly Italian congregation. At that time charters were becoming very popular. All you needed was membership in some kind of affinity group and you could get to Europe fairly cheaply. I am thinking that at that time our round trip tickets were about $300 for each of us. Not bad. Of course my mother tried to throw a wrench in the gears. She was terrified of flying. She wasn’t going to have me fly. But wiser counsel prevailed and the trip was on again. So at the beginning of May, 1965, we drove to the Imperial Terminal at LAX and met our couple hundred fellow travelers. The terminal may have been the original terminal at LAX but by then it was just a little low building that charters flew from. It was an interesting assortment of people. Mostly I heard Italian being spoken. There were a lot of families. Young families who were going to Italy for the first time since the mother or father had emigrated to America. Going home to show off the wife or husband and the grandchildren. It was pretty exciting and emotional. And there was the priest who was leading this group. I cannot remember his name. but he was bustling hither and thither, calming people, checking papers. 

We got on the plane. It was a TransInternational Airlines plane. Pretty sure it was a Boeing 707. We sat in rows 3 by 3. I got the window seat and Grandma had the middle seat. A woman in her late twenties or early thirties sat next to Grandma. She was from Italy. Her husband was staying at home while she flew to see her parents. She was so excited. I think for a lot of people it was their first airplane flight and their first trip back home. We all settled into our seats while the stewardesses, in their vaguely military looking uniforms, explained all the safety procedures. Somethings never change. They were a very nice group of attendants. Someone asked them about how many people could fly on plane that size. I really don’t remember the numbers but she said that we were no where near full capacity. That they flew soldiers to Vietnam and could cram in another 100 or so seats at least and fly them with all their gear. Seemed almost impossible to believe. (And this was several months before the conflict was officially called a War)

I was a little anxious as we took off. My mother’s fears kind of rubbed off on me. But once we were up in the air it was just too exciting to hang onto being scared. I watched as we passed over East L.A., the mountains, and across the deserts. Somewhere along the way we were served a meal. I do not remember what it was. I suspect it was chicken. I do know I liked it even though it seemed a little meager. Halfway across the U.S. some of the babies onboard needed to take naps. Out came slings which the stewardess strung up beneath the overhead bins. It was amazing. I think there were about six of them. In went the babies and quiet ensued. Grandma and the lady talked quite a bit. This was the first time I heard Grandma discuss her marital status with people. Her name was Anna Marie Dailey. She was Mrs. Dailey. Her seat companion asked where Mr. Dailey was. Grandma said he died. Well! Technically she was right. He had died in 1961. But I knew Grandma had been divorced from Grandpa. She left him in the thirties. Grandpa had waited until his strictly Irish Catholic mother had died in the late forties before getting a divorce based on desertion, I assume. But flying with this group made it important for Grandma to appear to be a respectable widow, not a vulgar divorcee. And I kept my mouth shut. I’m glad I did. 

We left L.A. around 11 a.m. and arrived in NYC in the evening. We had to take chartered buses from one airport to another. Not sure if we went from JFK to La Guardia or the other way around. All I do remember is that when we boarded the Sabena Airlines plane we were greeted by a MALE attendant who offered us wrapped hard candies. We thought it oh so elegant. We settled in and after taking off we were served a light meal of a roll and a shrimp salad and some kind of dessert. It was a little disappointing because we were hungry. But the shrimp salad was kind of classy so there was a minimum of grumbling. Of course, as it turned out, that was not the whole meal. While we were busy scarfing down the salad, roll and dessert, the cabin crew had been busy heating up the filet mignon. We felt kind of silly when we realized what was going on. It was pretty tasty as I recall. My first shrimp salad, my first filet mignon. Yum! Then we settled in for the next few hours flight to Brussels where we would refuel and fly on to Rome.

First written on 3-13

I went for a long walk yesterday. Discovered some new trails near my house. Well, they aren’t really new but they are new to me. They meander along little brooks. There are a lot of them around here. So refreshing. It looks like there might be beavers around here too. But I haven’t seen any. Just the dams they have built. 

There were a lot of people walking and running on the trails and sidewalks. Some were solo but some were in groups. And then when I passed through a park there were little kids, some toddlers, more than a dozen of them, playing on the playing ground equipment. Their parents, grandparents and caregivers seemingly oblivious to the virus. What is it about people? Are they in denial? Are they thinking it just won’t effect them? I don’t get it. I gave them a wide berth and continued on my way.

This morning Andy and I got up early to get to Fred Meyer when it opened. We arrived 10 minutes early but it became apparent that something was not right. A woman walked up to the locked doors and diverted her attention to a little sign tacked up on the Starbucks sandwich board and then threw up her arms and walked back to her car. I jumped out of our car and read the sign. In order to have the shelves stocked they are opening an hour later than normal. Darn. So we drove over to Safeway. We managed to miss picking up toilet paper, canned goods, flour, cake mix and liverwurst but there were lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. 

It is hard to stay off the iPad. I keep wanting to see if there is anything new to report. So much rehashing of posts from the day before. 

Rebecca thinks it would be better for her to stay in Canada. She thinks, 1- she can’t get out and 2- she doesn’t want to risk infecting us. I get it but I would rather she come home. 3- she has health insurance in Canada, not here in the U.S. After tomorrow they are sending the library workers home. Fortunately the Librarian has a project she can work on from home so she can keep being paid. She walked 11K this morning, all the way from downtown Vancouver to UBC. She wanted to avoid the bus and she wanted to get in her steps. I think they are ending bus service after this week. Things seem to be pretty severe there. She is having a hard time finding stuff on the store shelves. 

Sonia has us signed up on Marco Polo. I don’t really get it. You can form groups and send video messages. Not sure why you need the app to do it. Maybe the quality is better than regular video. And there are editing opportunities. We’ve sent a few videos but nothing too exciting.

This morning the first WW workshops went online. At the 9:30 workshop I couldn’t figure out how to use Zoom so I missed most of the workshop. But I didn’t give up. Attended another one at noon and figured it out. Very exciting to be able to do it but it lacks something that happens when you are really in the same room as other people. There were a lot of silences. But my coach Kathy and the noon coach tried very hard and I am sure the next meetings will go more smoothly.

It is only one day since my last post and oh my, the changes it has brought. This morning our governor threatened to close restaurants and bars but then stepped back and said there would be no closings. Then the chefs and restaurant industry raised a collective shout out and she decided that  only take out and delivery would be allowed. No gatherings of more than 25 people. That means almost everywhere except grocery stores, retail stores, and what else? Kaiser has notified us that most regular appointments will be dealt with online or by phone. Elective surgery is out the door. Rebecca informs us that her YMCA is closed. She goes there several times a week for various classes. Sonia is at home because she has been sick but now her office is closed down and all work is to be done at home. Seven Bay Area counties in California are under a modified curfew. No one is supposed to leave their homes except to get food or medical help or to work if they have a job to go to. I expect that will be happening here too if our governor has any sense.
Rosie and I delivered Meals on Wheels this morning. When I walked into the lounge where all the seniors normally gather for TV and bingo, it was completely empty. Usually there are a good 50 or so elders and disabled chatting or dozing. And this morning but there are new protocols for the deliveries. No hand to hand contact. We put the meals in a plastic bag and leave it on a door knob. Two days worth of meals for each client. No nice fresh salads or dessert. Just a main dish, a cooked vegetable, an apple and a carton of milk. Most of the clients are totally onboard. They get it that it is them we are protecting and while it was alway nice to give a friendly hug or squeeze of the hand to some of our clients, they understand it won’t happen. We have to keep a 6 foot distance between them and us. We had a handout that explained it all and some of them had been contacted by phone and already knew. But we were supposed to explain in person as well. Funny how one’s Spanish gets better and better when you really, truly need to use it. Only one client thought it was a stupid plan. I gave my best shot at explaining why two days of meals in one delivery made her safer from exposure but she wasn’t buying it. Oh well.
I did go for my walk today. I drove to the mall but walked around outside. Didn’t go in. Didn’t see anyone outside except from afar. I have no idea if any of the regulars were there or not. There was a huge number of plumbing trucks parked where the regulars park and it appeared that there was some kind of big plumbing issue going on. They had a very noisy pump going right next to the security office. If I had gone inside and if the regulars were there I would have gotten an idea of what was happening but I didn’t go in.
After my walk and meals on wheels I returned home and we spent the rest of the day watching Buffy and Angel, eating and reading and catching up on the latest COVID news. Things change from hour to hour. We got a notice that Canadian ports will be closed to cruise ships until July 1st. I sent Rebecca a text of condolence since she runs and walks along the sea wall by the cruise ship terminal in Vancouver almost every day and looks forward to seeing the ships from the various cruise lines during the cruising season. Then Andy pointed out to me that our cruise in May and June was supposed to stop in St. John’s, Newfoundland. So much for that. Of course the whole cruise may be off anyway so it may be a moot point.
It is evening now. I have served Andy the last of the corned beef and cabbage for dinner. We started celebrating St. Patricks Day a little early. I had a meal from the freezer. I think we can survive on what we have in the pantry and the fridge for maybe two or three weeks. But I do need to go to the store to see if I can get some fresh fruit and vegetables. And we still don’t have any hand sanitizer. Which I would happily make myself if the ingredients were available. I’ll look. Don’t have much hope. I’ll go either very late tonight or very early tomorrow morning.
Can’t wait (dreading may be a better word) to see what new developments tomorrow brings.

It has been so long since I last posted. So much water under the bridge. We moved from Walnut Creek to Lahaina, Maui. Spent 5 years living there. Traveled. Worked and then Andy retired. And then we decided Maui just was not what we wanted. So we packed everything up that we wanted to keep, there wasn’t all that much after the huge pruning we did to get to Maui. We went to Oregon and bought a house in Tigard. We have spent more time cruising and traveling. Right now it is still winter even though we teeter on the brink of spring. We had quite a snow yesterday. So pretty. The snow flakes were huge, they looked like feathers falling. It was nice entertainment while it lasted, on and off during the day. Something to divert us in the new era, the COVID-19 virus pandemic.
It sure snuck up on us. Well, perhaps I exaggerate. We had just gotten back from a cruise to Antarctica and the southern tip of South America, We had so much fun and saw some amazing places. But almost as soon as we got home there were rumblings on the internet. A virus had a grip in a large city in China. A doctor had tried to warn people but he had been silenced by the government. Then China was quarantining the city. Then restricting travel. Suddenly it was appearing in other parts of Asia, and on ships. The Diamond Princess was the first cruise ship to report cases. Then the Grand Princess. Italy had cases in the north. Korea, the U.S. Washington State, just north of us and then here in Oregon the first case was reported in Lake Oswego, just one city over from us. From the end of January up to today. We have gone from people congratulating us for missing the virus onboard our ship to self isolation. I shop at the grocery either late at night or when it first opens in the morning. No walking at the mall. No cozy cup of coffee at Starbucks. No casual dropping by to visit neighbors. Just sitting at home, tidying up incessantly and reading and watching TV.  And walking outside in the cold down into Tigard and on the Fanno Creek Trail or over to Cook Park. We aren’t going stir crazy yet but who knows? With a national emergency declared and large groups of people banned from congregating we don’t have the symphony and the opera to look forward to. I can’t attend WW in person at the Workshop but they are gearing up for meetings online and by phone. I am impressed at how quickly some businesses have reacted and adapted.
With Amazon and the proliferation of online shopping we may get through this with very little inconvenience. That being said it is still inconvenient to get to my regular grocer and find no potatoes, no toilet paper, no hand sanitizer and no pasta or rice. I did get extra canned goods the other day but I hope I will end up donating them to the food pantry when this is over.
Until then I look at the posts of my friends as they navigate life with jobs, families to provide for and fear hanging over us all.