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| A long way to reach this prize. |
My fishing trip
would leave from Ventura at 6 am Monday morning, meaning I would need to leave
at 4 am - during the curfew.
Let the adventure
begin.
After my Cabo San
Lucas fishing trip was cancelled due to the travel ban between Mexico and the
U.S., I was happy to see last week that California sportfishing was reopening
June 1st.
Even better, my two
teenage sons had agreed to join me.
I booked 3 tickets
last week for the first day of fishing , understanding that all passengers
would need to wear masks, the boat would be booked at half capacity, and social
distancing would be enforced.
Then things got more
interesting - protests and rioting began.
I was not too
concerned about making our trip as we would be driving two blocks from my house
on to the freeway at 4 a.m. to Ventura and figured there was little risk of
getting caught in a confrontation with police or protestors.
Then the curfew
message hit my phone.
I tried to cancel
with the sportfishing company, but they said, "There are no refunds
because we are in Ventura County and there is no curfew here."
What to do? Lose the
money? Lose the opportunity to get my teenage vampires out of the house and see
the sun for the first time in weeks?
I told the boys if I
can find a hotel in Ventura County, be ready to leave within 45 minutes. The
boys were more amped up over something other than a video game in quite
awhile.
I found a Marriott
in Oxnard (Ventura County) that was taking reservations and was able to use my
points for the reservation. (I love mileage programs.)
The race to beat the
curfew was on.
At 6:05 pm we were
in the car and on the freeway, clothes, fishing poles, tackleboxes, and snacks
packed.
Then we hit the
protest.
Waze alerted me that
the freeway was at a standstill in
Thousand Oaks. As we got closer to the little red line, symbols of police cars
dotted the Waze map. I looked to see what businesses were just off the 101
Freeway on Moorpark - The Oaks shopping center. Crap. We found a protest. Not
only that, Waze rerouted us off the freeway.
Oh my goodness, how
many times has something gone wrong in a movie because travelers were rerouted
off the freeway. Sure enough, Waze us
drive the city streets right past the mall, protestors, and police officers. Fortunately,
it was a peaceful protest. Cars honked
in support and we were soon past and 20 minutes later arrived at our hotel.
In the 6-story
hotel, only a half dozen lights were on in the windows. It appeared there were
very few occupants. At check in, there was a barrier at the front desk to
enforce social distancing. The front desk asked me to put my drivers license
and credit car on the desk and step back. She stepped forward, checked us in,
put our room key on the desk and stepped back. We stepped forward took the key
and went to our room. The new normal for
checking in?
Of course in an
empty hotel, a couple was placed in a room right next to ours. To make matters worse our rooms shared an
interior door for when large groups share rooms. I was not concerned about the
coronavirus seeping through the cracks of the door, but I could hear every word
the couple spoke. When my son asked if they were watching a porno next door I'd
had enough, smiled, and said no. The front desk accommodated my request to
change rooms.
Talk about an
educational trip for my sons.
On the boat, a
deckhand started off the trip with a speech that everyone needed to wear a face
covering, keep their distance, and you could only be in the galley if you were
eating. They would be strict because they did not want officials to suspend
fishing again.
People abided by the rules for the majority of the trip. At the end of the long day
(11 hours), most people kept their masks on, but people did sit next to each
other on the way back due to the limited seating and really high seas rocking
the boat. It was like, sit down or flip over the side of the boat.
 |
| Better have a seat - big waves! |
More excitement for
the boys.
When we got into my
car, I read a text from my mom saying the curfew started at 5 pm. It was 5:30
pm. I figured that unless law enforcement locked down all of the freeways into
Los Angeles, I would be able to make it home.
There was no traffic
and we made it home in record time.
An amazing
adventure. Thank goodness I didn't take
that Miami road trip last week. Who knows which state I would be stranded in
today.
Things happen for a
reason.
Be safe and take
care.
Posts Tuesday and
Saturday
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