Coronavirus New Curfew - Ridiculous!

I was annoyed when I heard about the new statewide curfew ordered by Newsome that went into effect this weekend from 10 pm to 5 am.

People said, "John calm down. The only businesses it affects are the bars. It's the young people who don't wear masks and get drunk and are not cautious." When I stood outside my friend's bar in Oregon, the majority of people inside were older men. There are many types of bars

I said, "Watch this is just the beginning."

Lockdowns and curfews create anxiety. Trader Joes had a line half-way around the block this morning. Yes - around the block. My Pavilions had me wait outside for the first time in months. Toilet paper and paper towels were gone.

Today, LA County announced all outside dining will be closed effective Wednesday. Only take-out will be allowed.

Now waiters, hostesses, and bartenders have all just lost their jobs right before the holidays. Merry Christmas.

Many dining establishments have applied for permits and remodeled to provide outdoor dining or to provide more outdoor dining space. I have seen the changes in my neighborhood on my daily walks. Concrete barriers on the street to create dining areas, awnings installed, heat lamps, etc. 

California Adventure just opened its main street this weekend for shopping and dining. So much for those recently hired employees.

Someone asked me, what should we do.

I said:

• First, tell everyone to wear a mask when you are not eating.
• Second, enforce what outdoor dining is. Look at that joke of the French Laundry where Newsome was eating. Three walls enclosed by plastic. That is not outdoor dining. I have seen more and more restaurants close-in their outdoor dining spaces.
• Third, enforce the six-foot distance rule between tables in these outdoor areas. I have seen food areas getting more and more cramped as restaurants try to accommodate more diners.

But do not close all of these businesses down. Enforce the rules, so that the ones who do play by them don't have to suffer. That is how government can keep us safe. Governor, don't go the French Laundry, see the rules being abused, and laugh it all away.

I believe LA County will ban all indoor retail shopping after Black Friday weekend. If they did it this week, there would be a riot, not necessarily by the customers but by all the businesses that just stocked up on instore inventory. Imagine the financial catastrophe if California did shutdown all in-person shopping for the holidays. That would truly put the nail in the coffin of small businesses in the state.

Can't get this at take out

My Saturday in Julian was great. 90% of the people wore masks. Everyone kept their distance.

I do not understand what was wrong with the other 10% not wearing masks. Seriously, by that 10% not wearing their masks, they just cost all Californians the opportunity to eat out or get a drink.

A family member said they were walking outside near a hospital and a nurse walked right by them with their mask in their hand - not on their face. If heads of the CMA are at a large dinner party with the governor and nurses are walking around not wearing masks, perhaps I can see why the 10% don't take our "leaders" and medical establishment seriously.

But, if a small group of people continue to refuse to follow the three basic rules, we will not go back to a relatively normal life for a long time: wear a mask, social distance, and wash hands often. 

Take care and be safe.

Posts weekly.

Coronavirus Fishing, Protests, and Curfews

"Curfew in effect from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.," my cell phone buzzed with the message. Time 5:15 p.m., Sunday night.

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