Staycation

My husband and I took the past week off from work. I'd been toying with the idea of renting a secluded lake house or something, as many of my friends have done, but was never comfortable with the idea. So we stayed home, relaxed, and did some local activities. 

Monday: We visited a large botanical garden that's a popular tourist destination in our area. Their precautions include timed tickets to limit guests (advanced reservations preferred), masks and social distancing when around others, and some restrooms are closed. We arrived first thing in the morning. Check in was a breeze, people wore masks and were respectful of distancing, and we were easily able to avoid others, though it was starting to get a bit crowded in some areas by the time we left a couple hours later. I don't think I would have wanted to go if the crowds were like that the whole time.

Tuesday: I suggested we visit an ethnic supermarket we like. I don't know what I was thinking 🤦‍♀️ I've been avoiding the regular supermarket, and that's basically what this place is - plus it's in a more populated area, and is small with narrow aisles. There were several times I wanted to abandon our cart and leave. Lots of crowding, questionable mask use (lots of noses out), etc. I was pretty upset by the time we left, to be honest.

Wednesday: We'd been planning to visit another local garden, but I realized too late that you needed a reservation in advance, and they were already booked for the week. Instead, we went to a nearby national park and strolled around some of the historic areas. It was my husband's birthday, so we got take-out from a favorite fancy steak restaurant, and then I surprised him with a Zoom call with some of his friends.

Thursday: Truly a day off!

Friday: We visited a local arboretum and garden. We had both grown up minutes from this place, but had never been! We were there first thing in the morning, and it was a great experience - the weather was beautiful, the paths were shady, there were only a few others there, and many of the trails were marked as one-way, so you didn't have to worry about crossing others on the narrow walkways. We covered everything in about an hour, which was a nice morning activity.

Even though we never left home (and I was still checking in with work, and my husband was still working on his side projects), it was a nice, relaxing week. And we got to see some things in our own area we probably never would have if we hadn't been avoiding travel.