Almost Like a Mini Vacation

Because Bloomington takes the pandemic seriously we were able to enjoy a little more freedom than we had these past four months.  Yesterday after Cam's golf tournament we stopped by Oliver Winery. We couldn't bring in our own food, but we could purchase wine and snacks on property to eat out on the picnic tables.  Masks were required in the store and everyone was social distancing.  I was impressed by that and extremely relieved.  It was nice just to sit outside and enjoy lunch while listening to golf stories.  After we ate we returned to Brett's.  He had to work and wasn't home until close to 6 p.m.  We decided to stay in that night to play Ticket to Ride.  Dinner was ordered from Upland Brewery Company so that Cam could get his favorite spicy chicken sandwich and Doug and Brett could order a growler of their beer.

This morning Cam and Doug headed to the tennis court at Brett's apartment to play before it got too hot.  Cam was happy to say that he beat Doug 6-4.  The three of us went to the mall next.  Once again I couldn't believe how many people were wearning masks and how many stores required them. I felt completely safe going into Target to get a few items while Doug and Cam went to Dick's.  When Cam bought his golf bag last March he also purchased a warranty on it.  The strap broke several weeks ago and after a couple of phone calls I wasn't sure that we'd get anything out of it.  Thankfully, everyone at Dick's was extremely helpful and Cam walked out with a brand new bag that looked just like his old one.

We went to Kirkwood after our small shopping excursion.  It was almost deserated.  We were able to walk in a few Indiana shops and even try a beer on the patio of a new place, Fat Dan's.  I was a little nervous, just because I hadn't been anywhere to speak of except the grocery store in quite awhile.  It was nice, however, just to be out and about.  We went to Kohls next to pick up a few items that Brett ordered and then Doug and Cam bought new shoes at Shoe Carnival.  While we were out we received a notice that Bloomington had passed a mask ordinance that would go begin at 5 p.m. that day.  As many people that were wearing masks already, we were surpised that it hadn't already been passed.

Brett got home at 6 again this evening, happy to have finished his first week or work and training.  He starts on his own Sunday.  Although he was nervous about it, he was also extremely excited about the prospects of his new career.  The four of us decided to return to Kirkwood for dinner.  We had read that restaurants would be serving outdoors in the closed off street and wanted to see if it was doable for our family.  We had invited Parce to join us, but the heat changed his mind.  We were glad that we had gotten to see him yesterday afternoon as he will be moving to Columbus next week.  I couldn't believe how big Eleanor had gotten since I last saw her in October.

We were absolutely surprised with how few people there were on Kirkwood when we arrived.  We almost expected a festival type atmosphere or jam packed table like we see in Syracuse, but it was nothing like that.  We stopped at Lennie's first and were the only ones seated outside under an individual tent.  They weren't serving food yet, but we were able to try a few of their drinks.  We then walked to Big Woods for dinner.  Unfortunately, it was the only place that was too crowded for us.  Therefore we ate at Cafe Pizzeria and were one of only two tables eating dinner.  Everyone else was grabbing pizzas to go.  Although, I still felt a little bit nervous about being around people and actually eating from a restaurant, it was as safe as I thought it should be.