Getting Out Safely - Trip To Portage

We've been mostly homebound since we got back to Anchorage early March.  There was a masked trip to the doctor that week for a COVID-19 test that the State nixed.  Then a follow up to get tested for other things, that all turned out negative.  Since then the only places I've been 'inside' is our house and car.

I order groceries online for curbside pickup.  Same with library books and at Title Wave.
My outings are reserved to our yard and my bike rides which are on a route that sees no more than 5-10 others on the trail in a 6-9 mile roundtrip ride.  And we've had no visitors.  We have a carpet sitting in a warehouse that was supposed to be installed in March, but we didn't want anyone in our house for two days.

So yesterday was our first trip out of town. (The last gas receipt I have is for October.)  It was raining when we left - which I hoped meant we'd see fewer people.

I was taken aback by all the traffic.  This is one of the most beautiful rides in the world, even on a rainy day.  But all the traffic, some construction,  and the low visibility dimmed my pleasure.  Lots of RV's and boats.

I get that camping is healthy outdoor sport, but we have a virus and our state active case numbers are rising rapidly. We've got 1503 active cases as of today, more than double the 718 we had two weeks ago on July 10.  If you try, you can minimize your contact getting outdoors, but how many are distancing and masking when they encounter others?  Based on people I see on the bike trail, not many.   People take risks all the time, so COVID-19 is just one more risk to many, like smoking or driving down the Seward Highway.  Both of those also involve endangering others.

When we turned onto the Portage Road the traffic ended for us.  We pulled in and walked the trail through a variety of landscapes just off the road.

Devils club from below (above) and from above. All shiny from the rain.

There are still some hanging glaciers up on the tops of the mountains.

At one point I  was  photographing  these brown birds on the chance I could identify them later ( haven't had yet).  I heard some sneezing.  That wasn't good.  We'd only seen a couple people - well away from us in the campground.  We had been on the trail about 90 minutes and these were the first others we had encountered.  We pulled up our masks and proceeded.  There was a couple around the bend, in their 60s or 70s maybe.  She pulled up a mask when she saw ours.  But the sneezer didn't have one.  I was pissed at him, but the serenity of the hike wasn't disturbed and I had no interest in stopping to tell him how I felt about him sneezing maskless on the trail.   I assumed enough time had passed since he'd sneezed that gravity and the rain and our masks would protect us.  They only other person we saw even somewhat close was the campground host who came by to tell us day hikers should not park in the campground.  I was disturbed again that he was going around giving people papers to sign without a mask.  Since we were leaving, he never got closer than ten feet or so.  

                          

I get it that I'm on the extreme isolation side of the COVID-19 response spectrum.  I have that privilege because I'm retired, I have a house and yard.  But I also monitor Alaska's COVID-19 count daily on this blog (see tab under the orange banner on top) and I'm acutely aware of how our active cases have doubled in the last two weeks to 1503.  That's not a lot compared to other states, but those states had low numbers once too.  

The ride back home was easier.  The traffic was coming in the other direction.  That's tricky on the Seward Highway where people get impatient behind bulky campers and pass where they oughtn't.  But we had a car ahead of us to block any impulsive drivers.  (I realize that's a pretty grim form of defensive driving, but on that mostly two lane road out of town with more than its share of head on collisions, it's a coping mechanism.)  

We stopped briefly at Potter Marsh, but didn't stay long.  It was windy and we were ready to get home and have dinner.  But we'd had a great day and a reasonably safe outing.  

Anchorage Students Climate Strike Pictures

It's heavy grey and steady rain out.  I really wanted to stay inside and read.

But I went off to Cuddy Park to see if Anchorage students were going to brave the weather on Climate Strike day.  Here are some pictures.

I decided I'd seen enough to know that Anchorage students had come out, even in the rain.  A decent crowd, considering the weather.

Güemes Died, The Clouds Cried

Martín Miguel de Güemes (8 February 1785 – 17 June 1821) was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish during the Argentine War of Independence.

If you read the quote from Wikipedia  carefully, you might realize that today is the 198th anniversary of his death.  And it’s a national holiday in memory of his heroic fighting against the Spanish and British. (At least that’s how he’s portrayed here and now.  So our Spanish class doesn’t start til tomorrow. So we went off to do errands and some sightseeing.  

Our host went with us at the beginning because she was walking the dog.  First stop the emergency room to get J’s stitches out.  But they only do emergencies and it’s a holiday.  Fortunately our host was with us and will try to make an appointment tomorrow.  We went on and she went back with the dog.  

Claro - the kind of phone chip we have - was closed for the holiday, so we still don’t have cell service.  Then by subway to Plaza de Mayo.  Our first time in the SUBTE (subway) and we had to figure out how to tap our card to get thru the turnstile.  

Subway is easy, clean, and fast.  But that could be because it’s a holiday.  The train we returned on was brand new, or so it seemed.  People come down the aisle and put little packages on people’s laps - a bunch of pocket tissue packets one time, pens another - and once they’ve done the car they walk back to collect a fee or the item.  I didn’t notice anyone buying, but people were nicely handing them back.  

I had my big camera with me today.  I also have my old Powershot since I can’t download from my phone yet.  It’s nice to have a piece of equipment I’m completely familiar with and it’s much easier than dragging my big camera out of the bag in the rain.  I used it for one picture, inside the Cathedral.  

Subway and rain pictures first.

The Cabildo - 

The Cabildo de Buenos Aires was the site of Spain's colonial administration in the city. Originally constructed from adobe and thatch in 1580, the current building was constructed over the second half of the 18th century, witnessed the Argentine Revolution in 1810, and served as an important administrative building during the first century of Argentine independence. MuseumThe building now houses the National Museum of the Cabildo and the May Revolution, and displays original artefacts and documents as well as interactive exhibits on the Spanish colonial era, the British invasions of 1806 and 1807, and the early days of independence. The museum was renovated in 2016, and now includes access to the former jail and more historic documents.

And then the Cathedral.

And then the Rosario - where Evita Peron spoke to the people from the balcony.  (There were two different balconies, but this one is more in the middle.

But mostly it rained today.  

Winter starts in a few days, but I know it can’t get too cold because there are palm trees and banana trees all over.

Rain, Sun, Rain, Food

Saturday threatened rain.  There were drops on the ground when I finally got round to my bike ride, but I figured I could turn back if it rained harder.  But it didn't.  Just clouds.  Some spots the pavement was wet, other spots not.  But the traffic jam along the beach bike trails was greatly reduced.  (They are bike trails.  It has pictures and the word bike stenciled on the pavement.  But scooters and joggers and strolling tourists can make it something of an obstacle course during the holidays and weekends)





It felt so good to just ride without worrying about hitting people or being hit, that I just kept going the seven miles to where the bike trail ends and then turned back.


This is looking south on the return trip from Will Rogers State Beach.  The buildings on the left are around downtown Santa Monica.



It rained seriously during the night, but by morning the sun was out again and we met (J walked and I biked) at the Mar Vista Sunday market.

The quiche was at Sandra's Soups and Sweets and I agreed to let people know.  Open food like this is required to be kept behind screens.  There are zippered openings for purchases.

I pointed out to one of the servers at Vegan Bite Bowls, that the name Buddha Sauce seemed a bit disrespectful to me.  He listened as I went on about cultural appropriation, and how I suspect that they didn't ask permission of any Buddhist temples or associations to use the name to make a profit.  Or that I suspected they didn't contribute any of their profit to any Buddhist organizations.  He listened and said he'd think about it and that no one had ever made that kind of comment before.


We woke up to rain this morning.  The sky seems clear again now, but everything is nicely watered .

Almost Headed Home - Kindergarten, Rainbows, and Poke

Part of volunteering at my granddaughter's school is prep work for the teacher.  Had to copy the numbers onto the yellow paper, then cut them up.  There were also booklets to copy, cut, and staple.  Then sit with a group during reading and be a resource.  I was surprised at what fluent readers some of the kids were.  And they had use of tablets and earphones to listen to someone read as the words turn red as their spoken.

Later in the day I walked to the school bus stop and waited in the sun and rain.  When I figured I should look for the rainbow, I just had to look up.

And we all ate at the nearby Japanese restaurant.  I've been poke spoiled since Hawaii and this poke was good and spicy.

And one of the sushi rolls.




We're at the airport waiting to board.  It's been warm - in the 50s.

Dear Sir, Couldn't You Have Held Off The Rain Another Couple of Hours?

The last few days have been mildly frantic - I try to remember to breathe slowly, remind myself that none of this is very important, get in a bike ride, etc. - as we tried to get the house ready for rental.  A company called TurnKey is handling it and so far their reps have been terrific.  It's sort of a cross between AirBnB and a Vacation Rental company.  But they're good for folks like us who live far away from the property.

I only wish my mom could see what her house looks like now.  The stuff inside, couldn't have been done while she was still living here.  The commotion would have just been too much.  But the deck outside would have been great.  But she wanted bricks - "Mom, how are you going to go down the stairs and then negotiate bricks in your wheel chair?" - and I countered with a wood deck at the same level of the living room - "No, the opossums and raccoons will get underneath".  It was a stand off.
But she would say regularly, "When I'm dead, you can do what you want."  So now there's a beautiful wooden deck that I know she would have loved.


Anyway, here's some light relief from a book I found in the house, published in 1942, called Dear Sir.  These are supposed to be letters that government agencies received from citizens.  I picked a few quickly.  Trying to get short ones, so you get an idea.

"Navy Relif Fund
Los Angeles
Gentlemen:
Enclosed find my check for $2.00.  You'll pardon me for not signing it, but I want to remain anonymous.
A FRIEND

Col. Arther Mc.Dermott;
Selective Service
535 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York
After four months of Army life and much sober reflection I have decided that I cannot support my wife the manner to which she has become accustomed on my army pay of $50 amonth.  Please consider this my resignation from the armed services.
Private Leonard K----------

OPA*
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Gentlemen,
Please tell me if I must give my right aeon my application for a food ration book.  I am really 43, but my husband things I'm 36.If I tell him the truth he will probably divorce me.  Please answer my question by writing me by writing to the newspaper in the personal column addressed to "Belle of the South", and please say it is ok to falsify your age.Thank you very much.  I hope you will be able to keep me from getting a divorce and still keep me eating.
Worriedly yours,
Mrs. ....

You get the idea.

They predicted heavy rains to start last night - periods with .5 inches per hour.  The ground was wet when we woke up this morning, but the rain was barely a mist.  I was able to keep cleaning up, throwing out trash, etc.

But it just started raining heavily.  Time to abandon our usual bus ride to the airport in favor of calling a Lyft.  You can't really see the rain coming down, but we'd be pretty wet before we got to the bus stop, let alone waited for the bus.  It had snowed and the temps were in the 30s when we left Seattle last week, so I left my raincoat for my warmer coat.  San Francisco is supposed to be rainy too, but there are two grandkids there to warm us up.

*OPA was the Office of Price Administration