A church in Savannah

I've been thinking a lot about how our thoughts and minds shape our experience. 

Things that happen outside our control also shape our experiences, but the only thing we really have control over is how we think about things and react to them. 

COVID-19 is an outside experience that we have little control over. We can only control how we react to it.

Because the mainstream media has so little credibility anymore, and we have the internet, there's an overwhelming amount of information, but how much of it is reliable? It's hard to know.  

One thing's for sure, most of us don't have the luxury of hiding away forever. No one has ever shamed me for getting in my car and driving somewhere, yet 100 people per day die in car accidents in the U.S. every year. 

That being said, my cousin ran a bunch of numbers on her calculator and thought that going out of town for a couple of days would be fine, and just what I needed for my birthday weekend. 

I had spent all day Friday and most of the day Saturday painting the interior of my house - with my dad's help. I was definitely ready for a break.

So, out of town, we went. 

Savannah's only about a 3-1/2-hour drive from Atlanta. We drove down on Sunday morning, and it was a gorgeous drive. There was very little traffic. The sky was blue with big puffy clouds. 

This was the first weekend that hotels were open in Savannah, and they weren't at full capacity. They were definitely short-handed but everyone was so nice, and the prices are so low right now. 

We did take precautions I've never taken before, and I wonder if this will be the new normal - probably. 

We took a can of Lysol and sprayed everything down in our hotel room. We also had lots of wipes with us.

We wore masks on and off, depending on the situation and how close we were to others, which is what I've been doing here at home too.

We walked down to the riverfront a couple of times but then walked back in the other direction because there were too many people there, and most of them seemed oblivious to social distancing. Almost no one was wearing a mask. 

We did go out to one of the few open restaurants for my birthday, and it was so nice to get out. It was outside up on a rooftop, and the weather was perfect. I was impressed with the setup. 

The tables were about 8 feet from each other, and the wait staff all wore masks and gloves.

The food came in covered dishes.

I was mindful of how much I enjoyed the experience. It really was great to be out and have a glass of wine and enjoy a meal. Afterward, we walked back to the hotel, marveling at how much we enjoyed a simple meal out. 

We walked about 6 miles on Monday checking out the city.

It was hot but partly cloudy, so it was nice. Of course, I had my camera but since we were out midday, I wasn't thrilled with the photos. I just don't love shooting that time of day. It offers a challenge, though, and it felt so good to be wandering around with my camera. 

Savannah is a beautiful little town, and who can resist all that Spanish Moss hanging from the trees?

Just don't try to take any home - it's full of chiggers! Thankfully, I didn't have to learn that the hard way. I heard about it from a tour guide many years ago when I was in Savannah. 

Spanish Moss hanging from the trees

Flags out for Memorial Day

We stayed at the hotel Monday evening, sitting out on the covered patio near the pool. Some other patrons were out there too, and we ended up all pulling our chairs into a social-distance circle and spending the time talking about the pandemic and how everyone was dealing with it. 

It was almost midnight when we made our way back to the room. 

Tuesday morning dawned rainy and gray. We packed up our stuff and headed home. 

It turned out to be a wonderful birthday weekend!

I hope you had a good weekend too and are looking forward to something fun this weekend! I'll be doing more painting...

See you between the raindrops - of which there are plenty right now!

xoxo,
Susan 

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