It has been a strange summer. Hell, since the declaration of a worldwide pandemic in early March, it's been a strange year! Yeah, I know, I have a tremendous grasp of the obvious.
I had dinner in a restaurant last night. It was the first time that I had done that in months. (With the exception of a patio lunch a week or two ago on a day trip with my son.) Of course a mask and hand sanitizing was required to enter the establishment. But once seated, with proper regard to social distancing we enjoyed a very good meal. A large beef stir fry served on bed of rice. My friend is looking for a new home and I accompanied her on a short tour of the countryside near Lake Erie in an effort to find a few addresses. We ended up in Port Burwell where I managed to capture a decent shot of the pier jutting out into Lake Erie between bouts of passing rain showers.
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I have to admit that I have been in a bit of a funk lately. The pandemic has kept me close to home. I don't own a vehicle so the simple act of just getting out of town for awhile was a hassle. Earlier in the season, when the country was just coming out of the shutdown, I wasn't sure if I could even rent a car much less find restaurants or accommodations for a road trip. It kind of put a damper on the traditional road trip my son and I take every summer. We usually just rent a car with only a vague idea of a destination or activities. There have been times when we've found ourselves at the crossroads of a secondary highway and simply looked to see which way was more interesting. "Left or right?"
I compromised a couple of weeks ago by renting a car for a few days and doing a few day trips. It was nice to get out of town but it lacked the sense of freedom that comes with spending several days on the road and not motoring back to home base each night. For the most part, I didn't take many pictures. I think that I was trying too hard to find the spirit of summer in the brief time I allowed myself. As usual, the Labour Day weekend brings with it the slightly melancholy feeling that I missed out on a lot of what the warm weather and long days had to offer.
But Autumn is coming. It's my favourite time of the year. I love the cooler days and the beauty of the colours. I know that I still have a lot of holiday time to use up. I think a fall colour tour could be (and should be) arranged. Despite the requirements of face masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing, things are starting to open up. The efforts of a population trying to tame a contagious virus should not go unrewarded. The countryside and lakes and rivers are still beautiful. Better days ahead.
Last night I had dinner in a restaurant with a good friend.
...more later
