Covid-19 Ruined my Vacation Plans this Year

Since Covid-19 Grounded me this Year; Alabama Beaches are a Great Place to Relax and Enjoy the Fresh Air!! 

2020 has been a memorable year so far... though it started well in January with things seemingly normal, it quickly went downhill from there. The trouble started from a far away land, China, and quickly moved around the world like wild fire! It is a virus, a bad one, a contagious and deadly one !!! The virus was given the name Covid-19, google it if you want more details!! Speculations are rampant as to its origin, lethality, symptoms, and health issues once infected.. Biotech and drug companies, large and small, are in a race to find a cure, a vaccine!! Billions of dollars are spent and the winner will get trillions back or so they say!! However, the damage from Covid-19 is far beyond the infection numbers and the number of dead!! What is not mentioned by our main news channels is the number of people suffering from other ailments such as depression, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other diseases that have been forgotten! I believe that once the dust settles, the numbers from these other ailments will overshadow those of Covid-19. The future will tell... 

The economic fallout from Covid-19 is still unfolding and the numbers will be staggering once everything is accounted for. The government has unleashed an unprecedented funding campaign for all sorts of programs starting with the Cares Act... Trillions of dollars are being spent and the printing goes on unabated ... how and who pays for all this is unclear... are we condemning our children and grand children to poverty in order to maintain our lavish lifestyle?? Again the future will surely tell... 

The highly manipulated Wall Street seems to indicate a quick rebound, a “V” shape rebound. If they are right, then all is well and everyone will get their jobs back and the roaring US economy will come back even stronger. But there is a flaw in this thinking when we know that restaurants are hurting, airlines are grounded, hotels are half empty and retailers are declaring bankruptcies in waves. Something is indeed wrong in all this ... who is right and who is wrong is not clear .. the future will tell.

As if Covid-19 was not enough to make our lives miserable, 2020 is an election year too!!! I hate election years with all the money spent on ads with big slogans and empty promises for a brighter future.. well, I just want 2020 to be over now or may be I should go into a cave and hide there for few months until all this misery is over  .. Neither is possible so I guess I just have to suffer through the next few months .... Covid-19 plus elections = torture!! 

Whatever happens, the world will never be the same again! Online is in, face to face is out!! Face masks may be here to stay and travel will be reduced to a trickle especially long distance flights.. I do not like this new world, I want my old world back! I want my travel blog to continue to grow with awesome adventures like the ones I already have on here... EBC, Patagonia to name a few!! There are more places around the world and in the US I planned to see... I will not abandon my plan, I will wait patiently for the resumption of long distance flights and I will fly again....

On the positive side of Covid-19, if there is any, I fixed my vision by having my cataract surgery on both eyes as soon as the elective surgeries were allowed! My glasses are gone now, thank god, and my eyes are  recovering. I also did a lot of walking and hiking since we closed down our campus in March. According to my Fitbit numbers I walked 530 miles, 1.2 millions steps and burned 300,000 calories between mid-March and end of June!! I also cooked and ate healthy foods.. but staying at home has its price too: over eating!! The battle of the bulge is raging and so far I am maintaining my weight steady! I consider that a victory!!! 

The message from all this is: “live your life today because tomorrow may never come” ! 

Giant moon over the beach 

Beach not as crowded 

Beautiful sunset with a glow of Saharan dust 

A double rainbow at the end of a major thunderstorm 

Indian creek has seen enough of me this summer 

Monte Sano trails have also seem more than enough of me