Setting Off Into the Unknown – Obligation

Posted bykagould17Posted inFamily, Photography, TravelTags:, ,

All photos taken on July 19, 2021.

Like many of you, we have been keeping pretty close to home during the pandemic. Getting back to normal has proven to be a challenge, as we really do not believe this thing is over yet. To date, our travels have been very short and controlled and we are certainly not about to board an airplane or bus, anytime soon.

But, with most Covid restrictions lifted in Alberta and BC, we knew it was finally time to travel by car to see family in B.C. Our goal was to go to Victoria and back in a week, visiting and helping an ailing parent, seeing our niece and grand-nephew on the Island and hugging our son and his wife in Vancouver. We were taking sister M along with us on this 2,900 km (1,802 mile) journey and we all wondered what trials and tribulations we would face along the way. We had a pretty high number of goals to achieve and our time would be at a premium. This was not going to be a vacation. It was, in fact, an obligation.

What is your comfort level for travel and dining out these days?

These next few posts (Mondays to Thursdays) will detail what we found along our route. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

House secured and yardwork complete
All packed up and ready to roll
A smoky morning and after our first “non bubble” hugs, we are off……..

Published by kagould17

Not much to tell. After working for 3 companies over 43+ years (38 years 7 months with my last company), I finally got that promotion I had waited my entire career for……retirement. I have been exploring this new career for the past 7+ years and while it is not always exciting, the chance to do what I want for myself and my family instead of what my company wants has been very fulfilling. Early on, there was a long list of projects in my “to-do” hopper and I attacked these projects with a vengeance for the first 9 months of retirement. Eventually, my brain told me that this was not what retirement was about, so it took me another 5 months before my industriousness again took over and I attacked another line of projects, this time somewhat shorter and less complicated, as well as many new projects related to the family weddings in 2016. After going hard for 6 weeks and 3 weddings, my body was telling me to relax, then the flu bug hit and as soon as that was done with me, my sciatic acted up. No rest for the wicked. In 2020 and 2021, the Covid 19 pandemic changed the whole retirement gig. I was lucky to not be still working, for sure. I enjoy photography, gardening, working with my hands, walking, cycling, skiing, travelling, reading and creating special photo and video productions obtained in my first pastime. I may never become wealthy in any of these pursuits, but I already feel I am rich in life experiences far beyond any expectation.

29 thoughts on “Setting Off Into the Unknown – Obligation”

    1. While it was exasperating and exhausting at times, we did manage to make some progress. Being out and about after the restrictions were lifted felt a bit surreal, but it was nice to see new territory and revisit some favourite spots. Thanks for reading. Allan

      Like

      Reply

    1. We still only do takeout here, but when we got to our destination on this trip where cases were low and variants lower, we did dine in twice. Still not a fan of self serve or buffet yet, though. Thanks for reading Lyssy. Allan

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Hope it’s all going well Allan! Looking forward to reading about your adventure. We are shaping up for our first international trip in 10 months and are pretty relaxed about it COVID wise. Mainly we just worry about border control issues and there being “a problem” with our paperwork. When it comes to dining we nearly always eat outside, though yesterday we ate indoors for the first time in… oh I don’t know how long.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. We still do take away when possible, but did dine in twice in B.C. It was a good time, when cases were low. Now we are home, it is still take out. Thanks for reading John. Allan

      Like

      Reply

  9. If I were able to travel, I would love to do a road trip while taking precautions. I went to lunch at a sushi restaurant a couple weeks ago and at first I wasn’t sure about sitting inside, but then I noticed the servers are very careful. I didn’t get sick, so there you go. It’s about assessing each place for how careful they are and making a judgement call based on that. Also, I have noticed Asian run business are a lot more careful than normal. I know my Mum and I flew to Canada when we moved last October, but we wouldn’t have done it if we weren’t desperate to leave the US. We do believe there was a certain element of luck to not getting sick from it!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Taking precautions is the best idea. Cases are on the upswing everywhere right now and the evidence shows it is not IF we will catch Covid, it is WHEN. Being fully Vaccinated will lessen the effects, but we will still need to be cautious when we travel or go out and about. I hope the rate of vaccination will increase, but doubt it will until people realize it is the unvaccinated that are getting sick now. I think it will be a long time before we get on public transportation. Stay well and hope you get your road trip. Allan

      Like

      Reply

      1. Yeah, it’s discouraging. I have no choice but to take public transport but there is a way to be smart about it. In terms of the unvaccinated, I learned this term in California, SOL: S**t Outta Luck. Someday those people will be SOL!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Glad you are being careful. As to get vaccine or not get vaccine, I am all for the right to choose, but as I taught my kids, choices come with consequences. Cheers. Allan

        Like

Leave a reply to Offshorewriter Cancel reply

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started