March 2020 - Screw Covid

We had never experienced a Lockdown in our life. I guess we'd experienced a pandemic during Woodstock, but no one had Facebook or the internet so not as many people knew. Don't leave if you don't think it's true but USA Today did a fact check and rated it true right here. Roger and I both had our dads die the same year (before we knew each other) and we have always felt like we were living on borrowed time. It's weird when you pass the age your parent died even if he (mine) died as a result of an accident (lost on a snowmobile in Island Park, Idaho). So, we continued to go about our business even though some businesses didn't get to stay open.

At the beginning of the 2020 Lockdown, people started hoarding toilet paper, disinfectants, bleach, and hamburger! We invited our longtime friends over for dinner and they brought a hostess gift (she happened to be working at a grocery store). It did come in handy, eventually. I gave away some toilet paper to my pastor and eventually ran out of my usual warehouse quantity but finally found some at Target. Still, it was definitely the most funny hostess gift I'd ever received.

Again, we weren't particularly scared, not because we didn't believe it was deadly, but just getting in the car every day in Las Vegas is deadly but we chance it anyway because we want to live until we die. So, just before the restaurants closed down we went to a few of our favorites. They seemed very happy to see us. The picture below left is one of my favorite appetizers (you don't need to order dinner) ~ Mini Osso Bucco from Casa di Amore. The one on the right is the best and only Avocado Toast I've ever tried ~ from Zenaida's. Both are excellent! I don't normally eat much of the risotto surrounding the Osso Bucco, but it's all good!

Our city runs on tourism and the mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman was fighting for us to stay open after the initial Lockdown continued but our Governor said, "no." Roger and I took a drive down the strip so these aren't the best photos, but it was eerie seeing many of the hotel room lights out and no tourists walking around the Strip.

No lights on in the hotel rooms and no fountain at the Bellagio.

Nearly every hotel casino had a sign - it's a year later and some still haven't re-opened.

10 p.m. and just a few cars on the Las Vegas Boulevard.

Again, it's almost a year later since we shut down and today my nephew is coming to town. I'd normally invite all of my family to see him but we are limited to six people at a table. At least it's better than January and early February when only four were allowed at a table.