COVID-19 #1 Travel

 One week after I posted my "End of Winter" post the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic (March 11, 2020).  I'd been following the progression of this coronavirus since it was first discovered in Wuhan, China in January.  I noted when travel was restricted to/from China and when key U.S. international airports began screening those coming in from overseas.  By the end of February and the beginning of March, the first deaths from COVID-19 occurred in Seattle, WA.

The sequence of events the next two weeks occur so quickly it is hard to keep up.  Nationally, big events/concerts/festivals begin canceling to prevent the spread of the virus, including the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament.  The stock market plummets in anticipation of this pandemic. Closer to home, the girls' school begins training teachers and students on a video platform.  Greg calls to tell me his meeting in Boise is canceled so he won't be seeing us at the end of March.  People are crowding into Costco and Walmart to buy toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and bottled water. Soon the toilet paper shelves are empty at every store in the city.

Seven days before the Ligonier conference was to begin and five days before Seth and I were to leave for the conference, they announce that they are canceling it based on new orders to limit meeting sizes (less than 100, then 50, then 10, now 5).

Our church still hosts the Pacific NW Classis meeting on March 10 and 11, but if it had been scheduled even a week later it would have been canceled.  Not only was it bringing in people from all over the Northwest, but it was also a meeting of more than 50 people.

Our older boys were on spring break from Dordt from March 6-16.  Caleb stuck around a few days to help coach at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships (March 5-7) and then traveled to Florida with friends for the rest of the week.  Nicolas drove with friends to South Padre Island, TX and was back in Sioux Center early on March 15th.  As things crazily unfold with COVID-19, Dordt decides to extend spring break a week and then resume with online classes.  Caleb decides to stay in Florida and meet us at our house in Orlando and buys an inexpensive return ticket instead of driving back with friends.  Since Nicolas now has an extra spring break week, he decides to join us in Florida as well.  In the meantime (and we are talking days here) the governor of Idaho meets with educators on Sunday the 15th of March and decides to keep schools in session at least through the 18th.  But the next morning (Monday) several Boise schools decide to begin spring break a week early, and the girls' school follows suit.  I had left the house super early that morning to get groceries at Winco while the girls were getting ready for school.  I get the text at 7:30 while in the check out line and quickly call the girls not to go to school--spring break starts a week early!  After many phone calls and much angst, Seth and I decided to still go to Florida.  We change our tickets to make the flight more direct, and stock up on hand sanitizer and Chlorox wipes for the flight.

The flight to Orlando is surreal.  The planes are nearly empty, as are the airport terminals.  No one looks strangely at the person wiping down their seatbelt, armrests, tray table, etc.  Many people are wearing masks.  We meet up with Michael and Nicolas at the Minneapolis airport and are on the same flight to Orlando.  Grandpa and Brooke pick us up and we drive straight to our rental house.  The following day we eat out for breakfast and do some serious grocery shopping for our week.  We not only enjoy our house pool, but also the pool in the resort/housing development.  

Sandhill cranes right outside our house--the babies were so cute!

Many books were read by this pool this week.

A few days in, we realized our pool was actually heated (we didn't pay for it) and we enjoyed our hot tub.

Since all theme parks had just closed in Orlando the Friday before, quite a few families were choosing to hang out at the pool instead (most did a good job of social distancing). On Thursday after we watch some of the live-streamed Ligonier Conference (Made in God's Image) we drive to Cocoa Beach (maintaining social distancing). 

Twining!

One of these brothers did not have the week headstart on beach tanning.

Just a picture to prove we practiced "social distancing" on the beach.  Not from each other, obviously.

On Friday Caleb, Nicolas, Seth, and Greg's girls drive to Venice Beach on the Gulf Coast while the rest of us enjoy a boat tour in Winter Haven, FL.  

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We drove through several of the lakes that form a chain, linked by these canals.

Where Cyprus Gardens had their ski shows

Largest houses on the lakes

We ended our boat cruise with a yummy meal at a seafood restaurant on the lake.

Saturday we hike at Circle B Bar Reserve and see awesome wildlife.  

By Sunday, most churches in the nation have gone to live-streamed or taped services.  We tune in to Dr. Burk Parsons at St. Andrews Chapel in Sanford, FL.  I also catch Russ' taped teaching lessons later in the day.  We all fly (or drive) home on Tuesday and quarantine ourselves for at least two weeks.  In fact, a day or two after we return home the Idaho governor issues a stay at home order.  

The question kind of hangs out there--should we have gone, or should we have stayed home?  Hard to say. I do know, however, that the time spent with my parents, my little brother, my older nieces, and my big boys was pretty sweet.