Our Zen is on Hold

I had really been looking forward to getting back to our camp on the shores of Lake Ontario.  We had just paid off the lease for this year, then a week later the pandemic hit.

Not being sure if a campground is considered "essential," I checked in with friends who will be working there.  They will open on April 15th.  The bath house (where we shower and often use the other facilities) will open on May 1st.  Enough contract workers that are needed for the local power plant will begin cycling through the area and need to stay there.  They also expect travelers will come through once they are allowed to return to wherever they originally came from.

As much as I love the place, and even though it is paid in full, I am thinking it is not wise to go back until June.  Once we do go back (if we can at that point), we are going to have to take extra precautions to make sure we sanitize after using the bath house.  I would probably not be as social with transient guests, not knowing where they came from and what they might be bringing with them (from a viral standpoint).

Missing the summer will hurt local businesses that have already taken a hit in 2019 and 2017.  Those were flood years and an economic disaster for many seasonal residents and businesses.

We have good friends who spend their summers in Florida and we are hoping they continue to isolate and stay safe.  I think their Governor is an idiot for not mandating it.  Many retirees urge us to leave NY State when we retire but I can't see doing that.  Our taxes are high, but we get services that aren't as robust elsewhere.  Case in point, we have a Governor who is helping us through this pandemic.  I try to see his daily press conferences.  The President, not so much.  Then there is the weather that people think is so awful here.  The snow is blown out of proportion and we've had very mild winters in the past few years.  What we don't get, are tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, mud slides, and wild fires.

The news coming out of NY City is horrendous.  I grew up in a suburb of NYC and moved away during college.  Some people love the fast pace and the crowds. Me, not so much.  Our county is  being hit with the pandemic too, but not on nearly the same scale.  Our County Executive and Department of Health took early action.  While many  here have lost their jobs or will be furloughed, I am optimistic that TBG will not be one of them.  We will have a lower income as a result of all this, but we also live in a community that cares about everyone.  I think lots of people are finding out now how much they can rely on their local leaders.  I am not religious, but I worry about those in towns, counties and states where leaders are not taking action.  Praying (to the benevolent creator, regardless of religion) is not out of the question at this point!

We have a lot to be thankful for, even if we might not have the opportunity to take advantage of it over the months to come.  The challenge will be to find an alternative "happy place."  Luckily for us, there really is no place like home!