Nimes, France: October 2nd to December 22nd 2019

We made the 5 hour trek from Split to Zagreb on Flixbus. Only a few people on the bus so social distancing was actually possible!

Our only port in the storm as Zagreb shut down was the Westin. No idea where we would have spent the night otherwise.

Only 2 flights to London at the Zagrab airport. We got one of them. There were only 30 people on the flight, which suited us just fine.

Our good fortune, but very bad luck for the Croatians. The day after we left this is what Zagreb looked like after an earthquake DURING a Pandemic.

We spent about 20 hours in London's Heathrow Airport at the Crown Plaza in terminal 4. Headed to terminal 5 the next day to fly out on one of the last three British Airways flights to the U.S.. Had plenty of breathing room again on another partially empty flight on this huge Airbus 380a.

Our luck held at the medical screening for all arrivals at Dulles. Unlike the shit-show that occurred in the first days of screening, we moved through in under half an hour. Thanks to the brave health care workers who were there to help us!

Our good friends Alex and Lin Chi have provided us a safe place to stay in their downstairs apartment until we can figure out what comes next. Thanks to both of them  for their generosity.  And thank you to all our good friends who have been supporting us as we tried to get home. Your calls, texts, skypes and emails helped keep up our spirits as we struggled to adapt to constantly shifting

circumstances. And now that we are home, it seems that

we are still obliged to keep you all at a distance for a little bit longer...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWwOEie7Eh0g

On reflection we have been very lucky. We had 6 great months in France and Croatia to explore, eat great food, meet wonderful people and appreciate their cultures.  And though Covid 19 interfered with our plans to move on to Lucca, our inconvenience pales in comparison to the plight of the Italians who are now suffering so much. We are grateful to have friends upon whom we can rely, and we wish the same for all of you.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWC_Y 

It is hard to believe it has been 9 weeks since we were forced to abandon our trip and leave Split, Croatia.  We remain hunkered down with our hosts Alex and Lin Chi, hidden away from the dangerous droplets of Covid 19. We spend about 22 or 23 hours a day in our bunker, but we try to get out for a walk every day. (In addition to the occasional stress inducing trip to the grocery store.)  All four of us wandered over to the White House the other day, fully masked and scrupulously avoiding the half  dozen folks we encountered en route. Thanks to Lin Chi's mom for sending the masks all the way from Taiwan.

Just around the corner from our place in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of D.C.

Trump may not be man enough to wear a mask but General McClellan is! Sign in the window of local restaurant McClellan's Retreat near Dupont Circle.

The last stage of our (not so) strategic retreat from Europe meant getting on a plane again. But flying back to Seattle was less stressful than we expected. Dulles was virtually empty, and we got through security in less than 5 minutes!

Pandemic flying was fairly relaxing.  There were maybe 40 people on the flight and we had no one sitting near us. Everyone wore masks, including the crew. With Hepa filters allegedly working away, we wiped down everything in sight before settling in for our 5 hour flight. No hot meal, as the only food they could safely serve was a box of pre-packaged snacks. Eating with a mask on proved to be a bit of a challenge. Who knew that nourishment could be ingested through the ears?! All things considered, kudos to Alaska.

Mount Rainier rising majestically above the clouds as we descend into Seattle. Based on our track record this year, we confidently predict a major volcanic eruption in the near future.

But even a cataclysmic natural disaster would pale in comparison to the man-made hellscape that greeted us on our return to the U.S.A., where The Master of Destruction continues to find fiendishly ingenious new ways to unravel the fabric of American society.

We have landed once again in Ballard, where everything looks familiar, but slightly askew. Empty streets and burned out buildings - it's as if our old haunts are indeed haunted. Is that favorite restaurant out of business, or merely boarded up until the great reawakening arrives? Tents have sprouted from the sidewalks, and the unsheltered homeless lay curled in their blankets like colorful cocoons. More fortunate, we occupy our own cocoon in a nice apartment complex. The question is, will any of us emerge transformed when the plague ends? Or will the lessons we think we've learned soon give way to business as usual?

We are all soldiers in the war against Covid 19, at least insofar as we adhere to Napoleon's famous maxim. The importance of food and nourishment, and the necessity of keeping the supply lines open, has never seemed more apparent. Restaurants were the first casualties of this pandemic. Thus the necessity of securing provisions and preparing our own meals has taken on a heightened significance.  A simple trip to the store has become a skirmish, the aisles become trenches. But we battle on, and when combat fatigue overtakes us we retreat behind the lines and order take-out.