04/22 & 4/23/2020

It’s 5:30 pm, our normal time to adjourn to the patio with a beverage and enjoy the evening. Today it is 100 degrees outside at 5:30 and even with the mister and patio umbrellas it’s just not that enjoyable to be outside – go figure.

The weather forecast is describing a hotter than normal summer in the Coachella Valley and this early warning is our cue to hit the road. We were hoping that the temperatures would remain tolerable and maybe the SIP orders would be lifted before we started the northern migration but alas that doesn’t seem to be the case, so we just drew a line in the sand for a May 1 departure. Excessive heat warning – No Shit!!!

So here is how day Thirty Four and Thirty Five of our sheltering in place went:

• To beat the heat, I have to get up way earlier than I normally do to get a walk in. Wally and I walked about 3 miles this morning at 7:30 and by the time we were done it was already 84 degrees, which BTW was the temp at 10 o’clock pm last night – eewwww.

• A couple of days ago I adopted two new geranium pots. Not sure why as its not like they are my favorite flower but it makes me sad when they get kicked to the curb for garbage pickup. These two needed some TLC so I brought them to the King Geranium Sanctuary where they will be rehabbed and safe from the inhuman act of being unkindly disposed of.

• The patio has some new additions – a mister and a new rug. I was on the fence about the pattern of the rug but once we got it in place I promptly order another one for the dining area. With the temperatures being so high, we are sitting out after the sun starts to set.

• I spent some time on the computer working on a northern migration travel plan.

• We had a Tony’s take out dinner with our SIP friends Kristen and John yesterday. The main topic of discussion was getting outta of this heat. They are full timers as well so our plan is to get all of our outdoor stuff and golf carts stored in their airplane hangar and skedaddle.

As travelers, we are used to making plans, we often change our plans and then we sometimes change them again. 2020 is definition an exceptionally difficult time for us road warriors… it is one thing to change your plans based on a whim or the weather, we can deal with that. This unknown of the unknown is confusing and unsettling. That said, we remain optimistic and grateful that we have options and are healthy.