The Final Episodes of a Most Bizarre Year. Hopefully.

The final episodes of this bizarre 2020 seem to be underway in the US. First, as anticipated, there is no clear winner of the presidential race, which took place on Tuesday. There is, however, plenty of speculation regarding voter fraud, voter suppression and election tampering. Sadly, a general assault on the integrity of this year's voting process, due to Covid-19 protocol initiatives, has left countless Americans discouraged and disgruntled. President Trump is incensed, Mr. Biden remains low-key and behind the scenes, social media ignites with conspiracy theories and rioters are ready to go with any sign of a tipping point -- either way.

It appears that the GOP kept their majority in the Senate and gained seven seats in the House. A record amount of votes were cast. It's anyone's guess how this will shake out, but the consensus is that the GOP had a strong showing across diverse demographics. The Democrats suffered material losses in key races. Oddly, we haven't heard much about the pandemic since the election. 

And finally, another storm is brewing and presenting a threat to SWFL. Category 4 Hurricane Eta is trying to regroup after plowing into Nicaragua earlier in the week. How much can we take?  

On the brighter side, it's a great time to escape in a book and stay away from the Internet and TV. I started reading "Desert Rescue" this week. It is a fictional story about Iraq and the chemical warfare program under Saddam Hussein. It was written by Bonnie Bozzo, a Marco Island resident.

Dodging Another Hurricane

 

Tuesday was a marathon day of driving. We really don’t like to push it generally, but we were on a mission to get far away from the wrath of Hurricane Sally. Sadly, she hit Gulf Shores AL Wednesday morning as a Cat 2 storm. We hunkered down in Gulf Shores during our evacuation from Irma in 2017. We had a blast in that area and pray the folks along the coast will rally soon.

After over nine hours in the van, we stumbled on Lake Claiborne State Park in LA. It was beautiful. The park had just recently opened after the Covid shutdown so there were plenty of campsites available. We settled into a lake front property and enjoyed the view after a long day on the road.

The Rainy Season in the Subtropics

Tropical Depression Sally formed outside of Marco Island and slowly moved through SWFL on Saturday and Sunday. We seized the opportunity to hit the road, confident in the Sprinter van, after nearly two weeks of emergency experimental repairs and reconfigurations to the solar energy components in Naples FL. It was a wet ride out of Collier County, with intermittent showers all the way up the peninsula.

 
One of the most notable moments of the ride was passing through Sylvester, GA. After a quick (wth?) Google search, we discovered that the 300 US flags decorating Highway 82 was a collective town effort to elevate the spirits of its citizens during the Covid pandemic. Shortly after that uplifting view, we arrived at the first camp of our September adventure. Chehaw Park & Zoo in Albany, Georgia. The $18 a night fee, for a reasonably well-maintained county park, was well worth the wooded parking spot. We opted out of showers though. Haha. We still have yet to stay in a paved parking lot off the highway, praise the Lord.

Tropical Depression Sally turned into Hurricane Sally and is expected to reach the Louisiana/Alabama coast Tuesday night. It’s been a busy Hurricane season, the likes of which has not been seen since five Atlantic cyclones in 1971 tied the 2020 season for activity. Global warming then and now, I guess. 

It's Still a Simple Life

Chris and Dracco with Nixon

July 4th beauty

Candy making at home

June finds us still immersed in a covid19 dictated kinda lifestyle. The virus seems to be the all encompassing excuse for general mediocrity in all things relating to business as usual. It's important to stick to a positive routine: exercise, diet, recreation and social distancing; otherwise one could easily go NUTS. Cooking, baking, biking, golf and pool time continue to dominate my agenda. With June being such an important family birthday and occasion month, I've taken to a powerful little app called Procreate to make some fun greeting card designs on the iPad.

Fun visit with Jill

We did have visitors to lift our spirits, too. Jill and Doug popped over to Marco in their new RV. Collier-Seminole State Park provided a close respite for their maiden voyage. It was great to hang out, golf and even go to a restaurant. Perhaps we'll see them in PEI someday soon.

Slowly, but surely, we are putting some dates on the distant calendar in hopes of resuming some normalcy soon.

Cool head Ally

 














And by the way, Black Lives Matter will continue to be a meaningless movement until we can have a truthful and meaningful discussion on race.

Creative Ventures Indoors

I remember too many frigid days growing up in Chicago winters. A good snowfall generated some outdoor play, but most of the time the cold, grey days were spent indoors. Summers in SWFL are the opposite. The days hinge on oppressive humidity, temps in the 90's and state of emergency downpours. It's best to stay indoors after 10am. 

That said, I'm loving my new iPad Pro with the Pencil and Procreate app; providing hours of creative amusement during these early summer days. Will's birthday gift is also coming in handy: a Sofia + Sam lap desk. The desk will be perfect for the camper, too! Here's my new logo I just sketched in Procreate: