Flight booked! May 19’s the day and I am so excited and relieved.
I didn’t realize how much this pandemic has been weighing on my mind. Of course, I’m not the only one. The damn thing has tweaked people’s minds, their well-being, relationships and has touched every part of our lives, around the world.
For me, just knowing I have a flight booked was like a giant weight had been lifted, and for the first time in I don’t-know-how-long, I woke up the following day, excited instead of feeling flat and uninspired about anything. It really had a profound effect on me and brought home to me how isolated and depressed I have been. Having something to look forward to, and especially as I will be seeing family and friends, made my whole life brighten! I feel energized and excited about life in general, something that hasn’t been my norm for several months.
It’s still a bit dicey with flights, and I really hope Lufthansa doesn’t cancel on me. The airline has only recently resumed flights to and out of South Africa and the majority of the other airlines have cut back or canceled the routes - so fingers crossed and holding thumbs.
Besides how excited I am about the trip, for the first time in the millions of miles I’ve flown, I’m going Business Class, the whole way! Thanks to the rewards we (Ryan and I) have earned on the business credit card! Lay flat bed, the whole nine yards! And with another first, I’ll be on the Upper Deck of the 747-8. Cushy!
Now comes the countdown; the trip planning, figuring out when and where I will be - and how long I will stay. Currently, I’m thinking about 3 months and a few thousand miles! I’m keeping my little place here as it’s not only very inexpensive, but also security for me to have somewhere to come back to, a base, something I really need for my peace of mind.
Despite the enormous problems here in South Africa (in addition to the lack of vaccines) there are still so many good things about the country and it ticks the boxes of most of what I need to live and survive. So I’m hoping that I can swing my 9 months here, 3 months there plan because I sure as hell can’t afford to live there!
The basic plan is: Ryan will pick me up in Los Angeles as he will be fully vaccinated by then and I will go to Betsy and Barry who will also be vaccinated. I’ll quarantine there for the 7 days with a COVID test on 3rd day. As soon as I get there, I will schedule an appointment for my vaccine shot for my release day. I still have my car there, so will be mobile.
Then I want to go to San Diego to Georgia, to Newport to see June, to Santa Barbara to see Jane and head up the coast to Washington, where I’ll perch for a while with Mardelle and Jim. Janet may be in Port Townsend or over in Lake Chelan, but either way we’ll meet up and I’m hoping we’ll have a North Beach Picnic Reunion! Then over to Montana to see Cody and family (Ryan will most likely join us) and back down to SoCal. So a few thousand miles.
Last weekend, Mick, Debbie and I went to lunch at a delightful place called Village in Howick. It was the continuation of my birthday saga that began in Mtunzini a few weeks ago. Other than that, life has been very quiet as I stayed away from crowded places over the Easter weekend, a good thing as I see our numbers went up! Stupid people doing stupid things.