A Pandemic Journey

…and our adventures continue.

So, Dad and I returned to the States on the first of February. The flight was uneventful…Dad loved sitting in Business Class. Great Food and all the alcohol he wanted…which really wasn’t much. He had 2 or 3 little bottles of Bourbon on the flight along with wine with dinner. I slept most of the way home…we were in a capsule of sorts. It was designed to lay back into a bed…but when dad moved the seat back, the bed would extend into my space on the floor. Ugh. Dad was fine with the seat the way it was…so I had plenty of room to sleep…unless I stretched out into the aisle. Dad would gently move me back into our space. All in all, I was comfortable had treats to eat and happy to be close to Dad. We both slept until the aircraft began its descent into Philadelphia. Dad packed up our things and we prepared to depart the plane. We exited into the airport and breezed through customs after Dad grabbed our bags from the carousel. We did have a brief stop at the Agricultural Counter. They checked my papers and we were clear through the terminal to meet our ride home.

It’s funny. Despite the winter season, the weather wasn’t bad and Annapolis looked pretty much the same as when we left. We said hello to Dan and Jamey and carried our luggage up to our room over the garage…well Dad carried the bags as I ran up and down the stairs. We are officially back.

So, what is next?

Dad is deep in thought. Clearly we are not moving immediately back to Europe. In candor, Dad went to Europe looking for possibilities…a place where we could put down roots for a time…maybe a year. Maybe longer. Dad loved Italy and saw potential in Florence or LaSpezia, the gateway to CinqueTerra. Both provide great access to trains. However, we really didn’t spend enough time in Florence to get a feeling for living there…and Dad would have preferred the countryside. LaSpezia is an Italian Naval Base. Very industrial. Despite the great words he heard from the locals, Dad just didn’t feel it. We also had an opportunity to move into the Provence Region…but Dad drove home from Seillans one night around 8PM. Not a light to be seen. Everything was closed…not even a gas station open. Very isolated. Very quiet. Too quiet. We also loved Bordeaux and looked into possible long term rentals. But, in the final analysis, like the architecture and the structures, everything in Europe is old…ancient. Including the people, the traditions and the culture. Dad also felt a language and religious barrier. He is uncomfortable with the Catholic Church which is predominate in Italy and Spain. France is actually a-religious. Certainly there is a strong Catholic presence…with many beautiful Cathedrals. However, the country has made a strong push away from traditional religions…really demonstrated during the Christmas Season…New Years Eve/New Years Day was a far bigger celebration than Christmas was. Christmas was quiet…family time. Most restaurants were actually closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day…or open for minimal hours. Anyway, Dad just didn’t find a place where he wanted to lay down roots. He figured this out early…and we really just became tourists. We were treated like tourists…which isn’t a bad thing. People were so kind. But, it would take years to really fit into the communities…the culture.

So, we are back in the states…waiting for the next door to open.

Before Dad went to Europe, he connected with an old friend who had a small company in the Medical/Dental services industry. Before we left, the friend asked Dad to take over his Dental Operations. Dad told him that we were going to Europe but he insisted so, Dad agreed and managed the business from afar. He used to laugh…his team wanted to have meetings at 7AM Eastern Time, which is 1PM in France. Lunchtime. So, Dad would sit and have lunch…always with wine…and send photos to the team. They were always seriously jealous. When Dad got back to Annapolis, he spent time with the team and realized that the Business Model just wasn’t working. Dad did his best to let people down gently and to talk to the Senior Facilities who needed services that he just couldn’t provide. Meanwhile, we were living in Annapolis in the little flat over Dan and Jamie’s garage…spending time with friends and, of course Ryane. Towards the end of March, Dad’s friend, the CEO of the company, asked if we could go to Scottsdale for a month to provide oversight to two Anti-Microbial Labs that the company had purchased. Annapolis was now in the middle of the Coronavirus Pandemic and Governor Hogan was shutting down the economy and sequestering the residents. Dad packed quickly…and we packed the BMW and left. We got as far as the Cumberland Gap when the engine started to have issues…turns out it was a problem in the Emission Control System…so back we came. Dad had been looking to buy a new (used) car but the process got expedited quickly. We ended up with a very deep blue Audi Q5…Dad really like the salesman and felt like he got the deal he wanted. So, we repacked and headed to Arizona. We didn’t sell the BMW…but left it for Ryane and Ian to drive when they need a second car…

Dad and I left Annapolis late on Saturday, 27 March and drove straight through to Phoenix. Dad was very concerned about the pandemic and the seriousness that the Midwest was taking the pending spread of the disease. Dad had masks, gloves and disinfectant in the car along with soap and water for washing his hands. I had plenty of room in the new car, despite having to wear my harness and seat belt…thanks to Paul. I think Paul would have had Dad’s head if anything had happened to me. We drove across Maryland and Pennsylvania. The traffic was consistent at night and Dad just drove, listening mostly to Podcasts and enjoying the steadiness of the road. He talked to friends back home as he drove until it got to be too late…so we just pushed on. We would stop for gas and Dad faithfully walked me so I could do my business. We pulled over at 2AM about 60 miles outside of Columbus, OH. Dad found a vacant parking lot and we shut down for the evening. The car was comfortable…Dad leaned his seat all the way back and we went to sleep, at least for a bit. At some point, a local police car drove by and shined a light inside the car…but he didn’t stop. Dad slept fitfully and woke up around 4AM…so we decided to drive on. Our route took us across Ohio and into Indiana. We did stop again just outside of Terre Haute Indiana and Dad was able to get some serious sleep…maybe 4 hours. We tried to stop for Starbucks in Terre Haute but the employees were not wearing gloves and Dad just didn’t want to risk taking the cup, so we ended up at a Dunkin Donuts for coffee. Outside of Terre Haute, Dad found an open roadside park so I had breakfast and walked for a few minutes before we drove on. Dad was rejuvenated by the drive…and we enjoyed watching the countryside change around us…rolling hills of Pennsylvania to the great rivers and cities of the Midwest. We drove through Indianapolis and St Louis before heading south into Oklahoma. We hit Oklahoma City in the late afternoon and Dad found a large Church of Christ Church with a huge park adjacent to it. I romped around the park and we took a long walk. Dad washed his hands from a hose at the church and we were off again as the sun began to set. We pushed hard across Oklahoma and into Texas. Dad found a roadside park in Texas, just past Amarillo where we got a little more sleep although he was very watchful of me because of snakes. Apparently he thinks I’m going to stick my nose under a rock or bush and get bit. No way. After a little sleep, Dad drove through the mountains bordering Texas and New Mexico and we pulled into Albuquerque very early in the morning. Dad found a Mall Parking lot and we both crashed…sleeping until almost 8 when the sun was up and daylight abounded. After coffee and a bite to eat in Albuquerque, we set out on our final push to Phoenix. It was an easy drive. We stopped for an hour in Flagstaff (Dad had Chick-Fil-A and I had my usual freeze dried Steve’s Raw Diet) and we drove the rest of the way to our VRBO in Chandler, AZ.

We had arranged to stay at the VRBO until the 23d of April. Dad just didn’t realize how much the long drive and minimal sleep had taken out of hike. He get going and, well…he gets going. Car unloaded? Check. Clothes hung and put in drawers? Check. House opened up? Check. Sliding glass doors open? I repeat, sliding glass doors open? Dad, what are you doing? Oh shit. Dad, in his attempt to open the screen doors had busted right through the child locks. Well, if anything…despite his actions, Dad is clearly not a child. What a he-man. OK…sliding glass doors open? Check. Pool cover off? Check. Don’t fall in the pool? Check. YaDa YaDa YaDa. And, Dad collapsed on the couch. Check. I am not sure this would be the time to remind him that I haven’t eaten. I think I’ll just let him rest for a little bit and get used to the new surroundings.

And the adventure continues into the desert…

As always, thanks for reading and keeping up. It’s good to see Dad writing again…I think he’s been in a funk over the last few weeks…it is a strange, at times wearisome journey we are on…and Dad is better when he can sit and put thoughts on paper…and its my job to just be here. And I’m pretty damn good at my job!

Maggie (and Doug)