Quarantine Vibes
We’re stuck, but we’re stuck in a cool place. Tiff and I will count ourselves lucky in that respect. We’re here in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, just a stone’s throw away from northern Georgia. The cabin we’re currently staying in (going on 3 weeks now) has been pure pleasure. It’s an Air BnB inside of a gated community, though neighbors are few and far between, and the nearest ones clearly haven’t been home for some time. Since we’ve been here we’ve seen more deer and wild turkey than people.
We’re nestled in the woods waiting out the virus… That sentence was strange to write. Up to now it has felt like a somewhat temporary thing, isolation. Now, though, as we’re solidly into April with the Pandemic reaching the states in February and taking solid hold throughout March, it is certainly real. I went out to get some beer an hour or so ago from a nearby corner store (the nearest place around to get “food”, its very rural here) and wore a shemagh over my nose and mouth, as if it would do something. Each new day underlines the fact the nation is going through something truly significant. It’s sort of like we’re in a movie, but not quite as drastic.
As I write this, I sit in the cabin’s sunroom, framed in pine and large windows, watching birds visit the feeders again and again as the sun begins to set. Originally we were only going to stay here a week and then move back in with my parents as we waited for our van to be delivered, but once we arrived at the cabin things took a turn and we were able to work out a deal with the owners to stay through the end of June for a more than reasonable price. Reservations were being cancelled and we were paying customers, so win/win. We have power, water, washer, dryer, dishwasher, full kitchen, a ping pong table (current’y I’m in the lead 20 games to Tiff’s 17), and slow though it is, we have wifi.
Many people are having a truly difficult time, and my heart goes out to them. I feel guilt enjoying our time here when so many are suffering. We are told to stay home, and we are, save for groceries, going on walks, and today’s short beer run. Aside from continuing to stay home (and subsequently enjoy ourselves), I’m not sure how else to help. We’ve given money to charities dedicated to fighting the virus, and will likely give more as the months go on. What can we do that would truly make a difference aside from live our lives like we (mostly) normally would? It’s hard to say.
We’re also fortunate in that we’re still able to work, though this may change in the next few months as the lockdown and economy continues to wrestle with whatever this new normal is. I have had one project cancelled and another client push pause for the time being. Tiffany continues to get work from her clients and is receiving pet portrait orders, while I have been sent an XT body and am creating content/writing a review. These are pleasant distractions, though again, looking to my left out into the woods and across a few blue ridges, the virus has had no palpable impact here. It is quiet aside from the birds chirping and the tree frogs croaking.
Our van is here now, though we haven’t yet begun the build due to the fact that I only have the XT for a brief period of time and need to work with it as much as possible before sending it back. When we first saw it the van felt huge from the outside, but every time I look at it the van gets smaller. Not in a “crap we’re going to live in that?” way, but in a “that’s totally manageable, I can’t wait to take this everywhere the bus couldn’t go” way. While I am eager to begin, and complete, the build so we can be on our way, I can’t help but pause and revel in our (forced) current situation. If we were to choose anywhere to be locked up for months on end, it would be in a cabin in the woods.
