It’s Thursday. We had a great time down in Punta Gorda for the first couple weeks. We were enjoying all of our favorite restaurants, art festivals, shopping, and soaking up all the glorious sunshine. When cases of the coronavirus started showing up around us, we decided to stop going to restaurants. It wasn’t long after that when events started canceling, one by one, falling like dominoes. It was a weird feeling sitting out by the pool contemplating the possibility of packing up early and leaving for home. Do we stay and ride this out in a gorgeous rental house in southwest Florida or pack it up and head home to Chicago where it was currently snowing? Well, when Trump finally started to take notice and talk of travel bans started getting bounced around, we had no choice.

The drive home went very well. After several hours of traveling through northern Florida, I saw my first 2020 Corvette in the wild. It was a coupe in Sebring Orange and heading south. Not long after that I saw a car carrier fully stocked with 2020 Corvettes! It was a beautiful sight and a nice diversion from the ensuing pandemic. The rest of the drive was uneventful. 

Here in the Chicagoland suburbs it’s quiet. Just about everything is closed or limiting their hours. Restaurants are only allowed carry-out and no contact delivery service. And now Ford, General Motors, Fiat and Chrysler are shutting down factories. And every day brings more cases.

-keep

It’s Wednesday. I’m back home and it sucks. With all the crap going on we decided to head back early in case of any future travel restrictions. The rest of my family will be leaving Florida in the next few days.

It was a fairly easy drive with the usual amount of traffic. I’m pretty tired so I’ll write more tomorrow. For now just going to get some sleep.

It’s cold here, dammit.

-keep

It’s Monday. Things are changing… again. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced yesterday that all restaurants and bars will close for the remainder of March to limit the spread of COVID-19. Though it appears that restaurants will be allowed to offer drive-through and pickup services. So, no need to freak out just yet. You should still be able to get your McNuggets fix—at least for now anyway.

This comes as Illinois announced 29 new coronavirus cases, bringing Illinois’ total to 93. In addition to all the closures, all St. Patrick’s Day parades and even the iconic river dyeing have been postponed or more than likely cancelled.

Down here in Florida there are currently 136 cases. We stopped eating out at restaurants and since every event/gathering has been cancelled, we’ve been enjoying the warm days out in the pool. As long as it’s hot and sunny, I’m good.

-keep

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker urged the Trump administration to “get its s@#t together” late Saturday after travelers passing through Chicago’s O’Hare airport suffered massive overcrowding a day after the new European travel ban took effect. “President Donald J. Trump Vice President Mike Pence since this is the only communication medium you pay attention to – you need to do something NOW,” Pritzker wrote on Twitter, calling the overcrowding and reported hours-long wait times “unacceptable.” Photos purportedly taken inside the airport by a traveler showed lines so long they extended up over escalators, and people packed so tightly together that many questioned what effect this would have on the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. “This thought crossed my mind that him being in that crowd might increase the chance of contamination,” Elena Gabor, who said her son went through the airport, told WGN TV.