I had planned a birthday beach getaway for Kathy's 70th birthday party way back in February. Now, after the pandemic and the fire, we debated whether to cancel, but a no refund on the beach rental ultimately tipped our decision in the direction of California.
Our First Pandemic Road Trip
We left at five in the morning and easily cruised through West Phoenix on the 303. I have not seen these levels of low traffic in perhaps twenty years. It was both a relief and a reminder of just how crowded the Valley has become. When we hooked up on the I-10 there was much more traffic but even there not as bad as pre-Covid-19. When we got into California we encountered a problem I never dreamed I would live to see.
Anti-Urination Nation
We got gas in El Centro at a Standard Station ($3.50 for regular unleaded!) and when I went into the office to use the restroom, I was told that their bathroom was closed to customers. Kathy went next door for breakfast burritos and when she returned she told me their restrooms were closed as well. What the hell are we supposed to do? I suddenly felt like a homeless person.
California Anti Urination Measures Are Widespread
When we asked the masked clerk where there was a bathroom we could use, he told us, "Maybe Home Depot." So we drove five blocks and found the Home Depot and ran into this.
A haystack fire behind the El Centro Home Depot and a Zonie Urinator in the front.
Business Is Bad
With stops in Yuma, El Centro, El Cajon, La Mesa and finally, our destination in Mission Beach, it was really painful to see first hand just how bad all the business areas are suffering. Not a total surprise given all the bad news, but it's still shocking to see all the plywood.
Plywood Galore in Mission Beach
Eatery Gobbled Up By Pandemic
Still, given California's rabid mask fever, social distancing and anti-urination measures, it is a little shocking to walk by a party on Mission Beach and see this.
No masks, no social distancing, but
thank God no one is urinating! Or, maybe they're all urinating and that's why they're behind the wall.
One upside, at least for us, is the beach is pretty much deserted.
Sunset on Mission Beach on Saturday night.
—The most misunderstood lyric in the history of Rock: Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising"
Funny I didn't see the L.A. City Health Director yelling and screaming at the protestors and rioters for not using social distancing or using improper masks. No arrests were made for not staying in their homes. Who are these thugs going to blame if the come down with the so called deadly virus in a week or two. Well they'll at least have a new big screen to watch as they expire.
ReplyDeleteAt least it's not just me
ReplyDeleteYou make me smile! Love you brother!!!
ReplyDeleteUrinetown (the play) come to life!
ReplyDeleteVery sad what my old state has become, but I must admit to laughing out laughing over the urination visit in the parking lot of that Home Depot.
ReplyDeleteReminds me a bit of the story when Humble Pie was doing the "Rocking the Fillmore" album. They were put up in a run down hotel in the Bowery. Steve Marriott was so pissed off that he urinated in the clothes closet, calling it a "Khazi" (British Army latrine). Peter Frampton was not amused.