Coronavirus and The Tourist Town

[bae]

I watched the Roosevelt special on PBS and was struck at how different citizen response is now compared to back then.

I'm not sure that we have that many people anymore who are "citizens" in the classic sense.

https://dogood.umd.edu/sites/default...Nov%202018.pdf

[Yppej]

I'm not sure that we have that many people anymore who are "citizens" in the classic sense.

https://dogood.umd.edu/sites/default...Nov%202018.pdf

In terms of volunteering, the topic of this article, people are volunteering to go to the store for at risk individuals and in many cases no one is taking them up on it.

[bae]

In terms of volunteering, the topic of this article, people are volunteering to go to the store for at risk individuals and in many cases no one is taking them up on it.

I'm speaking to the general case.

[iris lilies]

In terms of volunteering, the topic of this article, people are volunteering to go to the store for at risk individuals and in many cases no one is taking them up on it.

our neighborhood report last week was 14 people signed up to run errands, still no takers after 5-6 weeks.

[SiouzQ.]

I am going to open the gallery on Friday, June 5th. From the looks of it, it is still very slow during the weekdays but the weekends have brought people up. The restaurants are able to do outside dining (with the proper social distancing of course). The weird thing is now I kind of resent all the noise the motorcycle people from Albuquerque are bringing up here; it is disturbing the lovely peace that I've enjoyed all these weeks! And though it is required by state law to wear a mask when outside in public places, I am seeing a lot of people walking around without them. People's guards are being let down (plus, it is getting HOT here).

For people to enter the gallery, they must wear a mask and I am going to limit it to 4 people at a time. I have spent the last few days doing a very deep cleaning (washing the walls and windows after a terrible moth infestation the past few weeks). I still have about two more days of intensive cleaning. I'm sure it hasn't been done this thoroughly for at least a decade!

[Gardnr]

Our mountain cabin is in a tourist town. It was overrun with visitors this weekend. We took off for an offgrid backcountry drive yesterday and we couldn't believe how many people were swarming the streets and the lake beaches as well as lots of watercraft on the lake. This county had only 2 cases of COVID and that was back in early April.

Employees here are wearing masks as a rule by the Medical Director at the local Critical Access Hospital. Visitors? Not so much. I pray that this town was not infected this weekend. We will know in 14 days what the outcome will be.

[pinkytoe]

disturbing the lovely peace that I've enjoyed all these weeks!

Yep, I get that. We have a lovely neighborhood park down the street, heretofore unknown to most except the hood. It is now swarmed with people from who knows where. Cars, radios blaring, loose dogs. Gazebos and playgrounds were cordoned off yet people tear off the tape, disregard the signs and use them anyway. Trash is overflowing. I want my park back

[Teacher Terry]

The casinos are reopening Thursday and I wonder if California people will come and what will happen.

[SiouzQ.]

I had search way back for this thread I started back last June!

What a month we've had (said with a bit of trepidation)! I closed the gallery for six weeks after Xmas because it just didn't seem worth the risk of getting exposed; SO many people were traveling then and visiting family in the area when they weren't supposed to. So in the meantime the interior of the gallery got repainted and I did a big deep clean in order to get ready for the spring break rush in March.

I have had a busier March than some of the traditionally busy Octobers we used to have due to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. It's great to see people out and about but what I am noticing is people letting their guard down, not wearing their masks properly, or completely forgetting to put them on when entering the gallery (masks are still mandatory in New Mexico). K is completely vaccinated but I am not. I am just under 60, which is the current cutoff point for getting a vaccine in NM right now. I have tried all sorts of things like signing up to get one if they have extras at the Santa Domingo Pueblo, I've called all the pharmacies in Santa Fe, our local clinic, and this morning I signed up for a slot in El Paso if one opens up somehow. Otherwise, I just have to be patient.

Traditionally it slows down a little bit in April and May. I am getting a bit worried about a fourth wave; with so many people are traveling for spring break it seems inevitable. But it is nice that the gallery made some money this month, and I sold a lot of my jewelry (March is my annual sale for my older work that needs a home). Memorial Day weekend kicks off the summer tourist season. I sure hope I am vaccinated by then.

[bae]

My village/community is booming now, it seems the tourist season is starting a couple of months early. Ferries packed, housing unavailable for summer workforce, summer workforce too small for demand, you have to look both ways before crossing the streets, and remember to make reservations if you want to try one of the just-reopened restaurants.

Yowza.

I've been trying all week to score a ferry reservation to get off to the mainland next week for a medical appointment, and that's just not going to happen it seems. The spring breakers have descended here in previously-unseen numbers. I'll end up taking my own boat, or walking onto the ferry, then bicycling to a car rental place or finding an Uber.