Month: July 2020

A Socially Distanced Summer at the Lake

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COVID-19 has changed summer. This was the first July 4th in twenty-two years that I did not play patriotic music with the Northwinds Concert Band. Over the years the band experienced oppressive heat, wind and drizzle, but the event was never cancelled and the band always played on.

With no concert to play my family of three retreated to the family lake house. We enjoyed all of our favorite summer activities but things were different. A majority of people at the lake are not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. As a result we don’t go shopping or out to eat, opting to cook all of our meals at home and using grocery pick up to shop.

Golf– The game of golf is already a socially distanced sport so you may be asking, “What could possibly be done to make the game safer?” When my husband and father in-law went golfing at the lake they reported that The Club at Porto Cima had some extra precautions in place to make sure all of their golfers were safe. Rakes by the sand traps had been taken away, foam was placed in every cup to elevate the ball so there was no need to touch the flag at each hole, water coolers (normally found throughout the course) had been taken away and golf carts were extensively wiped down after each use.

Swimming– We went swimming at the neighborhood pool in the woods. Choosing to swim late in the day proved to be a good decision as we always had the pool to ourselves! New social distancing signs had been added and someone came to clean the bathrooms while we were there (something we never saw in past summers). The pool at the yacht club was the opposite. It was crowded, there were no social distancing signs and the servers and bartenders were not wearing masks.

Boating– We enjoyed several boat rides and were easily able to social distance at the Lake of the Ozarks with 54,000 acres of lake and 1,150 miles of shoreline. Over the years we have become friends with the owner of Bikini Pier, a boat rental business. Mike shared that he was experiencing stellar business due to COVID-19. He is 80% ahead for the year on rentals and has sold 24,000 more gallons of fuel compared to this time last year! Most of his customers were new and many were from IL and IA.

I hope you and your family have time to get away this summer. After months of being confined at home the simple change of scenery was welcomed. Although I missed playing “Stars and Stripes” with the band, we had a fabulous July 4th! We returned home with sun kissed cheeks, adventures to share and long lasting memories. This is summer.

A July 4th Egg Hunt?…Helping a Small Business and Beginning a New Tradition

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The year 2020 has brought unimaginable events so adding an egg hunt to our July 4th celebration doesn’t seem too far fetched!

Plastic eggs at stores in July.

When COVID-19 cancelled Easter egg hunts throughout our country, American Carnival Mart (ACM), a small family owned business was in trouble. ACM depends on Easter egg sales to support their business throughout the year. They also partner with Canterbury Enterprises, a local sheltered workshop that employs people with disabilities. The Canterbury workers fill the eggs for the egg hunts and without any sales in 2020, there won’t be any eggs to fill next year. Dierbergs, a St. Louis area grocery store chain, partnered with ACM and plastic eggs filled with candy and small toys began to appear on their shelves in late June. Dierbergs is giving 100% of the proceeds to ACM and to Canterbury Enterprises.

In our ongoing attempt to “Live Generously,” my husband and I bought some of the treat filled eggs and held a July 4th egg hunt at the lake house this year. My daughter met a new friend down the street who is from CA, and we invited her to join in the fun. The two girls had a blast hunting for eggs in the backyard with the lake serving as picturesque backdrop.

My daughter enjoyed the egg hunt at the lake house.

I overheard out of state shoppers questioning the colorful eggs they saw on the store shelf. My family of three were delighted to spy the eggs and look forward to making an egg hunt part of our July 4th celebration for years to come!

A Socially Distanced Field Trip to the Zoo

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Last month we took a field trip to the Saint Louis Zoo. The zoo had many precautions in place to keep everyone safe.

Safety Precautions– To limit the number of guests on the zoo grounds they required everyone to make free reservations online and show up within their reservation window. Upon entering, each group had to show their reservation. Masks or face coverings were required for children and adults over the age of nine. While we were there I saw zoo employees enforcing this requirement. Hand sanitizer stations were placed throughout the grounds and extra measures were taken for keeping surfaces clean.

The Train– My daughter loves the train so we rode it around the zoo twice! Plexiglass panels have been installed between each seat to help social distance. At every stop the train announcer reminded everyone to keep their masks on.

The Carousel– One row of animals was marked with red tape and the other row was marked with green tape. They switched colors on each ride so every other animal was being used and an attempt at social distancing could be made.

Although the children’s zoo was closed, along with the indoor animal houses and theatre, there were plenty of animals to see and I appreciated the attempts being made to keep everyone safe. We defiantly enjoyed this socially distanced field trip to our famous zoo!