18 months since our last travel outside Ecuador (Oaxaca, Mexico in December 2019). 14 months since our last post, in which I wrote that we would be locked down for “a short time” for this COVID stuff. Well, we were only starting to get a glimpse of how serious the situation was way back then.
We can now see a glimmer of light coming through! COVID vaccines became available faster than anyone seriously expected, and they appear to be amazingly effective. Time to “get a shot” and start traveling again!
Vaccines are still very hard to get in Ecuador, and when available, most people are being offered the vaccine with only 50% efficacy. Since our official home in the US is still California, we decided to kick off our travels again by getting vaccinated there. At the point I am writing this (June), we have now had both our shots and the magic two week period post-shot has passed, so we are designated as fully vaccinated. We were among the lucky ones. We took isolation seriously during the worst of the pandemic, got both our Pfizer shots and are now as safe as we are going to be. Time to explore the world again!
After getting our first shot in the San Francisco Bay Area, we decided to travel to San Diego while waiting for the second shot 3 weeks later. We stayed first in Coronado Island, and had our first celebratory dinner at the Bluewater Boathouse to celebrate Evelyn’s birthday. The food was fabulous… though the dinner bill came with quite a sticker shock after paying Ecuador prices for so long. ☺
The next day, we wandered over to the beach to walk along the sand. We came across this wonderful sand castle, and stopped to talk to the sculptor. He was a retired plaster subcontractor who now creates a new sand castle each day for tips.
We then moved to explore the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego (you guessed it–Italian plus fusion). Though masks were technically required, their use was sporadic and based on an honor system for those who declared they had been vaccinated. The restaurants were exploding with life, as people came out in droves after being caged for so long. There were long waiting lines, and every restaurant was packed.
The meals we had in San Diego were both eclectic and mouth-watering great. The only difficulty was in finding an open table, with the crowds of locals out enjoying the recent freedom to congregate. Many of the streets had been partially closed and turned into outdoor seating areas, which hopefully will remain post pandemic. A walk along the marina in the evening made for a very pleasant warm ending to the day.