A chance to see his classmates through Zoom and climbing a waterfall were the highlights of this week.
Day 64 Coronavirus
Today’s main job was getting Chewie, who does not like haircuts, to the groomer.
Dropping Chewie off was very different from before. There were lots of cars parked there when I arrived. Pet grooming had not been allowed for several months so they were busy.
There was a sign on the gate that led to the door that once you arrived call them and they would come out.
I called and no one answered and left a message. Then a few minutes later they called back and said they had a few dogs to take back to other people and then they would take in Chewie. I waited a little while. I saw a lady come out and pass over a dog and some money.
I waited some more time and another person brought in two dogs. I then saw another person pull in and then she came out for that person.
I walked outside and said, “I’m here for Chewie.”
“I have one more person to give their dog back to them then I can check you in,” she said.
I said that was fine.
I had gone out front with Chewie and she kept pulling on me. She does not like going to the groomers so I picked her up. She then stared at two larger dogs that were being handed off and snarled and barked.
Then finally the groomer came out with a clipboard and I wandered over with my mask on and handed her Chewie with her leash.
I knew from the line that it would probably be a while before we picked her up.
Finally, with Chewie at the groomers, I can take Andrew to a park with some hills where he likes to go and down them on his bike.
I had a treat for us, a stop at Dunkin Donuts for a Coolatta, his favorite drink, my coffee, and donuts. I really miss the coffee more than the donuts.
He saw that they were selling a cheesy egg sausage croissant, which also looked good to me. The drive-thru line was a bit long, but we were both happy to have a chance to have some takeout.
When we arrived at the park we had our little brunch. His choice for the croissant was well played. It was very good and I wished I had gotten one also.
After brunch, we headed to the trail. The park area was closed even for walking. I didn’t realize that Glen Carbon had stronger measures. Luckily the park also had a bike trail entrance, which I guess must be regulated by the county.
“I have to pee,” he said.
So we found some bushes away from people and he did his business.
Afterward, we headed down the trail. It goes through a forest with some hills and winds around the area in a loop. It is not a long trail, but it worked well for what we were doing today.
“Dad that looks like a snake,” Andrew said, pointing at a long thin log with a part of it pointing up. He was right.
Then as we were looping back towards the SUV it began to rain. So our time here was cut short.
When we got home it was close to lunchtime, but neither of us was hungry so David just made himself something.
Andrew played a while why I worked online.
It was late in the afternoon and I still hadn’t heard from the groomer. I called and they said it would be thirty more minutes. This was fine with us since it was raining heavily.
David went with us and he paid for her cut. Chewie was very happy to see us.
We headed to the park in Maryville that I had taken Andrew to recently. We parked on the bicycle trailside and did the loop.
“Pappa they have a garden,” Andrew said.
He hadn’t been that into it last time, but it was the one thing he wanted to show David. You can never tell with him. We headed to the loop and Andrew pointed out some of the plants that were growing before running across the little wooden bridge in the flower garden section.
We also went down the bike trail some before the rain came back once more. It was not the nicest day and showers with the wind made it a bit cold.
When we got back he noticed the wild strawberries growing along the front walk. He asked if he could try them.
I looked upon the Internet and it showed that it should be fine. I had read they should be very sweet. I took one and found it tasted like eating a plant and not a strawberry. Maybe they have to ripen more I guess. Andrew found them the same, very bitter.
Dinner that night was chicken tenders that I used for chicken quesadillas. Andrew wanted noodles really bad so David was nice and added some to his to go with the chicken.
We took a little walk and then Andrew had a meltdown. I now can’t remember what it was about. He was sent to his room and was put there for a while.
Later I asked if he was missing his friends and he said he was and wished he could go back to school. I told him I wish he could too. David said we might try to contact one of the mothers and see if we could arrange a Zoom meet up with one of his classmates.
I do feel bad for him. This was not something I ever had to deal with. We didn’t have anything like this pandemic when we were a kid.
I really hope he can start Kindergarten. I am not sure I am ready to do online classes in the fall.
That night David read to him a Hulk book and he asked Andrew if he knew some of the words on each page.
David is better and going into teacher mode. I should also do that with him when I read.
Day 65 Coronavirus
I had to take my SUV in for an oil change today I was dropping it off so it could be done during the day. David was going to pick me up.
I headed out and there were quite a few cars parked in the lot but no one in the place since no one can wait on their cars there. It was a cool day so they had both doors open so I didn’t have to worry about a mask with the front counter right there. I walked in and gave them my key and the coupon. I didn’t have to touch anything to do this. It helps also that are SUV is already in the system.
David came by after a few minutes and we headed back home. He explained to me that dealing with the grocery store was a lot more complicated.
“There are lines six feet apart to get in. You have to wait outside since there are limits to how many that can be inside. The stores are out of certain things and then check out is also spaced apart. It is very different.”
I haven’t looked forward to shopping since the crazies are in the store fighting about masks or not masks. I am not sure who wants to go shopping until it gets more normal. The news talking about people getting shot over this, just seems the world has gone nuts.
The weather was a bit nicer out in the afternoon so we played some outside. One game was using his Nerf bat to pop bubbles after David had pitched to him for a bit. Then we kicked the soccer bowl back in forth. He has this thing that one of us acts as a coach and blows the whistle. I think that is all he understands a coach to do. When coronavirus is over we’ll probably put him in soccer.
Then he wanted to do a bike ride. David likes this one area that has a paved area with lots of small hills. I thought that was a good idea since Andrew loves the hills. We brought Chewie with us and headed there. We were the only ones there so it was nice to have it to ourselves. We did the full loop. Towards the end, he got a little fussy, but I explained that on the way back it was all downhill, which it was.
Then we took a drive through the country. David thought they would call soon to tell us the oil change was done and he was right. I received the phone call on the road that headed to the oil change place, perfect timing.
They still had the doors open so I headed right in and paid. No one was there ahead of me so I did this easily and headed home.
I read two Spiderman books before bedtime. He fell asleep pretty easily. He was much better today and he even remarked about that.
Day 66 Coronavirus
The weather stayed cool and I decided it was a good day to clip the bushes outside. Hopefully, they don’t grow back to quickly. I had done this earlier in the spring and that seemed to help them grow even quicker. Andrew helped by picking up the clippings and I managed to get this done in a short amount of time. I am hoping to mow this week if we could get a dry day. It has not so much rained a lot the last few days, just a constant annoying sprinkle or short rains throughout the day. This has kept us from going anywhere.
He played in his room for a while why I did some work on the computer. In-between David’s meeting I had to run out with Andrew and pick up dinner. We were doing the El Macho Taco again. They have huge tacos and this gives us something else to eat over the weekend. Whatever restaurants might be open this weekend would probably be packed with takeout orders.
I paid online and I received updates when it was ready. I arrived there and messaged that I was out front. She came out pretty quickly and handed me the food without me having to sign anything and without time for a tip. I wonder if we’ll get used to takeout more when things normalize.
It was a pretty slow day today, mostly spent it at home with the only takeout being our moment out of the house.
Day 67 Coronavirus
His pre-school teacher hosted a Zoom meet up for the kids today.
She at first asked if they were reading and if they were working on their words and numbers. That was something we need to work on more.
The kids laughed at seeing each other and Andrew kept saying each of the kid’s names. The parents were in the background. For some reason, the internal microphone was not working on the computer so Andrew couldn’t speak to the other kids and was only able to listen. I don’t think he was too aware of it since the kids were talking all at once. One kid talked about fishing at a pond and Andrew commented that we found two snakes in the lake and we have a mat now to swim off of.
He did a good job of following along the conversations. It is not a skill that I am good at and it was interesting to see how he interacts with the other kids. It was like a moment for me to see his class. I figured out later there is some issue but I can use headphones with a microphone that works fine and will have him use that next time.
David wanted to take a walk so we headed to the bike trail near downtown Edwardsville. This one had a number of small hills for Andrew to go up and down on. Many of the downhill parts ended at a street so I told him to make sure to stop at the stop sign. He was good about that. The stop sign insignia is also painted on the trail, which helps. The trail ends near a baseball field where some older kids were doing some batting practice. He watched that for a while we turned around at this park area and walked back.
I had some comic books that I could finally pick up so we headed to the comic book store. I called first and paid by phone then David had me open the back hatch and they put them in. I seem to get more used of curbside service, it will be strange now to go into the store.
He had a blowup today right before dinner. David said it was my fault since we had dinner late, which was my fault. Food that night was Costco pizza and he watched a few cartoons.
I read to him a Spiderman and Green Goblin book and a Captain America versus Amin Zola then he fell asleep.
Day 68 Coronavirus
This morning was the big trip with Andrew. Two hours there and two hours back. First, we had breakfast. Andrew had some Apple Jacks and a pop tart and I had some too.
I began the morning packing: masks, extra clothes since we were going to a waterfall area and he might need them. Food included trail mix, PB&J, pretzels, cheddar sour cream chips, and some pop tarts. Beverages included some sparkling waters, three water bottles, and Chewie’s collapsible water dish. I included hiking shoes and flip-flops near the water. The Ipad was for the drive back and forth. He of course brought some toys to play with if he got tired of the Ipad. He snuck a bag of them in the car when I wasn’t noticing, so more than necessary.
I planned the route out way in advance. When we got closer I did a Google Maps traffic check and noticed that one of the routes I had looked at had heavy traffic in an odd place. Oh right, summer road construction, glad I noticed that. I also referenced Google maps and the Southern Illinois map for cross-checking on well constructed back roads to avoid a few bigger towns so we weren’t slowing down all the time. With the kid in tow, I try to stay ahead of the game. I have gotten much better at this following living in Europe. Everything had to be specifically followed so you don’t miss the train back home back them.
We were now ready to go to Kincaid Lake in southern Illinois, the part that is considered Ozark like.
If it weren’t for coronavirus I would have stopped at an Amish Store on the way. I will have to do that next time. These stores usually have good bulk fruits and Amish food.
We looked for our first stop in the northern part of Kincaid Lake at the Johnson Creek Recreation area. This was mostly a bathroom break or what Andrew refers to as “mini-hikes.”
I had found through some pictures of this area that there was trailhead that led across a bridge to a point on the lake. First. we took the bathroom break and I was headed to the bridge, but Andrew noticed that part of the trail led into the hills the other direction so we went up there and explored for a bit. Then I went back to the SUV for some waters.
He then wanted to cross the bridge. The crossing was near a small cliff side of the lake branch and led up a hill and then to a point on the lake and we looked out. We watched people put their boats out into the water. He wanted to go further, but the trail really narrowed and we still had to get to the waterfall so we headed back. All of us including the dog had a water break before heading on.
We parked at the small pond area that the waterfall flows into. It is scenic here. There are few fishermen and a mother and two young kids near a side of the pond by a small creek. I notice a path, thinking that might lead to the waterfall, but it seems a bit long. If we had swimsuits on we could have swam across to the other side and explored the falls by doing that. I didn’t bring those. I was in the mindset that he could do some wading, but not swimming.
He did some wading and then he was hungry. We went to the SUV and there were a bunch of yellow jackets buzzing around so we decided to use the picnic blanket in the grassy area near the pond. I brought out the chips, water, and sandwiches. Chewie had to be tied up near us. I didn’t want her bothering the fishermen, which he had earlier, or another dog.
After lunch, he waded a bit more. The mother and the kids had walked away from the large rocks that can be used to swim. He splashed around a bit. I walked a little down the path. Made note of water snake. He shouldn’t swim down the creek.
I came back and a frog hopped by me. I yelled Andrew to come up and we watched as it hopped around. He wanted to see the actual falls. I saw a family coming around the path and asked about getting up there.
“You can follow the path, but it intersects with the main path to the falls at the first gravel parking area by the dam,” the father said.
I told Andrew that it would be easier to go from there so we loaded up the vehicle and headed to the other parking.
The path headed through a field following the creek, which from this side is more like a ditch. It provides drainage for below the dam into the pond it seems. As you go out of the field you come along a cliff then you go around a bend and the first level of the falls comes into view.
You can snake along the side through the rocks or get a bit closer, to go up. What I didn’t notice from below it is three-tiered. We followed the next to tier up and Andrew when and touched the water. I told him to be careful since the rocks can be slippery and you don’t want to fall down the falls.
We went to the second tier and checked out the watery rocks and this time he did slip. Nowhere near the main flow, but enough to get wet, I had warned him.
Going above the third tier seemed a bit more complicated. I saw another family.
“Is it worth doing from here,” I asked.
“It flattens out, this is the last level of the falls,” she said.
I told Andrew, this is it. He was fine with that and we headed back. On the return route back he was more adventurous. He was walking through side paths, which there were many as people followed the falls up. He almost got back a little far and I told him to follow back to the main trail.
I like his spirit to explore, its something new I hadn’t seen him do before.
We walked through a flowery area with lots of buzzing bees and I had to really encourage him to keep going and that he wasn’t going to get stung.
When we arrived back he said he had to pee. I noticed you could walk away from people around the bend towards the dam so we walked up there.
We were all settled in and while I was checking the return route he said he had to pee again. This time I didn’t see anybody and head him does it close by.
I had us drive back most of the same route. Although I found two back roads to pass by larger towns, the first one was a bit rough, but the one around Sparta was better and really helped to get back quicker.
I decided to not take Highway 4, but go back through the Troy-O’Fallon road, that was a bit of a mistake since I hit some traffic. I had just wanted to make the ride home more interesting.
When he got back he was hungry. He had seen McDonald’s and I had said we might do that for lunch. I shouldn’t have said that since we didn’t go by another one.
David said that would be OK and we go there. The line moved pretty fast. We got a bundle, which was 2 cheeseburgers, 2 fries, 20 McNuggets, I think, for about ten bucks, which seemed like a decent deal. Andrew got a Happy Meal.
Back home we ate and then I did my shower and then he did his bath. This definitely had to be done for both of us.
This was one of the more scenic spots I’ve been to in Southern Illinois, for a two-hour drive and a waterfall, well worth it.
That night David read to him and I fell asleep early. He wore me down today, he still had the energy to play when we got back, but yeah, I didn’t I was exhausted.
Day 69 Coronavirus
It finely was summer here and the temperatures were in the upper 80s. I brought out the mat for Andrew and me to play on while we were out boating. We took out snacks, waters, Chewie’s water dish, and other drinks. David wanted to find a cove not crowded with people, which I understood due to Covid-19.
I tied up the raft to the ladder after dragging the giant blue thing through the pontoon boat. David pointed out later that I should have taken it around the outside of the boat and brought it in the front. That was much easier. There is suppose to be a way to fold it up, but the problem is the thing is so much bigger than I am. I will have to get David next time to help me fold it up properly.
I also learned not to sit on it, but to lie on it. Sitting makes it fill with water. Andrew is small so he easily on it without a problem. Eventually, I got used to it and laid back.
We were outside on the water for over two hours. This was the first time we’ve been out this long and it was nice to be outside with the kid like this.
When we got back to the shore I realized I should have used more sunscreen I was red on my shoulders and back. Sadly, I have a bald spot now and my head was red, too. I will have to remember this next time, more sunscreen even in early summer. The sun was really bright today. The last week it was cloudy, so I have been lulled into not worrying about it.
Day 70 Coronavirus
We took a walk, but then the sky turned dark and a strong wind came up and a shower came in. It was not a large rain, but it definitely cooled down.
David made grilled burgers and hotdogs and made a salad after the showers and we ate outside on the deck.
I asked Andrew if he wanted to take a bike ride. We were going to do the circle. David was going to walk in the other direction. When Andrew got about halfway he wanted to turn back so I headed back.
When Andrew is ready to turn around it is hard to get him to keep going. He can be very stubborn; I think he gets that from me.
I then noticed I forgot the phone. When we got back to the house I thought I could ride my bike up quickly to find David along the road. Yet, he had gone farther. I reached him on my phone back home and he was way at the end of our road. I drove to pick him up. I will have to remember next time to make sure to bring my phone so we don’t have this miscommunication.
At home, he watched a few cartoons before going to bed. It was a pretty quiet day. Next week I plan a big hiking trip to Ferne Clyffe State Park!
EARLIER CORONAVIRUS STORIES
Pingback: Life Under Coronavirus: Week 11 - thatawaydad.com
Pingback: Life Under Coronavirus: Week 12 - thatawaydad.com
Pingback: Life Under Coronavirus: Week 13 - thatawaydad.com