Hello from Los Angeles

Hello from Los Angeles! It’s Day 37 in our shelter in place quarantine, and it’s finally a sunny day. We have had an unbelievable amount of rain the last month, especially for LA. It’s been a literal cloud over us since COVID-19 hit.

I’m still working my full-time corporate job, obviously working from home, with a day full of video conference calls, although I’ve given up wearing make-up to these calls. I’ve started working from the gazebo in the backyard when I can. Everything is adapting to the new normal.

I miss traveling. I miss finding a new place to explore. And I miss spontaneous trips in the car and just heading off in any direction. I used to live for this on my weekends, and now I can’t tell the difference between any weekdays and barely the difference when the weekend comes. I used to love going downtown, except for the traffic. It’s so odd to see photos of the empty streets of LA. As of today, anyone in LA County is required to wear a mask or face covering going into any public place, and I see people bicycling or walking their dogs in surgical masks.

Still trying to make the best of everything. My daughter’s prom was canceled but she already bought her dress so we did a photoshoot in the backyard. My backyard, my family and of course, my pup, Molly are what get me through all of this. I appreciate having my social media community to keep our big world small and stay connected. Roarloud.net inspired me to write this “Hello From California” after reading their article “Hello from New Hampshire” and also check out “Hello From Florida” at FitLifeTravel.

If I take anything away from all of this, it’s realizing how much family and nature means to me. I’ll never take for granted traveling to new places or returning to my favorite places. It’s hard to believe that it was only a year ago, at this time in 2019, that I was road-tripping from LA to Utah and exploring Zion and Bryce Canyon through the Mojave Desert. It seems California seems to survive the roughest conditions and come out looking beautiful. Death Valley is a great example.

Los Angeles is no stranger to tough times. In the last 9 months, we have had wildfires, a high school shooting, earthquakes, mudslides and now the pandemic. Driving through the mountains, everything is so green, the air is so clean with the pollution down, and I can’t wait to get back to the hiking trails and those SoCal beaches.

I can’t wait to explore beautiful downtown Los Angeles again and check out the street art, explore all of the cultures and landmarks within the city, and just get that Hello Los Angeles vibe.