With COVID-19 putting my slated spring Backyard Road Trips schedule on hold, I’ve had to be creative. Not only about where to explore to keep somewhat sane, but also what to do for hobbies and diversions. My “Living Room Road Trips” has taken me to the depths of Nintendo game playing, baseball card collecting and a bunch of random activities for myself and the kids.
Lots of walks, at first
For the first few days, or was it weeks, of the stay-at-home orders, I tried to get myself and the family to different parks or nature walks in Plymouth. Trails such as Russell Mill Conservation Area, Center Hill Preserve and the paths at the Pinehills were explored. As time has passed, and Plymouth County’s numbers have unfortunately increased as far as Coronavirus cases, the Town of Plymouth has shut down practically all parks. This includes one of my favorite walks/runs, through Brewster Gardens. With this, runs and walks have been relegated to the sidewalk and creative at-home plans have been needed.
Living Room Road Trips
Along with rummaging through my baseball cards, I dug up my Nintendo. How better than to waste a few hours than play The Legend of Zelda (the original one). Starting from the beginning, I’ve enjoyed (and been frustrated with) playing through the levels of the game. (Currently on Level 8!). Another item that I’ve resurrected is a psychedelic Snoopy light as well as my “restaurant randomizer” box which I updated with Plymouth area restaurants. This began when I was in grade school. My grandmother would take me out to eat on a half-day of school. We would pick a restaurant at random from the box, of course never actually choosing the one we picked. This was added to year after year. All these “living room road trips” that I never had time for before, I’ve been able to do now.
Anything to get through during these times. Watching old home movies, listening to audio cassettes, and cleaning the backyard fence have all been other activities during this period of quarantine. Mostly though, it’s been enjoying time with my family in the face of an uncertain and frightening pandemic. Please be well and take care of yourself!
