Movie Party Outdoors

There's not much going on in Savanna Club, the 55+ community where I live in Florida, due to the Covid 19 Pandemic.  They did have a movie this Thursday evening and Sharon Jackson, my new friend, got me a ticket.  You have to make a reservation and get a ticket (free).  You check in and get an armband which entitles you to a free drink (lots of vodka!) and popcorn. 

They have a ginormous screen on the other side of the large pool and chairs are labeled with your name for social distancing.  I'd say there were about 75 people there.  The movie was "Cocoon," which is so good, but the sound stopped about halfway through.  That was OK because I was freezing, even with my ski coat, scarf, gloves, and newspaper and towel under me.

You can see the people standing down by the screen if you click to enlarge the photo.  We wore our masks except for drinking and eating.  They made Fountain of Youth drinks with a couple kinds of liquor, grape juice, and dipped the rim of the glass in purple sugar.  It was tasty but I'll bet they had to do lots of scrubbing to get the purple rings and spots off the white tabletops.

 

It was nice to see a few people for a change! We appreciate the effort our event coordinator is making with trying to have a few activities to let us out of our houses, while at the same time keep Covid safe..

I Got Shot!!

I got the first Covid-19 vaccine shot last Saturday and what an accomplishment that was! 

A neighbor gave me a number to call to register.  I was on the phone a long time as I was transferred to different numbers, and given numbers to try.  

They also sent me to some websites.  http://stlucie.floridahealth.gov/   
The health department number is - 772-462-3800 - the neighbor said let it ring and ring and ring.  Someone will (might) answer.

My determination grew along with my frustration.  I had registered online more than a week ago but one operator said people registered multiple times and it crashed the website so, all the people who thought they were registered on a waiting line - ARE NOT!!!

One operator said that there was a vaccine clinic planned for January 19-20 at the Civic Center, which is very close for us.  I had friends who tried to register for that one but got the message that there were no appointments available.  

Well, another option appeared.   I learned that they had a walk-in (not a drive-thru) for Saturday 9:00 - 4:00, which means no appointments.  This was at a health center on Midway Road in Ft. Pierce.  I figured we could try our luck on Saturday and if we didn't get in, we'd try for January 19 or 20.

Jane Raymond and I left at the o-O-dark-thirty time of 7:00 a.m., which we thought was plenty early since it didn't open till 9:00.      Ha!

  Some people went at 5 a.m. and you can see their coffee, blankets, etc.

The line was all along the side and across the back of the building and was getting longer all the time.   It ended up spilling out onto the sidewalk beside the building and kept growing by the minute.

Mind you, the photo above shows only one leg (1/3) of the line at 7:20!

Thank goodness I had a chair in my car so Jane and I took turns sitting.  Also, the weather was slightly cloudy and about 65-70 degrees.

We were getting pretty exhausted by about noon but decided that we already had over 5 hours invested so we'd stick it out.   Finally, they took our phone numbers and had us wait in our cars.  They called us when we could go in.  When we did get in, the shot took seconds but the paperwork before and after took time.

I figure I spent about 2 hours on the phone on Friday and we were waiting about 10 hours on Saturday.   Oh, well, what's a day, anyway?

The happy ending is that we did get our first Covid-19 shot!!!!

The better news is that we have an appointment for our 2nd shot in 28 days. 

Ringing in 2021

We've been isolated in our homes most of 2020 in order to avoid getting the super contagious Covid-19.  

We've welcomed the new year for the past 4 years with Jane and Gene Pinson. The Pinsons live next door to us in Savanna Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.  AND, they are from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia (about 100 miles due north of our home in Harrisonburg, Virginia).

 I filed those photos of the last 4 years at a very safe place - so safe I can't even find them!  

 Anyhoo, we welcomed 2021 in with champagne while beating on pots and pans in our driveway.

.  Woo-hoo! 

 Happy 2021!