Day 45 of rollback-California Covid-19 spike-governor shuts us down

Breakfast at the Hyatt…

8/26/20. Wednesday.

7:00-8:15 - I make coffee in the hotel room and take a shower. Dressed. Light make-up. I power up my Netbook and get ready for class.

8:30-10:00 - I “publish” the course content on Canvas for my college students. They start listening to the Audio Syllabus file and reviewing the syllabus. It seems to be going well.

I have the course content I need to email my high school students saved in the Draft file of my College No. 2 email so I email the Audio syllabus file and the actual syllabus to my high school students. So far so good.

At 9:00, I email the Audio file - Chapter 1 to my high school students. Because it’s larger than the Audio-Syllabus, I had to email it to them via Outlook “Share Point.” Almost immediately, I begin getting emails from most of the students that they can’t open it and I don’t have time to troubleshoot because class ends at 10:00. A few of the students ARE able to open the file because I’m notified by Microsoft Outlook when that happens, but at least 30 kids can’t.

I “publish” the Audio file - Chapter 1 for my college students on Canvas and class continues for them, uninterrupted. Only 1 of the 23 college students emails me and it’s about the Discussion Board and signing in. Meanwhile, I’m frantically responding to email after email from my high schoolers. The class is over before I know it and I send a final email blast to the students apologizing for technical difficulties, and that I will have it fixed by Friday. What a terrible first day of school!

Close netbook lid. Emoji of two hands brushing off the day [crumbs].

10:00 - 11:30 - The plan for today is bike ride, beach, and pool. B. has an excellent food package included with this trip - free breakfasts at the Hyatt restaurant, up to $60 - so we go to the restaurant first. It is all poolside dining and breakfast is fabulous and free - I have the spinach quiche. The waiter throws in a free round of mimosas for B. and I on the down low. Customer service is excellent and, once again, it’s wonderful not having to eat my own cooking.

The Hyatt seems very safe. All staff are masked and there are hand sanitizer dispensaries throughout. Guests are also masked - not like in Vegas when it was hit or miss. Housekeeping doesn’t come anymore, though. Guests are stuck cleaning their own mess for the entire stay.

11:30 - 2:30-Back to the room for my bike helmet and bike bag, then B. and I go downstairs to rent our bikes. We take a 4-mile (round trip) bike ride from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach and reward ourselves with a round of drinks at one of the bars on the strip. Most of the bars here pivoted rapidly to al fresco dining after the governor shut them down and there is open air seating all over the place, usually set up on astroturf with some kind of awning or covering. The staff masks.

3:00 - 6:00 - We bike back to Huntington Beach, but it’s against the wind so a bit more difficult. We return the bikes, head to the hotel room, and get ready for the beach. I grab my beach bag and my lunch bag and we cross the bridge that leads from our hotel directly to the beach. The “bridge” is such a nice touch on the part of the Hyatt and so convenient. The Hyatt dispenses free towels and beach chairs, so we take two of each, walk across the sand, and set up camp.

B. says the waves are really strong and there’s a bit of a riptide, although he doesn’t go out too far - he likes this beach, but says it would be too dangerous for kids, certainly not like Harbor Beach Cove at Ventura. For lunch, we have what I brought in my lunch bag for the trip: zucchini slices and hummus; the last of my overnight oats; snack packs of nuts and raisins from TJs; and Hershey’s bite-sized chocolates. I have 2 proseccos-in-a can and B. has two canned Margaritas. A little later, I eat the spinach salad I brought (tomatoes, zucchini slices, eggs, and cheese).

6:00 - 8:30 - We leave the beach, drop off the towels and beach chairs, and return to the room to unload our stuff. B. rinses off and we head to the pool - B. says the water is still warm. We sit poolside for about an hour, then walk to the other side of the pool so we can sit in front of the huge, fire pit - it takes up a quarter of the wall.

Things are going ok until a black family, with lots of kids, start crowding us. They sit at the table next to us and began roasting marshmallows on long sticks for S’mores - they brought their own graham crackers and chocolate. None of them are masking and two of the black boys are sitting listless, on wrought iron chairs. B. jokes with the family that the boys are worn out because they’re not interested in the marshmallows, and the Moms’ laugh, but I can see that the kids are actually sick. When I see one of the Mom’s check her son’s forehead, I tell B. it’s time to go.

8:30 - 10:00 - Back in the room to change and then we head to a Mexican restaurant where the food is outstanding. Just like at the bar where we had our drinks, we eat al fresco, on astroturf - this must be some sort of theme here - and waitstaff are masked.

10:30 - Return to the Hyatt and then bed. A great day!