Escape to New York

The hubs and I recently grabbed a few days and headed to the Finger Lakes region in New York State for some hiking, and possible winery touring - although we weren’t too sure about the winery part, to be honest.

Got an Airbnb so we could eat in, for the most part, although New York had opened restaurants in a limited capacity and the weather was fantastic for outdoor dining. But the towns were small, and like our area here in Livingston County, many places were take-out only, open on weekends, or still closed (perhaps permanently).

We ended up having a great trip. The hiking was beautiful. We had some delicious meals - take-out and outdoor dining. The wineries were a surprisingly accurate reflection of how the entire country is handling the pandemic - with piecemeal approaches and varying degrees of success. But sitting outside, sipping some wine, enjoying a gorgeous lake view is pretty much always a good thing.

The biggest shock? Face masks.

EVERYONE was wearing them. EVERYWHERE. WITHOUT COMPLAINT. Like it wasn’t a big deal!

It was crazy.

Every “indoor” place we went required them. Grocery stores, restaurants, wineries, shops. Big towns, and small towns. We did not see a single person who did not have a face mask of some type - worn properly, on their face!

It was clear that wearing a face mask in public settings was…an ordinary thing.

But wait - there’s more! Over 50% of the people we saw outside, wore a face mask.

That’s right. OUTSIDE. Walking down the sidewalk. On the hiking trails. Riding bikes. Pretty much anywhere you might pass by another person without being able to be 6 feet away. Maskless pedestrians would don a mask as they approached another person on the sidewalk or trail.

It was so damn…polite. Considerate. SMART.

And effortless.