The second safest place is...

TV and Film during COVID-19 

Who would have thought that we'd be into the fall, and still struggling through a global pandemic? But here we are, and as we try to gain some sense of normalcy to our lives, most of us have gone back to work. In my case, that meant waiting for the TV and Film industry to start back up here in Vancouver. A little known fact, is that our government and health experts did not actually mandate the closure of film productions, so they technically could have started up whenever they wanted.

However, given the investment that goes into making a TV series or movie, the producers wanted to make sure that they had the right pandemic protocols in place. i.e. if a principal actor were to get sick, they would have to delay production until they are cleared to work again, costing thousands and thousands of dollars. So while they worked out the new normal for filming, we all sat idly by, and watched the slow-motion train wreck happening in the US. 

Fast-forward to late-summer, and BC TV & film is back in production; yes, our infection rates are climbing, but still nowhere near the numbers we are seeing South of the border. In fact, the relatively good control over COVID-19 has caused some productions to move from the US to Vancouver, and as of mid-October, there are 61 productions in progress! This actually exceeds pre-pandemic levels, and it has a lot to do with how well people, in general, are responding to the government and healthcare leaders' guidelines for safety.

So when my agent contacted me and asked if I'd like some continuity days on The Good Doctor, I didn't hesitate to say yes. But unlike Canadian productions, these US shows have stepped up their COVID-19 game, and everyone who is on camera, gets tested up to, and sometimes exceeding three times a week! And it's not the pre-frontal lobotomy that you've heard about on the news; no, it's called a "bi-lateral nasal collection". It is, as it sounds, a swab that they take from each nostril, where the nurse gently spins it in the first couple of cms for about 5 seconds each. That's it. A couple days later, you get an email with your negative result, or in the case of a positive one, a call from your friendly CDC representative, telling you that you have contracted coronavirus.

Plexiglass partitions in Background Holding

At the studio, there are tons of new safety measures. Everyone checks in at the "wellness station" where they ask you the typical questions about your contact with out-of-country travellers, general health, and then take your temperature. "Zones" are created, which are not physical spaces per se, but rather the virtual teams of people that are say, in front of the camera when rolling, on set but not while rolling, and those who do not enter the studio area, etc. Zone boundaries are established to try and minimize contact across zones - e.g. A Green zone worker can't even enter the studio. Information is collected if you ride in a shuttle, should contact tracing be required. Sanitizer stations and masks are available everywhere, and plexiglass partitions are place on tables and areas to separate potential airborne transmission. When you do go to set, you still wear your mask up until the point that they are ready to shoot, and put them back on as soon as the director yells, "cut!". 

Even Buddy got back to work recently!

A couple of weeks later, I got booked for 5 weeks on a new show called Kung Fu. Not only would I get tested regularly, they were going to pay me to stay home on days that I was not going to be on set! Specifically designated into a small group of around 20 Background performers, we were not to go out and work on other productions, nor would we go to fitness classes etc. Fast forward to today, after six weeks (they asked me to extend for another week), I've been tested 22 times! And while there has been a surge in the "second wave" of the pandemic here, I feel quite safe on set with all the new protocols, and knowing that everyone around me is getting tested regularly. Are there still risks? Sure, but I can't stay at home all day, every day. So that's why our TV & Film sets are the second safest places to be during a global pandemic.

Staycation road trip #2

 COVID-19

Well, it would seem that we really are in this for the long haul. I mean, I knew that things were not going to be working themselves out back in the late spring, when I cancelled our flights to France. But we still need to have a little recreation in our lives, so we decided on another tour of BC, this time a little closer to home.

There are amazing places to see throughout BC, but due to our mountainous geography, some spots do require quite a bit of driving to get to. As such, we opted for the short loop, heading up past Whistler, clockwise to Kamloops, and back via Highway 1 to Harrison Hot Springs, before returning home.

As with our last road trip, we made like out-of-country tourists, and tried to stop at virtually every major viewpoint, attraction, or rest stop. Unfortunately, the California and Washington State wildfires were sending smoke our direction, and for the first leg of our trip, views were partially obscured.

Shannon Falls

One thing that both of us have never done, is zip lining; so on our way through Whistler, we did the Ziptrek tour on Whistler Mountain. As we had just entered the off-season, the lifts were no longer running to take us up to Olympic Station, so a Jeep drove us up to the start of our "EcoTour". We followed a marked trail down into the forest, where eventually we met up with our first zip line. The technician clips us onto the cable, gives a brief safety talk, and then you simply step off the platform!

The zip lines are very fun and exciting, but are only 30-45 seconds long each, and our tour had us on three lines. You end up spending most of your time walking on the trail, and up over this very cool, elevated walkway and suspension bridges in the trees. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours, and break up the short drive to our first overnight stop. Along the way to Pemberton, I recommend you stop at Nairn Falls - it's a decent 20 minute walk from the parking area to the falls area, but worth it, in my opinion.

Nairn Falls

While looking for a place to stay in or near Pemberton, I came across an interesting AirBnB listing for a refurbished Airstream trailer! For those who don't know what they are, Airstreams are an iconic travel trailer that started in the post-war era, and were built with aluminum skins, looking like retro airliners. This one has been significantly upgraded with modern finishings, and attached to running water and a septic system.

With a separate bath house, an screened gazebo, and a fire-pit area (propane), it was a fantastic "glamping" stay for two nights while we explored a bit of what Pemberton had to offer. 

Smoke shrouds the views along Lillooet Lake

With September starting to bring cooler nights, the nearby campgrounds were almost completely empty, and Provincial Parks were all but devoid of visitors (mid-week).

Another activity for us in Pemberton was horseback riding - I hadn't been on a horse since the late 90s, where I was on a game farm in Zimbabwe. Our two steeds for the afternoon were Two-Socks and Blackjack, and we had a leisurely, 2-hour of the beautiful Pemberton Valley. A note to other city-slickers: 2 hours is plenty on your first ride - we could barely walk after getting down off our horses!

The highway East of Pemberton is referred to as The Duffey Lake Road - it's a windy, sometimes narrow, section of Highway 99 that takes you through mountain vistas and along beautiful lakes and rivers. Again, since the wildfire smoke obscured the distant views, we didn't get the amazing experience most travellers get along this amazing stretch of road.

Once you reach Lillooet, the landscape changes to wide open river valleys, where the lush forest gives way to semi-arid, almost desert-like conditions. A friend from London once commented that the landscape reminded her of the hills in Tuscany, but I don't see that resemblance. Anyhow, after two days visiting my parents in Kamloops, we set off for our return, taking the long route down Highway 1, through the Fraser Canyon. 

The original, now abandoned Alexandra Bridge

The new Alexandra Bridge further down the Fraser River

Again, stopping a few times down the road on our way back South, we ended up arriving at our next, 2-night stop, Harrison Hot Springs. It's a tiny little town on the tip of huge Harrison Lake; being the off-season, things were pretty quiet in town.

There's a short hike to a neat spot called Sandy Cove, which is accessible right from the town promenade. We only encountered a 1/2 dozen or so other hikers, but it's a little bit treacherous in some places, so others may have turned back. We also went on a nice walk through the forest just outside of town, but besides that, we didn't get up to much before heading back to Vancouver. 

All in all, not a bad little jaunt around our corner of BC; probably our last till early 2021, when we head up to Sun Peaks for a brief ski getaway.

RC Board Works - use and care

I hope you are enjoying the use of your RC Board Works custom woodcraft item! With proper care and maintenance, it should provide you a lifetime of service.

When you first received your board, it was coated with a wax/oil treatment at the factory. This gives the board somewhat water-repellent properties, but this coating diminishes with use. When cleaning, simply wipe the board with a damp cloth, and let it air dry; do not use dish soaps, as this will strip away the oils that are impregnated in your board. Never place in a dishwasher! As such, it is best to avoid cutting or preparing things like raw chicken or poultry on your board, and reserve use for fruits and vegetables, cooked items and cured meats, etc. For longboards, I typically cut my meats and cheeses on a separate cutting board, before arranging the charcuterie. Alternately, you can use the back of the longboard for cutting, and the top surface for presentation; same goes for those of you who have a cutting board.

After occasional use, wipe a food-grade mineral oil on the air dried surface(s) of your board, and then use a dry paper towel to remove any excess. You can get this kind of oil at London Drugs or other similar stores; I use SKYDD oil from Ikea.

When your board starts to look really dry and pale, it's time for a wax! Get yourself some paraffin wax, available from any grocery store. Melt about 3 parts wax to 1 part mineral oil in an appropriate container. I use a jam jar, and have fashioned a handle for it out of a coat hanger. Then, using a small pot to boil water, place the container in the water and heat till just melted into a liquid. You can do this in a microwave too (without the coat hanger, of course), but don't let the wax/oil mixture boil! 

If your cutting board is worn from knife use, you can give it a light sand with some 220-grit sandpaper. Then place your board on a surface that you can clean easily (or another cutting board - I use a massive one that I prep pizzas and bread doughs on), and carefully pour a small amount of the wax/oil mixture around the surface. Using an old loyalty card or similar plastic-edged tool, smooth the liquid around the surface of the board. The liquid will cool quickly into a consistency similar to butter; if it hardens up too much, simply scrape it off, and add a little more oil to your mixture. 

Use your card to scrape the larger excess back into your container or onto other surfaces you want to treat. Flip the board over and repeat. Now, using the warmth from your hands, work the wax into your board, making sure you cover/coat the edges too. After a couple of minutes, you should have a nice lustre on the board; work any excess around or scrape off. I like to let my boards sit and absorb the wax/oil for a few hours, then wipe off any excess with a lint-free cloth.

That's it... while you are at it, you might as well do your other wooden kitchen boards and utensils! 

Travel in the pandemic age

COVID-19 Pandemic

We did it. We finally left our home zone. Sure, we had been going to the grocery stores, and shopping for other essential items that we needed over the last several months, while wearing masks of course. And sure, back in May, we slowly started to host/participate in cocktail hour(s) with our close friends, but only when we could be outdoors. However, we had not been dining inside any restaurants, and had not been inside other's houses, except to briefly use the washroom.

So it was not without some trepidation, that we decided to venture outside our bubble. She was getting cabin fever pretty bad, and even with the recent surge of cases in Kelowna, we desperately needed a break from what I call Groundhog Day. We had planned an out-and-back route that would take us through areas we'd travelled past before, but never stopped to check out anything along the way.

The first stop was an easy one - my parent's place in Kamloops. Since we had been following COVID-19 safety protocols pretty well, we did not feel too concerned visiting my elderly parents. Even still, there was no hugging, and we avoided close proximity contact. With the warm summer weather upon us, we ended up spending most of the time outside anyways; there was some significant pool cleaning required!

After a couple of nights there, we started the real portion of our road trip. We slowly headed to Revelstoke, stopping at a few touristy things along the way. We paused in Salmon Arm for a brief walk along the lakeside pier, and to grab lunch - our first time sitting inside a restaurant in almost 6 months! With only a handful of patrons, and very noticeable safety protocols being observed, we did not feel at risk. The sign-in sheet for contact tracing seemed voluntary, as no one appeared to care if we fill it in or not. COVID score: 4/5.

A surprising highlight just before Revelstoke, was the 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town. We really only stopped here to stretch our legs, and delay our arrival a bit into our hotel before the 3 pm check-in time. But for a paltry $14, the historic site was really quite interesting. Sure, it needs a little bit of maintenance, but it was pretty cool, the way they had transported the buildings to this site, and filled them with historically correct furniture and artifacts. The Roundhouse was probably the most impressive building, being the largest indoor rail turntable in North America. It had actual rolling stock in there that you could walk through and imagine what train travel was like when travelling across Canada. With all of the attractions being outdoors or limited access to only one family group at a time, I give it a COVID score of 5/5.

Only a 1/2 hour's drive from there, we rolled into Revelstoke. I had picked a small hotel on the edge of town based on Tripadvisor reviews, and it was clean and comfortable. With what seemed like less than 30% of the rooms occupied, we did not feel that there was much risk of encountering COVID from other guests. The included buffet breakfast was now being served by a pleasant, older woman, but she was not wearing a mask, and did not hesitate to encroach on our 2m space. For that reason, I'd only give this hotel experience a 3.5/5 for COVID safety.

That evening, we went to a very popular restaurant/pub in town that had what we figured was a good, socially distanced, outdoor patio. As such, there was a considerable line-up to get in, but each group spaced out nicely on the sidewalk. There wasn't any contact tracing sign-in at the hostess desk and the hostess herself was not wearing a mask, but each table was diligently sanitized after each set of patrons vacated it. Servers were wearing masks, and individual water containers were delivered to each table. No menus were handed out; instead, we were asked to use our mobile phones to see what we wanted to eat. COVID score: 3.5/5.

The highlight of our road trip, was the Meadows in the Sky Parkway, in Mount Revelstoke National Park, where you get to drive almost all the way to the top. A short hike later, you are at the summit, and can take a few loop paths that present you with panoramic views of the surrounding snow-capped mountains. Obviously, being an outdoor activity, and with very few hikers on the trails, COVID score maxed out at 5/5.

On our second evening in town, our second restaurant choice had an option to book a reservation, so we simply walked up, and were immediately presented with an outdoor picnic table, spaced appropriately from the other diners. All staff were wearing masks, and we were politely asked for a name and contact information for tracing purposes. COVID score: 5/5.

Making our way back, we stopped a few times on the way to Kelowna, our overnight stop. We were amazed and disconcerted by the number of Alberta license plates we saw everywhere! While there are no rules against Albertans coming into BC for non-essential travel, it is generally frowned upon. Given the difference in COVID containment in AB versus BC, most of us feel that they should really be staying in their own province until they can control it more effectively. As such, I'm giving the region in general a COVID score of 2.5/5.

In Kelowna, we arrived at our motel and checked in for our brief stay. To our surprise, we were asked if we wanted to use the pool, and what timeslot we would like. They were limiting the number of guests who were allowed in the pool area; it didn't really matter however, as the water was so warm that it was akin to taking a bath, so crowds were not an issue. Instead of a buffet breakfast, we were told that a continental breakfast would be delivered to our door, and they asked us what time we would like it to arrive. We were asked to check out by dialling a code on the phone, and to simply leave our keys on the desk inside. COVID score: 5/5.

With the rash of cases that have come out of Kelowna, we knew in advance that we would not be strolling around the downtown or waterfront areas, so our last stop on our trip was a brief visit with friends who had recently moved to Kelowna. After enjoying some socially distanced cocktails and charcuterie, we drove to the nearby golf club for dinner on the outdoor patio. With a reservation in hand, we were escorted by our table, which was nicely spaced from the adjacent tables. All staff were wearing masks, and protocols were being followed. COVID score: 5/5.

As an observation, it seemed that when we went to places that have had very few or no cases of COVID-19, the locals were much more complacent than people we know in Vancouver. But we did not feel that were at risk during any point during our trip - I guess because we chose activities that would not put us in situations where we would be in close proximity to others that were not in our social bubble. That said, given the high number of Albertans travelling to to South Central BC right now, and the somewhat lax attitudes around COVID in the Okanagan Valley, I think we'll be giving that entire area a pass for the time being.

Safe travels everyone!

Back to work!

COVID-19 Pandemic

Yesterday was a milestone day for me - I went back to "work". Yep, Hollywood North is back open, and a handful of productions that have Canadian cast and crew have started back up. It's not the same as it was when it shut down in early March, but it was good to be back on location.

Stock photo

The first thing that was different, was a check-in station that everyone goes through upon their arrival at circus. Each person has their temperature checked, questionnaires are filled out by the crew members and PPE was handed out. A COVID-19 safety talk laid out the procedures for the day - essentially social distancing to be maintained wherever possible, and masks must be worn everywhere until final picture.

When it came time for the wardrobe check, each person waited, spaced 2m apart, and then presented their options to the costumer, who sat behind a table, 2m away. Emphasis was placed on using the performer's own clothing, except for specifics, like waiters and doormen, in this case. After approval, each person wiped the table with a disinfecting wipe. There was no hair and makeup for the Background performers (BG); we were instructed to arrive camera-ready. Shuttles were loaded only to about 50% capacity, so no one was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder for the ride to the set location.

The next big difference, was getting breakfast at the food truck. Instead of a table full of chafing dishes laid out with all the options, you ordered it off the truck; even the "Fast Track" was served by the catering team. Another table with a glass partition was set up for the extras, like fruit, yoghurt, beverages, condiments and utensils, all of which was handed out by the catering crew. Craft services was set up so that all of the food items were individually packaged, so there were no tongs to pass potentially pass on the virus. Lunch service was pretty much the same procedure as breakfast - beer-battered fish and chips... yummy!

Luckily, our holding area was in a big, spacious hotel conference room, and so it was very easy to spread out, even though everyone was still wearing their masks. It was a somewhat small BG group of 23, which I imagine will be the shape of things to come. When it was time to go to set, all of the BG kept their masks on, right through rehearsals. The crew wore their masks 100% of the time, and the only ones not wearing masks, were the actual cast, who I noticed never wore them for the duration of the shoot day. Often, you'd have to remind the BG, "hey, you're still wearing your mask", as we were about to shoot.

I had read in the news that they were trying to limit the number of crew members on set, but I did not notice much difference. There was still lots of action in and around Video Village, and crew members moved about normally. There were stands with hand sanitizer close by, as well disinfectant spray or wipes, and masks for those that misplaced theirs. With BC continuing to hold the line on COVID-19 transmissions, it looks like good news for the industry, and I hope that we continue to manage well during the pandemic, so we can all keep British Columbia's TV & Film business going.

Staycation - Tour de BC Sud-Ouest

Travel and Leisure

Ok, so it's not as glamorous or as culturally enriching as going to France, but since we need to get away somewhere this summer, we've decided to book a staycation road trip around the Southwest area of our province. Today, our top medical expert, Dr. Bonnie Henry, announced that it is ok to travel within the boundaries of our province. Ironically, most of BC has had very few cases of COVID-19 since mid-May, ranging from zero to one case per day. Could the folks from the Lower Mainland bring the virus to these areas? Potentially. But with the number of cases getting so low, even in Metropolitan Vancouver, the economic value of tourism is outweighing the risk of bringing infections to these outlying areas.

Planned road trip route this summer

Being from Kamloops originally, it makes sense to include a stop there to visit the parents for a couple of days, and break up the drive time to the Interior. The drive from Vancouver to Kamloops is fast and easy up Highway 5, but not very exciting. From Kamloops, the highway gets more interesting as you head East; although I've driven this route dozens of times, we have never really stopped for anything other than gas and food along the way. This time, we'll make a point of pulling over for local attractions and other things to see. We're going to use Revelstoke as a home base to explore the two parks nearby - Mount Revelstoke National Park and Glacier National Park. Despite the fact that it's a month away, we're already looking forward to something different than weekends in the backyard!

Tour de France - cancelled!

Travel and Leisure

Ok, not THE Tour de France. However, it is currently postponed - but I think it will ultimately be cancelled. What I'm referring to, is our own tour that we had planned for France this September. Back when we had booked at the start of February, the coronavirus had not spread very far, and we didn't even give it a second thought. What was motivating us, was the excellent price we were getting for non-stop service with Air Canada from YVR to CDG.

I was getting pretty excited - I ordered the Rick Steves guidebooks, and started mapping out an itinerary that would take us on a circle route, leaving Paris after 5 days, heading East through the Champagne region, then on to the Alsace wine route, continuing to Burgundy, and then back to Paris to fly home. We had picked great boutique hotels in Paris, and carefully selected AirBnB suites for the rest of our journey. I was even starting to plan our days, so that we wouldn't run into issues where we went to Versailles on the same day that the Louvre was closed, for example.

Sept. 2020 itinerary through Eastern France

Then the news from Italy started to come in. Oh oh. It was still pretty early days - probably not even called a pandemic yet. But the rate of COVID-19 spread was going crazy, and pretty soon, we were heading into our own lockdown. I stayed glued to the news - like watching a slow-motion train wreck - not wanting to hear more bad news, but yet could not stay away from finding out where the virus was hitting next. With France and the rest of the EU limiting travel to only European nationals, it was starting to look like European summer vacations would be in jeopardy; Macron made a statement that France could stay closed until at least the end of Summer. But maybe September would work out still?

The first big hint of things to come for us, was when Air Canada cancelled our mid-September non-stop flights to Paris (mid-April). We were placed on one-stop flights via Montreal and through Toronto on the return; not a huge deal-breaker, but the non-stop flights were definitely bonus factors for booking into Paris. That's when I started seriously looking into AC's flight cancellation policy. At first, they were talking about giving credits that could be used only until March 31, 2021. 2021? We may not even have a widely-available vaccine by then, I thought. Where would we be able to go in early 2021 that would not have crowds and social distancing measures prohibiting tourism? But with a recent change to the cancellation policy, and a confirmation message from AC, they are now going to allow flight credits to be used up to 24-months after the flight cancellation date.

Looking like we won't be seeing the inside of a plane anytime soon

Now I'm really starting to think about our options. What if we got infected, recovered, and then presumably would have the antibodies to prevent further viral spread? Surely there will be immunity passports or something by then, and that might enable us to see France, with limited crowds due to social distancing measures still being in place? But even if that were the case, would major attractions like the Louvre and Versailles even be open to tourists? What would be the point of going to Paris, if you can only walk through the streets and see sights from the outside? And just as our small towns are asking visitors to stay away during the pandemic, would that be the case for the towns and villages that we would want to take in on our French countryside tours?

And then the other day, the WHO came out with a statement essentially saying that post-infection antibodies are not a proven thing yet, so don't count on herd-immunity to stop the spread of COVID-19. So that was the death blow - not just for our French vacation, but for life in general, to return to some sense of normalcy in the next several months. Maybe there will be travel in Europe at the end of the summer, but it certainly won't look anything like what we had planned for. While technically we haven't cancelled our flights yet - we want to extend the 24-month window into the end of Spring 2022 - we've ruled it out in our minds.

We will see Europe again in the future, just not for a long while. In the meantime, in the words of our Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, "Be kind, be calm and stay safe".

Quarantine cookies

Ever have a craving for a good, chocolate chip cookie? There's something about a fresh-baked, still warm from the oven, chocolate chip cookie that makes it the ultimate treat.

I remember an episode of "Friends", where Phoebe had to try and get a copy of her grandmother's secret chocolate chip cookie recipe, which turned out to be the exact recipe from the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bag. This is exactly what I thought about Ma Chin's super family secret recipe, and so after calling her one day to get it, I found that it too, was the same Nestle recipe! But for some reason, these cookies, while very tasty, always ended up being thinner, crunchy cookies, which she dislikes.

Image courtesy of Hilton Hotel

Long ago, on my first ever, out-of-the-country business trip, I had to go to Santa Clara for a training class with IBM. Our company travel agency booked me into the Doubletree, which I had never heard of, as they did not have any properties in Canada back then. I didn't know it at the time, but the Doubletree chain (now owned by Hilton), was famous for their warm, chocolate chip cookies that they handed out to guests when they checked in. Needless to say, when I tried their cookie, I was immediately sold on them! When I checked out, I bought a small tin of them to give to my brother's high-school chum who lived in San Francisco at the time. Copycat recipes have been available online for a while now, but due to the pandemic, Doubletree actually revealed their secret recipe! So, with nothing but time on my hands, I thought I should give this recipe a try.

As you can see, they turned out pretty well, and tasted very good - I'd rate them about 8.5 vs. the original Doubletree version. I didn't have any walnuts on hand, and I remember the hotel ones having a slightly more oat-y texture. But the flavour was excellent, and of course, they are best served warm! Aside from adding the walnuts next time, I would chill the dough for a couple of hours before baking them - it keeps them from spreading out too much and becoming too thin. Regardless, they make excellent treats during the coronavirus quarantine!

March 2020 - a month of change

COVID-19 Pandemic

A little humour for these dark days

For those of us here in Vancouver, March has been the biggest month of change. Sometime in the future, I'm sure I'll be looking back on this time as THE month that shaped the future for us, so I thought I jot down some personal perspective, for posterity's sake.

4 weeks ago: I had a busy week working as an Extra - four days in a row, which is uncommon for me. On this day, 4 weeks ago, I was playing a doctor for an upcoming Marvel comics TV show, ironically. I remember being cognizant of touching things like door knobs and other common surfaces, but was not yet distancing myself from others much. Of course, we were glued to the news, watching the situation unfolding in China, wondering if/when it would turn bad here. Total BC COVID-19 confirmed cases: 12.

3 weeks ago: I'm up visiting my elderly parents in Kamloops, and we've taken steps to sanitize surfaces around their house, while we were watching how bad things were getting in Italy with how quickly their cases grew, and then moved to lockdown. I accepted a booking for Batwoman for March 16th, not thinking much of it at the time. I was washing my hands more frequently, and hyper-sensitive to touching anything in the hospital when I was visiting my mother. Back down to Vancouver on Thursday, when the WHO declares a pandemic; I started to get ourselves prepared at home for what I predict to be a coming lockdown. Friday, Riverdale shut down due to a potential positive case, so I told my agent that I wanted to back out of Batwoman, which got cancelled anyways, along with all of the rest of TV & film in BC. On the weekend, Whistler Blackcomb closed for the season. Total BC COVID-19 confirmed cases: 39.

2 weeks ago: Officials had started talking about "getting ready", and told people to not leave their homes. Having experienced the worst Costco shopping outing in my life, it was obvious that Vancouver had woken up to the reality of this pandemic, and what they might need to do for the coming weeks and months. I went back to Kamloops, and purchased groceries for my parents, and prepped them as best I could so that they don't have to venture out. Health officers and politicians talked about how we must social distance ourselves to slow down the spread. Later, back in Vancouver, friends and neighbours were out enjoying the warm weather, but staying safely apart. Total BC COVID-19 confirmed cases: 186.

Cocktails with friends via FaceTime

1 week ago: The official word came out - stay at home unless you are in an essential job or need to get groceries or drugs. After a particularly sunny weekend, officials chastised the "COVIDIOTS" for not following social distancing protocols. We heard that two of our good friends likely had contracted it, as had the next-door neighbour. With a downturn in the weather, sidewalks and front yards were almost devoid of life. Yet, when walking the dog, people would cross the street to avoid coming face-to-face with each other. Video calls with our friends became the new normal, and around a week or so ago, my wife started working from home, full-time. The house has never been so clean, and yet the "honey-do list" still grows. Total BC COVID-19 confirmed cases: 617.

Today: Had to go grocery shopping for the first time in almost two weeks; while the local Save-On Foods had put in social distancing protocols, it seemed very busy in the fresh produce section. Some people were wearing masks, and I instantly felt naked for not wearing one. No reusable shopping bags, as they can transmit the virus to store workers. Once I got the groceries home, we wiped down or washed our goods, but it still felt like a futile effort. We found out this week that another friend has it, as does her sister and brother-in-law. Aside from the schoolchildren, no one is enjoying this. Total BC COVID-19 confirmed cases: 1013.

While the total confirmed cases here is low relative to other countries and provinces, and supposedly the rate at which it is spreading is decreasing, I keep reminding people that these are just the confirmed cases - i.e. the ones that have been tested and come back positive. I've read studies that say that these confirmed cases are only the tip of the iceberg, and the ones that went untested, or where the individuals are asymptomatic, could be 10x, 20x or 100x the confirmed number. That puts today's potential number of infected in BC at between 20,000 and 100,000 people! Worse still, is the messaging that is going out from our officials that make no mention of this potential, unseen, "bottom of the iceberg", which is really what concerns me. I fear that the small relative number of confirmed cases will not make the general public wary enough, and that they will go back to their ways and start increasing the spread again. I hope that I look back at this post months, or years from now, and see that these predictions were way off the mark.

Surviving the pandemic

Organisation

How prepared have you been for this COVID-19 pandemic? Were you caught flat-footed, with bare pantry shelves? Or were you ready with your N95 masks, gallons of hand sanitizer, and a year's worth of MREs? In most respects, this global crisis is much less severe than other bad things like an ELE (Extinction Level Event) meteor strike, or nuclear war with the accompanying nuclear winter that would follow. As such, "preparedness" really has a different reality in this situation - you probably don't need to be able to mill your own flour, or start growing your own veggies to survive this. Getting through this is going to require minimizing contact with others and practicing extremely good hygiene - which is why we're in this Social Distancing mode. In retrospect, I did not have this on my list of things that I would need to be prepared for in a crisis situation - i.e. do we have enough supplies to quarantine for two weeks?

We're about two weeks into our own government-requested, self-imposed isolation. Neither of us are sick, nor have we been in contact with any confirmed cases, but we are doing our best to minimize the spread within our circle of family and friends, and in our community. I don't think we are "preppers", but we have some level of emergency preparedness that probably exceeds the average person. For example, we had created our own emergency kits for use in case of other disasters, such as earthquake, tsunami, etc. And because we have a separate, unused basement suite, we typically have a fair bit of non-perishables and frozen food stored down there, as well as supplies of paper towels, Kleenex, toilet paper, etc. Admittedly, some of these things are really required for disasters worse than this pandemic, where things like vacating our home, and/or leaving the area are required. e.g. "shelter in place" is certainly a lot different than the folks that had to vacate quickly due to flood, or worse, in a matter of minutes because of an approaching wildfire.

Costco lineup!

So when I saw this coming, I think we were somewhat prepared for the "stay home" order that I knew was imminent, but had yet to come. However, due to an unplanned trip to see my elderly parents, I was unable to take the last few steps to stock up on the few items that we had not recently replenished (no, not toilet paper). As such, when I got back and needed to get some dog food at Costco, I was faced with the horde of people frantically trying to get their hands on toilet paper and hand sanitizer. This was my first real experience with what happens when the media whips people into a frenzy, and rational thinking quickly gets pushed aside. Grocery stores too, were getting cleaned out, and in less than a week, they were imposing limits on most products, and enforcing social distancing measures.

Ketchup supply dwindling

We are doing well from a supply perspective; there are a few things that we are running low on now (milk, ketchup, fruit, etc.), but they'll get added to the grocery list, and we'll be able to get them next week. But while I was out cleaning the garage (what else does one do while staying home?), I noticed that one of my emergency bags was growing mould on the bottom! Upon closer inspection, it turns out that a can of peaches failed, causing the mess on one side of the bag - yuck! A quick Google informed me that while canned goods normally can last years, certain products can cause the cans to swell and fail before you end up using them. As such, I'm going to start eating up these canned items, and will eventually replace them with new ones once this pandemic passes.

Reasonable success at Walmart

How have we done so far then? If this were the zombie apocalypse, I'd say we'd have scored 6/10. We didn't have adequate supply of key items that would have augmented our 'grab-n-go' bags, one kit was a mess, and drinking water had not been refreshed recently. But with this stay at home order, it's much different - there's no issue with water, electricity, gas and the all-important internet. So rating our preparedness is a bit different, as the things that I feel are important revolve more around how many times you need to go out to get items that are running low/critical. We could have done better at keeping our non-perishables stocked, and when the infected cases started to rise, I should have gone out to re-supply earlier. We have N95 masks in our emergency kits, but we haven't used them (yet). We had disinfecting wipes on hand, but our bottles of sanitizer were almost empty, and required re-filling. You can't do much with respect to perishables like fruit and veggies, but we could have had some more canned or frozen ones on hand. My assessment? Based on our current supply situation, I'd say we're at a 9/10, but two weeks ago, we would have only been 7/10. I think 10/10 would have been a lofty goal, and really, not a practical one, as you'd have to have things like jugs of milk in your freezer, and a fully-stocked root cellar.

Avoiding travel mistakes - Part 2

Travel and Leisure

On safari in Zimbabwe

As I had mentioned in the last post, I've travelled to quite a few states in the US, Central America, the Caribbean, many European countries, and even down to West Africa and Zimbabwe. For the most part, my trips have been relatively issue-free, but I have had some bumps along the way, and learned a few lessons from them. So continuing on with my list, again with in no particular order of importance.

Download apps and files at home

Unless you have a great international roaming plan for your smart phone or device, you don't want to rely on the Wi-Fi at your international hotel to get that critical travel app. And you certainly don't want to try streaming Netflix over that connection either, so you'll want to download movies and shows before you leave home. Of course you can get a SIM card when you arrive at your destination, often for only €10 or so, and use the LTE data. But one time in Rome, I managed to use up my allotted data entitlement in a matter of minutes, by downloading an audio touring app for my iPhone, and a bunch of free walking tours. Luckily, the Wi-Fi at the bed and breakfast we were staying at was very good, so we weren't too inconvenienced by it.

Check for local/regional affairs and issues

While it's not always obvious to travellers what could be happening at your destination, it is a good idea to ask a local or check the news as to anything that might be pose a challenge. Things like local holidays or celebrations might want you to re-think your itinerary so that you don't end up in a small town with all of the shops and restaurants closed up. Or like the time in Rome, when we left a visit to Ostia Antica to our last day, only to arrive at the Metro station and find that a rotating transit strike was affecting that one route! It would have been a very inexpensive day trip by Metro, but with an expensive taxi ride as pretty much our only option left to get there, we ended up staying in Rome instead (which is never really a bad thing). Had we known that they publish the rotating strike and which routes were closed, we could have avoided this issue entirely however.

Do some pre-navigation before you arrive

Unless you are taking a taxi from the airport to your hotel, this one might help save some anguish for you. Next time you step out of a train or Metro station, have a look around at some of the other travellers. There will be at least a few that are standing there, luggage in hand, with no idea which direction to go. Often, there is a choice as to which side of the tube station to exit from, so there's a 50/50 chance you'll get it right. Trust me, we've walked a couple of blocks in the wrong direction numerous times, before the blue dot showed us moving the wrong way. But with the advent of Google Maps' street view, it's brilliantly simple to "virtually navigate" to your destination. A long time ago, prior to the advent of smart phones and GPS, we stepped off the bus in Toledo (Spain, not Ohio), and we both looked at each other, "which way now?". We spent the next hour or so, in the mid-day heat, wandering the maze of streets, searching for our little boutique hotel. She laughs about it now, but it was not a fun experience for me.

So on a recent visit to Brussels, I had a look on Google Maps as to where our hotel was w.r.t. the Brussels-Centraal Station. The walking directions showed a semi-circular building that we should see when we exited the station, so I clicked on the Street View to see a preview of what we should look for. When we got there, and walked out of the station, and she said, "Which way?" - I knew exactly where to go.

Use the bathroom when you can

Or as my friend likes to say, "Never pass up the opportunity to pee". You'd think this one would be obvious, right? Especially when you are not sure where and when the opportunity for a bathroom break will occur. But sometimes, you body doesn't seem to have the urge, and you pass on using the WC. Like the time when I was working at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City. On Friday afternoons, there is a social hour at the end of the day, where they serve tamales and cervezas. But after having a few beers, it was time to head to the airport. Well you can guess what happens next. Rush hour in Mexico City is like nothing you've ever seen before. By the time we got to the airport, I was as close to peeing my pants as I have ever been! Anyhow, if you do end up getting caught with a full bladder while out touring in the city, a good place to find relief is a major chain-style hotel - there will always be a restroom in the lobby, typically near the bar or restaurant. It also won't cost you anything to use the loo there, as it will if you go to one of the public restroom facilities.

Carry a water bottle and a snack

I've learned this one from my wife, who has notoriously high metabolism, and needs to snack in-between meals. But the reason why this one shows up on my mistakes list, is that you tend to make bad restaurant decisions when you are hungry. Like the time we were day-touring in Porto, we were all hot and tired, but rather than take our time finding a TripAdvisor-recommended restaurant, we settled on the first place we could find that served food and cold drinks. Needless to say, the meal was definitely not a highlight, which Portuguese meals should be. Being able to reach into your day bag and grabbing some nuts or a piece of fruit can give you that little boost of energy to get you out of the tourist zone, and allow you to find a memorable place to eat. As a general rule, you typically will get a better meal, at a lower price, if you walk about 5-10 mins. away from the busy tourist zone.

Lookup the local restaurant hours and mealtimes

Further to the above tip, the typical dining hours vary significantly by country and locale. Living in large, North American cities, most people expect that you can pretty much get a decent meal, any time of day or night. But trust me, you can't get a worthwhile dinner before 8 pm in Spain, and don't even try during siesta time. This becomes especially important when your body is still operating on Pacific time, but you're looking for something to eat in Budapest. While she would prefer to avoid eating in pubs or bars, sometimes that can be the only option available when you need to eat at 6 pm in Europe. Or the time that we arrived at Kahului airport around 8 pm - by the time we picked up our rental car and drove around to the other side of Maui, all of the restaurants over there were closed! Had we known, we would have had dinner in Kahului, before setting out for Napili.

Know your limits

When I was younger, I thought I was invincible; I didn't bother with things like travel insurance, and didn't think twice about doing virtually any activity that was part of my itinerary. But I had a wake-up call when I blew my achilles tendon while playing tennis in my 30s. All of a sudden, I had a heightened awareness that maybe, just maybe, bad things could happen to me. And I'm not referring to "accidents" that may occur - anyone can get hit by a car crossing the street. No, what I mean by knowing your limits, is figuring out what might just be a little too much for you.

Day 2 Saas-Fee - smiling because I'm not suffering from the altitude

My example was the ski trip with my college mates to Saas-Fee, in the Swiss Alps. The town itself sits at 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), and the Metro Alpin funicular will drop you off a chest-wheezing 3,550 metres (11,647 ft). We flew on the red-eye arriving in Zurich at 6:30 am, immediately took the train to Visp, and the bus to the town dropped us off around 9:30 am. We were on the first lift by 10:30 am, and enjoying our first pint by noon. A few more runs at high altitude, and my head was pounding and spinning as we sat down for lunch at Spielboden. Now I'm not sure if I wouldn't have suffered if I'd done things differently, but I certainly would have taken more steps to stay hydrated while travelling, and perhaps gone a bit easier on the alcohol consumption on Day 1. But I learned a lesson on that trip - I am not (and never was) Superman.