First Meal. First Trip.

When I was in Israel last summer I lived on a kibbutz. To say the food was horrible would be an understatement. A couple of times we ate in the elementary school cafeteria and that food was a vast improvement over our daily food. Yes, it was that bad.

Several of us older people gravitated to sitting together. As I type that, I am sad we did not keep in touch.

By week three, if not week two of our four-week adventure, we would talk about our first meal when we get home, with the same emotion I suspect prisoners use to talk about their last meal before being killed. 

Each of us had a specific place where we wanted to dine. Most of us wanted meat AND dairy at the same meal (non-Kosher followers). We could almost taste the meal. Mine was a Rossi-burger -- good beef, cheese, fresh vegetables, and lots of grease.

We are now Day 28 into our quarantine. The restrictions get more stringent -- today we start wearing masks in public. The dreams of a non-quarantine future are not as concrete. With Israel, I had a date. I knew my first meal home would be dinner.

When will we be free to eat in a restaurant again? Will the place I choose still be in business? 

When will I feel safe enough to make travel plans again? The first trip might be a day trip to Philadelphia, though I'd love to return to New York City and Broadway. 

When will I feel safe enough to book a longer road trip? I'm dreaming of finally going to Charleston, SC. Don wants to go out to Ohio to see family and friends.

When will I feel safe enough to book airfare? Next month we are supposed to go with Ashley's school to Walt Disney World. As each week passes, and WDW remains closed, that seems even less likely. This summer we were supposed to go to Disneyland and do a road trip to San Francisco. Again, as each week passes that seems less likely. Where will my first fight be to?

Let me try to dream ... dinner INSIDE Tiger Noodle (a place we have been frequenting through take out). A road trip to NYC to see a Broadway show. A longer road trip to Ohio and Charleston. Waiting until January for a flight and California road trip.

UPDATE July 1, 2020: on June 15th we were allowed outside dining. A week later we ate on the patio at Mountainview Country Club in Ewing. Indoor dining is still not allowed. It was supposed to start on July 2, but after restaurants ordered food and rehired wait staff, the governor said the numbers in other states are soaring too high, so even though our numbers are among the best in the country, we cannot have outdoor dining.

I can no long dream about going away even for a weekend. Even Ohio is out as our governor imposed a 14-day quarantine for everyone who comes into New Jersey from a hotbed state. The list changes daily. (Ohio is not on that list, but their numbers are going up instead of down.) Some people are traveling, but not many.