Things are getting curiouser and curiouser around here – and all across the country. Last Thursday, I made a trip to Costco at opening time. Usually if I arrive at 10am, the parking lot is only half full and shopping is quick and easy. Not now! At 10am, the parking lot was nearly full. As I grabbed a cart and headed to the entrance, I was told by employees at the door I had to enter from the left by walking past a long line of carts they used to create a barrier. It seemed strange to have to walk halfway across the parking lot just to turn around and head back toward the entrance.

I noticed a steady stream of shoppers exiting the store with full carts. It appeared that people were leaving at about the same rate as we were entering. Just as the guy in front of me got to the entrance, an employee stopped him and they shut the door! There were only about a dozen of us near the entrance. They kept the door shut for about 15 minutes, which created a line of people the length of the building. When they opened the door, I was the second person in and saw an empty store. Of course, everyone waiting in line was impatient to get what they needed and a mad rush up the aisles ensued.

It seemed to me that the process was creating more misery than it solved. The flow of people exiting seemed to be about equal to those entering. Shutting down the entrance and waiting for the store to clear out was just creating a series of rushes into the store. They were out of paper products and limited bottle water purchases to one case.

On Saturday, we planned to visit Mike and Jodi Hall for a barbeque. The plan changed when Mike and Jodi were invited to go to Frank Burk’s place. We were included and met Frank and his wife Kelly and another couple, Victor and Sherry. There were eight of us and we maintained social distance. We had drinks on the patio and up on the upper gazebo deck. Frank and Kelly’s place is a couple of miles east of where we used to live. Frank had the place built on desert property and it’s very nice with great views from the deck.

We had a great time with good food and great company.

Monday morning, Donna and I played pickleball. All of the organized pickleball activities were cancelled, but open play was still happening. The pickleball club provided hand sanitizer and placed buckets of water with dish soap at each court entrance to wash the balls between games. Everyone was mindful of keeping their distance. Pickleball, tennis and golf were just about the only things left to do here at Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort. Everything else, including the swimming pools, is closed.

On our way back from the pickleball courts, we saw a saguaro cactus that had been felled and partially cut up. I asked a woman on the front porch of the park model across the street what was going on. She told us the cactus had been damaged by a golf cart when a woman’s dog jumped from her cart and she lost control trying to keep the dog in. I asked her if they realized it’s illegal to cut down a saguaro in Arizona. She said it was private property and the owner was concerned about the cactus falling over and causing damage to his home.

To satisfy my curiosity, I looked up the law. Private property or not, you have to obtain a permit from the Arizona Department of Agriculture before you can cut down a saguaro. If you don’t get a permit, you can be charged with a felony! They don’t issue many permits and usually require a saguaro to be relocated instead of cut down.

Donna found a two-pound package of large wild Argentine red shrimp for just $11.98 when she rode her bicycle to Basha’s grocery last week. What a deal. She grilled some shrimp with asparagus, peppers and onions and added pesto then served it over cauliflower rice. Excellent!

Tuesday Donna made a dish called Skinny Burrito Bowl. It was Mexican spiced chicken breast with black beans, corn and salsa over cauliflower rice and topped with cotija cheese and cilantro. Cauliflower rice is a staple of Donna’s Bright Line Eating plan – so that makes it a staple for me. I don’t mind – cauliflower rice is quite good.

We played pickleball again on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. A rumor was going around on Wednesday about the park closing the pickleball, tennis and shuffleboard courts. It turned out to be more than just a rumor – a guy stopped by the courts and showed us a notice from the Viewpoint management advising that all activities are closed. I find it hard to understand as the pickleball club was taking prudent precautions with the sanitizer, ball washing and no physical contact. People are continuing to leave the park as activity ceases. Many of the Canadians have been told by their health insurance carriers that they will not be covered for coronavirus if they are in the USA.

I heard that Costco had a senior hour from 8am to 9am where only members over 60 years old could shop. This morning I went to restock our bottled water, toilet paper and booze. I got there at 7:40am and was shocked once again. They had half of the lot taped off into what looked like a TSA security check point at an airport. An employee was handing out tickets to enter the line which snaked across the parking lot. Again they were closing the door to clear the store out – they were closing it at 10-minute intervals this time.

There was a second line for people under 60 that had to wait there until 9am! I finally handed over my ticket and entered the store at 8:40am. They had pallets of toilet paper in the first aisle with employees asking if you wanted Kirkland brand or Charmin and they would hand out one package per shopping cart. The bottled water situation has obviously improved as they had a five-case limit instead of one.

I believe the number of cases of coronavirus in Arizona was – and is – under reported. I’ve been watching the data on this website and found that only 793 tests have been performed to date in Arizona. I think the most important data to track is the number of new cases under historical data.

The weather over the last week has been great. We’ve had mostly clear skies and the temperature reached the mid-to-upper 70s each day. Today and tomorrow are forecast to be cooler – in the 60s. We’ll be back into the 70s by Sunday and will see 80 degrees next week. We’ll continue to sit tight – we don’t have anything better to go to.

*Just so you know, if you use this link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!