Meanwhile, life moves on and so do I. And that means walking. At least while the sun is shining. That’s a good thing, even during a pandemic. Well, if the New York Times is to be believed. That’s a dicey proposition I know. There is the caveat that you maintain “social distancing” on your walks, but that’s not a problem for this solitary man.

Actually, we did the group thing with the Hash on Monday. There was some speculation as to whether it might be our last Hash until the quarantine is lifted. But this cryptic message appeared on the SBH3 Facebook page:

We will have a Subic Bay Hash on Monday 3/23. There will be no sign ups at Johansson’s. Just go to the start of the trail and follow the marks to the unnamed On Home. Start of trail will be communicated to everyone as soon as we know it.Sign Ups will be at the ON HOME. Circle will start at 5pm.

Alright, sounds good to me. I have subsequently learned that the scheduled Hare, Two Bottles, is currently on lockdown in Angeles City. So Pubic Head asked if I would Hare with him and I of course agreed. We are planning to do some scouting on Saturday, but Pubic sent me a map of the proposed route which should work out fine. The guards in my subdivision stopped me this morning to advise that Hashers will not be allowed in Alta Vista during the quarantine. So obviously our trail won’t be passing through the neighborhood this week. Or anywhere at all if the Powers that Be have their way:

I had breakfast this morning at Treasure Island Resort on Baloy Beach. It was a creepy walk past the signage saying the beach was closed to tourists, guests, and non-residents. No one was manning the barricades though, so on I marched. I’ve never seen Baloy so deserted before. Some of the resorts were outright closed, others had signs saying open for takeout food only. Treasure Island however was still allowing sit down customer dining.

Chatted with the owner some (he also lives in Alta Vista). He’s going to stay open and continue serving customers until such time as the Barangay comes and shuts him down. I’m going to try and make it out there tonight and throw him some beer business. I also ran into the owner of Sit-n-Bull on my walkabout this morning. He’s only doing takeout and his words had an ominous message from a business owner’s perspective–lots of places that have closed or will be closing are likely to never reopen. The profit margins have been razor thin for a long time and a lengthy shutdown will be the kiss of death for some. I hope Sit-n-Bull isn’t in that category, but my sense was he’s riding that fence too.

Anyway, here in my world I enjoyed an ambitious 8K hike yesterday. It looked like this from above:

As I mentioned yesterday, we were able to find beer after the hike at Out Back hotel. Other than Baloy Beach, that seems to be the ONLY option in Barretto as of now. Went back there last night and they apparently plan to continue until they get caught. It’s a new place and not really on anyone’s radar yet. I was the only customer once again. I’m not saying anything though, don’t want to draw attention from the wrong eyes. I’m sure some closed down bar owner would be quick to blow the whistle if he found out. Ah well.

I leave you with this “interesting” photo I took yesterday right out in front of Out Back on the National Highway:

You know, back in 1976 when I was 21, this kind of future just didn’t figure into my calculations. Oh, the stories I could tell that young man! But would he listen? Knowing me, probably not.

UPDATE: Well, apparently I live in Barangay San Isidro, Subic. So Barretto doesn’t have jurisdiction over me. Not sure how stringent things are next door in Subic though.

UPDATE II: Just had an earthquake. Surely this is a sign that the end is upon us. Or maybe not. It was a small one.