As is my custom, I headed over to “Gomans” yesterday afternoon to enjoy a few cold beers before curfew. This is what greeted me at the door:

Hmm, now what? As I stood there contemplating my options, Babette, my favorite waitress, suddenly appeared on the other side of the barrier. She reiterated that they could only serve food for take out. I asked if I could come inside and have a beer while waiting for my food to be prepared. She nodded and said, “I know you are a good guy” and slid open the barrier. She told me I needed to keep my beer “hidden” while I was inside. I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to manage that, but I nodded my assent. I go out to the back patio and she brings me my beer and a menu. I teasingly said, “there are so many choices, it may take a while to decide what to order.” She grinned and said that’s okay.

There was only one other customer when I arrived. As I sat there half-heartedly perusing the menu a couple more people came in. I was enjoying my second beer when Babette came running over and exclaimed: “you need to leave now, the Barangay is coming!” I asked about paying my tab and she said, “Later. You need to go now! You can take your beer with you.” So, I hustled out onto the beach and moved away from “Gomans”. Now what? Well, there is still the Speakeasy. Tide was high though, so I had to remove my shoes and socks and wade in places to get there. Once I arrived I saw my manager friend was at the poolside bar with a couple of other guests so I sat down and joined them.

After a few minutes, the manager asked if I wanted to go inside to the aircon bar. I told him I was fine out here but asked if he preferred me to move inside. He did, and so I did. There were five or six customers sitting at the bar so I moved to a table away from them to keep my social distance. Had some beers, then left at 5:30 to beat the curfew. The problem now is going to be finding access between the beach and the highway if “Goman’s” remains closed. The nearest public access is about a kilometer up the road. Ah well, it’s not like I try and avoid walking.

Meanwhile, have you ever had a feeling like you are being watched?

That’s my house on the left. Off to the right, you can see that big burn area I wrote about the other day. And no, I’m not being paranoid. My pal Scott posted some shots of Alta Vista from a friend’s drone.

Oh, and Scott also posted this photo for our hike yesterday:

Every little bit helps. It’s also good to remember that what I call problems are nothing in the big scheme of things. I wonder where I’m going to find a cold beer today while so many are wondering what they are going to find to eat.

Stay strong everyone!