Well, it's officially September. How do we feel about this? While creating our fall bucket list, I started to reflect on how we did our summer activities (social distance style) and how we will incorporate those techniques into the upcoming Autumnal season.
Everyone has a different comfort zone during this pandemic. Certain people feel safe to eat outside, but not inside. Others feel safe to go to bars, and eat indoors at restaurant. While others aren't comfortable even going inside a grocery store. As I've mentioned in a previous post, however you are feeling IS NORMAL and OKAY! My husband and I didn't feel comfortable eating out until almost 5 months after the first case of the virus was reported in the United States. Now, a lot influences our decision with eating out, including the fact that certain restaurants in Wisconsin are still closed, and most others have certain precautions put into place, which personally is one of the only reasons we feel comfortable eating out. And we pretty much eat only outdoors, and only on certain weekends. But that is just what we feel comfortable with, whatever people are okay with is NORMAL and OKAY!
Below are some ways in which we navigate the turbulent waters of dealing with social distancing and still living our lives, but being safe doing so! Also, if you are located in Wisconsin, I will include some places, links, and restaurants that could be considered lower risk. While I know summer is coming to a close (18 more days), dining outside and other outdoor activities will still be relevant in the upcoming months.
Restaurants:
-When it comes to eating dinner out, when we eat out, 99% of the time we will eat outside. Before we go out, I will do the following:
· See if the restaurant I am interested in has outdoor seating.
· See if the restaurant takes reservations.
· Ask if they are still at a. limited capacity, as well as if their tables are six feet apart.
· A lot of the time, on the restaurant's social media account, or website, there will be a section on their cleaning policy, which overall makes us feel a lot more comfortable.
Note: In the two times that we went and ate outside at restaurants that did not take reservations, we did have a backup plan that we would just get food to go if they did not have any tables available for a reasonable wait time.
-While above are some tips on how to make your experience eating outside the most comfortable, if you are in the Milwaukee area, the below restaurants are some that have social distancing, as well as take reservations:
-Note: If you want even more social distance than their outdoor patio has to offer, you can ask to be seated on their lawn (which is what we did). Not only are there a limited amount of tables outside, but you are also right on the water (Big Muskego Lake).
-Note: They try and seat everyone outside, unless the weather is bad. Their desserts are also made with ingredients from their garden. This restaurant is spectacular!
-Note: They don't take reservations, but if you get there early, there are plenty of seats outside. We had the whole patio to ourselves.
Other Activities:
-While eating outside is nice, there are so many other socially distant activities that are not only good for your mental health, but also your physical health. Those include:
· Hiking! Hiking! Hiking!
-We are lucky enough to live in Wisconsin, surrounded by an abundant amount of local, county, and state parks (a lot of them leading to waterfalls).
-Some parks near Milwaukee I recommend are: Whitnall Park, Greenfield Park, Muskego Park.
· Drive In movie theaters.
· Farmers Markets.
· Virtual Tours
· Many places are offering tours and virtual events. These include: Museums, zoos, sanctuaries, wine tastings, and happy hours. For example: We are members of our public museum and we were able to do a virtual star gazing tour via the planetarium.
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