The Life After Covid Thread - A Celebration of the Return to Normalcy

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prime minister

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As one of the folks who is not yet double shotted, and not yet living in a post Covid world, I would love to see pictures and hear stories of those of you who are returning to normality again. Yes, this is a celebration thread. Celebrating all of those things that you can do again, or even do for the first time. We have another thread for the more serious discussions, so this one is for fun. And don't even think of bringing politics into it. It will be deleted immediately.

So, show me the fun you are having. The old places you are visiting again. The new places you are discovering. Give me something to look forward to!
 
No pics yet, but I was in a bar with live music a week ago. An actual band, performing in front of a crowd, for the first time in 15 months.
 
I had hoped that 'normal' would get redefined during the covid era. Alas, that's not gonna happen. At any rate, Texas has been business as usual for some time now. We just finished up our spring festival at the end of May, it was pretty nice. We also had a pretty good fall festival a half year ago.

Some pictures of spring festival:
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Music in the Beirgarten.

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Cow milking demonstration.

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Western comedy show.

Fun for the whole family.
 
I posted in the original Covid thread that my brother invited me over for "day drinking in the garage" while his daughter's wedding shower was taking place under a tent in the backyard. It felt like a celebration of things returning somewhat to pre-Covid normal, with the hope that the wedding in September will be free of any pandemic worries. Sadly no pictures of us in the garage, but a couple few photos of the of what I sampled.

An American lager brewed in Detroit and named after an old neighborhood in Southwest Detroit.
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One of my all-time favorite stouts. Brewed in Holland, Michigan.
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And an Irish Whiskey that my brother told me can be had for about $22 a bottle at Target. Yep, Target. And it was quite good.
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I've been back to work for almost 3 weeks now and opted out of wearing a mask before and after we are open since I have been fully vaccinated. Talking to others who still wear masks, they tell me that they are vaccinated and wear them as a consideration to others, but I don't as it only offers me a minimal increase in my protection, and not being masked may induce others to keep their distance.

I do have to admit I am astounded at the efficacy of these vaccines as the numbers here have plummeted.
 
I just got an email from the city of Evanston that our rolling average for new cases for the last week is (drum roll)....ZERO! Not one new case in a week. 75% of our residents are fully vaccinated. I hope it holds, of course, but we're going out tonight.
 
Fun after Covid ... nice idea!

We're not yet fully prepared for that in Germany, but at least I'm getting ready for some serious post-covid fun. Two days ago I convinced the board of my sports club to restart training sessions as soon as possible, probably next week. Our regional administration has switched the lights to 'green'. With just a little less than 50% of the population having received their 1st shot, we still have to be careful.

Having received my 1st shot last week, I decided to wait until 2 weeks after my 2nd shot before joining in myself. But at least I will prepare my Badminton department for a quicker start. Man, I'm really looking forward to some serious and sweaty fun in the sports hall after more than a year! 🏸
 
Maybe a correlation there (shocker!).
Yes, there's really no doubt here that the vaccines work. Our residents were quick to get vaccinated and the numbers immediately plummeted until in the last week the virus infected nobody (at least, nobody that got tested). It at least gives me hope that a sort of localized herd immunity can be achieved even if it's fragile.

This morning my coffee shop opened up to indoor seating, and it was filled with my elderly neighbors in their no-longer-dormant coffee klatch discussing the local gossip. We sat outside with our dog enjoying the morning.
 
Not to put a damper on things at all, but as a "border" person a little "fly" has "appeared in the ointment". I've been doing some reading and having discussions with my Member of Parliament about a potential issue which is turning up for Canadians regarding going to the US.

It seems that many places and potentially even the entire border might only accept "FDA Approved Vaccines". Those of us from Canada and Europe who've had AstraZeneca which never got FDA approval are specifically rejected (says so right on the ticket selling websites). Apparently the "take the first vaccine you're offered" concept may yet backfire and in spite of being fully vaccinated as of this Sunday I might yet not be allowed to cross into the US or allowed into theatres if I am allowed in. Given that one of my principal reasons for crossing the border is to perform in theatres there could be a hugely negative ramification to it all. The matter is being brought up with the US at both federal and provincial levels, but I can unfortunately see the US using the "sovereignty" card and throwing a very long term wrench into the works for me. As a US citizen my wife faces no such issue and returning to Canada would never be a problem.
 
Not to put a damper on things at all, but as a "border" person a little "fly" has "appeared in the ointment". I've been doing some reading and having discussions with my Member of Parliament about a potential issue which is turning up for Canadians regarding going to the US.

It seems that many places and potentially even the entire border might only accept "FDA Approved Vaccines". Those of us from Canada and Europe who've had AstraZeneca which never got FDA approval are specifically rejected (says so right on the ticket selling websites). Apparently the "take the first vaccine you're offered" concept may yet backfire and in spite of being fully vaccinated as of this Sunday I might yet not be allowed to cross into the US or allowed into theatres if I am allowed in. Given that one of my principal reasons for crossing the border is to perform in theatres there could be a hugely negative ramification to it all. The matter is being brought up with the US at both federal and provincial levels, but I can unfortunately see the US using the "sovereignty" card and throwing a very long term wrench into the works for me. As a US citizen my wife faces no such issue and returning to Canada would never be a problem.
I would imagine that they'll work it out as the US sent many of those doses of AstraZeneca to ya'll in the first place. I hope you get out of this bureaucratic purgatory soon my friend.
 
I would imagine that they'll work it out as the US sent many of those doses of AstraZeneca to ya'll in the first place. I hope you get out of this bureaucratic purgatory soon my friend.
I hope so as well, but the potential issue surfaced quite suddenly yesterday when a couple of friends tried to buy tickets to a concert and found they were banned due to their vaccine type. A little more research found the kettle had many more fish in it than that, sadly. I'm in consultation with my Member of Parliament and the issues are being addressed at multiple levels so there is hope. The only problem is that one is always aware that it is the US government that is involved and so emotional and political issues can often overwhelm logic. Fingers and toes crossed!
 
I recall Boris Johnson in the UK was floating the idea of a vaccine passport some time ago. I don't know if that got much traction, but some sort of solution probably needs to happen.
 
To get back to the fun, due to the plummeting cases and the increasing numbers of those vaccinated, all Covid restrictions will be lifted in Michigan earlier than projected. So as of June 22, 100% capacity and no face masks required. We have a planned vacation in Elk Rapids Michigan coming up (1/2 hour north of Traverse city on Grand Traverse Bay). I did a little research after my wife set up the rental, and what do I find? A brewery and tap room, as well as a distillery in Elk Rapids. So some fun photos to follow. I'm sure they'll manage to drag me to the beach, so photos of that too.

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@JoeThePop

Never been to the Shorts Production location but have been to their main place in Bellaire many times. The first time was totally by chance. While looking for somewhere to eat after a hike at the Grass River Natural Area, we drove by and my wife was like, "Look, a brewery, I wonder if they have food?" That worked out well.

They do seem to specialize in IPAs with odd names so be careful ordering.

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