Forty-five days. I’ve been quarantined at home for forty-five days of painstaking first-world boredom, leaving the house only for essential errands and the occasional, “I give up” Taco Bell run.
It’s been a really bizzare emotional rollercoaster.
Some days, I’m grateful. Grateful for my health, grateful that I live with my close friends, grateful for Netflix, grateful for alcohol, grateful that I have time to do all of the things I never thought I’d have time to do.
Some days, I feel ashamed. Ashamed at how much or how little I eat, sleep, or drink, ashamed at how lazy I am, ashamed at my “I give up” Taco Bell run, ashamed that I’m upset despite my blessings.
Other days, I feel depressed. Depressed because I’m still mourning the loss of my silly little errands or my study abroad trip to Japan, depressed because I can’t bring myself to get out of bed or write a blog post, depressed because I’m terrified for myself, my family and society as a whole.
Some days, I feel all of these things. Others, I feel completely numb.
But most days, I just feel really fucking bored.
The good thing about feeling really fucking bored is that there’s usually something you can do to combat that- you just have to put a little bit of effort and (in quarantine, a lot of) thought into it.
My roommates and I were starting to feel hopelessly stir-crazy, but then we remembered that nature exists. Amazing!
We heard that parks and trails in Austin are still open, which is equal parts delightful and terrifying. We decided that it’d probably be fine to have a little greenbelt adventure so long as we took our masks and turned back if we saw too many people cramped on the trails.
We packed up my Honda and headed to my favorite spot along the Barton Creek Greenbelt– Campbell’s Hole. It’s my favorite because it’s the only spot I’ve been to. Which…. I know this blog is supposed to be about trying new places, but I am using the pandemic clause to bend the rules.
We saw a few people out, but not nearly enough to crowd the trails. To our relief, they all seemed to be mindful of social distancing.
We walked up the trail and admired what would normally be a disappointing, dry creekbed. But when you’ve been shelled up in the house for a month and a half, you take what you can get.
2 months ago, this wouldn’t have been a very exciting outing. But now, this was a thrilling excursion. It felt amazing to have the sun peeking down on us through the tree branches, to hear the crunch of gravel on the trail, to smell the faint scent of spring flowers and to be out of the house for something other than a risky mission to the grocery store.
This may not be the most thrilling or insightful blog post when it comes to exploring Austin, but it’s a look into what recreational outings are like during a 21st century plague. If you’re curious how we’re feeling due to COVID-19 drama, you can check out this short interview I did with a couple of my roommates here. (Even if you’re not curious about how we’re feeling, you can at least check out my mediocre editing skills.)
the local tourist 