We have been "Sheltering in place" for 3 weeks now and the cabin fever was rearing its ugly head. I knew I had finally got to my wife when she said, "You know you really should go down to the airport and see your mistress, Why don't you go?"

Now this created a small conundrum since my wife is Persian. Her culture has a tradition called "tarof" which means they ask questions 3 times to be sure they are getting the correct answer. For example, she was most likely expecting me to say something like, "No dear we need to be together as we shelter in place."

Now as all of you pilots know, I never even considered her expected response. I immediately said "Okay, I'll see you later." I grabbed my car keys and headed for the garage being sure not to look back for fear of softening up if I saw her surprised look that I was on my way to the airport.

The airport was deserted and I'm sure I was the only person the tower had spoken to that morning. It was a very strange feeling not seeing any other planes moving around or the contingency of airport bums I share coffee and lies with.

It was a beautiful day to fly. I decided to stay in the area and enjoy a few of our local features from the air, just because I could. I flew around Mt. Diablo, a small canyon near my home, the California Delta, and stopped at C83 (Byron) for some cheap fuel ($3.99/gal). Upon my return to KCCR (Concord) there were 2 other planes on the radio.

I leisurely put the 'mistress' back in the hangar and headed home. The most amazing thing was arriving home in 12 minutes since the trip is usually between 30-45 minutes during normal times. It is evident that people are keeping their social distance in our area.

And BTW, this was a perfect fix for cabin fever since my wife greeted me with "Well you look happy" when I returned home. And I was so happy, I even helped with the dinner dishes that night.

Here is a short video of what our area looks like as things are 'Springing' to life, no pun intended.

I too have found the occasional flight (when WX permits, rare lately) to be really "uplifting", so much so I almost feel guilty. Almost.....the back country skiers are still hiking the slopes behind my place, and my mountain bike buddies and me are riding, just by themselves.

I enjoyed the video, narration, history, and pretty ranchland.

Nice read

New Zealand is one week into a 4 week lock down. Nothing but essential services operating and everyone requested to stay at home for the duration

All recreational activities such as flying, hunting and fishing etc have been 'banned'

I fully support this, it's the right thing to do. But boy was it frustrating to get an email from Z Energy yesterday announcing a 19 cpl decrease in cost of avgas!!

Life here is pretty much like normal, farmers are getting ready for planting and ranchers are busy calving. City folk are in hibernation due to their work place is closed or operating limited hours or they have lost their job. I fly whenever weather permits which isn’t to often due to wind or fog. I hope things get back to normal soon there is a lot of people in a world of hurt.

Beautiful day!