Going to the zoo zoo zoo

The state is opening back up. I'm not sure I'm ready for that, but my wife has been really dying to get out of the house, so today we took advantage of the zoo being reopened.

It was definitely a different experience than a normal visit. We had to arrange for timed tickets so they could manage capacity - we ended up going later in the day than we really wanted because a lot of slots were sold out.

We also had to get the kids to wear masks. They haven't needed to do this yet because they have barely left the house at all, except to play in the backyard or driveway. I think my wife may have taken them on a walk around the block once. My daughter handled the mask like a pro, she didn't complain about it at all, and kept it on the whole time. My son had a harder time with it, partly because his didn't fit quite right and partly because he's just younger and has a hard time following rules.

The zoo itself had been reconfigured to have a one-way flow. They seemed to be doing a pretty good job with crowd control - there were a decent number of visitors, but it didn't feel crowded. Everyone was wearing masks except some of the really little kids, and people were more or less considerate about maintaining appropriate distances. There were a few annoying moments, but by and large it felt respectful and reasonably safe.

I also realized that I have barely been out of the house except for phyiscal therapy and the occasional grocery run. This was the first time I've done any meaningful walking since my surgery. It was pretty difficult and somewhat painful. Walking on uneven paths and up hills was really rough on my knee. I am still pretty confident that it's getting better and I've been pretty conscientious about my PT exercises, but it is clear that there's still a long way to go before things are back to normal.

Anyway it was nice to get out of the house for a little while. I'm still pretty uneasy about being out in public, but this gave me a little hope that some things might be possible...