Far Far Away

Well, not that far - only a hundred miles or so - but this is our first night away from home in almost four months.
With the welcome news last week that overnight stays away from home were to be permitted, we came down the M6 today to check our little apartment, that we use when visiting family.
No family visit today though, just need to check everything is ok at the property. Motorway driving took a bit of getting used to after 4 months of only popping to the supermarket once a week, and I definitely thought traffic was only just below pre lockdown levels. Apart from a bit of dust and a flat clock battery, the apartment was fine, so that was one less thing to worry about. Interesting to note that windows were open in the communal areas as well as the lights being permanently on - presumably to try and minimise risk of contamination. We made sure we doused ourselves in sanitiser as soon as we got inside.
The biggest “shock” was Chester itself. I’ve heard people in Kendal complaining that folk aren’t taking the pandemic measures seriously, but they don’t know how good we’re actually being! I hardly saw anyone in a mask, car parks on the trading estates were full and the shops seemed to be doing a roaring trade. Weirdly, only Hobbycraft had a queue outside - either there’s a lot of people looking for something to do or they’re a lot stricter on numbers allowed in to that shop!
Won’t be hanging around tomorrow - back to the comparative safety of Kendal straight after breakfast. We will come down again, but an extended stay is going to take a bit more planning....