That did not go as expected.

We were not feeling too well. I really wanted to ignore it but we had friends coming to stay with us, and we planned on being in the White Water Tavern with hundreds of other people. I think everyone would have been ok, but with our friends in our rental, for several days, at close quarters, I did not want to take a chance. If everyone got sick, I would feel really bad. So I went and picked up some at-home Covid tests on Wednesday, and we both tested positive. Not what we wanted. We told our friends, and they found other accommodations. Some people came in Thursday night, but we just stayed at home.

I had Friday off work. We slept in and we were feeling pretty good. Just some cough and congestion. We went out and got some cold medicine and some groceries. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we went to Camp Taco. We wore our masks inside and found a picnic table out back. There was only one other couple there and we stayed away from everyone. We tried a couple beers and some chips and queso. We texted our friends but we did not see anyone. We ordered some tacos to go and went back to our rental. We missed the first night of Holiday Hangout music.

Saturday we slept in again and took it easy most of the day. Karla made homemade chicken noodle soup. I went for a walk in the afternoon around the neighborhood. Normally, I would have stopped in a local bar or retail shop, but I stayed outside and avoided other people. That evening we went to Lauren’s rental and hung out in her back yard. We kept our distance and it was great to see a lot of friends again. We made a collaborative music playlist and talked music. Everyone went to the White Water and Karla and I went back to our rental. We had a little food and relaxed. We were texted the set times by our friends at the White Water. Just before 10:00 Karla and I went to the White Water Tavern. It was only a two minute drive and we found a spot in the parking lot. We had our masks on the entire time we were inside. Slobberbone was about to start and we could see our friends at the front of the stage. We hung back and watched from behind the crowd. It was a great set and a lot of fun. I am glad we made it. We went outside and took our masks off. Lauren was out there and we talked for a bit. After they had finished bringing out their gear, Brent, Brian and Tony said hi and talked a bit. There was more music, but Karla and I went back to the rental.

Sunday we slept in and relaxed around the rental. It was another beautiful day so we went to Stone’s Throw Brewing for a beer. We ordered inside with our masks on and took them out to the patio. We were the only ones out there. We played some cards and texted our friends to see what they were up to. They were just finishing a drink and said they would join us at Stone’s Throw. They joined us on the patio at the next picnic table over and hung out for a bit.  Soon it was time to get ready for the evening’s music. Our friends left and we went back to our rental. We relaxed a bit and then went to the White Water Tavern. We were a little earlier than the night before so we were able to see several performers. We caught the last two songs by Isaac Alexander. After his set we went outside to the back patio and hung out for a bit. We went back inside and listened to Michael Dean Damron and two songs by Travis Ness. Back outside for another break. Inside for Ken Pomeroy. Her set was short so we stayed inside and waited for Brent Best. Our friends went up right by the stage and I hung back a little. I ended up closer to the stage than expected. Brent’s set was really great. He played a lot of the songs we love and they brought up a lot of emotions. He was joined by Petra on fiddle, and for a few songs, Brian Lane on bass. For the second to last song they played Fairytale of New York. It was a wonderful drunken sing along. I wish I could have taken off my mask and belted it out with everyone else. He finished with Wonderous Life. I am glad we made it, even if we were not at 100%. After the show we went outside one more time, hung out a bit, said goodbye to our friends, and headed back to the rental.

We have a couple more days in Little Rock. We are taking it easy and hope to be 100% by the time we hit the road again.