I'm writing this post quite late, but I know if I don't journal about it then it will be gone. My memory - such that it is. So here is a brief recap of days 6 and 7 of our KY adventure.
After the hike yesterday we were all exhausted (with the exception of Linda). So day 6 was really a cabin day. We slept late, played board games, and took naps. Linda hiked the land the cabin was on a bit... overall it was heavenly.
We really didn't leave the cabin except for twice: 1) Midway through the day Jack and I ran to Walgreens to pick up some cold and sinus medicine. and 2) that night we grab some Mexican food at a local restaurant. We wanted to go to a couple of other restaurants and even drove to one, but it only served appetizers on Wednesdays, they only are a restaurant on Thur-Sat. Apparently, that's common here - very weird.
After our relaxing day, we all went to bed. Around 1 AM I heard Mama coughing and my heart dropped. It was then I knew... I got up, helped her get our O2 plugged in and on her, gave her some medicine, put some oils on, and prayed.
The next morning I woke up and felt ... just bad. I knew the dreaded virus had hit me - somehow, someway, here it was. I told Jack I thought we should cancel the rest of our adventure and go home. I also told him we needed to grab a C * O * V * I * D test on the way home. We were scheduled to leave the cabin today and head to TN. Mama, Linda, and Shannon were already scheduled to head home, so the change in plans only affected us and our friend in TN. I canceled the reservations (we only lost one night of the fee thankfully) and we proceeded to pack up the cabin.
I tried to distance myself from the others while packing, but at this point, I know we've all been exposed and tell them my thoughts. It is what it is. So we pack up and head out. There were some drive-by areas we had planned to go to today and given they are outside and away from people we decided to go ahead and do that. I can stay in the truck if need be. So off we went.
We went up the Chimney Top Rock area... or at least tried to. The GPS was a bit squirrely but the drive was so pretty. There were 3 cars in total as we were all going our separate ways so we were caravaning along this road, pulling off at stops and taking pictures. It was so pretty. We drove through a mountain - I love tunnels, they are so cool :) We wound up at an area that had an arch. I can't remember the name - I'm not sure I knew it as we found it by accident. Many times I stayed in the car and just took pictures but this was a tiny hike so we walked down the first path. The overlook was grown up and you really couldn't see anything so Mama and I headed back. We chilled in the car while the rest explored a bit more.
Once they came back we found there was another path. Linda and Shannon went to explore and we chilled. Shannon quickly came back and told us we really needed to go see this. I'm pretty weak and tired at this point so Jack drove me as close to the trailhead as possible and off we went. I walked down and we were standing on a really pretty arch with gorgeous views. I'm grateful I didn't miss it. Then Linda comes up and says we really must go below the arch. It's not something we should miss... At this point, I'm really questioning if I should. I didn't want a repeat of Tuesday and my body is really saying rest, but I'll only be here once. So off I go down this trail. Toward the end, I remember telling Jack after seeing really nothing that this better be worth it. My body was screaming and it was a really minor trail - maybe 1/4 mile if that. And then we rounded the corner and saw the arch. It's the prettiest one we've seen. We took a few pictures, I sat and enjoyed the view and just rested. I'm glad I went ... the walk-up was a bit slow going and I had to stop several times, but it was worth it.
Once at the top we pulled the cooler out and had a makeshift picnic with the leftover sandwich stuff. And then we headed home. I ordered a C * O * V * I * D take-home test from a Walgreens and we stopped along the way to grab it. As I suspected it was positive - the line was super faint so I don't think Jack really thought it was positive, but I knew. We didn't stop much on the way home and I tried to avoid going in anywhere as much as I could - making sure I wore a mask and stayed away from people if I did have to go the bathroom or something... Jack was awesome and drove the entire 8 hours while I slept/rested/zoneed.
Once home we crashed and other than to schedule a doctor appointment I think I slept for most of the next three days. Jack had no symptoms whatsoever, but Mama and I were both sick. Monday we went to the Dr and they did the official "test" - positive. Our symptoms were really mild so we treated mainly with oils, supplements, and over-the-counter medicines. Jack tested negative and needed to go see his father who is extremely ill, so after grabbing some groceries for Mama and me he was off and it was just us. For the next week - we just rested and recovered. I slept so much - I can't even tell you.
I'm happy to say it's been well over 10 days now, our quarantine is over and we are both well. My energy level is still a slight issue, but at this point, it's more having my sleep schedule so out of whack vs. recovery.
So with that our adventure ended. We later found out a caterer at my brother's wedding had it, catered anyway, and 14+ people at the wedding got sick. A mixture of people got sick - some had the Vax some didn't, some were young, some were old, there was no rhyme or reason. The caterer later passed, I hate that, I hate that for his family, I also hate the fact he knew he was really sick (even if he didn't know it was the dreaded V) and came anyway... I don't get it. If you are sick, especially right now, avoid people. It's not rocket science.
Anyway, I digress - the trip was amazing. It ended sooner than I wanted, but we had a great time and I hope we get to do another family adventure soon. Our next big adventure is hopefully Southern Italy next year :) Fingers crossed!
