Just anecdotal, but....this is our first day out of lock down, and first time non essential businesses have been allowed to open since mid March. Restaurant's/Bars still limited to outside service/pickup though. So, I ventured out since I had a number of things I needed to purchase that I couldn't get before. Just hit the local area though, furthest drive about 7 or 8 miles. Traffic was 'heavy'. Some of the businesses I went to and/or drove past, had more cars in their parking lot than on even a busy season day. Plenty of people shopping, very few 6 ft. markers, but since the governor 'ordered' everyone to wear a mask about three weeks ago to get served in a business, everyone had masks inside, but generally off outside. And, talking about restaurants having a unique idea to get business back. I drove past our local BBQ restaurant, the one that @UK-Trigg featured in his report/thread when he visited us. During normal times they don't open until 4:00 PM. But today, he had eight large tents set up in his parking lot to serve patrons. It was packed at noon with people eating out. It had the atmosphere of a spring/summer outdoor festival. Great idea to attract business within the governor's guideline of customers not allowed inside the building....Bottom line, good to see people, at least here in our area, not afraid to go out, and patronizing the local businesses that were shut down so long. Of course, this area is unique in that it's mostly hard core blue collar workers that have lived through the long economic depression (20 to 30% unemployment in nearly all the valley towns for more than a decade) in this area when the steel industry collapsed causing the Mon/Yough Rivers valley to lose 170,00 high paying jobs in a two year time span. .
