Saturday was a milestone.

I revisited my old normal empowered by two shots of Moderna, a double face mask and social distancing.

In several ways the new normal suits me just fine.

I have never enjoyed humans close by in lines other than my husband and daughter so 6 feet apart is groovy.

Masks hide a multiple of imperfections so I am good to go and they prevent the virus spreading, illness and death so why the push back?!

So…we woke early, fit in a 5am spin and embarked on a leisurely coastal ride to Santa Barbara to revisit the Ritz Carlton Bacara Resort and take advantage of my postponed Valentine’s Day gift.

I felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

This would be my first real up close and personal human interaction other than running in and out of a grocery store.

The day was perfection and thankfully the traffic was light.

Bacara has implemented very strict Covid rules.

The pool, overlooking the ocean, limited entrance to one door where your temperature was taken. The seating was spaced accordingly and we found two isolated lounges with a divine ocean view.

At the preordained time I hiked up the hill to the spa which was literally empty at 11am.

A masked and gloved attendant showed me to my locker and only one other woman was in attendance.

My masseuse was decked out in her PPEs, my hands were bathed before commencing and the room was well aerated with the window open and air circulating in the room.

I was in heaven for 80 minutes.

I returned to the pool as the bell was going off to alert us to vacate the area for disinfecting.

We spent the time hiking by the ocean and then returning to our socially distanced seats after having our temperature taken for the second time.

We enjoyed a fabulous alfresco lunch, toasting our liberation with an Aperol libation.

A charming server treated us to a delicious jumbo shrimp cocktail…good karma.

It was so freeing to exit our safe house and be pampered.

There were momentary signs of the old self resurfacing from a year long hibernation.

Onward.