Running Around – But Not From – The Coronavirus Outbreak Pandemic

It Was Quiet, Almost Eerily Quiet

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Travel Blogger

I went for a run today.

That’s a typical activity for me but this was a bit different than usual. It was the first full day of pretty much the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak COVID-19 pandemic. And it was a different feeling than any other day.

On the one hand, people were going about their normal business. I saw maintenance workers repairing a road, inspecting the trolley line, emptying the garbage cans, etc. I even saw the trolley running on the tracks.

My run took me around San Diego Bay and up and down the convention center steps. I saw a couple of other dozen runners and step climbers and a scattering of people were out for a walk. I saw a few people on a small boat doing some boat-type of work and heard the sounds of construction on the new Embarcadero amphitheater, the Shell. I watched as a steady stream of cars passed over the Coronado Bridge.

Once at the top of the convention center steps, I saw and a couple embracing, taking in the nice view.

But something was missing. Even with this activity it was quiet, almost eerily quiet.

One thing definitely missing were tourists and conventioneers. San Diego is constantly full of both, but not these days.

Another familiar scene that was absent were delivery trucks. I took my run at 10 in the morning and usually, the trucks are lined up in front of the bars and restaurants along Fourth and Fifth avenues, delivering goods to the many establishments that provide food and drinks to tourists and locals. The screaming of their engines as they make their way through the streets to their delivery locations provides a morning soundtrack in the Gaslamp Quarter.

But not this day. And not for several days to come, either, for all the bars and restaurants are shut by order of the mayor. Only places that serve food can remain open, and that is just to provide take-out and curbside service. San Diego is just one of many cities that has implemented these rules.

Adding to the eerie quietness was the fact it was St. Patrick’s Day. The Field, one of San Diego’s most popular Irish bars, would normally have a few people on its small patio and inside even before noon. Hey, it’s drinking time in Ireland, right!?

But not on this day.

I’m sure I will be having a few more oddly quiet running experiences in the days and weeks ahead, but like many others, I can’t wait to get back to the normal buzz of activity, people and, yes, even tourists.