When we drove home from Mammoth Mountain on Sunday, March 15th, 2020, I checked my work email and saw that we were being asked to start working from home starting on Monday, March 16th due to the pandemic. We were instructed to go to the office before then and take anything home that we needed for working remotely. I dutifully went to the office and took home my headset, external monitor, and other peripherals. Then, because it’s what we do, we went to dinner at Figueroa Mountain Brewery in Westlake Village, where we are are proud mug-carrying members. It was busy, and as we talked to the staff that night, there was a sense of “this was it” as rumor had it that California was about to close down due to the looming pandemic. While it was somber, we had no idea at that time how the next year+ would go.
15 months later, on June 15th, 2021, California lifted almost all of their coronavirus restrictions. Restaurants and bars could re-open without capacity restrictions. And vaccinated folks could go mask-free inside those spots. So on June 16th, 2021, it seemed appropriate that we take our usual seats and mugs at Fig for dinner. It was nice to be back at the bar.
This is not to say we didn’t do our share of patio dining during those 15 months. We did (Hi Cronies!). But these 2 bookends just seemed kind of appropriate.