Happy (and safe) Hoidays to you!
From Liz, Dan and Don
Good riddance to 2020, right? We felt very fortunate to have skied through mid-March, including in Japan -- before the pandemic kept us biking, hiking and SUP-ing near home except for a 2-week hiking/road trip. For us, November was the most exciting month, because after interminable research, we purchased a barely-used 2020 Winnebago Revel (Mercedes Benz) campervan! Due to the holiday coronavirus surge, we had to cancel the Thanksgiving trip to Dad's. But by this time next year, we should have plenty of RV adventures to share!
Click here to jump below our card.
2020 Events and Travels
X Skiing in Hokkaido, Japan
Dan had a dream, to ski the famous bottomless dry powder of northern Japan, known as JaPow! So he signed us up with a company called Savour the Journey, specializing in both skiing and food. Liz dreamed of being able to communicate with the natives, so she immediately started working through the Duolingo Japanese lessons in order to master the basics: Hello, thank you, where are the toilets? English menu please. Truly an excellent adventure for January, and just in time!
X August Road Trip to Hike in Montana
We grew restless after sheltering in place the second half of ski season and all spring at home. When Zephyr Adventures announced a safety-adjusted Beartooth Hiking Adventure in Red Lodge, Montana, we jumped at the chance to plan a camping road trip to and from the location, including two days in Yellowstone National Park. Of course, we followed strict safety protocols for our two weeks among the Sturgis motorcycle rally folks passing through the region.
X Local Recreation in Covid Times
Dan worked successfully from home with only a brief layoff, and solidly retired Liz did Fitbit online workouts, Zoom Yoga classes and local hikes with a pal. We prioritized local weekend adventures outdoors, feeling grateful to live in such an outdoors-friendly climate.
- SUP? A Paddling Get-away to Clear Lake State Park
- Liz and hiking pal Karen: see the poppies and smell the roses.
- Dan and Liz: Super Bloom 2020
- Natural phenomenon: China Wall and Snagging Comet Neowise
- For future adventures: Test Drive to Pinnacles National Park
- We did it!! Overnighter in our new Campervan!
X Home and Hometown
The Wembly habitat is a wonderful place to spend a pandemic shutdown. Don was like the Energizer Bunny over summer, planting a stupendous display of flowers, helping us with the pandemic garden experiment, keeping up with the raking and managing the swimming pool. A few home improvement projects kept us all busy off and on.
