So Done with 2020!
Dear Friends,
After nearly a year of being gone, then one of being holed up due to COVID-19, there is no time like the present to post our latest biennial report. It’s another of our two-for-one mash-ups.
We’ve been cranking out these updates for decades and they all start to sound the same after so long. In a year with a lot of us with time on our hands, you might think this version an excuse to create a rambling dissertation to entertain you in these seasonally challenging times. Don’t hold your breath…
We hope that you are all adapting to the conditions of this pandemic life. Our lives up to the point of needing to quarantine were filled with great, far-flung friends and incredible adventures. Turns out, life in the time of COVID has proven to be a modified version of that. We have made some adjustments, reached some milestones and made the best of staying out in nature and out of the hospital.
The acquisition of the Sprinter in 2019 was a landmark purchase. We could not have anticipated it becoming the savior of our sanity during the last nine months. Having a safe, home space anywhere we could get to with four-wheel drive has been incredible. After three months in Baja last year, we are anticipating driving back down after the New Year and continuing the development of our Spanish skills and discerning mezcal appreciation.
River trips continued to litter the adventure calendar. The mix of rafting and riverside Sprinter camping keeps us on the water with all its beauty, leaving us fulfilled. There was the matter of a 25-day Grand Canyon trip in February. Jay spent the first month of the pandemic “without a clue,” which is the way he prefers to operate, anyway. It was a trip of a lifetime for so many reasons.
The big family news happened July 2020, with Mitchell and Danielle getting married here at the Upland Ranch. In a small, COVID-free (everyone tested negative) affair, we hosted a wonderful wedding soirée. After being gone for seven months, Elliot traveled the farthest flying in from Taiwan to join the festivities. We’ve shared many family moments, here and out in the world over the last couple years, and we look forward to carrying on that tradition as the impacts of quarantine subside.
We hope this finds you distracted in all the best possible ways. With much of the country hunkered down waiting for a miracle, it’s never been a better time to get out into the wild and live.
All the best in the coming year,
Jay & Kate 2020
After nearly a year of being gone, then one of being holed up due to COVID-19, there is no time like the present to post our latest biennial report. It’s another of our two-for-one mash-ups.
We’ve been cranking out these updates for decades and they all start to sound the same after so long. In a year with a lot of us with time on our hands, you might think this version an excuse to create a rambling dissertation to entertain you in these seasonally challenging times. Don’t hold your breath…
We hope that you are all adapting to the conditions of this pandemic life. Our lives up to the point of needing to quarantine were filled with great, far-flung friends and incredible adventures. Turns out, life in the time of COVID has proven to be a modified version of that. We have made some adjustments, reached some milestones and made the best of staying out in nature and out of the hospital.
The acquisition of the Sprinter in 2019 was a landmark purchase. We could not have anticipated it becoming the savior of our sanity during the last nine months. Having a safe, home space anywhere we could get to with four-wheel drive has been incredible. After three months in Baja last year, we are anticipating driving back down after the New Year and continuing the development of our Spanish skills and discerning mezcal appreciation.
River trips continued to litter the adventure calendar. The mix of rafting and riverside Sprinter camping keeps us on the water with all its beauty, leaving us fulfilled. There was the matter of a 25-day Grand Canyon trip in February. Jay spent the first month of the pandemic “without a clue,” which is the way he prefers to operate, anyway. It was a trip of a lifetime for so many reasons.
The big family news happened July 2020, with Mitchell and Danielle getting married here at the Upland Ranch. In a small, COVID-free (everyone tested negative) affair, we hosted a wonderful wedding soirée. After being gone for seven months, Elliot traveled the farthest flying in from Taiwan to join the festivities. We’ve shared many family moments, here and out in the world over the last couple years, and we look forward to carrying on that tradition as the impacts of quarantine subside.
We hope this finds you distracted in all the best possible ways. With much of the country hunkered down waiting for a miracle, it’s never been a better time to get out into the wild and live.
All the best in the coming year,
Jay & Kate 2020