Holiday Letter - 2023: New Granddaughter, COVID, International Travel

Carolyn and Steve in botanical garden in Iceland

Holiday Letter – 2023

It’s been a remarkable year! Steve and I are very grateful for the many good experiences we have had, while also dealing with sadness about problems in the metropolitan area and the world. We feel very fortunate to live where we do with a good quality of life, in beautiful surroundings, and with many friends.

At-home birthday during recovery from COVID

HEALTH

Our health problems have been manageable. Carolyn had a light case of COVID in August, which interrupted our stay at church camp and required her to celebrate her 75th birthday at home. It also caused considerable stress because she had only a couple weeks to recover enough to depart on our scheduled trip to Iceland. We went through many test kits to confirm that Steve had remained healthy, that the virus was in fact gone, and that we were safe to travel. Carolyn continues to participate in exercise classes and two walking groups. Steve still walks regularly, although a little slower than in the past and with some balance issues, but it hasn’t stopped him from being part of many excursions while traveling.

2023 Mother’s Day card from daughter and grandchildren

FAMILY

The most exciting family news is that we’ve been blessed with a 7th grandchild. She arrived in October and joined her three brothers and older sister in Chicago. We haven’t yet had a chance to visit her, but hope to in the new year. Both of our kids, their spouses, and the 7 grandchildren are doing well. We visited them in Chicago and San Francisco in March and are looking forward to their planned trip to Kirkland in July, 2024, when we will have a 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration.

TRAVEL

Arabian Gulf

Carolyn had a wonderful time in January, traveling with her Carleton College classmates to the Arabian Gulf (United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Oman). It required four blog posts to describe her experiences. Here are the links: Arabian Gulf Surprises – Part 1, Arabian Gulf Surprises – Part 2, Arabian Gulf Surprises – Part 3 – Masdar City, Arabian Gulf Surprises – Part 4 – Ten Amazing Experiences in Abu Dhabi, Khasab, Fujairah and Muscat.

Magical Monterey

In March we participated in a Road Scholar program called Magical Monterey, staying for 5 nights at the Hidden Valley Conference Center, while going on outings each day. We especially enjoyed visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the beautiful California coastline, and the National Steinbeck Center, located in Salinas. Unfortunately, it rained almost every day and the weather disrupted some of our activities. We might return to see some of the things we missed and to see what the area looks like in the sunshine it is known for.

Road Trip to Oregon

In June we accomplished several travel goals with one trip. We had a beautiful day at Mt. St. Helen’s observing the animals and vegetation which had come back following the eruption of the volcano in 1980. From there we headed to Gresham, Oregon, for a short visit with Carolyn’s cousin, who moved to a care facility this year.

Mt. Hood was only a short drive away. We had lunch at the historic lodge, which was still surrounded with snow. It was a beautiful day and we got some great views of Mt. Hood and the surrounding forests and mountains.

Our next stop was the small town of Gaston, Oregon, where Carolyn’s high school friend and her husband have operated Kramer Vineyards for about 40 years. (kramervineyards.com). We were careful not to consume too much alcohol, since we had one more stop that day, Corvallis. We had accidentally scheduled our trip to occur on Oregon State University’s graduation day, so the town was more crowded than normal, but we were able to stay with friends from Carleton College, so everything went smoothly once we reached our destination.

Following our stay in Corvallis, we spent three nights at Salishan Resort on the Oregon coast. Unfortunately, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights were not the best time to visit. We found many shops and restaurants closed. The area was still suffering from the effects of COVID and seemed to put their resources into accommodating week-end visitors, starting on Thursdays, when some businesses get their once-a-week delivery of fresh food.

Iceland

When we signed up for a 2-week trip to Iceland beginning at the end of August, we debated whether it was smart to travel just a couple weeks after attending church camp at Seabeck, which was the first full week of August. Even though neither of us had gotten COVID and we’d had all our vaccines, we knew that if we got sick at camp, it could disrupt our plans for Iceland. Being optimistic, we told ourselves that if we got sick at camp we’d probably have enough time to recover and fly on time. As it turned out, that’s what happened. Other than the stress of worrying whether our plans would work out, COVID had no effect on the Iceland trip. Carolyn was able to fully participate in all the regularly planned activities, though she decided to opt out and not press her luck with a couple optional hikes. You can learn more about this trip from Carolyn’s blog post: Iceland: A Delightful Place to Visit. It’s a destination we can see ourselves returning to on our own.

FRIENDS

While dealing with COVID challenges, the effects of aging, changes brought about by retirement, and the frustration of having our kids and grandkids far away, friends have been very important to us. Steve continues to be active in his Men’s Group, which this year included a return to Seabeck for a week-end Men’s Group retreat. Carolyn participates in two walking groups and a 3-day per week exercise class. We’ve helped friends with their health issues and have appreciated the hospitality and companionship they have shown us. While Carolyn has tried to back away from leadership positions in organizations, she’s ventured back somewhat to help with church and AAUW tasks.

POLITICS/ENVIRONMENT

We are both diligent in following the news from reputable sources and have been disheartened that there is so much disinformation contributing to major conflicts in this country and around the world. (See Carolyn’s blog post: Abandoning Facebook.). The effects of climate change are alarming, but it appears the public is beginning to accept that global warming is real and dangerous. We continue to support a variety of organizations which work toward world peace, environmental protection, and human rights and do what we can to be good world citizens.

Thank you for reading this post. We appreciate your interest in our activities and wish you much happiness during the holidays and in the New Year.

Carolyn and Steve