Highs and Lows of 15th Year - Part 2

We are happy that once again our list of highs is much longer than our list of lows. Perhaps it’s not a surprise that unlike past years, much of this list does not focus around traveling:

• Jimmy/Melissa/Veronica Travel: Holland - Veronica thought it would be too sad to celebrate Christmas 2019 at home without Ashlynn, so we rented a cottage near a national park and brought Kati along; Paris - introduced Brett to the hash cult with a fantastic three-night stay for Paris 1000th Hash Weekend in early March just before all the lockdowns
• Jimmy/Melissa Travel: Brussels - attended our first BMPH3 Christmas Party Weekend with great trails and an amazing party; Holland - explored a near empty Amsterdam on a two-night stay; Switzerland - wonderful five-night stay with Jim and Nina with lots of hiking followed by one-night stay in Basel
• Jimmy Travel: US - good meetings before the rush to escape before the travel bans were enforced
• Veronica Travel: Holland - cycling with Brett to Amsterdam for a two-night stay, sunrise at Museumplein; UK - Expedition Society trips to Cheddar and Wales; exploring Southwest Coast Path, Exmoor and Dartmoor with Brett
• Ashlynn Travel: Cairns - Tropic Days Hostel, camping, volunteering at Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, diving on the Great Barrier Reef, exploring Queensland; Czech Republic - hiking in Velka Amerika, exploring Prague; Germany - visiting Bjarne and Soso in Berlin, going to the Baltic Sea; Vietnam - loved Ho Chi Minh City, fantastic food, friendly people
• The White House Commune: brought two unknown boys into our house and it all worked; King's Night disco; outdoor movies; family lockdown hashes; Cruesli; 120+ vegan dinners together; Lekker Lockdown Cookbook; boat rides
• Proud Parents: so happy that both girls have embraced being hashers and have not only hashed on their own, but have brought their boyfriends along; went on a double date with each girl for the first time; proud new owners of a floating bathtub; celebrating 2020 Election victory with our Dutch neighbors; dining twice in a glass greenhouse
• Jimmy: Zombie Hash Awarded the Best Trail of 2019 for BMPH3; multinational defense innovation is finally picking up; IT knowledge has expanded significantly so reinvigorating old skillsets; DJing at HUB Christmas 2019 party; managed to make Voorschoten interesting for hashing
• Melissa: working with Terri after becoming Editor of Going Dutch once again; honing my superpower—controlling the weather while hashing; Lockdown Puzzle Project with Veronica; video calls with long-lost friends; walking the dunes with friends and Kati; making up for my high carbon footprint last year by not flying once 
• Veronica: achieving a Distinction at University of Exeter; moving in with Brett, first in Holland and then in Exeter—living in a love bubble; “best way to influence a meat eater is to go on lockdown with him”; learning drops at aerial class; self-portrait photography project; learning to develop film; six-course meal at Riverford Farms; learning how to bake bread; setting a birthday hash in Exeter for non-hashing friends
• Ashlynn: working as a bartender and waitress on a tropical island paradise in the Great Barrier Reef; falling in love for the first time; Rummikub; playing on Adam’s radio; starting University of Glasgow with nice flatmates 
• Visitors: most of our planned visitors had to cancel, but we managed to host Jim several times from Switzerland; spent a fun day with Gillian visiting from Edinburgh

Happy Holidays! Stay Safe!