Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Highs and Lows of 16th Year - Part 2...

We are happy that once again our list of highs is much longer than our list of lows. Much of this list again focuses around traveling since we all managed to have some adventures this year:
  • Jimmy/Melissa/Veronica Travel: Ardennes - the Zombie Hash expanded to a weekend event and included running through an incredible abandoned sanitarium
  • Jimmy/Melissa Travel: Ardennes - attended the BMPH3 Replacement Christmas Party Weekend with fun trails and an amazing party DJed by Opee; Berlin - Cold War bunker tour; meeting up with Bjarne; Prague - great seeing hash friends from around the world for the first time during the pandemic; hike around Cesky Raj; Svijany Brewery tour; hashing across Charles Bridge in red dress; patternoster (coolest and most dangerous) elevator; rooftop terraces; Vienna - celebrating Melissa’s 58th birthday
  • Jimmy Travel: London - meeting up with Brett; Borough Market; hashing near Camden
  • Melissa Travel: US - two productive weeks of helping Ann after losing Dad; spending time with sisters and Dad’s best friends; afternoon with Darlene and Mike
  • Veronica/Ashlynn Travel: California - cocktails with Grandma; driving lessons with Brett; seeing Auntie Eden, Auntie Leigh, Monique and Sarah; getting to know Cousin Nick; exploring San Francisco; Exeter - being together for Christmas, especially important so soon after Ashlynn’s breakup; fashion photoshoot; Dartmoor and other Devon hikes; spontaneous New Year’s celebration with Exeter neighbors; Glasgow - COP26 Green Zone; life drawing session; lockdown embroidery projects
  • Veronica Travel: Arizona - staying with Rachel, a childhood friend from North Carolina, in Tempe; hiking in the mountains; California - spending time with Brett’s family in San Diego; meeting Siena, and scuba diving and tidepooling with her; seeing places Mommy and Daddy went when they lived in San Diego including hashing with San Diego H3; 4th of July on the Bay (felt very pre-COVID); amazing epic road trip with four camping trips in the Sierras; wild swimming in Alpine lakes; daytrip to Mexico; meeting Brett’s friends at Nick and Meghan’s wedding; Exeter - spending weekend at Dreda’s farm and meeting Veronica, the cow; hikes on the South West Coast Path, camping in Devon; Scotland - visiting Edinburgh and seeing Sam; hiking with David and meeting Tamsin; meeting Ashlynn’s friends
  • Ashlynn Travel: Germany - Berlin and Luneburg with Soso; celebrating 21st birthday with Soso and her flatmates; Namibia - spending so much time out on the water and with Heaviside dolphins and lots of humpback whales; morning runs with Antonia; so many flamingos; witnessing a NGO detangle seals from plastic; being involved in a successful humpback stranding; most amazing hike up Spitzkoppe; rooftop tent camping with Antonia; game drives in Etosha National Park; spending time with lions at sunset; watering hole at night; UK - surprising Sophie for her 21st birthday in London; daytrips and hikes in Edinburgh with friends; Edinburgh Fringe
  • VACCINES!
  • Dance parties: virtual, of course, and international; being together for King’s Night; extra special because Jimmy, Ashlynn and Veronica all DJed
  • Bootjuh: new floor, taking Kati out with us; discovering new canals; good social-distanced fun with friends
  • Airfryer: not a waste of money after all
  • Jimmy/Melissa: Christmas dinner with Sally and John; New Year’s Eve with Carlin, Kent and Mark; Beery Christmas Advent Calendar; Untapped app; transforming into beer snobs; 28th wedding anniversary dinner in Naarden with Ashlynn and Carlin; photographing Celine and Richard’s wedding; helping with demolition at Reinhardt and Inga’s new house
  • Jimmy: happy to run a trail marathon with no pain; super happy to be involved with WorldStartUp / Impact City with Climate Action Center; finally found his tribe; launching Harrier Central; haring Eurohash Ballbreaker in Prague which was both the best run and worst run at different moments; best co-haring team on Eurohash Trail 11; leading half of the pack by accident onto private property
  • Melissa: long walks with Terri, Carlin and Sally; awesome urban art walks in Rotterdam and Utrecht; grand opening of Art Depot; cool exhibits at Kunsthal; becoming Customer Service and Brand Manager for Harrier Central
  • Jimmy/Veronica: visiting Keukenhof Gardens with limited crowds; playing with Hasselblad
  • Veronica: volunteering at Floating Farm and Invisible Foods; self-portraiture; writing Coves to Cliffs blog; starting Impact Communications, a consultancy firm; not having to move back alone to the US in the middle of the pandemic; being in love and living together; scrapbooking and creating first zine (self-published magazine); learning how to make film contact prints; wild swimming; panto rehearsals
  • Ashlynn: COVID-19 lockdown with Clifton House flatmates—like a family; good times with Bilge; Citron, the racing bike; running in Glasgow; Kelvingrove snow; River Kelvin; Subcity Radio community; live music gigs in Glasgow; bartending and hanging out with friends from BAaD; field trips; cool dissections; new flat with Ellie; being an adult, living an adult life; going to the pub; studying at the Learning Hub; solo hikes; Guy Fawkes Day with friends at Necropolis; nice cinema dates; getting accepted to University of Glasgow’s Thailand Expedition in June 2022; community dinners with Char; hosting Sophie for one week and Soso for two weeks; DJing the Freshers Fair
  • Visitors: Steve and Tim, our only intercontinental visitors, each for two nights after Eurohash; Carlin stayed with us for close to one month while waiting for her UK visa
Happy New Year! Stay Safe!


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