Best of 2021

2021 was mostly a weird hard pandemic blur, but with a few notable milestones. We settled into life in Seattle, I changed jobs (from Forterra to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife), we survived our first full year of dog ownership, and we bought a house! Covid easing up enabled other highlights including resuming in-person socializing and trips with friends and family and running my 6th half marathon. 

In 2021, I:

• Visited Washington, Oregon, California, South Carolina, and Maine (with those other states all happening in the last 3 months of the year, after not leaving Washington for 1.5 years)
• Took 7 (slightly nerve-wracking) flights 
• Ran/hiked about 304 miles
• Saw 2 plays/shows (and I think 5 movies, which didn't used to be notable)   
• Read 30 books (personal record!)

JANUARY

The year began with newfound stability in our townhouse in Beacon Hill (then rented, now owned) and our menace of an adolescent puppy Ruthie. 

For the first four months of the year I worked at nonprofit Forterra as a Senior Project Manager. No other notable happenings in January because I had bronchitis for the entire month and then some. 

FEBRUARY

Seattle got a big dump of snow! We had fun frolicking around the neighborhood.

Ruthie got spayed and was a good sport about wearing her silly "surgery suit". Unfortunately, this ended up being the turning point after which she developed a whole bunch of anxiety, behavioral, and health issues that we are still working through almost a year later. 

MARCH 

I enjoyed lots of walks getting to know our new-ish neighborhood. 

We finally got around to taking Ruthie hiking. 

APRIL 

Spring arrived. I love watching the seasons change via this tree in our yard. 

We spent a lot of time on dog-related activities like obedience and agility classes...

And countless hours playing fetch in the yard and the dog park...

And supervising rambunctious play dates with Ruthie's buddies, especially Ava and Koira. 

Covid vaccines arrived!

MAY

I started my new job as the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator at Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Thankfully, I have continued working from home throughout the year, so I only had to drive to Olympia on my first day. 

I took two weeks off in between jobs and spent the leisure time doing stuff with Ruthie...

And baking! Croissants are by far my proudest baking accomplishment to date. 

After 1.5 years of being engaged, Ben and I finally got engagement photos taken by my lovely and talented friend Mitch. 

JUNE

Ruthie's anxiety and behavioral issues got bad enough that we got a dog trainer. We are still working through some of those issues today, but one issue that the dog training solved rather magically was petting and cuddling. Ruthie used to growl and bare her teeth at us when we pet her, and with a few weeks of counterconditioning she was transformed into a sweet affectionate girl!

We celebrated my mom's birthday with more fun baking projects. 

The first time Ben and I ate at a restaurant in over a year! We have loved frequenting the small but mighty number of restaurants in our neighborhood and starting to feel a connection to the little community here. 

We did some nice day hikes over the summer, including this one with Ben's stepsister Wendy...

And Ruthie had such a great time playing in this waterfall pool that she suddenly figured out how to swim! 

My dad, stepbrother, sister in law, niece, and nephew visited from Oregon for a Mariners game. It was the first time I had seen my dad in about 2 years, and even longer for the rest of that family, so a very exciting reunion. 

JULY

Our dear friends Matt, Rebecca, Sterling, and Andrea flew in from out of state for a very fun camping trip in the North Cascades. We car camped at two campgrounds...

Survived intense dirt roads and a long (by pandemic body standards) hike up to Hidden Lake fire lookout...

Had a blast lounging around camp and playing games...

And endured one last hot and buggy hike up Sauk Mountain before celebrating Ben's 33rd birthday back in Seattle. 

AUGUST

I bought my wedding dress! The shopping experience was every bit the "say yes to the dress" fantasy I've had for years, with my mom and BFFs Darcy, Marion, and Melissa along for the ride. 

Because we're "those people" now, we threw a one year birthday party for Ruthie at the dog park with a few of her buddies. 

True to form, Ruthie refused to eat her birthday cake or play with her friends and instead only wanted to play fetch. 

We leaned into being car camping people, upgraded our tent, air mattress, and stove, and took Ruthie camping for the first time along the Mountain Loop Highway. Unfortunately the campground was terrible and after 1.5 great hikes shortly after this moment Ruthie got spooked and refused to walk down the trail. We had to stuff her in a backpack and carry her for almost 3 miles back to the car. We're still working on the walking issue, but the silver lining of this incident is it caused us to get back on working with a dog trainer and other specialists. 

SEPTEMBER

Melissa, Marion, and I went apple picking for a second (soggier) year. 

We squeezed in one last camping trip at Deception Pass.

It rained a lot so Ruthie tent cuddles were the highlight. 

After dropping out of obedience and agility classes for a few months due to anxiety issues, and working with a private trainer, Ruthie was able to return to agility class!

I left Washington for the first time in 1.5 years and flew to South Carolina to resume my family's annual beach trip. It was a delight to see aunts and cousins again and meet new babies. 

OCTOBER

We went to a theater for the first time in years!

This is my favorite of Ruthie's toys. No other notable happenings in October because we were in an insane whirlwind of our landlords informing us that they were selling the townhouse we live in, asking if we had any interest in us buying, and our idle investigations into that possibility somehow snowballing into us making an offer on the house in just a few weeks. 

NOVEMBER

We bought our townhouse! It took just six weeks from when our landlords let us know they were selling to when we closed on the house. It was absolute chaos and maybe the most stressful month of my life. We are kind of still recovering. But I am amazed and grateful that we were able to seize the opportunity and make the jump to homeownership in a place that we absolutely love. 

We also celebrated our 6 year anniversary just a few days after closing on the house. I think we just watched movies and slept. Going to see a musical we've been wanting to see for years was a good belated celebration. 

We took our first proper road trip since the pandemic started, first visiting my dad on the Oregon coast, and then spending a week in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving. It felt a little bit like going home to be there for the first time since we moved away in late 2019/early 2020.

It was a wonderful whirlwind seeing as many friends as we could possibly cram in and celebrating Thanksgiving with Ben's family. The sunshine didn't hurt either. 

Because we love doing half marathons in times of life chaos - Ben and I hauled ass all the way back from the Bay in one day in order to get home for the Seattle half marathon. This was my sixth and Ben's third. We fell hard off the training bandwagon in the midst of house buying craziness, so we both had good races all things considered. 

DECEMBER 

I went to Maine for Christmas with my mom's family! It was precisely my vision of walks along the water, puzzles, good food, and time with family. Sadly a few people couldn't come because of the omicron surge, but thankfully no one got sick and we made it home reasonably smoothly in the midst of "snowmicron". 

I returned to a very snowy Seattle. We had planned to go to Portland for a belated Christmas/birthday gathering with my dad and stepfamily but made the difficult decision to cancel. Despite that, I was mostly able to enjoy a chill snowy week off at home, including a 31st birthday of good food, going to see Spiderman, and quality time with my big cute and little cute. 

I believe better things lie ahead in 2022: hopefully a further easing of this pandemic, hopefully a more well-adjusted and happy dog, and certainly, finally, a wedding years in the making!

Best of 2020

2020 was, well, a year for the history books. The first two months were some of the best of my life, and the rest of the year some of the hardest. The year began with the latter half of my travels with Ben through Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru (where we got engaged!), and ending with Darcy's wedding in Hawaii. We returned road-weary to the Bay Area, moved all our stuff to storage in Seattle, and the pandemic hit just as we were beginning our job search and rotation of staying in friends' and family's spare bedrooms. It took four uncertain brutal months before I got a job at nonprofit Forterra, Ben got a job at Seattle Department of Transportation, and we moved into a wonderful townhouse in Beacon Hill, Seattle. We played catch up and got into the pandemic work from home groundhog day routine, broken up by a four day trip backpacking Mount Rainier's Northern Loop and getting our puppy Ruthie! The year ended celebrating my 30th birthday as best I could with a half marathon run, elaborate cake, and small socially distant yard hang. 

In 2020, I:

• Visited Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington
• Took 12 flights (we packed them in in the first six weeks of the year!) 
• Ran/hiked about 345 miles
• Biked about 35 miles
• Went to yoga about 15 times
• Saw 0 plays/shows :(
• Read 27 books

JANUARY

The year began exactly halfway through my travels with Ben, in Costa Rica. We were struggling our way through a week in Drake Bay on the remote Osa Peninsula, where our jungle cabana filled with massive flying bugs if we dared leave the light on after 7pm and the town's water and power infrastructure kept shutting down. Ben got to bring in the new year by killing a massive flying cockroach literally the size of my entire outstretched hand. 

However, the wildlife viewing and snorkeling opportunities that brought us to Drake Bay were quite impressive - so many spider and howler monkeys, scarlet macaws, sea turtles, colorful fish, and even a toucan. 

We arrived in Drake Bay via a tiny 3-passenger plane and departed via a long boat ride, complete with "wet landing" with all of our luggage.

We rendezvoused with my mom for a week in Quepos and absolutely lost our minds staying in this beautiful fancy house. It was just the "vacation from our vacation" we needed to recharge for the last leg of the trip with AC, a full kitchen, space to spread out and enjoy some quiet, and a washing machine to wash the mold (yes, mold) out of our clothes. 

We visited Manual San Antonio National Park and were reinvigorated by my mom's delight at all the wildlife we had started to get used to. 

We spent a very fun day out on a practically private boat seeing dozens of dolphins and snorkeling with tropical fish. 

It was so weird and fun to see my mom after months of only interacting with Ben and strangers, for her to get a glimpse into the travel life experience we were having, and to show off my travel skills navigating places and interactions in Spanish. 

We flew to a tiny Colombian island called Providencia, which we tried to visit in 2018 but got stuck on the adjacent island because of runway repairs. 

Providencia ended up being challenging and disappointing. The weather was stormy so the trademark turquoise water was rough sandy seas instead and Ben missed out on the world-class scuba diving that was one of the main reasons for our visit. The storm impacted the supply of fresh food to the island so grocery store and restaurant options were sparse. Transportation around the island was all on motorbike, but it turned out renting one and learning to drive it was too sketchy, so instead we had to try and flag down random mototaxis and sometimes ended up walking along the road for miles. 

We did a nice hike up to the top of the island, and did enjoy chatting with the friendly locals and learning about their very unique history and culture as British and Dutch colonialists brought slaves to the island and now the people speak their own Creole dialect in addition to Spanish and English. 

A rare happy moment on Providencia... approximately one hour before my food poisoning set in. 

We flew to Bogota and then to Cusco for the last leg of our trip in Peru. Our first hours in Peru were a breath of fresh air, literally, finally being away from heat and humidity and so happy to be in the mountains. 

We spent the first few days in Cusco acclimating to the altitude at 11,000 feet, exploring the beautiful historic city, and indulging in shopping at the many outdoor stores to gear up for our upcoming trek. We had not planned to go to Peru on our trip so had none of the cold weather gear we needed. 

We went to this amazing backpacker-oriented restaurant so many times that the waitresses made fun of us because we were so happy to finally eat vegetables after over two months of traveling and eating whatever meat, rice, and fried things were available.  

Cusco includes its original Incan stone walls that are hundreds of years old, and many cute stray dogs. Such a fun place to wander and explore. 

Peruvian ceviche lived up to its reputation. 

I also loved how present the indigenous culture is in this region, from the colorful textiles you see many women wearing to the many touristy shops selling knockoff versions.

Salkantay trek day 1, we got engaged! We got up at 3am, as was too common in our travels, and piled into a van with our hiking group for a long drive to the start of the Salkantay trek. We hiked for a few hours up a misty valley to camp and had lunch and a nap during which Ben was fretting about the rain for a mysterious reason. Then, we took a side hike up to Humantay Lake at 13,000 feet, which was beautiful despite the mountain above being clouded in. I made Ben take many pictures and then we sat down on a rock to have a snack. I started putting my gloves on and he stopped me and I knew it was time. We shared a perfect private proposal together, and a few minutes later, some new friends from our hiking group walked by and asked if we wanted a photo. We excitedly explained we had just gotten engaged so he suggested we take some photos with Ben on one knee. So fortuitous that now we have these beautiful photos!  

Our "oh my god I can't believe we're engaged" faces. 

Salkantay trek day 2, our guide woke us up at 5am with coca tea in bed to get ready for a long and challenging day of hiking. This was the only view of Salkantay Mountain we ended up getting but it was still a great experience. 

Our group in the clouds on top of Salkantay Pass - 15,000 feet and feeling good!

Our accommodations for night 2 - we had fun "glamping" style huts to sleep in each night, plus delicious hot meals cooked for us throughout the trek. 

Salkantay trek day 3, we saw this landslide happen and nearly take out a group of hikers walking along the road. Our guide said landslides in this area are common. We had to cross two active landslides and it was super scary and a whole ordeal with about 100 hikers and many guides organizing us to run across one at a time, and building a path out of rocks across a deep muddy part. A little more adventure than we had signed up for. 

Salkantay trek day 4 was quite a slog but we ended at Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu. Another early morning wakeup allowed us to be among the first in the gate to see the morning light descend on Machu Picchu with no tourists in sight!

One of the most amazing places I have ever visited. 

We hiked up Huayna Picchu mountain. Those stairs are not for people who are afraid of heights. 

From the top of Huayna Picchu, looking down on Machu Picchu. We returned to Aguas Calientes, treated ourselves to a big lunch with our hiking group, and took the train and van back to Cusco. Our hiking group and guide were so fun and the trek was one of the top highlights of our trip. 

Our last orbit in and out of Cusco was a three day retreat in the Sacred Valley. More great connections with other travelers and learning about the rich indigenous culture of Peru. 

Back in Cusco, Ben and I did some shopping for an interim engagement ring. I love this simple ring with the Incan/Andean cross to remind me of our special time together in Peru. A year later, I'm still wearing it. 

FEBRUARY

Our last stop in Peru was an overnight bus to Arequipa and then a long van ride to our 2-day Colca Canyon trek. We were a bit burnt out by this point, but enjoyed the beautiful canyon and even seeing condors! 

There are remote towns in Colca Canyon and it happened to be a holiday when we hiked through. We watched all the townspeople in beautiful dresses (men and women) dancing and drinking for hours. 

After Colca Canyon, we spent a last few days in Arequipa feeling ready and happy about the international portion of our trip coming to an end. We flew to Los Angeles for a few days before flying on to Hawaii. We drove straight from the airport to In N Out... and then the food poisoning from the Lima airport caught up with us while in a mall shopping for nice clothes for Darcy's wedding. Welcome back to America. Once recovered we met up with Ben's friend Robin for a fun night of escape room and ramen. 

The very last stop on our trip was Kauai for Darcy's wedding. We stayed in a great rental house with my college friends and had such fun days of lounging at the pool and celebrating. 

We did a very ridiculous kayak/hike trip full of mud but also fun. 

Darcy's wedding!

Darcy's wedding!

Ben and I went up to Princeville for a last few days in Hawaii on our own. The weather did not cooperate for much beach time so we were approximately as lazy as this seal. 

The faces of two people who took 17 flights in 99 days, and yet still almost missed their very last flight home to Oakland. 

The "after" travel picture - same backpacks, same clothes, longer hair, tanner, so many experiences behind us, happy to be home, closer than ever. 

MARCH

After 10 days visiting family and friends in the Bay Area, we packed all of our stuff from Ben's dad's basement into a truck and moved it into storage in Seattle. 

We spent our first three weeks in Washington staying with Ning and Lucia and enjoying playing with Paxton while starting our job search. These three weeks also coincided with the very beginning of the pandemic as Ning and Lucia started working from home and every night we discussed what was going to close, what was going to happen, and what it meant for our job search. 

We fit in exactly one hike with friends and one night going out to dinner and a bar before the world got weird. 

APRIL 

We moved into my uncle's house on the first day of lockdown. We stayed there for a month, applying for jobs and generally bumming around on his couch as it became clear the pandemic wasn't going anywhere. 

In late April we moved to my mom's house and continued applying for jobs, doing puzzles, cooking, and trying to stay sane. She got an adorable puppy named Finn which helped a lot! 

MAY

Although this was a very difficult time, I'm grateful I got six weeks of quality time with my mom, and that we had such a big safety net of family and friends to fall back on when we ended up needing to stay with people for months longer than expected. We enjoyed going out for bike rides, walks, and runs on the beautiful trails around Port Angeles. 

In late May, we loaded all our suitcases and assorted boxes from the storage unit into my car one more time to move back to my uncle's house. Our job prospects were looking up and we decided even without jobs we couldn't take couchsurfing any more and it was time to get our own place after eight months of living out of suitcases. 

JUNE

We stayed at my uncle's house for a last few weeks in June as things finally started to look up. We both had job interviews, and signed a lease on a wonderful townhouse in Beacon Hill. 

I took a quick trip out to Port Angeles to retrieve some furniture and enjoyed a beautiful hike at Olympic, the first time I had gone anywhere outside of my immediate neighborhood. 

We moved into our new house! So, so happy to see our stuff again and have our own space. 

JULY

We inaugurated our new luxurious yard with a 4th of July picnic. 

For Ben's birthday we went on a quick backpacking trip at Mount Rainier, the first time we had gone anywhere outside of our immediate city in months. 

We enjoyed exploring the Beacon Hill neighborhood and taking advantage of all the great restaurants and parks. 

AUGUST

Sterling and Andrea came up for a 4 day backpacking trip on Mount Rainier's Northern Loop!

The trail was complete with lots of fun log crossings and glaciers... 

and lush wildflowers and many many hills...

and great mountain views and good company. 

SEPTEMBER

Marion, Melissa, and I went apple picking. 

The skies were poison for two not fun weeks. 

I started running again, finally, with the goal of training for a "half marathon" (aka 13 mile run) for my 30th birthday. Over the next few months I spent many hours running on this bike trail out to the I-90 bridge and eventually all the way to Mercer Island. 

OCTOBER

We got Ruthie, our blue heeler puppy! We were told she was a lab mix but it turns out she's a border collie mix. She's also been small since we got her (3.5 pounds here!) so we are still wondering how big she'll turn out to be. 

Pretty much sums up how that first month or two went. 

We celebrated a pandemic-safe Halloween with Marion, Melissa, and Steve. 

NOVEMBER

This happened. 

Ben and I took a little weekend trip to Orcas Island to celebrate our five year anniversary. 

Ruthie enjoyed the beach and we enjoyed the change of scenery. 

We celebrated a pandemic-safe Thanksgiving with my mom and uncle. 

I continued to work on my baking skills and made my first ever pie. 

DECEMBER

We booked our wedding venue! We have been in love with IslandWood since early in the pandemic and were finally able to go tour it and whirlwind put down a deposit for one of the last dates in summer 2022. We can only hope a big fun normal wedding will be possible again by then.  

I got a little carried away baking Christmas cookies to send as gifts. 

Ruthie celebrated her first Hanukkah. 

We went to my mom's for the holidays and I successfully ran my birthday "half marathon"! My mom even had a medal made for me. 

I baked my most elaborate cake ever for an early birthday celebration. 

And, we celebrated my actual 30th birthday with fancy brunch delivery, a relaxed day at home, and a pandemic-safe gathering with a few friends, cake, and champagne. 

We spent New Years Eve walking Ruthie and Paxton at the park, and went to bed before midnight, eager for 2020 to end. Here's to a better 2021.