Happy Holidays from the Little Latitudes - the 2020 Edition

 

The year 2020 began with so much excitement and promise. We had a scuba diving trip planned to the Cayman Islands for Cathy’s birthday in February.  In July we were flying to Venice, Italy for a 2-week cruise of the Adriatic and Aegean Seas.  Craig had a trip planned to Barrow, Alaska in June, and another Alaska trip in August to chill out with his grandson. This was on top of at least one trip to Minnesota to spend time with granddaughters.  Cathy had plans to attend her niece’s wedding up in South Carolina

All those plans and more changed abruptly in February when “the virus” overtook the world, overwhelmed the health care system, and generally brought everyone’s life to a screeching halt.  We couldn’t even attend the funeral of Cathy’s father following his death in April because of the virus.  It was not a good year!

We were able to squeeze in the Cayman Island trip in late February where we learned that all that advertising in dive magazines about the pristine coral habitats of the Cayman Islands might be false advertising.  Our return from the islands coincided with the first closures of almost everything, and a week after we returned to Sarasota, the Caymans were in lockdown.  Norwegian Cruise Line cancelled our Venice, Italy cruise, and British Airways cancelled our flights there from Miami.  Things never recovered. 

On the positive side having our travel wings clipped allowed more time with Cathy’s grandson Channing who, at 3 years old, has the vocabulary of at least a second grader.  We taught him to swim and after his first unassisted splashes in the pool doing his patented "Shark Swim" we realized we had created a human fish.  It became nearly impossible to keep him out of the water.

Another positive was getting to know our next-door neighbors through properly social distanced afternoon happy hours on the sidewalk in front of our front porch.  The highlight of these visits was playing Pictionary without a rule book, and laughing at each other’s drawings on an eraser board.  With luck you might someday see Cathy’s world-famous St. Bernard drawing or Liz’s sidewalk. Our neighbors are originally from Minnesota; I guess you had to be there to appreciate the experience.

An early November hurricane blew through Sarasota at the same time Craig’s three granddaughters from Minnesota showed up for a week of palm trees and beaches.  Their goal of seeing a rattlesnake wasn’t met which means they will just have to come back and try again another time.

2020 ended with Craig’s knee surgery and with Cathy preparing for shoulder replacement surgery in early 2021.  Getting old is not for the weak.

Development of the Covid vaccine has made 2021 look like it will be a much better year than 2020.  First, an adult will again be residing in the White House on January 20!  We might both be able to go off blood pressure medications when that dream comes true.   

We have plans for another Alaska cruise in July that will end in Seward where we will spend several days fishing for salmon.  Craig has a June trip to Barrow planned to do the bird census he wanted to conduct in 2020.  A little farther off we are booked on a cruise from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Antarctica for Cathy’s birthday trip in February 2022. 

As another year comes to a close, we send you season’s greetings and lowered blood pressure from beneath a palm tree on Florida’s Suncoast.  Let us know if your 2021 plans include time on a Florida beach.  We would love to see you – well – most of you anyway!

 

Happy Holidays