The ABCs of a New 'Ohana Adventure-G is for: Greetings From Teppan, Good-Byes, and Good News!!! - COMPLETED 1/7

[Steppesister]

Clearly, I've fallen off the wagon here but life and all of its busy-ness and complexities have stolen my time and attention. Before I start to write the next update, let me give a brief Real Life Update on what has been garnering my attention- aside from the obvious crap we call "normal" now.

I have registered and paid for my first, of what I hope is my only, 6 month term for my BSN- Bachelors of Science in Nursing. When I graduated in 2016, I did so with an Associates of Nursing, and while it did qualify me for sitting the NCLEX, the certification exam for becoming an RN, many employers now require the BSN. I was extremely lucky and landed a princess job at a surgical center than doesn't require one, but as I look to a future re-location, possibly as soon as a year and a half from now, I want to have one to open up more possibilities to me. While I am not convinced it will make me a better nurse, I AM sure it will open more doors to me.

It's been a fair amount of 'work' to get to the point of being accepted to start on August 1st with transcripts, back and forth with the intake counselor, background checks, etc... And I know that is a small fraction of what is to come. But hopefully, and from what I read in the online support groups, it can be hammered out in 6, or possibly much fewer, months.

In addition, my 'tude has been dismal as we got the news that Europe won't be having Americans enter. We all have our own biased opinions, but what is relevent here is that Anara, Karilynn, and I will almost certainly have to postpone our trip by at least 1-2 months. A winter trip was NOT, like NOT!, on the top of my list. Visions of myself in a big chair on a veranda with a bigger glass of Tuscan red and a warm wind blowing on my face are vanishing like good politians. I am less than pleased. Sure, a winter trip would mean fewer tourons to deal with and cleaner photos, but... sigh... I'm sad. Bad 'tudes make for worse TRs.

Lastly, as always, I'm working 6-7 days a week and am just simply pooped when I get off. But travel and moving aren't free. Nor cheap. I know all of you work too but still manage to make it here and update and all.... I just can't. It's a season and I'm choosing a few other things to enjoy and make margin in my life. Nevertheless, there are a few more chapters, but whether or not I get to them all by August 1st, that will be the hard stop for this TR. If you knew me back in 2016, and many of you did, when I am doing classes, I'm pretty focused. To make the motivation that much more intense, if I don't finish in 6 months, it's another chunk of tuition. (I pay by term, not program- which means, the faster I finish, the less I pay!)

And now, off to writing! I hope your 4th has been a good one for all you descendents of rebels out there. Celebrate safely and see you soon!

 

[tundra1]

A lot of people are postponing their trips to 2021. You can then celebrate your BSN Italian Style!

 

[Steppesister]

B is for: Bold, Beautiful Resort!
​

Sometimes pretty pictures and happy memories can really lift the spirit. Let me take you back to a time when no one could have ever guessed life would be as we know it today. When travel was carefree, borders were open, and people came and went as they pleased. When we could see each others' smiles, not have to ask everyone to repeat what they just said 400 times, and not pay attention to numbers except when you saw the bottom line of your Disney invoice.

The time was early October 2019, less than a year ago. What a difference a few months can make. Then again, no one is guaranteed tomorrow, so I suppose complaining is not appropriate. The place was the incredibly majestic, stately, and beautiful Wilderness Lodge.



Arriving back to Disney after my little stint on the Dark Side, my mouth did the requisite jaw-dropping as it always seems to do when I step into the grand lobby of The Lodge. It’s nothing short of a genius work of architecture with meticulous care given to early-19th century developing America, authentic in form and substance. Which is a hoity-toity way of saying that it’s themed well and accurately. After the usual gawking at its grandeur, I headed straight for the concierge because I purposely arrived in time for the daily tour of the resort which begins at 9:00. If you haven’t done this… you really must.

The tour starts out in the lobby and it is packed full of history, architecture of the Lodge Era, (think CCC), Mission-style deco, and a ton of commentary on the art all around the resort. I won’t go into the deluge of the details our guide shared, it would be just too much, but suffice to say, I learned a lot!



HERE is a fun webpage though that has a good portion of the information included in the tour.

All of the totems and other animals are hand-carved, and of course the ironwork is hand wrought. The detailing on the massive wood-burning fireplace alone is packed full of meaning and symbolism. The Native American you see here, for example is sending a smoke signal. And the arrow to the left of the fireplace on the circle… that’s the flue opening. Did you notice the peace pipes? Another interesting fact… the layers of various colored stone that comprise the chimney mirrors that of the layers of the Grand Canyon stratigraphically. (Sorry, my minor is Earth Science, and I don’t get to use that word very often. LOL!) I’ve been to the Canyon a million times, well nearly so, and I will never tire of its beauty. There is NOTHING like watching a thunderstorm move across it. (Steppe FunFact: I went to NAU, in Flagstaff, home of the Lumberjacks, for my 1st Bachelors.)











If you know me at all, you'll remember I have sorta a thing for Disney’s lighting fixtures. Yes, that is authentic hide up there.





Yes, that one is real glass.



Speaking of the Native American pieces of art, some is NOT original or authentic, but rather replicas as some Imagineers found, after discussions with various tribal leaders, real pieces, especially those with eagle feathers, would be offensive or insensitive to their faith practices. Others, like this piece are not authentic either as they're either too valuable or too easily damaged. I can’t remember but one of those reasons, if I recall.







One theme that carries throughout the resort, both at Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek, is trains. Walt, as most of you know, was a train fanatic, but this resort lends itself perfectly to the theme of railroads as they were the backbone of transportation of people and goods in that era. This wood-stacker really fascinated me!









Mining is a sub-theme, and I'll get to that in the next update.

Copper Creek, while not as grand, is no less amazing. The same ironwork, the same quality of art, the same woodwork is there, just on a smaller scale. The same Mission-style of décor carries over as well. The Carolwood Room highlights and displays Walt’s love of trains and features one of the cars from his personal railroad, the Carolwood Pacific Railroad. Another, as I showed you in a previous TR is in the Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.









I would love a print of this!



Other train stuff:





Random shots I didn't know where else to put ( )



This one was from a trip in 2016, but wanted to include it as it's in the Territory Lounge which is a stop on the tour. If you are into history and especially the US Expansion and Louis and Clark, this would be right up your alley.



After the most delightful tour, it was time to head to the parks. Where I went is not relevant, but when I returned my room was ready and wow was it primo!!! Wanna see it? I’ll bet you do!!! But you’re going to have to wait a bit because I’m going to leave off here for the time being so I can catch up on a few threads before coming back on again tomorrow.

I'll end with this as it seems fairly appropriate today.



And for you non-Americans, here is a pretty sunset from a launch near The Lodge:

 

[Steppesister]

A lot of people are postponing their trips to 2021. You can then celebrate your BSN Italian Style!

I may have to, but I already have the cruise (some of it in Italy) already planned and my younger daughter isn't going on that. I don't want to have the 2 trips too close together as I won't have the time off. Plus, it is for her graduation and I'm not sure where she'll be (in school? overseas? who knows!) next year. I'll make a decision in the next 5 weeks or so. I think we'd be able to postpone until October or November without too much hullabaloo.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

After the usual gawking at its grandeur, I headed straight for the concierge because I purposely arrived in time for the daily tour of the resort which begins at 9:00. If you haven’t done this… you really must.

I desperately want to stay at Wilderness Lodge one day.
I love the theming and the atmosphere.
My next trip, whenever that is, I really need to look at a night or two, if my bank account does not protest too much.

I also need to keep the tour in mind. I would enjoy it. Not sure the ladies in my life would. I'll have to let them get some beauty sleep one morning and do the tour solo.

the layers of various colored stone that comprise the chimney mirrors that of the layers of the Grand Canyon stratigraphically. (Sorry, my minor is Earth Science, and I don’t get to use that word very often. LOL!)

Very cool! I don't think I ever noticed the different layers in the chimney in the pictures I've seen. I love that detail.
I think I may have mentioned it before, but my degree is in Earth Science. I didn't know that was your minor.

 

[suse66]

I have registered and paid for my first, of what I hope is my only, 6 month term for my BSN- Bachelors of Science in Nursing. When I graduated in 2016, I did so with an Associates of Nursing, and while it did qualify me for sitting the NCLEX, the certification exam for becoming an RN, many employers now require the BSN. I was extremely lucky and landed a princess job at a surgical center than doesn't require one, but as I look to a future re-location, possibly as soon as a year and a half from now, I want to have one to open up more possibilities to me. While I am not convinced it will make me a better nurse, I AM sure it will open more doors to me.

Congratulations Liesa!! I am sure you will do so well.

Sure, a winter trip would mean fewer tourons to deal with and cleaner photos, but... sigh... I'm sad. Bad 'tudes make for worse TRs.

I am sorry to hear about your trip. I saw you announce it on FB too. Regardless of individual beliefs, it is not an easy time in the world right now and the only thing that will get us through is working together for the common good. I hope your trip happens sooner than later, my friend.

o make the motivation that much more intense, if I don't finish in 6 months, it's another chunk of tuition. (I pay by term, not program- which means, the faster I finish, the less I pay!)

That is great motivation.

Sometimes pretty pictures and happy memories can really lift the spirit. Let me take you back to a time when no one could have ever guessed life would be as we know it today. When travel was carefree, borders were open, and people came and went as they pleased. When we could see each others' smiles, not have to ask everyone to repeat what they just said 400 times, and not pay attention to numbers except when you saw the bottom line of your Disney invoice.

Just what I needed this morning, thank you!

The tour starts out in the lobby and it is packed full of history, architecture of the Lodge Era, (think CCC), Mission-style deco, and a ton of commentary on the art all around the resort. I won’t go into the deluge of the details our guide shared, it would be just too much, but suffice to say, I learned a lot!

Definitely doing that tour next summer!

Copper Creek, while not as grand, is no less amazing. The same ironwork, the same quality of art, the same woodwork is there, just on a smaller scale. The same Mission-style of décor carries over as well. The Carolwood Room highlights and displays Walt’s love of trains and features one of the cars from his personal railroad, the Carolwood Pacific Railroad. Another, as I showed you in a previous TR is in the Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.

That's my lovely home resort of Boulder Ridge. Copper Creek is in the south wing of the main lodge building. I adore the Carolwood Room, so many awesome details to take in.

And for you non-Americans, here is a pretty sunset from a launch near The Lodge:

Love this!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I was thinking of you when I heard that Europe was closing its borders to people from the US. Is your trip truly cancelled or are you waiting to see if Europe opens its borders by the time of your trip?

We love the Wilderness Lodge and have stayed there many times. I can never get enough pictures of it.

If you know me at all, you'll remember I have sorta a thing for Disney’s lighting fixtures. Yes, that is authentic hide up there.

We were staying in the WL when they were updating these gorgeous chandeliers. They were removing the leather coverings and replacing them with painted canvas. I had spoken with a cast member who told me that the leather had become very brittle and needed to be replaced with something more durable. I had posted pictures on the WL forum thread and posted the link below. We watched the progress during the day and it was almost impossible to tell the difference between the chandeliers with original leather and the new replacement covers.

The Carolwood Room highlights and displays Walt’s love of trains and features one of the cars from his personal railroad, the Carolwood Pacific Railroad.

I love this room. The fireplace screen is very whimsical and the big leather chairs are super comfortable.

These pictures were taken Jan 29, 2015



https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...formation-thread.3372315/page-8#post-52986789

 

[pkondz]

Clearly, I've fallen off the wagon here but life and all of its busy-ness and complexities have stolen my time and attention.

No worries. We all get that life happens. It's not like we're paid writers who can devote all of our time here.
We're happy when you put up an update, and waiting understandably when you don't.

I have registered and paid for my first, of what I hope is my only, 6 month term for my BSN- Bachelors of Science in Nursing.

Saw that. Congrats again.

while it did qualify me for sitting the NCLEX

Had to Google that. Now I know.

While I am not convinced it will make me a better nurse, I AM sure it will open more doors to me.

Well, that's a shame on the former, but encouraging on the latter.

But hopefully, and from what I read in the online support groups, it can be hammered out in 6, or possibly much fewer, months.

Quick!
I presume that's because you already are a nurse.

what is relevent here is that Anara, Karilynn, and I will almost certainly have to postpone our trip by at least 1-2 months

That's not too bad, but... I can see how the weather would certainly be a factor in your enjoyment, there.

I'm working 6-7 days a week

No wonder you aren't writing as much!

To make the motivation that much more intense, if I don't finish in 6 months, it's another chunk of tuition. (I pay by term, not program- which means, the faster I finish, the less I pay!)

Motivation indeed!

 

[pkondz]

When travel was carefree, borders were open, and people came and went as they pleased.

I miss that. A lot.

A. Lot.

and not pay attention to numbers except when you saw the bottom line of your Disney invoice.

The place was the incredibly majestic, stately, and beautiful Wilderness Lodge.

Such a gorgeous resort. Been a couple times, but for dinner.

my mouth did the requisite jaw-dropping as it always seems to do when I step into the grand lobby of The Lodge.

Yes! That's exactly it!
The first time I went, my jaw dropped. The subsequent time, I knew what to expect, but... my jaw dropped anyways. It's like your brain can't hold that much impressiveness inside.

I purposely arrived in time for the daily tour of the resort which begins at 9:00. If you haven’t done this… you really must.

Thanks for the tip! That would be a cool tour to do.

architecture of the Lodge Era, (think CCC),

I might, if I had any idea what CCC was.
I Googled, but only found Canadian Competitions Catalogue and City Colleges of Chicago.

All of the totems and other animals are hand-carved, and of course the ironwork is hand wrought.

Of course.

stratigraphically. (Sorry, my minor is Earth Science, and I don’t get to use that word very often. LOL!)

While not a minor, I did take an Earth Science course at University... about 100 years ago.

I’ve been to the Canyon a million times

Lucky. In all my travels across the US (at least 29 States), I've yet to set eyes on it.

There is NOTHING like watching a thunderstorm move across it.

Oh, wow. That sounds incredible.

If you know me at all, you'll remember I have sorta a thing for Disney’s lighting fixtures.

Yes, that is authentic hide up there.

Wow! Really! I'm surprised and impressed.

Speaking of the Native American pieces of art, some is NOT original or authentic, but rather replicas as some Imagineers found, after discussions with various tribal leaders, real pieces, especially those with eagle feathers, would be offensive or insensitive to their faith practices.

Huh! Then again, I'm not surprised that Disney would take care like that.

Walt, as most of you know, was a train fanatic

What a cool shot! Where is that??

And that! I've never noticed that.

The Carolwood Room highlights and displays Walt’s love of trains and features one of the cars from his personal railroad, the Carolwood Pacific Railroad.

Cool!

I would love a print of this!

I like it too.

here is a pretty sunset from a launch near The Lodge:

Beautiful.

Thanks for another fact filled, interesting update!

(And have the WL web article open and will read that next. )

 

[Steppesister]

Replies soon.... got called in to work.

 

[disneyAndi14]

This makes me very excited for our stay at Copper Creek Canyon, fingers crossed, in January.
I would love to do the tour and I know Andi would love it.
Sorry about the Italy trip having to be postponed! Hope it works out for later in the year.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Congrats on going back to school Liesa!
I'm so sorry your Italy trip has been postponed.

 

[Steppesister]

Congrats on going back to school Liesa!
I'm so sorry your Italy trip has been postponed.

Not for SURE postponed yet... watching and waiting for another few weeks. Just... tenuous.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Not for SURE postponed yet... watching and waiting for another few weeks. Just... tenuous.

Sending positive vibes!!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Not for SURE postponed yet... watching and waiting for another few weeks. Just... tenuous.

I really hope your trip can happen. I can give you some more info about the thinking behind the travel restrictions, which might help you in assessing the likelihood of your trip.

While every country in Europe sets their own entry restrictions during the pandemic, there is also the Schengen cooperation. Normally all travel is free between the Schengen countries. But there is a clause for restrictions for emergencies. And that clause was used heavily starting in March. Each country went their own way and it was very confusing. Some restricting all travels, others restricting certain countries etc. Then at some point the European countries got together and at least agreed on how to deal with travel from outside the EU. That was quite a bit later than when travel from EU to the US was banned.

Then, when lock downs were started to be lifted, it was obvious that travel within the Schengen area and the rest of EU needed to become possible as well. Within Schengen, we are just not set up for constant border controls. No country has the man power nor the infrastructure for it. And it is also against the idea of Europe and created far too many difficulties because of the integration of the economies. However, there was a need for some kind of mechanism as to what should be allowed and what not.

A couple of weeks earlier Germany had decided to start easing out of the lock down (which was mild compared to other European countries like Italy and France) and had found a rule as to when new lock down measures needed to be implemented. The reasoning behind that is that a lock down is necessary if there is too much community spread for efficient contact tracing and quarantine. So, it's a manpower limitation in the local health authorities. Once you cannot efficiently trace the contacts of every infected person anymore, you will have uncontrolled spread of the disease. The idea here in Germany was that our health authorities are (now, we got extra) staffed to be able to trace 50 new infections per week per 100,000 inhabitants. And the rule here is that if any county goes over that number they need to take special measures. We recently had a massive outbreak at a meat factory (they found 700 people infected in the factory) which actually resulted in a two week lockdown of that county.

So, somehow that 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 7 days has made its way into the European agreements. Maybe because Germany as a federal state had come to this through negotiation between its states and therefore had already done a lot of debate on it at a point where other countries were just thinking about easing the lock down. The number was first installed for allowing travel between the EU countries. Sweden was (and maybe still is) above that threshold and therefore most EU countries still have a ban against travel from Sweden.

The next step was trying to coordinate how to ease travel from abroad into the EU. Again, the 50 per week per 100,000 number was vital. I think by then it had morphed into an indicator of how prevalent the number of infected are in a country and with that how likely it is that a traveler will start a new chain of infections. But, it is actually combined with a second test, which can be called: Do we believe those numbers. There are countries who are just not able to test enough people and then there are those countries who are known to lie about everything. North Korea supposedly doesn't have a single infection... The list of countries who are allowed and prohibited will be monitored on a constant basis (I think they will change their recommendations every two weeks).

Which leads to the next step: When will the US move to the list of permitted countries. I am certain that the US is considered a trustworthy countries when it comes to its statistics, so it will only be the 50 per week per 100,000. So, it is easy math: 328,200,000 inhabitants, so that would be 164,100 cases a week, or an average of about 23,450 cases a day. Obviously the US is far from that number at the moment and unless it comes down to that I don't think there will be a change in the travel rules.

Ultimately, nearly all EU countries have decided to go for a suppression strategy (meaning getting as little infections as possible until either treatment of vaccine are possible) against the SARS-CoV-2, not just a containment strategy (meaning just trying to not let the hospitals be overwhelmed). The reason for that is that there is a consensus that the toll for herd immunity is far too large to pay. With 447 million inhabitants in the EU even a death rate of 0.5% (which scientists seem to think is likely in a scenario where every sick person gets the best treatment available now) and heard immunity after 50% of the population is immune would mean that nearly one million people could die from this. And that's kind of a best case scenario. Most of the deaths would be of the generation who rebuilt Europe after the devastation of WW II.

The lockdown was used to get back to the point where suppression is possible. Therefore there is a very strong motivation to not damage that. In comparison to other countries (like New Zealand) it is far more difficult to do this here in Europe with it being a large continent with so many borders and so much interconnectivity in itself on so many levels (not just economic, but also with regard to education, personal life etc.). So, the dangers of new infection chains coming in from outside of Europe will be continued to be taken very seriously.

Sorry that this got so long, but I thought the better you understand the why of the restrictions, the better you can figure out what it means for your travel plans. To be honest, my advice would be: spring is beautiful in Italy...

 

[Steppesister]

I really hope your trip can happen. I can give you some more info about the thinking behind the travel restrictions, which might help you in assessing the likelihood of your trip.

While every country in Europe sets their own entry restrictions during the pandemic, there is also the Schengen cooperation. Normally all travel is free between the Schengen countries. But there is a clause for restrictions for emergencies. And that clause was used heavily starting in March. Each country went their own way and it was very confusing. Some restricting all travels, others restricting certain countries etc. Then at some point the European countries got together and at least agreed on how to deal with travel from outside the EU. That was quite a bit later than when travel from EU to the US was banned.

Then, when lock downs were started to be lifted, it was obvious that travel within the Schengen area and the rest of EU needed to become possible as well. Within Schengen, we are just not set up for constant border controls. No country has the man power nor the infrastructure for it. And it is also against the idea of Europe and created far too many difficulties because of the integration of the economies. However, there was a need for some kind of mechanism as to what should be allowed and what not.

A couple of weeks earlier Germany had decided to start easing out of the lock down (which was mild compared to other European countries like Italy and France) and had found a rule as to when new lock down measures needed to be implemented. The reasoning behind that is that a lock down is necessary if there is too much community spread for efficient contact tracing and quarantine. So, it's a manpower limitation in the local health authorities. Once you cannot efficiently trace the contacts of every infected person anymore, you will have uncontrolled spread of the disease. The idea here in Germany was that our health authorities are (now, we got extra) staffed to be able to trace 50 new infections per week per 100,000 inhabitants. And the rule here is that if any county goes over that number they need to take special measures. We recently had a massive outbreak at a meat factory (they found 700 people infected in the factory) which actually resulted in a two week lockdown of that county.

So, somehow that 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 7 days has made its way into the European agreements. Maybe because Germany as a federal state had come to this through negotiation between its states and therefore had already done a lot of debate on it at a point where other countries were just thinking about easing the lock down. The number was first installed for allowing travel between the EU countries. Sweden was (and maybe still is) above that threshold and therefore most EU countries still have a ban against travel from Sweden.

The next step was trying to coordinate how to ease travel from abroad into the EU. Again, the 50 per week per 100,000 number was vital. I think by then it had morphed into an indicator of how prevalent the number of infected are in a country and with that how likely it is that a traveler will start a new chain of infections. But, it is actually combined with a second test, which can be called: Do we believe those numbers. There are countries who are just not able to test enough people and then there are those countries who are known to lie about everything. North Korea supposedly doesn't have a single infection... The list of countries who are allowed and prohibited will be monitored on a constant basis (I think they will change their recommendations every two weeks).

Which leads to the next step: When will the US move to the list of permitted countries. I am certain that the US is considered a trustworthy countries when it comes to its statistics, so it will only be the 50 per week per 100,000. So, it is easy math: 328,200,000 inhabitants, so that would be 164,100 cases a week, or an average of about 23,450 cases a day. Obviously the US is far from that number at the moment and unless it comes down to that I don't think there will be a change in the travel rules.

Ultimately, nearly all EU countries have decided to go for a suppression strategy (meaning getting as little infections as possible until either treatment of vaccine are possible) against the SARS-CoV-2, not just a containment strategy (meaning just trying to not let the hospitals be overwhelmed). The reason for that is that there is a consensus that the toll for herd immunity is far too large to pay. With 447 million inhabitants in the EU even a death rate of 0.5% (which scientists seem to think is likely in a scenario where every sick person gets the best treatment available now) and heard immunity after 50% of the population is immune would mean that nearly one million people could die from this. And that's kind of a best case scenario. Most of the deaths would be of the generation who rebuilt Europe after the devastation of WW II.

The lockdown was used to get back to the point where suppression is possible. Therefore there is a very strong motivation to not damage that. In comparison to other countries (like New Zealand) it is far more difficult to do this here in Europe with it being a large continent with so many borders and so much interconnectivity in itself on so many levels (not just economic, but also with regard to education, personal life etc.). So, the dangers of new infection chains coming in from outside of Europe will be continued to be taken very seriously.

Sorry that this got so long, but I thought the better you understand the why of the restrictions, the better you can figure out what it means for your travel plans. To be honest, my advice would be: spring is beautiful in Italy...

Thank you SO much for the explanation. I am jetting out the door for work but will reply more soon. But bottom line... bummer. I can’t go in the spring as it will be too close to the cruise next September. I just don’t have that kind of time off work. Perhaps Anara and I and kari can find another vacation destination like Thailand or something. We’ll have to have some discussions.

 

[irene_dsc]

I've been thinking of you - I hope you are holding up ok with all of the uncertainty.

 

[irene_dsc]

Also - as far as actual TR commenting - I love all the photos of the Wilderness Lodge! I'm happy to hear they worked with Native American consultants, too - I was a little nervous when I first saw it, because I know that I'm certainly not an expert about what would be appropriate.

 

[Flossbolna]

Thank you SO much for the explanation. I am jetting out the door for work but will reply more soon. But bottom line... bummer. I can’t go in the spring as it will be too close to the cruise next September. I just don’t have that kind of time off work. Perhaps Anara and I and kari can find another vacation destination like Thailand or something. We’ll have to have some discussions.

That’s a shame that you can’t transfer the time off into the next year (here all vacation days are valid until end of April of the following year, so I didn’t even think of that). I think you will need to monitor travel restrictions a lot this year. As far as I know Thailand still has a ban on all tourist travel. I am really not sure if foreign travel will be really possible this year. We have become very accustomed to having the world open to us, but the virus has changed this a lot.

Not a fan of 2020...

 

[vamassey1]

Congrats on taking the plunge and signing up for more education. I think it will really pay off for you.

I'm really sorry things are looking good for the Italy trip. I have loved all the plans you've been making. I hope something works our for you.

The A to Z quest was lots of fun. You really got creative. It helped me to see things I've never noticed before.

LOVE the Wilderness Lodge update. I've been there twice but haven't had the time to really explore and get to see all the details. I think it's going to have to be something I do on my own to really see it.