Happy Holidays 2021!

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Do you ever let your mind wander and imagine what we will talk about when we are no longer in the midst of a global pandemic? Perhaps there will be a lot of awkward silence, small talk, asking about the weather.  Then after a pause, we’ll say, “remember when we used to be able to wear masks? That was the best!”


Things are so screwy that I don’t even remember what it was like to write an annual holiday letter.  I feel like we skipped writing one last year.  Then again, I also feel like we skipped last year altogether. So bear with us as we try to re-start the forge. 


Thanks to the vaccine (here we go again, talking about the pandemic), we were able to get back to #CastroTravels!  That, of course, helped us keep our sanity. Although, judging by our Holiday Card, I guess there wasn’t much sanity left to salvage.  Meanwhile, I'm sure that we annoyed all of your social media feeds, so for those of you who muted us, or are too old/cool for social media, here’s a quick recap. 


A few trips to 2 of our favorite cities, New York and LA, dotted the calendar, along with some quick trips to Miami, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Oxford, MS.  We got to visit St. Martin for the first time, as we celebrated the coming of age of our marriage, which turned 21. We also did some very un-Castro things, focusing on #CastroLocals a bit a re-doing a couple of rooms in our Christiansburg home. Another consequence of the aforementioned pandemic.  See? We’re not going to be able to not talk about it.  We’re doomed.



The highlight of the year was a 12-day trip to Kauai and Oahu to celebrate our friend Audrey’s birthday.  While there, we got to take our first helicopter ride with no doors.  It was simultaneously harrowing and exhilarating, and we would recommend it 100%!  The entire visit to the Aloha state was fantastic and beautiful. 



Overall, the return of CastroTravels was all about seeing people again, which revived our souls.  Some of you even came to visit us here, for which we are grateful.   But many of you, we still haven’t had a chance to see. So here’s to making that happen in 2022!
Big Thanks and credit to Tom and Derley for helping with our photo this year and providing the well-groomed grass.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from both of us!

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