Happy Holidays 2023!

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Here's a look at what the completed puzzle looks like!

IT'S THE RETURN OF THE 
CASTRO CHRISTMAS LETTER FOR 2023!!


It seems like we have fallen into a pattern of only writing these letters every other year.  At the risk of having this become the Bret Saberhagen of holiday letters, we will apologize for last year’s gaffe, and revive the letter for 2023. 


We are grateful for all of the opportunities that this year afforded us, and as we look back on the last 12 months, it’s really surreal to think about all the adventures we were able to go on. 


In all, we visited 6 new countries.  If you're interested in checking out some of our photos from the year, you can see them here.

Streets of Copenhagen




In January, we took the MLK weekend break to visit Copenhagen with our good friend Nolan.  We tacked on a cold, blustery day trip to Sweden while we were there.  It was just a short train ride over the border.



Our Summertime #CastroTravels took us to Japan to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our friends Tim and Wendy.


Moss covered monk statues outside of Kyoto
Go Kart racing thru the streets of Tokyo

















Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur
A few weeks later we took a trip to Southeast Asia, where we were able to visit Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Bali.   It was really cool to visit some of the same locations from the movie Crazy Rich Asians.  But Stacie, Eric and Audrey were not so keen on me calling the trip CrazyWhitesandanAsian. 












Gardens by the Bay in Singapore





















Fall Football Fun with the Kenningtons

The fall was highlighted (highlit?) by


  • New things:  we finally made the FallFootbalFun trip to Texas to see the Kenningtons, and the huge video boards at UT and AT&T stadium. And that videoboard is MEZMERIZING

  • Traditions we’re happy to get back to:  The Hokies are going bowling again!

  • Things that you can always count on:  Virginia Tech’s drubbing of UVa 55-17, and our fans storming their field one more time 

    Storming the field at UVA - a Thanksgiving Tradition!




On the CastroLocals front, Stacie still is thriving in her role as Controller at Hurt & Profitt, the ambulance-chasing law firm that you’ve seen on the side of buses.  JK, it’s the survey and engineering company she’s been with for 6 years.  And Jed’s work at Virginia Tech is the same, except that he continues to say goodbye to great co-workers and friends, who move on to exciting opportunities.  Or maybe just to get away from working with him. 


As we close this letter, we wanted to share one thing we learned from our travels this year.  In Sweden, they love their coffee breaks, or as they call them “Fika”.  But Fika is more than just stopping work to sip some coffee. Fika is “a state of mind, an attitude. It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat.  The food is incidental to the companionship, the socializing and catching up with friends and colleagues. ”

I love that S.  May we all take the time to prioritize Fika and Friends in 2024!







Finally, here's a treat for you - a video of Jed trying to eat Cuttlefish in Japan.


HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!






Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 12, 2023 at 1:21 PM

    Merriest Christmas to you ! What’s left to see on this planet? lol
    David and I don’t venture far, but we travel vicarious through you two. (We did get out twice to California to see Lily and her fiancé, Marshall. Thanks for sharing,
    Love, Janey

    ReplyDelete

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