Greetings and happy holidays to all!
2023 was a busy year for us, with family visits, travel, adventures, and a few challenges, so we decided to share an end-of-year summary with family. We hope you enjoy it!
It was a milestone year for endurance events, with both of us completing our first ultra-marathon – the Fire Fest Ultra 50k. This is part of a weekend long trailfest, near Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park in the Mojave Desert. Both of us came in feeling slightly undertrained, but confident that we could complete the distance. The course had suffered severe flooding the week before the race, so several sections were badly damaged and much rougher and steeper than expected. There may have been some swearing as we approached some of the rougher sections!
Healthwise, it was a mixed year. We both got COVID for the first time early in 2023, then rounded out Thanksgiving by getting it a second time! Fortunately, and likely thanks to the wonders of modern vaccines, symptoms were relatively mild both times. Alastair continues to have no major chronic health issues. Kathleen, soon to be 70, has been dealing with the inevitable age-related wear and tear. However, not wanting to give up her sporty life and her plan to do a Half Ironman in 2024 has led to discovering some fantastic doctors, physical therapists and successful alternative treatments (like hyaluronic acid injections for knee arthritis – great stuff!)
Our first trip of the year was to Ohio for Kathleen’s niece Christina’s wedding to Stephanos Pirovolos – a beautiful ceremony at Holy Assumption Orthodox Church in Canton. It was great to meet some of Stephanos’ family, spend a few days with the newlyweds and the rest of the family – Kathleen’s brother John and his wife Nikki, and her nephew Stephen.
A four day trip in June to Flagstaff was a welcome break from Tucson’s record-breaking heat. Kathleen spent a day at the Arizona Trail Association’s annual Steward conference. Earlier in the year she was awarded with Volunteer of the Year for her many hours spent participating in trail maintenance and community outreach events. For the rest of the trip, we enjoyed hiking and checking out some of the city’s great craft breweries.
Our major trip of the year was four weeks in the UK in the Autumn. The first week was in Sussex, where we visited some of Alastair’s family – aunt Margaret, cousins Gordon and Jenny, and Gordon’s family. They all showed us a great time – with guided tours of Lewes and Brighton, vegan fish and chips on the Brighton seafront, and a home cooked family meal (Thanks Atlanta!). In between family time, we got in a few sunny hikes in the South Downs and along the English south coast. The rest of the trip was split between Edinburgh and some more remote parts of the British countryside. In Edinburgh, we visited Alastair’s Dad Hamish, who turned 90 this year, his partner Jane, her daughters Louise and Clare and some of their families. Highlights of our more remote travels were a visit to Castle Bolton in the Yorkshire Dales, hiking on the Isle of Skye and a tour/tasting at Tomatin Distillery in the Scottish Highlands.
Alastair continued in the same role at Roche Diagnostics throughout 2023, where he leads a research team of engineers and scientists developing new technologies for cancer diagnosis and histopathology. Major focus areas this year included robotics, machine learning, spectroscopy and sustainability. Since the COVID pandemic, there has been a lot less business travel – with just one trip in 2023, to Roche sites in the Bay Area and a leadership retreat in Monterey.
Since Kathleen’s retirement from the computer gaming industry in 2015, she has continued working part-time at the University of Arizona College of Medicine as a Standardized Patient. As an SP, Kathleen portrays patients with specific situations and illnesses so students can practice physical exams and interview techniques in realistic clinical encounters. It’s fun, rewarding and educational work!
Alastair managed to make some time for both board and video games. Highlight of the year was a very satisfying win in the 18-game collaborative Pandemic Legacy Season 2 with the same group of friends – definitely a top ten game experience.
Summer 2023 in Tucson broke many heat records, with 53 consecutive days above 100°F / 38°C, 17 consecutive days above 110°F / 43°C, and one of the driest monsoon seasons on record – the drought continues! Fortunately, the current outlook for this winter is for higher than normal precipitation. Kathleen would be thrilled to record some significant water flow in the wash she monitors for Tucson’s Watershed Management Group!
Yes, our normally dry washes do flood and the desert becomes green!
Thankfully the temperatures were cooler in November, which was perfect for our final trip of the year to Nevada. Kathleen’s nephew Stephen joined us for the first five days, going through Lake Havasu, Kingman, Lake Meade, and then to Las Vegas, which was Stephen’s first time there. It was great fun being together, sightseeing, visiting craft breweries, and introducing Stephen to our vegan cuisine. From Vegas, Kathleen and Alastair continued north for their 50k trail race, with a stop at Valley of Fire State Park.
The remainder of the year we’ll be relaxing at home, getting together with friends, and making plans for next year’s adventures. We hope you are well and enjoying the holidays.
Thanks again to everyone who hosted us and made us feel so welcome on our travels!
With best wishes for a happy & healthy 2024.
Alastair & Kathleen