What a long, strange year it's been.

Dear 2016,
Remember that time in July when Patrick and I got the call that the Subaru's engine needed to be completely rebuilt (also known as the icing on the craptastic cake that was the first half of you), and I shook my fist at the sky and shouted, "What else ya got for us, 2016?!"

Man, did you ever deliver...

There's not much to say about you that hasn't already been said, 2016. But between your numerous punches, you gave us here at Slowly Global some wonderful gifts too.

Like that month on Orcas Island, and our subsequent road trip down the coast where we relived fond memories from April 2013 and got to explore Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park. That was pretty great.

Turtleback Mountain - Orcas Island

Hoh Rain Forest Hall of Moss - Olympic National Park

Olympic National Forest (day one-zero-four-four)

Cape Disappointment State Park - WA

The 2016 farm internship you gave us didn't exactly go as planned, but we still learned a lot about farming, the Rogue Valley, and ourselves during those 10 weeks. (We even got a weekend on the Eastern Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway - new territory to both of us.)

most important lesson: no onions on our future farm!
 

iconic Toketee Falls - check!

Besides, if that farm internship had worked out, we wouldn't have been able to help our parents relocate and settle into their new homes, enjoy extended time with family and friends on both coasts, spend a week on Steens Mountain and in the surrounding areas, and take a quick trip to Portland to see the man who started it all five years ago. So thanks for all of that.

Rocky Mount, NC

Eugene, OR

Kiger Gorge - Steens Mountain

Clear Lake - Sisters, OR

Frank Turner's mosh pit at the Oregon Zoo

Your latest gift of this extended Coos Bay housesit has turned out better than we expected. We're appreciative of our jobs and the new friends we've made. We're also enjoying the natural beauty of Coos County and the quirky little pockets of culture we run across from time to time.

our backyard for the winter

And let's not forget the beer, 2016. Good job on the beer.

the northwest is the best

Between your punches and your gifts, 2016, you've really given us a lot to think about. We've gone around and around about where we go from here, and it's still anyone's guess... But as a wise man once said, as long as we've got a place to sleep, clothes on our backs, and some food to eat, we can't ask for anything more.

Onward,
J&P