We have had so many fantastic adventures this year. My new job has been stressful in many ways, of course, particularly in the wake of the Wikileaks disaster, but we have taken full advantage of the traveling I have been forced to do. A year ago, could you have imagined what this year would hold? I certainly never imagined myself working for international corporations, let alone in espionage, but with you by my side anything seems possible. And as the vacation pictures I will share with you below demonstrate, you have been quite literally by my side for so much of the past year. You are a trooper, a hero, a king among men.
Remember when we went to Niagara Falls last spring?
Remember how just after that photo was taken, the wind picked up? The mist was so heavy that we would have been drenched, had we not been wearing our jumpsuits.
You won that adorable sock monkey in the claw machine when we went to Denny's for lunch. As you know, we lost him to the falls that afternoon.
No matter. By the time we reached New York at the end of April, I was hardly crying about Mr. Juggles at all anymore. Better to have loved and lost, etc. etc.
Being a tourist with you has been a supreme joy, and what better place to be a tourist than New York? Though we hit all the important spots (the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the museums), my favorite part of the trip had to be standing with you in picturesque places wearing our signature jumpsuits, holding our thumbs up to the world. (Four upvotes for you, New York.)
If nothing else, though, we'll always have Paris: swimming naked in the Seine, stealing that corgi we found tied up outside a market, spitting off the top of the Eiffel Tower.
And as the trip went on, we even began to make friends. Remember the Extreme Spaghetti-Making class in Tuscany? I hadn't heard of extreme pasta-related sports before, but Marco and Carmina showed us how just how much fun it can be to cut spaghetti on the edge of a mountain after having shared several bottles of wine.
Carmina lost a finger in the pasta-cutting machine not too long after this photo was taken, but since it was only her pinky, she should be okay.
In Nepal, we had that entire group with us! This photo was taken on my birthday, I think. Some hill, huh?
From left to right: Sarah, Michael, Joanne, Robert, Enzo, Pierre, Jake, Fernando, Chris, Robert, Alonso, you, and me. I'm laughing now just thinking about Enzo and some of the crazy things he said--remember his Arnold Schwarzenegger impression? Shame about his sister, really.
Of course, we were sent back to the US after not too long.
We met Jason and Krista in Yellowstone. They were a little nonplussed by the geysers, but you were as enthusiastic as ever. How could I be anything otherwise? Hot water is awesome! It's science!
In Arizona, we spent a good hour making jokes with the Poopoulos kids, who we met on the trail.
In general, they were pretty good sports. Unfortunately, though, you just couldn't stop making poop jokes. Good thing we were in our skydiving outfits, still--when little Joey Poopoulos (that's him on the left) got fed up with us, he pushed us off. If we hadn't had our parachutes on, our trip might have ended at the bottom of the Grand Canyon! As it was, we were able to get back up the canyon, find our car, and make our way back to San Luis Obispo.
It's been quite a year and quite a trip. And now that we're back home safe, I can say without a doubt: I've seen the world, and you're my favorite thing in it.
Happy Valentine's Day, Sterling.
Love,
Elizabeth
Adorable! I love you too.
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