Hawaii Trip

Before all of those big changes, we distracted ourselves from the upcoming residency match decision with a vacation to Hawaii in February! We enjoyed whale watching, ziplining, hiking through the jungles and mountains of Hawaii’s two national parks, scuba diving, snorkeling, a submarine ride, and, of course, plenty of time spent relaxing.

Vanessa's Match

Once we got back, we got the biggest and most impactful news of the year on March 17th; Vanessa matched to her top choice of residency program: the OB/Gyn program at Kaiser Santa Clara, just outside of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay area! The journey to get here has been long and difficult, but we’re both so excited Vanessa matched to such a high-quality, supportive program, where she can do exactly the kind of work she wants to do in a place where we’re excited to live.

Moving to California

In June, after packing up our apartment in Indianapolis, we loaded up Vanessa’s car with as much as we could fit, and started a road trip across the US! We visited multiple national parks across Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and California, as well as scenic spots like Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon, and some fun roadtrip attractions, like visiting the geographic center of the lower 48 states in Kansas.

Settling in California

July marked the start of Vanessa’s new residency program, and we mostly spent the next few months settling into our new home. We’re loving living in California - the weather is great, we’re making new friends, and there’s good bubble tea for Vanessa, good rock climbing for Paul, and good sushi for both of us! Paul’s still working remotely for Amazon even after the move, though he changed teams in November when he was asked to take on a broader role within his organization, which has been an exciting change of pace!

Paul's Climbing

Paul continues to get more serious about rock climbing, climbing all over the western USA this year, including attending a clinic on climbing wide cracks called offwidths in Utah this October. In May, just before leaving for California, Paul took a couple days to climb Mt. Hood outside of Portland, Oregon, where he was lucky enough to get absolutely perfect conditions for a beautiful view from the summit.

France Trip

In the end of October, we took advantage of Vanessa’s first full week off from her new residency program by traveling to France, where (despite the rainy weather) we had a wonderful time visiting the classic attractions in Paris, Versailles, and Fontainebleau, and, of course, enjoying some good food!

Time with Family

Though Vanessa was working during Thanksgiving, Paul took a couple days to visit with his family (including the growing set of Kusisto grandchildren) over the holiday. Vanessa will be working around Christmas, but we’re very excited to have a few days off to see the Gehring family around New Years! We’re expecting next year to be a little calmer for us, as we now have a nice long lease on our current home, don’t have any plans for big international trips, (at least not yet!) and are looking forward to getting more and more settled in our new home state.

Gallery

We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season. We've included a few more pictures from our year in the gallery below, and can't wait to hear about what you've been up to over this past year in your own lives. Don't be a stranger!

Whale Watching in Hawaii

Standing on Hawaii's Peaks

SCUBA Diving in Hawaii

Rock Climbing in Kentucky

Climbing Mt. Hood

Paul in Four States at Once

Stopping in Zion on Our Way to CA

Overlooking Zion

Visting the Grand Canyon

The Edge of the Grand Canyon

Vanessa's Residency Class

Climbing in Yosemite

Climbing in Sequoia

The Third Pillar of Dana in Yosemite

Paul on the Third Pillar of Dana

Practicing Squeeze-Chimney Techniques in Utah

Dinner in Paris

Climbing in Yosemite

Climbing in Joshua Tree

Paul on the SW Corner of Headstone Rock

Paul on the Final Moves of 'Sail Away'