Over the last few years, Joanna and I have been trying to recognize and appreciate the time we’re able to spend with our parents. We’re really fortunate that both sets of parents are healthy and that we moved to a house about 15 minutes from them so we see our families pretty regularly. The only times we seem to go on family trips are when a family member passes away and we have to travel for a funeral, so we decided to prioritize our families this year and take them on a vacation to create some cherished memories together.
In September, we went to Panama with my parents for a week. I didn’t think there was much to blog about because we planned to do 3 days of an all inclusive resort and the rest of the time hanging out with my mom’s side of the family. While there, my dad was able to complete the paperwork for our Panamanian permanent residency and passports which was a bureaucratic mess of a process. Also we went on a wild goose chase for half a day trying to track down a plot of land that my grandfather left my dad and his siblings when he passed in the 70s. This lead to us going to the same 2 government buildings 4 times back and forth to no avail as no one has lived at the property in over 50 years and the records were never digitized when computer records became a thing. We’ll have to go back to Panama at some point soon to get this straightened out.
I had originally brainstormed on a Singapore and Malaysia trip for spring 2026 for us but Joanna asked if we’d take her family to Japan instead as a Christmas surprise to her parents. I don’t think I ever need a real valid excuse to go back to Japan so I got to work right away on figuring out an itinerary. The plan will be to visit Tokyo and Kyoto then spend a few nights near Lake Kawaguchiko which has a great view of Mt. Fuji. I read that the winter months have the highest chances for clear skies to see the whole mountain. Last year when we came to Japan, we left on the first official day of cherry blossom season in Tokyo. After some research, I found out that there are many different varieties of cherry blossoms and they all bloom at different times. Mishima, in the Izu Peninsula, has some of the earliest blooming varieties in Japan so we’ll try to check those out as well.
Honestly this trip couldn’t have come at a better time for us. If you’ve been keeping up with the news, Minneapolis has been in the center of what seems like the universe right now with the occupation of over 3,000 ICE and border patrol agents which resulted in the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. I don’t want to go too deep but I can assure you that the month of January has made sure I have felt every one of its 31 days.
Every week has had new emotional highs and lows and I feel somewhat guilty leaving on this trip. I love my home and my community and it hurts to see neighbors fear for their lives because of the color of their skin. The last few weeks I’ve wracked my brain on what I can do as an individual within my tolerance for risk. With the help of friends and co workers, I was able to raise money for a food shelf (VEAP), bring several days worth of meals to 20 families in need, and rally my neighbors to attend and speak at two city council listening sessions. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I do want to inspire those who are reading that every small action matters and we need to support each other in times like these.
I hope people don’t think I’m ignoring what’s going on at home or that I don’t recognize what an insane privilege it is that I get to leave the country to go on vacation. I look forward to the short mental break from being flooded with constant bad news which comes in waves by the hour and for the opportunity to share my trip through this blog to maybe give you a break from the news cycle too. I know that the work will continue when I come back with a fresh perspective.
Enjoy your travels 🤗
Looking forward to reading this and hearing about your trip!
Hi Andrew and Joanna, sounds like an awesome adventure complete with unexpected twists, turns and surprises. Great that you can spend time with family in a fun way. Don’t worry we will be here when you get back continuing to help clear Mn of ICE 🙂
Hi Andrew and Joanna. We so enjoyed reading your blog. This week we are having “spring”! The snow is disappearing and they say ICE is also 🤞. How wonderful to be able to spend fun times with your family.