`Tis the season ... Hartman family Christmas letter

Hola Friends and Family,


It`s that time of the year yet again, and in true Hartman spirit, we`ve deviated from the traditional holiday festivities (including my annual snail-mail Christmas letter) and are sending an email to fill you in from the other side of the Equator. It`s warm here in Bariloche, Argentina, and my boyfriend Alex and I are catching up on emails and to-do`s after a wonderful few weeks with the family. Brian and girlfriend Caitlin met us in Mendoza, Arg. closely followed by Al. Together, much like the Griswold Family of National Lampoon fame, we explored the Andes and wine country. Caitlin returned to Rhode Island for her own family Christmas as the four of us continued south to Bariloche, in northern Patagonia where we celebrated a Charlie Brown Christmas in shorts and tank tops with drives and hikes through some of the most beautiful landscape I`ve ever laid eyes on.


It`s been another great year in life of Al, Brian and Joanna, and here`s a little synopsis to let you all know how (and where) we stand.


Al passed another spring walking through Europe, across Spain with his brother Tom - Al`s second go-around at the Spanish Camino de Santiago, this time to Finisterra, the furthest west point in Europe. He spent a month this fall in Shanghai and southwestern China with old Sierra Club friends, including a three-day trek along Tiger Leaping Gorge where he looked ominously down 3,900 meters to the bottom of the canyon. He also snuck in some "local" travel, including a trip to L.A. to visit his college roommate, a stint in Tahoe to watch his daughter report on wildfires, and a family reunion in Baltimore to celebrate his parents` 65th wedding anniversary. Al still calls West Linn, Oregon "home" and continues to tinker in between wanderlust. Next year he`s looking forward to working on the house (and the old cars and motorcycle parts), another camino with his brother in France, and is hopeful his daughter will join him in the Northwest following her travels.


Brian, on the other hand, is looking forward to getting far, far away his dad and sister after an 18-hour bus ride, four-person youth hostel rooms and solid two weeks of family fun. No, really, he`s just off on his next adventure - to Indonesia and southeast Asia in January for two months with Caitlin. Brian`s had an eventful 2007. He resigned as the executive chef of Honga`s Lotus Petal in Telluride, Colorado after expanding and relocating the restaurant, and celebrated the June release of a cookbook by the same name boasting 44 of Brian`s recipes and a proud photo on page 11. He didn`t get in his usual twice yearly travel but left Telluride for Block Island, Rhode Island. He`s now working as the sous chef for Block Island Resorts which operates three restaurants, five hotels and caters a variety of high-end functions for 20 to 500 people. Though he misses ringing in the New Year on his snowboard, he looks forward to seeing more of the world before heading back to work in Block Island in April. And despite his "hard" living, he looks great - just like he did five, even ten, years ago. The appearance of an age gap between Brian and Joanna is quickly closing - Bri still gets carded when he buys beer.


Looking back, my year seems to have whizzed by. I had been living in Tahoe City, California since last summer, reporting for the Sierra Sun and Tahoe World newspapers by day, and moonlighting as a waitress in order to save for this trip of a lifetime. I am now homeless and a "citizen of the world," at least for another month or so here in Argentina. I loved writing for the small daily paper, which even won a General Excellence award in my tenure there, and was particularly psyched to cover my first-ever breaking news story on a wildfire that erupted just three miles from my home and office. My boyfriend Alex and I "retired" in September after a few seasons of exploring the Sierra in sun and snow, including trips to Mammoth, Pinecrest Lake and into the backcountry. I saw high school and college friends in Oregon and Washington en route to a wedding, and also managed to visit with almost my entire family - the Fergusons in San Francisco, Popsi and Jacquee in Grass Valley, Granny and Grandpa and the Baltimore Hartmans on my way out of the country. As we watch the numbers in our our bank accounts rapidly decrease, we will likely be in Argentina only through January, but look forward to another week of family travel with Alex`s parents in southern Patagonia. From there, life is pretty much a question mark - the only guarantee a job and/or graduate school search. I`m interested in journalism, psychology, the Northwest and the mountains. I`m an Aries and I like long walks on the beach. But seriously, if anyone wants to give me or Alex any ins, we`re all ears. And yes, that`s my attempt to plug myself.


In closing, I hope this letter finds you all happy, healthy and well - and not entirely bored.

Take care,
Love,
Al, Brian and Joanna