There were a lot of lows in 2020, but a few silver linings too. Here are our top surprises of the year.

Good morning. 

Tajha Chappellet-Lanier here, contemplating a good Sunday hike. 

There’s a concept in political science and sociology (ah, college) of “third places.” If you live at home (your “first place”) and you work at some kind of office (your “second place”), third places are the other spaces where you spend time—the cafes, gyms, churches, etc. where you socialize and build community. 

During the pandemic, with most of those closed, the great outdoors has become an incredibly popular third place. Once we learned that it is relatively safe to interact with people outside our bubbles at a distance outside, I started building my entire social calendar around long walks. Walks through the hills of Big Sur, along the beaches of Carmel and Monterey… who cares as long as I’m doing it with a friend. 

And I’m not the only one. "This year for us has been record-setting, by far,” Cane Camarillo, supervisor ranger at Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, says. “That's due in part to many county, state and federal parks shuttering their properties during the Covid shutdown. The Park District chose to stay open. It continued after everyone else reopened. People discovered us, and liked us and they're coming back to us. It's a good thing."

Granted, meeting up outdoors with people from another household is not currently allowed under Monterey County’s Dec. 13 stay-at-home order. But I’m hopeful that this trend will return, and stick around way past the pandemic. 

In this week’s cover story, the Weekly staff explores trends like this—new facets of our pandemic lives that are surprising and even, just maybe, a little bit delightful. Read on for more.

-Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, Monterey County NOW editor, tajha@mcweekly.com