Hey, everybody, Dylan here.

So it has been, boy, over five years since the pandemic shutdown.

That both feels at once, like, incredibly long ago and, like, weirdly recent.

I think for a lot of people, when you think back on that period, the early days of the pandemic,

especially that first year, year and a half, you know, the conversations are about the things

that changed, the places and sometimes the people we lost during that period.

Even if you didn't lose anybody, you probably had a restaurant that closed or maybe an office that got shut down.

Maybe you had to maybe moved out of your city or you had to change schools.

So there was obviously a lot of loss during that time.

But we also know that there was some things that were gained.

And for this episode, we wanted to ask the staff at Atlas Upskira about what places they gained during the pandemic.

What new relationships were formed during a time when you could do so little of what your normal experience was.

When you had to kind of find this whole new way of being in the world.

And I know at least for myself, you know, I came to know this state park nearby me

incredibly well during that period. It was a kind of glorious haven to retreat to during a time when a lot felt really uncertain. And I still love it.

It is a very, very special place to me in no small part because of the role it played.

Well, I could not see people very easily or go to the places I was used to going.

So we are going to talk about all the relationships that people built with new places during

the pandemic.

And there are some really, really surprising stories in there.

Okay.

Here is the episode.

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