Sleeping Beauty Castle was cropped out of this year’s family picture in the print version of this Christmas “letter,” but you can see it here in its full glory.
The Andersons and Julia visited end of February, beginning of March. On our local excursions, we saw a leafy seadragon at the Birch Aquarium, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in La Jolla, and a white peacock at the Leo Carillo Ranch Historic Park in Carlsbad (“Oh Pancho!” “Oh Cisco!”).
The trip to Disneyland, however, was the best. I wasn’t sure about it originally, considering Alice was then just seven months old. But Disney was offering three-day park-hopping passes that, with a military discount, cost only a little more than a single-day, one-park pass. Couldn’t pass that up.
We bounced between Disneyland and California Adventure. The evening parade and fireworks, special 60th anniversary editions, were extraordinary. You can get a sense of Adeline’s reaction in this screen shot. It’s from a video of the visit you can see below.
With the Disney photo nearly 10 months old, here’s a much more recent picture of the girls. Addy turns 5 in January, Alice 2 in July.
The year started off, literally on January 1, with a visit from cousin Kathy McManamy. Briefer than her visit the previous summer, we still packed in a number of excursions, including San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido and San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas, as well as the Hotel del Coronado.
I also later hosted Cathedral High classmate Susan Hartley Mantoni on my “patented” San-Diego-County-in-a-Day tour.
Once again, I volunteered at the Farmers Insurance PGA tournament in late January, this time serving as a hole captain, overseeing marshals. My normal boasting about our wonderful winter weather took a beating when the Sunday round was delayed several times and then suspended, with the course evacuated, because of a terrific storm. My attire Sunday, as seen in this video, was insufficient.
There was an amazing scene captured on Golf Channel of a player, after complaining about the conditions, putting his ball far past the hole and watching the wind push it back into the cup.
The San Diego BC alumni chapter is chugging along, with a couple of new and different activities. One was an excursion to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and a side trip to Eagle Rock, on the Pacific Crest Trail in Warner Springs, Cal. This natural rock formation looks unnaturally like an eagle. Here’s a video of that trip that includes our amusing encounter with a group of Western cattle.
I traveled to New England in September to join BC classmates at our annual football game get-together, and see friends and family, of course. (More in earlier post.) Meredith and Winter joined us at the BC-UMass game in Gillette Stadium and we enjoyed the amenities of “professional” football, e.g., beer. Stayed with Marcy and Larry Kenah at my home-away-from-home, and visited family and several dear friends. There was the bonus of a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Great sights and sounds.
Just because, here’s another picture of the stylish girls.
Going out to the desert is nearly always a pleasure, even with the 140-mile round trip. One reason is seeing what I consider beautiful landscapes. Below is a shot of the meadow that surrounds Lake Henshaw, elevation about 2,800 feet, 30 miles east of Fallbrook. Taken shortly after sunrise, with mist above the lake.
It was a notable birthday for me this year, the proverbial three score and 10. Meredith, Winter, and Julia came out to join Dillon in helping me celebrate(?) the occasion, which made it actually fun. With the girls remaining home, it permitted “adult” excursions, which focused, happily, on craft beer and brew-pubs. (More in earlier post.) We also had a plaid parade!
Wishing you a very merry Christmas and that twenty-seventeen is way beyond compare.
