THE "CROSS-MAS" CHRONICLES
Christmas, 2022 – World Series Edition


Dear Friends and Family,
Hi everyone! We hope you are well and have had a good year! For us, this has been the year of the “Great American Road Trip” – actually two of them – one 47 days and another 50 days! We traveled to the west coast to see Richard and his family after they moved cross-country from PA to CA near LA last year. On the trip we saw the 5 national parks we planned to see in 2020. After my eye emergency last year, we also went back to Alaska for 10 amazing days in Lake Clark and to see the bears at Katmai. Now, we’ve done 62 of the 63 National Parks – only American Samoa to go. On our 2nd long road trip, we went northeast to Canada – all the way to Quebec City – and back down the east coast. We also had visits with Rob and his family and Dave and his wife. Everyone has been healthy, but my mom, who turned 98 in March, gave us quite a scare in late October when she was found “unresponsive” at her assisted living home. She was rushed to the emergency room and found to have pneumonia and low oxygen. She also had heart arrhythmia and was in progressive care for some time. After about 2 weeks on oxygen and antibiotics, she was better and returned to assisted living, albeit on Hospice. Now, we are thankful she is eating well and her need for supplemental oxygen is little to none. What really perks her up is accordion “polka music” – it’s the Swiss in her!

47-Day Spring Trip to the West Coast to see Richard, Family, Friends and National Parks
The first part of the year was getting ready for the rest of the year. We were leery of big foreign trips, especially by plane. What if we couldn’t get back in the US? What if we had to quarantine in a foreign country, like we heard that others had. We approached travel in a timid, “dip-your-toe-in-the-water” kind of way. In 2020, due to Covid, our trip out west to see 5 National Parks was cancelled. Now, it was a matter of reinstating the itinerary, and adding a couple weekends (conveniently Mother’s Day and my birthday) to see Richard and family, now in Oak Park, CA. We had two great weekends with him, Christiane and twins, Andrew and Austin.
As planned, we saw the 5 National Parks – White Sands in NM, Joshua Tree and the Channel Islands in CA, Great Basin in NV and Great Sand Dunes in CO – which made 60 out of 63 NPs. We started out after Easter and along the way, we went to new places, such as Fredericksburg, TX, where we partied hearty a few days with cousins. Especially interesting were “out-of-the-way places” like Marfa, TX, and Organ Pipe Cactus Nat. Monument in AZ. On the 6,527-mile trip, we saw a lot of cacti and tumbleweed. In Palm Springs, we rode the aerial tram ride to the top of Mount San Jacinto, and then hiked to see views of the Coachella Valley. After that, there’s not much to do in Palm Springs except play tennis and day drink, but what’s not to like about that? In California, we saw missions and hiked around Malibu with Richard’s family. John sat in “Sheldon’s spot” (on the set of “The Big Bang Theory”) at Warner Bros. Studio, and we saw the La Brea Tar Pits, which are still bubbling after all those years. We took a tour of LA-LA Land, but didn’t see any stars, at least none that we could recognize. We stayed in Thousand Oaks, which sounded like it would be a good place because, we heard, Brittany Spears has a house there. (We didn’t run into her either.) We did see Nixon’s Presidential Library, but Reagan’s was over the top - the best we’ve visited to date. Yes, the reports are true, gas prices (and most everything else) are high in CA. If you go, the best deal around is the Getty Museum and Villa – both free! except for parking.
On the trip, one of our favorite places that most people have never heard of was “Valley of Fire,” a Nevada State Park north of Las Vegas. The red rocks and formations were “as-good-as-it-gets” amazing. And, it wasn’t crowded either! And, as you know, we have a passion for pictures, and this place did not disappoint. The nature at the national parks was phenomenal. We never expected the diversity of landscapes at Joshua Tree, the unearthly, eerie scenes at Great Sand Dunes or the interesting and very rare cave formations in and around Great Basin. The Channel Islands off Ventura, CA, had unique animals and landscapes, and we were able to kayak around the sea caves of Santa Cruz Island. And, White Sands…our 4th visit, is still my favorite.

Alaska – Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks - #61 and 62
After last year’s eye emergency cut our Alaskan trip short, I’m happy to report, my eye is much better. This July, we went back to go to Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks which we missed. Oh, what an experience! It was incredible! We flew from Houston to Anchorage, then, after a day, flew to Port Alsworth, which is in Lake Clark NP. The Chigmit Mountains covered in snow were breathtaking, and there were glaciers everywhere. The lakes were turquoise and the fireweed in full bloom. We saw caribou, moose and squirrels. Except for one day, when we hiked to Tanalian Falls, we flew in small float planes or planes with large tundra tires to see the beautiful landscapes. It was paradise! The absolute highlight, though, was at Brooks Falls in Katmai to see the bears catch and eat salmon as they jumped the falls going upstream to spawn. The bears come to the falls when the fish come and July is the best month to see the feeding fest. We had our long lenses and got lots of great shots of bears with fish as they appeared to jump right into the bears’ mouths. We spent 8 days at “The Farm Lodge” and after all the delicious meals, we felt like we were fat enough to hibernate for the winter like the bears.

After a 5-day “Turnaround” from Alaska, a 50-Day Road Trip Northeast to Canada and the East Coast
Well, this road trip did not start out being 50 days. It started as just one day – a party to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Nathan and his fiancé Molly. They were going to get married in 2020, but that didn’t happen. So, they “Zoomed” their wedding in 2021 and had a big party in the Boston area in 2022, around which our trip morphed. We also planned to “Get the Band Back Together.” John and I sang and played guitar at the MIT chapel during grad school with fellow students, Tom Lynch and Bruce Gallemore, who are much more musically talented. Although we’ve seen both of them and their wives over the years, we’ve never been all together until we would meet for a few days in Westminster, MA. After those two “must-do’s”, the rest of the trip took shape. On Aug. 2, we started out in the mid-west visiting friends on the way to Niagara Falls, which John had never seen. (The falls haven’t changed, but the surroundings definitely have. The US side looked rather calm compared to the carnival-like craziness of the Canadian side. But, the night illuminations and fireworks on both sides were absolutely beautiful.) We were a little worried about getting in and out of Canada since Covid rules were still in effect, but, thankfully, no problem. The Canadians were very welcoming. We saw friends in Canada and went on to see sights in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City, where we spent 3 weeks engrossed in Canadian history, culture and food, while enjoying the charm of the Canadian people. We also ate a lot of poutine, which is very good, but definitely not diet friendly. After Canada, we headed to Lubec, Maine, to go to FDR’s summer home on Campobello Island in New Brunswick. John gets the “drama award” this year for his pratfall in Lubec. Fortunately, the 60-mile RT emergency room trip revealed no broken bones, but he would be sore for a while. Thankfully, driving wasn’t painful. Along the east coast, we stopped in Bath, ME, to see the Bath Iron Works and learn about the US’s historic ship building area. We saw JFK’s museum in Boston and friends in the area before going to FDR’s home and museum in Hyde Park, NY. From there, we did a lot of “friend seeing” in Kennett Square, PA, Wilmington and Dover, DE, and Fort Wash-ington, MD. Then, we took a trip sideways to Smoky Mountain Nat. Park, where I wanted to climb Clingman’s Dome, the highest peak in TN. (Actually, you can drive most of the way up, but the last part is on foot.) We stayed in Pigeon Forge, which was having a humongous car show. Talk about a traffic jam – absolute grid-lock! Before coming home on Sept. 20th, we had nice times with Robert and his family and Dave and his wife.
Then, in November, we had a great weekend seeing the George H. W. Bush Library in College Station and showing friends the River Walk and Missions in San Antonio. Think Texan! Gotta “Remember the Alamo!”
And, to top off November, our Houston Astros (really) won the World Series! We have the shirts to prove it! ??

Richard and Christiane, Andrew and Austin into Hiking and Cub Scouts in California
Richard (41), Christiane and 8-year-old, 2nd-grade twin sons, Andrew and Austin, are enjoying the warm weather of southern CA. Late this year, Christiane took a new job with DexCom, a company involved with continuous glucose monitoring sensors. Although the company is in San Diego, they will stay in Oak Park. Richard is the Senior Director of Quantitative Research at Moody’s Analytics and continues to lead a Cub Scout den for Andrew and Austin. Richard and Christiane try to wear the kids out with 7-10 mile hikes on weekends and vacations. In CA, in May, we were happy to have two nice weekends with them, albeit with shorter hikes, and will celebrate the holidays with them in Austin and Fredericksburg, TX, between Christmas and New Year’s.

Rob and Laura, Peyton and Kensie travel to France, London and Germany
Robert and Laura took Peyton (10) and Kensie (7) to Europe twice this year – in April, to France, where they ran into Rick Steves in Paris, and, in late summer, to London and Germany. They live in Alpharetta, GA, where Rob (39) is the Director of Product Management at Promethean and Laura is the Sr. Director of Product Marketing at Aptean, a business solutions software company in Alpharetta. Peyton is in 5th grade and Kensie is in 2nd grade at King’s Ridge Christian School. In September, we visited and saw Peyton play baseball and Kensie cheerlead and play lacrosse. We will be with them for holiday celebrations the weekend before Christmas.

Dave and Kristie Take Vacations to the Extreme – from Iceland to Tahiti
Dave (36) and Kristie are not letting any moss grow under their feet. This summer they went to Iceland and had amazing adventures. Their pictures, especially the puffin shots, were spectacular! Dave hiked some “14’ers” in CO, and, around Christmas, they are going to Tahiti in French Polynesia. Dave is still with Shell as a Completions and Well Interventions Engineer in natural gas fracking. Kristie is now the Director of Strategic Initiatives at ADT Solar. They live in Covington, LA, with dogs, Brodie and Mako, and a 6-pound leopard tortoise.

Well, that's what we're up to.  Would love to hear how/what you're doing.  And, hopefully, sometime soon, get together again. 
 
All the best for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! 

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