Spring of 2026

When Spring finally arrived after what seemed like a long winter that began in Fall, it was not sunny on a daily basis.

It was still on the chilly side for a few days longer in the northeast.

Amy invited us to come up to Austerlitz, New York, to see their new house on the first day of Spring.  

Their sprawling house is not like Green Acres.  It is a modern colonial-style home among other manors on expansive estates.  

The long winter had stripped all the leaves from the woods, giving it that stark, bare trees beauty.

Their pond was still frozen, as were most other ponds we saw on long walks.

Amy and Lukas share their house with three roommates.  I find that comforting when Amy occasionally works remotely from up there while Lukas is at his job in New Jersey.

Topaz, who has been one of Lukas's best friends since childhood, made me delicious cappuccinos on request during our stay.  His girlfriend Olivia and Lukas's sister Rabea complete their household.

There is still plenty of additional space for guests.

For one meal, we drove to Dan's Diner, a cool railroad-car conversion just a couple of miles up the road.  While Julie and I split a burger and fries for lunch, I noted sausage that gravy boiling on the stove smelled good.  Lukas's egg platter looked delicious.

For dinner, we drove about twenty minutes on a backroad to a pub in Hillside.  Roe Jan Brewing Co reminded me of a restaurant in the Adam Sandler movie, Grown Ups, that I happened to watch on a plane ride a few weeks later.  Great brews and meals.

Julie and I returned to California in April, beginning in San Diego.

Landing at noon, we joined Darlene and Brooks for lunch on the harbor.

I worry that I share too many personal details in this blog about family and friends, who are private people who don't sign up to be featured in a blog post.

Suffice it to say that we enjoyed a wonderful stay with great meals, lovely walks, me playing guitar (fun for me, at least), shared movies or "Simon & Simon" re-runs on the big screen TV, stirring discussions --- Saved the world again!  You're welcome! --- and all the joy that comes with being around loved ones.

Any time we're in San Diego, it is nice to simply be in San Diego, especially with family.

While Darlene worries the city is growing too fast lately, there's still a nice chill vibe in their hometown.

Darlene prepared several great meals at home, and we also dined out sometimes.

Julie's sister Jacque and her oldest daughter Kendra came over for a walk on the harbor.  We went to lunch at the Ketch.  Great meals and micro-brews with lovely harbor views are the norm at the Ketch.

Julie and I never want to stay so long that we become like stinking fish left on the counter too long, but it always feels surprising to realize that it could possibly be time to leave already when we reach the end.

That time came as it always does, and we were sorry to leave but happy to be going to visit our son's family.

We were warmly welcomed for our stay in Santa Monica.

I'll try to avoid a laundry list of "and then we did this..."

A highlight was a trip to Duke's Malibu for lunch, where reservations scored us a great table by the window with waves crashing on the rocks, with the deep blue sea beyond that.

Outside, a sea lion became beached in the rocks along the shore.  We watched the fascinating drama of a rescue by what I think would be called marine biologists.

No, that's not Julie in the blue hat taking charge.

George Costanza was not among them, but they managed to coax the sea lion into the net so it could be hauled to safety, presumably being reintroduced into the sea upon overcoming the trauma.

Formula One Racing is a passion for Jay, Sasha and Owen.  The Long Beach Grand Prix proved to be irresistible this year.  I went to a pre-race expo at the Long Beach Convention Center a few years back on race weekend, but this was the first time for Julie and me actually being there on race day.

Jay and Sasha booked a hotel day-pass with cabana at a rooftop pool overlooking the track.  We could see the cars speed around the corner, but mostly we heard the growls of their engines as we enjoyed the pool.

At the Singapore Grand Prix a few years back, Jay proposed to Sasha while staying at a similar hotel.  How could she say no?

After a couple of hours enjoying cabana life and dunks in the pool, Jay, Sasha and Owen headed over to the track to visit the paddock, which ended up requiring race tickets.  They decided to enter as long as they were already there.

Julie and I stayed with Rory at the hotel on a picture-perfect day.

At the time we were traveling around Southern California revisiting our roots, Laszlo took his father on a special father-son trip to visit their family roots in Hungary and Slovakia.  Another trip of a lifetime!

Can there ever be too many of those?  I think not.

While Laszlo was in Europe, we were pleased to learn Amy and Lukas would be coming for a visit to celebrate the birthdays of Amy and Gina.

We had high hopes this visit might be pregnant with additional meaning.

As it turned out, it was.  Amy and Lukas are expecting a baby around Thanksgiving!  What a great early Mother's Day (and Father's Day) present!

Fresh Azaleas from our yard.

On Mother's Day, Gina, Emma and Laszlo hosted a lovely brunch on the lawn of their condo complex.

They had many tasty dishes, including baked oatmeal with blueberries, fresh fruit bowl, deviled eggs and cauliflower cheddar bake.

It was a perfect day for a walk in the nearby botanical park, more like we expect Spring to be.

Throughout the Spring, Julie and I took many hikes and walks, as usual, sometimes accompanied by family.

Julie and I returned to Gladwyne to hike.  It's a short, lovely ride away from home.  The trail features lots of shade, so ideal for warm, sunny days.

We were surprised to see ourselves of the cover of our glossy neighborhood magazine, Stroll.

The cover and a story within commemorated an outing hosted by the magazine where we enjoyed a delicious wok meal and watched some of our neighbors make candles in downtown Ardmore.

Emma's skating rink put on an entertaining Spring show.

Each of the seven girls in Emma's act took a solo, and Emma's was the most graceful and beautiful.

American Airlines and Prague invited us to attend a cocktail party and presentation announcing the initiation of non-stop flights between Philadelphia and Prague, so Julie and I rode the Mainline train into Centre City for a night on the town.

The event was held in The Union League of Philadelphia Club, a handsome building I've walked past many times wondering what it would be like inside.

It's very stately, patriotic and beautiful.  It felt like an honor to be there.

The presentations about Prague made us want to return to that lovely city.  A video featuring author Dan Brown capped the presentation.  Brown's new book, The Secret of Secrets, is another great novel featuring the symbologist/protagonist from The Da Vinci Code.  Reading the book made me want to return to Prague all the more.

Breakfast at home is always a treat.

Julie and I headed into Philly for another meal a few days later.

Prompted by a Dave Portnoy video review of Del Rossi's, we took trains to try it for lunch one day.

I had their classic Cheesesteak Sandwich, which was tasty and huge.  Outstanding seeded bread!  I took almost half of it home to have for lunch the next day.

Julie ordered a slice of pizza.  Julie didn't like the charring on the crust, which is something Portnoy loves.  It tasted great to me, because I have always liked "the burned" foods.  

As crazy as it may seem, we returned to California again in June, once again kicking off our stay in San Diego with Brooks, Darlene, BG3, Rizo and Teddy.

As usual, we did all the things we love to do with them, including feast on delicious meals like homemade Mexican food with all of the freshly cut fixings.

The main reason for our return to California in June was Owen's third birthday party.

The theme this year was Rockets, another passion Owen has developed.  Thanks Elon Musk.

We veered from the pre-sorted gift list to buy Owen a big rocket that counts down and releases steam as it blasts off.  The rocket came with a space shuttle and two little astronauts.

Owen loved it, taking it along when we went to King's Head for a celebratory dinner on his actual birthday.  On that night, Rory ate his first solid food, baked potato and sweet potato mashed up.  He has shown lots of interest in eating, especially when Jay makes hash browns for the rest of the family.  No surprise that he liked plain potato better than sweet potato.

Owen's party was held a few days earlier at Rustic Canyon Park in Pacific Palisades, where homes in the immediate vicinity had not been decimated by fire.  Before the party, Owen and I went early to hold tables.

Running off some energy, we soon found ourselves on the baseball field. Owen had been to a Dodgers-Phillies game with his parents a few days earlier, so he sat in the stands and instructed me to go on the field and play "basketball."  I knew what he meant.

There happened to be a baseball there, so I took a windup and tossed it softly at the backstop.  That was enough being a spectator.  Owen got to his feet and said now he would be the pitcher and I should stand with an invisible bat the way he demonstrated to hit the ball.

This is actually at the beach park near their house.

After playing a while, I looked at my watch and realized people might come soon, so we headed back to the table to greet early arrivals.  

Two older boys were playing soccer nearby.  Owen ran over to join them.  At first, they ignored him, but when he persistently kept after the ball despite their tricky dribbling and passes blazed past him --- which would have been sufficient to discourage most kids --- Owen stayed with it.  Eventually, the big kids let him join the game.  I've watched this same story play out in other parks and am always proud of Owen's good-natured tenacity.

Soon, the party was in full swing.  We knew before the party that baby Rory had roseola (we think) or an allergic reaction to recent vaccines, so he was to be quarantined as an "ET" at the space party, in the custody of Nana and Granddad.  So, Julie and I had a nice time holding Rory during the party, separated from all the kids and their parents.

Julie and I did not catch any diseases.  The next day, Rory's spots were gone and he was back at peak health.  Thank you, God!

The party was a big hit, with stomp rockets for all contesting to see whose would go highest.  I had a moment of fame when one got stuck in a tree and I knocked it loose on my first throw of a ball.

Lots of donuts, bagels and cupcakes were eaten that day, my friend.  The oddest thing to me was that the most popular drink among the Xer parents seemed to be Kombucha, which I find disgusting.  I was happy to have a canned Starbucks iced coffee.

On Sunday, we all waked to Palisades Park for a casual Sunday church service.  I believe it was Baha'i.  In any case, parents read books to the children and we all sang songs.  Some had attended the birthday party, too.

Sunday Children's Time at Park

When the song leader asked what song to sing, assuming it would be one from the sheet he had handed out, Owen said, "You Are My Sunshine," a song from a musical book Darlene and Brooks gave him.  It turned out to be the only song all the grandparents attending knew, and Owen led the singing with a big smile.

In the morning of Owen's birthday, we all went to his school, where Sasha read one of his favorite books.  The school made Owen's request, pancakes, for their treat that day.

That afternoon on the way to King's Head, Sasha and Paige took Owen to the arcade on the Santa Monica Pier, while I watched Rory on a bench outside, relieved by Sasha just as Rory cried, "Ma," indicated he was hungry for milk.  All of the arcade games are intended to be played by kids a few years older than Owen, but he seemed to enjoy pretending to play the machines.

Owen's favorite arcade activity based on his smile seemed to be a stationary riding toy similar to the ones I liked at Los Altos Shopping Center when I was his age. Owen preferred the red classic Chevy convertible.  The ones I liked best as a little guy were horses or emergency vehicles.  I actually loved the fresh, aromatic loaf of bread my mom would buy from the Los Altos bakery more.

On the way from home to the arcade and then back home from King's Head, Owen and I had some great races, where Owen seemed to always edge me out at the end, with the exception of one time when he took a spill but soon got up to run again.

Owen took his battery-powered BMW convertible out for a spin around the rose garden at the beach park later that evening, after we walked home from the aforementioned dinner at King's Head.  His racing around delighted lots of folks besides his family.

That week in Santa Monica, Julie and I stayed at the Sovereign Hotel.  We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, both because it had the cool feel of historic Los Angeles and because it is an easy walk from Jay and Sasha's home.

I did the standing portion of my morning exercise routines in the hotel's patio area, and the more prone portions on the rug in the lobby.

Few passed me as I exercised in the early morning, and nobody objected.

The hotel provided beach towels for the lounge chairs in their garden patio and going to the beach.  

While not a full-service resort, the hotel provided what we needed.

Julie and I took advantage of the chance to go to the sand and dip our feet in the water one day while Owen was in pre-school.

We met Jay at a nice beach cafe for a delectable lunch on the sand.

Lunch on the Sand

Upon returning home, we were soon off to Gina and Laszlo's home to celebrate granddaughter Emma's 16th birthday.

Laszlo's parents Ria and Z joined us, and we had a nice visit over the weekend, including games of Tripoley and singing a few Paul Simon songs with my guitar backing.

My guess is Emma was more looking forward to going shopping with her friends at Suburban Square to celebrate as teens.

Life continued in California after we left.  Jay and Sasha went to the Budweiser sponsored kick-off party for the World Cup on the Santa Monica Pier on the evening we flew home.  They said that was a terrific event.

Then, a couple of days later, they went to a concert starring Sasha's all-time favorite Beatle, Ringo Starr.

Yes, that is Ringo next to Jay's boss and Jay in front.

It pays to work in the music industry!

Summer soon arrived in Philly, and within a week, the heat made that obvious.