Merry Christmas in 2024!

Our family fully experienced an epic, life-changing year in 2024.

Big Sky remained our primary home as the year began, but our next-door neighbor had already placed a substantial down payment to buy our condo at the end of March. After a couple of delays, it closed at the end of May, and we became fulltime Pennsylvania residents.

Before that came to pass, we enjoyed lots of adventures, including spring skiing with beautiful bluebird days through the early weeks of winter in Big Sky.

That's not to say that temperatures didn't drop down to zero on some days.

Concerned about inevitable cold spells, we planned ahead for a trip to sunny Southern California for Christmas and New Year's.  That kicked off in San Diego as guests of Darlene, Brooks and BG3.

Throughout the many years, they've always made us feel very welcome in their gorgeous homes.

After a few beautiful days catching up with them, plus other family and friends still based in the area, we headed north to visit Jay, Sasha, baby Owen and our grand-dogger Jojo in Santa Monica

More fun in the sun.  The clear center of attention was sweet Owen.

Since birth, Owen soaks up most of any free time Jay and Sasha formerly had, delighting all around him with one breakthrough phase after another.

Clapping, walking, sign-language, climbing steps, drumming, first words...always delighting with his bright smile.

We enjoyed every moment there, but soon we headed back to Big Sky.

Winter continued with lots more skiing and family time.

Granddaughter Emma's ice-skating competition in Hershey gave us a good reason to fly east to check in on Philadelphia family, spending a lot of fun time with Gina, Laszlo and Emma.   Figure-skating remains Emma's primary passion outside of school.  She recently landed a paid position helping new skaters in her rink's "Learn to Skate" program.

Emma graduated from middle school in June. She continues to ace advanced classes in high school.  She played on her high school tennis team in the fall, winning "Best Hair" at the end of season ceremony.  Recently, Emma took the SAT and scored 1360, exactly evenly divided between math and language skills, placing her in the 91st percentile nationally for all people who took the test, despite the fact that she's only a freshman.

Her mother stayed very busy herself.  Gina was promoted to Dean and full Professor in recognition of her excellent work as Interim Dean.

The challenges have been sometimes daunting, but she pushes through, remaining cheerful.  

Gina is a season ticket holder with two tickets for the Kimmel Center for Broadway-quality plays and distinguished speakers.  Last week, she treated me to seventh row center seats for the outstanding Neil Diamond biographical musical, A Beautiful Noise.  Fantastic show with outstanding music!

Laszlo has continued in tech support full-time.  He decorated his new office reflecting his fascination with currency and space. He and Emma went to Boca Chica, TX, to watch the historic SpaceX rocket launch and "chopsticks" catch in October. 

On a Midwest trip, Laszlo checked the final box on his quest to visit all 50 United States.  Family trips took them to Dallas to watch the total solar eclipse with friends and to Las Vegas for a reunion with other family.

They remodeled both of their bathrooms in the fall.

Back in Big Sky, the hits just kept on coming.

Julie and I were regulars for weekly jazz in the Wilson Hotel Lobby with a view of Lone Peak in the background.

Brooks, Darlene and Brooks (as well as pet dogs Teddi and Rizzo) returned to their lovely mountain home not far up the Ousel Falls Road from our Big Sky condo.

Once again, they welcomed us with open arms.  We enjoyed lots of wonderful conversations and delicious home-cooked meals.

Amy and Lukas soon came to visit us in Big Sky.

We had plenty of snow and beautiful sunny days.  They loved the wonderful spring skiing, which is perfect for them.

When we had an overnight dump of powder, they embraced those conditions, too.

Amy was unexpectedly laid off early in the year, but she immediately started her own consulting firm to offer assistance in media product and editing.  Before long, she landed well-paying clients from referrals and was rolling along as an independent contractor.

A former boss recommended her for a full-time job where he works.  After a series of interviews, she landed the position and began work in December.

Amy was a player and manager for another season of roller derby.  The schedule brought her to Portland, Denver and Chicago for road games.  She also visited Cape Cod twice with one of the derby girls whose family has a home there.

In December, Amy flew to California for a last-minute pre-Christmas trip to Southern California to decorate cookies with high school friends. That was her third visit to L.A. County this year.  She is obviously charmed by baby Owen.

Lukas has become a key engineer at his large-scale battery company.  Showing commitment to alternative energy, they recently leased a new all-electric Hyundai Kona.  He's able to charge their car at work, cutting commuting costs.

They frequently returned to Lukas's childhood home in New Lebanon, New York, on weekends.  In July, they flew to Berlin, Germany, to visit his sister Rabea and help her pack to move back to New York.  

Avid hikers, they took what turned out to be a rain-soaked back-packing week in northern New Jersey, nonetheless finding fun in the wilderness.

Amy and Lukas refurbished their bathroom in their Jersey City home.  Their access to the Historic Downtown and the Waterfront of Jersey City makes dining out and other city life a breeze.

After Amy and Lukas flew home from Big Sky, Jay, Sasha, Owen and Jojo soon arrived to stay with us.

They were stoked to find fresh powder, which is perfect for their jam of skiing through trees.  We also did plenty of wide-open runs in different combinations, with some staying at Darlene's to play with Owen and the dogs

We enjoyed having the chance to not only ski with them but to play with Owen and Jojo.

Despite living on opposite coasts, Julie and I got together with Jay, Sasha and Owen for seven multi-day visits during 2024, including to start and end the year.

The longest stay together was in Big Sky, which over the years Jay has often called his favorite place in the world.

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Without Darlene and Brooks, our family may never have made it to Big Sky to create all of our amazing memories there.  To see additional photos and learn more about winter and other seasonal happenings throughout the year, just click on the hotlinks.  By the way, you can also click on the photos to enlarge them.

This wonderful winter was not all fun and games.

The terms of our escrow required several small improvements on our condo, not the least of which was installing a moisture barrier on the ground in the basement. While not a crawl space, the basement nonetheless did not allow us to stand upright.  The task was a challenge that we spread over a couple of weeks, but Julie and I got 'er done.

We loved our years in Big Sky, but we packed our Subaru to the gills and made the long drive to Ardmore, Pennsylvania, which is now our full-time home.

Sadly, Brooks and Darlene's sweet pet Teddi (Theodora Osita) passed away shortly after we last spent time with her.

Over the summer, they adopted a snow-white Teacup Pomeranian, Tiny Tim, who they have decided to call Teddy.

As late spring turned into summer, our adventures continued.

We experienced totality of the solar eclipse in Indiana, hiking and happy hours in Ardmore, and Owen's birthday party in Santa Monica.

Summer came in earnest to Ardmore, bringing more family fun, including one day when Julie and I went from a birthday brunch for Emma in Bryn Mawr to New Jersey to watch Amy's roller derby team beat their arch-nemesis (or at least the opposing team that day).

Philadelphia is a very patriotic place, so of course the 4th of July calls for a huge celebration, including a free classical concert of patriotic favorites and western movie theme songs that Gina, Laszlo, Julie and I attended.

In July, Julie and I were off to Cardiff, Wales, where we met up with Jay's family for a wonderful time exploring the backroads of that less-traveled part of Great Britain.

Wales is well worth wandering.  

Jay, Sasha, Owen and Sasha's mom Libby had been in other parts of Wales a few days before Julie and I arrived, and they carried on to Glastonbury, England, after seeing us off.

For Julie and me, this fantastic vacation continued by boarding Caribbean Princess for an extensive 16-night cruise visiting England, Ireland, Iceland and Scotland.

It was an amazing trip from start to finish.

August took us to a family gathering with our Amy, Lukas, Gina, Laszlo and Emma on the Jersey Shore.  After living most of our lives by the beach, we were happy to return to the sand, sun and sea.  That was another very special time as a family, including making s'mores in the yard of our rental house.

Jay and Sasha had invited us to celebrate their fifth anniversary in Bermuda, but with such a full travel calendar, Julie and I initially declined

Gina decided to go to join them.  And then Julie and I decided Bermuda would be closer for a visit than flying to Los Angeles, so we went after all.  That was a lovely highlight for September.

Lest you think they spend all of their time vacations or playing with Owen, know that Jay and Sasha continue to excel at their jobs during their work weeks.  They completed home beautification projects featuring designer paints and luxurious wallpaper, too.

For my birthday, Amy spent a few days with us in Ardmore, joining Julie and me for a hike on Valley Forge's Mount Misery, followed by lunch at their gift shop cafe, including cherry cheesecake that I had coveted when Julie and I first went to that gift shop a few weeks earlier with Frank, a friend from church.

On the night of my birthday, Gina, Laszlo, Emma, Amy, Julie and I took a Ghost Tour of Philadelphia.  While the tour itself wasn't spectacular or specter-filled, it was fun walking around the historic city at night with a somewhat knowledgeable guide.

October also brought a big cruise vacation we'd been planning for over a year.  We started out by meeting up with our friends Mike and Linda in Southampton, England.  That cruise unfolded differently than expected, beginning with the first port of call, a surprise landing in Normandy.  

I'm still blogging about that cruise, but --- spoiler alert --- Julie and I checked sunny Malta off our bucket list, and we would all love to return.

Back in our Ardmore house, Julie and I tackled the long-procrastinated task of painting our attic bedroom.  It took Julie and me longer than it should have, but this inexpensive home improvement made a huge difference.  It will make it easier to host more visitors simultaneously. 

For Thanksgiving, our whole family gathered in Ardmore.  We enjoyed a wonderful, extended holiday weekend.

We all have so much for which to be thankful.  Thanks be to God!

We hope you enjoyed a wonderful 2024 and look forward to a sensational new year.

Merry Christmas,

Wes, Julie and Family

A Rainy Day in Cadiz, Spain

By calling our next itinerary stop "Seville," Princess Cruises makes their top recommendation for the port of Cadiz crystal clear.

Based on our visit a few years ago, Seville truly should be on everyone's bucket list, so that makes sense. 

Julie and I looked at this Mediterranean cruise as a chance to experience lesser-known coastal cities rather than taking. more expensive excursions to marquis destinations in every port.

When we learned of confirmed rain forecasts for our day in Cadiz, we probably should have re-thought our plan.  The surprise landing in Normandy resulted in a pricey excursion we hadn't expected, so sticking with our plan of exploring Cadiz on our own seemed like the right choice at the time.

After all, we charted a mix of pre-planned excursions and days to wander on our own.  Why ditch the plan so early in the cruise?

Before leaving home, Julie warned me that forecasts indicated above average rain on our trip.  I figured if anything that meant light showers that soon evaporate on sunny Mediterranean days.  A little water on lightweight, drip-dry clothes?  No big deal.  I was more concerned about being too warm while walking around.

Julie recommended I bring my water-repellant UConn jacket that I'd worn on our summer cruise to the chillier climes in Iceland and Scotland.  Silly as it now seems, I didn't want to wear the same jacket for this trip in the photos.

Instead, I brought my corduroy sports coat.  Not the best choice for rain in Spain, even if it made sense in what is usually a climate similar to Southern California.

When Caribbean Princess arrived in Cadiz, the rain let up sufficiently to go ashore as planned.  Mike and Linda decided to stay on board, hoping for the clouds would clear, or as we used to say in Orange County as kids, "burn off."

They didn't.

Julie and I had umbrellas.  Within steps of walking out of the cruise terminal, we needed them, but the rain was light.

As we walked, the rain gradually got heavier.  

Cadiz is a beautiful city, but the rain discouraged extensive exploring on this particular day.

Julie paid to go into Cadiz Cathedral, but I felt I had seen so many lovely churches over the summer that I wasn't ready to pay to enter one.

That was a mistake on my part, because of course it was warm and dry inside. 

And gorgeous, holy, remarkable, chalk-full-of-masterpieces, etc.

As a reminder to myself (for the 100th time?), once you're already on vacation, don't let ten bucks stop you from doing anything that will make the most of the moment.

At the time, however, I was thinking about other churches we would see later.

Besides, no matter what forecasts said, I thought the rain would let up.

It didn't.

Julie went inside the Cathedral, while I walked to the farmer's market.

In these wet conditions, that was not ideal.

On the positive side, I can say that the market wasn't too crowded, which was nice.  No photos turned out well, but I got a nice shot of a park I walked through in light rain.

The rain poured down harder, forming into big puddles on the cobblestone streets that are more accustomed to baking sun, and as such they don't have the best drainage.  After all, this is the Costa Del Sol, "The Sunshine Coast."

City designers were more concerned with sun-generated heat, laying out narrow walkways shaded by adjacent buildings most of the day.

I made it back to pick up Julie a few minutes before she was done.  The rain let up a bit, and I was hopeful that we would be able to find a sidewalk cafe with dry seats.

As I waited on the steps of the church, I people watched.

A guy took photos of his girlfriend, who despite the wet cobblestone streets and intermittent deep puddles wore spiked heels with her mini skirt.  At least there was one person less appropriately dressed for rain than me.

 

Julie said the church inside was beautiful (as expected), but, knowing that I waited outside for her in the rain, she felt rushed.

As I mentioned previously, I should have accompanied her.

There was another church not far away, and we peaked in the doorway as a Mass ensued.

The rain started coming down harder than ever.  The puddles became almost impassable on narrow walkways as we squeezed past others carrying umbrellas.

Coffee or sangria at a sidewalk cafe wasn't in the cards with so much rain.

Paying for food and drinks inside a restaurant wasn't as appealing as free meals back on our floating resort.

The rain combined with inertia that comes once ensconced in warm, comfortable environs stopped us from going back out into town after lunch.

I don't think Mike and Linda made it off the ship in Cadiz, but Mike in particular likes being on the ship more than visiting the ports.

In any case, Julie and I were certain we would be on one of our main excursions of the cruise the next morning, visiting beautiful Ronda from Malaga with Shore Excursions Group.  Our "Small Group Olive Oil Odyssey Ronda Day Trip from Malaga" would be an all-day trip.  We didn't feel compelled to do more in Cadiz.

Late that night, after a great evening with Mike and Linda that included happy hour, gourmet dinner, participatory game show, and big show in the Princess Theater, we received a message from Shore Excursions Group informing us that our tour for the next morning had been cancelled at the last minute.

Why?

The Olive Oil factory had closed for the season the day before.

What?

We didn't even care about tasting olive oil.  We wanted to visit Ronda because of photos we'd seen.

Shore Excursions Group said we would receive a full refund and also get a free alternative shore excursion touring Malaga, including a catamaran cruise.  I called to find out the details, including where to meet.  Well, we'll make the most of it, I thought.   And it saved us a big chunk of change.  

Why did I not pay 8 Euro for that Cathedral admission?

Thanksgiving 2024

I love the Autumn changing of the leaves.

By Thanksgiving, most of the trees had lost their multi-colored foliage, but the remnants remain lovely in their own way.

We were again blessed to have all of our offspring join us around our Thanksgiving table this year.

Preparations started early, including shopping for multiple days of meals.

Amy arrived on Tuesday.

A tradition of Thanksgiving is making fruit cakes, a project Gina spearheaded again by purchasing most of the ingredients that she pre-mixed.

Julie added a few items that Gina didn't find at Giant. 

With Gina having pre-mixed all of the dry ingredients, we were able to rapidly make a delicious batch of Grandma Mary's fruitcake on Wednesday morning.

Gina poured the pre-mixed dry ingredients into the melted butter and marshmallows, and Amy stirred the pot then dropped big glops into wax paper pre-cut by Gina. We made a total of 15 this year, an easier load than past years.

Our packaging crew wrapped one batch and then another, refrigerating them to be cut into slices and wrapped in holiday paper on Friday morning by the full crew.  As the Amish in nearby Lancaster know, many hands make for light work.

Wednesday afternoon, Jay, Sasha, Owen and puppy Jojo flew into JFK.  Through successive Air Train, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains, they arrived at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia a few hours later, where Julie and I picked them up and took them to our house.

It seems to us that a direct flight to Philadelphia would have been easier, but they strictly fly with Delta, and PHL is an American Airlines hub somewhat shunned by Delta.  Needless to say, we mostly fly American these days.

To make it less stressful for them having made that arduous trek to Ardmore, Julie and I turned over our master bedroom suite to Jay's family.  That worked well for allowing them to adjust from jetlag and maintain a home away from home for their stay through noon on Sunday.

Perhaps more significantly, we substituted out all of our gluten and gluten-contaminated pots, pans and toaster in our kitchen for the duration of their stay.

Our wonderful next door neighbors Sara and Katie gave us drums and other percussion instruments for Owen to play during his stay.  Owen loves music and is a terrific little drummer boy.

Hopefully they felt very comfortable and will be happy to make the trip on a semi-regular basis.

Wednesday evening, Gina, Laszlo and Emma were entertaining Gina's longtime best friend Mamta and her family, who were unexpectedly on a 22-hour layover in PHL on a flight from Cancun, and Lukas didn't arrive from work until about 9, so we had a smaller family gathering that day.

Gina, Laszlo and Mamta came by Thursday morning with a 22-pound turkey that Gina and Laszlo had generously attained and defrosted for five days in their refrigerator.  With about half our crew vegan, it would obviously be more than ample for our Thanksgiving meal at four PM that day.

Gina and Mamta somehow found time to make delicious gluten-free pumpkin muffins that they brought over to share.

Dinner was indeed a feast worthy of applause.

Gina and Laszlo brought over a huge batch of vegan mashed potatoes, homemade gluten-free biscuits, and cranberry sauce.

Amy made what you might call a vegan turkey using ingredients and a recipe that Julie found in her days of preparation.

In addition to a masterful job baking the huge real turkey that turned out perfect, Julie made both vegan and non-vegan gluten-free stuffing, vegetables and lots more.  Days of planning and flawless execution paid off big.

As you may surmise, we were all stuffed by the end of the delicious meal, so we delayed eating pumpkin pie that Amy made until later that evening.  We played Yahtzee and Tripoley before and after the pie.

Festivities continued into Friday.

Gina, Laszlo and Emma headed to Las Vegas on Friday afternoon to visit other family members and enjoy their hotel's heated pool.  A highlight of their stay was when Emma got her parents out on skates at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Ice Rink, where Gina had reserved a prime fireside spot.

The crew that stayed with us in Ardmore went on a pub crawl in nearby Havertown that night, following a vision I had a few weeks earlier when temperatures were admittedly 20 degrees warmer, and I imagined more stops and Ardmore than would be possible.

In practice, it was not so much of a pub crawl as a walk about a mile and a half to JD McGillicuddy's on Brookline in Havertown, then meandering home with a stop at Four Birds & Sophie's BBQ, followed by dinner at Al Pastor.

Our first stop was a true Irish pub, JD McGillicuddy's.  On this chilly Friday evening, all of the tables in the dining area were full of people eating comfort foods, but they put us on a short waitlist.  Better still, they allowed us go into the bar area with Owen in Sasha's baby carrier sling.

Owen loved that sports games were on multiple TVs. When a singer/guitarist started performing on stage on the balcony above, he led the applause.

By the time the hostess came over to tell us our table was ready, we decided to skip being seated and go to the next stop.

On the walk from home, we had briefly checked out Crossbar, a British pub that was packed with customers, but we'd also noted less-crowded Four Birds Distillery.  Lukas checked it out on his phone and said they had an interesting cocktails list.  We made that our next stop.

Four Birds distills vodka, rum and bourbon at a remote location and then concocts cocktails using those at their two restaurants.

We tried a round of assorted drinks, including an Old Fashioned for Amy and Rum & Diet for Julie and me.  All were reported good.  The rum had a very spicey flavor that reminded us of gingerbread, which was very appropriate for the season.

Sophie's BBQ smelled great, and we agreed this would be a good place to return on a later date.

Al Pastor is a Mexican Restaurant that showed sufficient gluten-free and vegetarian option in their online menu to lure us in.

It's received a beautiful interior remodel since we dined there three years ago when it operated under a different business model as Town Tap.  I prefer southwest US style Mexican food, but this was good in its way.  For example, my Mahi Mahi Tacos were garnished with vinegary red cabbage.  I washed that down with a delicious local ale, Conshy's Ring the Bell. Everyone seemed to like their own meals and drinks.

Through the weekend and actually the entire visit, the big attraction for us all was Owen.

He introduced us to his new favorite TV series, Trash Truck, through a seasonal episode called A Trash Truck Christmas. I played football with Owen using a soft stuffed fabric San Diego Chargers football that somehow survived five moves.  He especially liked having Lukas and me throw it back and forth, occasionally taking a handoff to run the ball over.

Owen was quite fascinated with Lukas, possibly because he is very tall and has a deep, resonant voice.  Or maybe it is simply that human nature where we hit it off with some people more than with others.

While we had some rain and chills, Owen made the most of any outdoor time by our house, like stomping on multicolored leaves in his new red goloshes.

Rain accumulated on a cover became splashing fun for Owen despite the chilly weather.

Julie and I walked with Owen and Jojo to parks around the neighborhood, sometimes accompanied by Jay and others.

Owen loves seeing and playing with children as much as he enjoys the slides and other playground fixtures.

On Saturday, Jay, Sasha and I took Owen to a park over in Merion Station at Emma's former elementary school when we arrived early to catch the train to Center City in Philadelphia.

We were on our way to get Owen's photo taken with Santa at Macy's.

Upon stepping off the Septa train, we passed through the festive German Christmas Market by City Hall and decided to return later.

Before photos, there was time to have lunch at Iron Hill Brewery.

Amy, Lukas, Jay and I split flights of seasonal beers, all of which were great.  The hamburger and fries that Julie and I split was also delicious, as were everyone else's meals.

On to Macy's, Owen browsed toys providing clues for possible Christmas presents before checking in at the reserved time to visit Santa.

As it turned out, Owen was not ready to embrace Santa Claus this year.  No efforts could make him sit down next to the jolly man in the red suit.

 

Macy's in Philadelphia does a beautiful job providing a notable Christmas experience for families.

The exit from Santa's photo place leads into Dickens' Village, where Sasha had also reserved space for our group.

It is a retelling of A Christmas Carol with views through Victorian building facades revealing scenes from the well-known story.

I enjoyed walking beside Sasha and Owen as she lovingly read all of the passages to her sweet baby who seemed to understand everything.

After sharing Dickens, we watched a performance of the famous Wannamaker Organ.

A light show accompanied by recorded Christmas music followed the live organist.   Owen loved the music and colorful images, dancing along to the songs.

On our way to catch the train home, we stopped at the Christmas Market.

Jay, Sasha and Owen rode the tall merry-go-round that sports a vintage style but a shiny new appearance. 

Julie and I passed on beverages, but the other adults said the mulled wine and other hot drinks served in souvenir mugs were delicious.

It was a taste of a European Christmas Market in Center City Philly.

All too soon, it was Sunday at noon, and Lukas and Amy drove home to Jersey City in their new all-electric Kia taking Jay's family to their next stop.

While Jay and Sasha would be working a bit in New York City, they stayed across the river in Jersey City near Lukas and Amy's home, so they could all spend several more days together.  A highlight was taking Owen to Rockefeller Center to see the Rockettes Christmas extravaganza.  It reportedly held Owen's rapt attention for almost two hours, and the next day he wanted to watch videos of the dancers again and again.

In preparation for Thanksgiving, Gina and Laszlo had bought Julie and me a beautiful fire ring for our house, because we had enjoyed the one in our rental house at the Jersey Shore so much.  Unfortunately, a fire ban had prohibited fires until December 2.

However, a few evenings ago, Gina and Laszlo came by to help us break it in while Emma skated at her preferred ice rink.

Julie made delicious hot mulled wine and added cheese, sausage and crackers.  As always happens with the conclusion of Thanksgiving, we can feel Christmas in the air.

We already have marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey's Chocolate purchased for s'more fun next time.

This photo of Gina was taken when she was inducted into

the prestigious College of Physicians of Philadelphia (est. 1787)

a few weeks back at a gala ceremony she attended with Laszlo.

She gave us the portrait, which we put on our mantle. Flash forward to

Thanksgiving week. Owen smiled at the picture, recognizing her from our

Bermuda Reunion.  When she came over, Owen pointed at the picture

and then at Gina, showing us that he knew exactly who she was.

We did lots of hiking through the beautiful countryside, occasionally encountering deer.

Other fall activities that were memorable included Gina treating me on my birthday to attend a lecture by controversial Never-Trumper Liz Cheney.  Of most interest to me were her recollections of being the child of Vice President Dick Cheney, who was controversial in his own ways for very different reasons.

Carrying on the birthday celebration, Gina, Lukas, Emma, Amy, Julie and me went on a Ghost Tour of Philadelphia.  It was cool seeing historical national monuments at night.  Before meeting at the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier, we enjoyed a happy hour meal at charming P.J. Clarke's.