Late Winter, 2026

With summer arriving last weekend, I thought I would add a short summary of the first quarter of 2026.  

After kicking the year off in style with Celebrations Around the New Year, Julie and I escaped the cold as planned with a wonderful tour through the land of Pura Vida: Costa Rica.

If you live in a part of the country that gets cold, Costa Rica is a perfect escape mid-winter, with one exception.  I stuffed too much into my backpack for the flight.  When I settled for a middle seat without foot room due to my overstuffed backpack, I slept in an awkward position, tweaking my back and hip area on the long flights home.

Fortunately, the Winter Olympics kicked off as I was somewhat immobilized, and Julie and I enjoyed watching lots of events on our big screen TV.  We loved the skiing, and especially the crazy trick jumping courses, but the highlight for us, given Emma's figure skating passion, was on the ice.

Gina and Emma took it a step further, with the trip of a lifetime to attend the 2016 Olympics in Milan, Italy!  They had a wonderful trip, joined by one of Emma's ice-skating friends and her mother. 

In the meantime, when bedrest and modified versions of my usual exercise routine failed to resolve my pain and limited mobility, I searched for chiropractors.  The warm greeting by one receptionist brought me to the office of Dr. Tony and his friendly, skilled staff.  Fortunately, our insurance covered six visits, which proved sufficient.

Frankly, I miss going to see my friends at the office to get those rejuvenating treatments.  In any case, I was happy to be ready to board another plane to fly to Los Angeles two weeks after beginning chiropractic treatment.  If you have back pain, do yourself a favor and find a good chiropractor before seeking surgery.

Julie insisted I get aisle seats for all future flights, so I can get up and move around the cabin.  I cut back on backpack contents to my iPad and headphones (which I use during the flight), a tummy trimmer belt to keep my back warm (which I also use on the flight), a few snacks (ditto) and limited toiletry items.  My backpack no longer impedes my legs stretching out.

That combination has worked well in avoiding a relapse on what turned out to be several subsequent flights before the official start of summer.

We arrived at LAX intact for our visit with Jay, Sasha, toddler Owen, baby Rory and grand-dogger JoJo. 

As it turned out, their nanny Paige had the week off, so Julie and I had the opportunity to enjoy focused time with our grandsons and their parents, brushing aside some tentative plans.

At the conclusion of another great family visit, Jay and Owen gave us a ride to San Pedro, so we could get on our "big boat," which Owen wanted to see, prompting a fun tour of the USS Iowa.

Soon, Julie and I boarded Royal Princess for a week cruising the Mexican Riviera.  This time, circumstances resulted in missing Puerto Vallarta, but we enjoyed our two days in Cabo San Lucas and our other port, Mazatlán.  And, of course, we love the luxury of cruising, where we feel right at home in foreign lands.

Before flying home, we met with Karen and Randy, our friends from Redondo Beach who we thought we would see earlier in the trip, at El Segundo's Rock & Brew for lunch.  If you go there, the beer flight is excellent, though I substituted Grateful Dead IPA for the Mexican lager.  And the casual meals are huge and tasty.

Back in Pennsylvania, we enjoyed all of our usual activities, including dinners with Gina and Laszlo on Fridays, attending Emma's figure skating competitions and practices and other get togethers.

Gina took me to hear economist Pippa Malmgren at Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.  This advisor to Presidents of both parties was a fascinating speaker, providing inside scoops on what was happening behind the scenes in geo-politics.  

She said she planned to speak about Greenland, but with Maduro having been captured in Venezuela and Iran being put in the sights of the US military, the talk went in other directions.

Amy came for two visits.  She was able to get in all required remote work but also spent quality time with us.

  

We strolled around the campus of nearby Villanova University on one of the days.

She was also with us to attend one of Emma's figure skating shows, and Emma again shined.

Gina, Julie, Amy, Emma, Wes, Laszlo and Coach Russ

There were many hikes and long walks, whether just Julie and me or with family members.

A memorable moment watching TV happened during March Madness, when a UConn Freshman hit an absurdly long desperation shot to beat the buzzer and win the game.

Yes, gauche as it may be, Julie and I enjoy TV on a daily basis.

The major holiday for late winter, of course, is Easter Sunday.

After church, Gina, Laszlo and Emma came over for a feast.  They provided the turkey and Julie baked it.  Great side dishes completed the meal.

Looking back, it seems impossible that I am trying to squeeze so much into one summary post, especially because I was planning to go all the way until the first day of summer.

I'll write about Spring next time.