We have a new member of the family! After years of auxiliary membership, Sam Merten is now official. Julia and Sam were married in a civil ceremony on December 1 in Athens, Ohio. (That’s their wedding “selfie” at lower right in the photo above.) It was the 10th anniversary of their first date, as freshmen at St. John’s College, Annapolis, Md. Sam is finishing up his doctorate in computer science at Ohio University. The two of them, as you read this, are either in Paris or Berlin, the twin destinations of their honeymoon.
Starting off, I’m going to break the calendar rule, but it’s okay since it was too late for last year’s note and I didn’t post it on my blog until January. On December 29, I went to sea for the first time in 45 years . . . voluntarily.
I joined fellow Navy League members on a “family and friends cruise” aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). These cruises permit loved ones to spend time with their Navy family members before an extended deployment. While it was exciting to see helos and jets in action, I was particularly struck by how I felt doing what I had done for so many hours at sea . . . watching the wake of the ship and the ocean going by. In somewhat of a trance doing so, I was startled when a young sailor, passing by, asked, “Bring back memories, sir?” Sure did. There’s a great video of the day, if I say so myself, on the blog.
We did something different this year for the annual visit by the Andersons. I met them in San Francisco and we spent a few days in the Bay Area, where we had lived for a dozen years, 1984-96. Meredith was able to show her family many favorite spots in Berkeley, including Mr. Mopps toy store and School of the Madeleine, where she and Dillon attended school. Winter and Adeline joined me at the Lawrence Hall of Science on the Berkeley campus, with one of the great views of the Bay. We visited Muir Woods and enjoyed the obligatory, and wonderful, view of the Golden Gate from the Marin Headlands.
Here’s a gallery of photos from the trip.
We had intended to drive down Rte. 1 along the coast, but the heavy rains that winter had dislodged a bridge and caused a landslide that closed the road for many miles. Back south in San Diego, we went to the beach (duh) and the Zoo.
Out in the desert, the rains had also brought about a superbloom of desert wildflowers. And that brought a super-number of people out in February and March. We organized a BC Alumni San Diego tour a little ahead of the mass turnout. More complete post, with video.
In April, I went up north again. I attended a California State Parks conference at a place called Asilomar. I knew very little about it beforehand, but it turned out to become one of my favorite places in California. I mean, location on the western side of the Monterey Peninsula makes it special right away. But Asilomar is a hotel and conference center run by State Parks and is a former YWCA campground built in 1913, with craftsman-style buildings designed by Julia Morgan, a wonderful and too often overlooked architect of the early part of the 20th century. Among other things, she designed La Cuesta Encantada, more popularly known as Hearst Castle. More complete post, with video.
In July, I joined volunteers helping out in the annual sheep count in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Instead of spending 3+ days monitoring sheep, however, I was there for one morning and at one of the easier locations to access. Well, “easier” means different things to different people. The hike out to Palm Canyon is about 1.5 miles. I did fine going out in the early morning. It was relatively cool and I managed getting over the rocks when necessary. Coming back out, midday, when temps were 100+, I hit a wall. I must have looked like someone in Lawrence of Arabia. Just slogging along, trying to put a foot in front of the other. Back at the count headquarters, a Park Ranger said she was going to keep her eye on me, because I looked peaked. I felt it, too. But I got to see almost 20 sheep and some up close, like the ram in photo. More complete post, with video.
My annual trip back East was in October. Joined my favorite BC classmates for the Virginia Tech game, which was a downer. But, after that game, the Eagles won 5 of their last 6!
This is our Golden Eagle year. In June, we will mark — and celebrate — the 50th anniversary of our graduation from BC. I have a blog up for that as well at ProudRefrain.org.
The year came to a somewhat dramatic close, as I was ordered to evacuate my house because of the Lilac Fire, which started on December 7. Along with Baxter and Boo, I spent that night in a Red Cross shelter in Escondido. Several friends were kind enough to offer me space, but this dog and cat complicate things. 🙂 All in all, I was inconvenienced but unharmed and it was a valuable, though unwelcome, experience.
Wishing you a very merry Christmas and that twenty-eighteen is keen.
That was some year…plans for 2018?
Merry Christmas to my favorite brother
More of the same! Which has always meant something new, too. 🙂