Christmas in Wisconsin

 

The Christmas season began with our annual tradition of attending the Santa Brunch at North Hills on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Evan and Lisa, and their three children, Ella, Maia and Mikey, came, as well as Kevin and Laura. We missed having Joe and Kristen there with us. The children, that is the three little ones, all received a super present from Santa after giving him their Christmas list, which of course, they were very excited about doing.  The girls were, anyway, Mikey wanted no part of sitting on Santa's lap!He did get a gift, just for trying. 

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

Since Wes lost his mom in February, we have been making an effort to try to get down to St. Louis as often as we can to spend time with his dad. Al had been doing very well, until he fell in September and broke his hip. A little girl ran into him in the parking lot!!
While he was in the hospital, his cat, Danny, also passed away. Danny was probably about 17, and it was a very sad thing. So, on one of our trips down, we brought a new cat to keep Al company, Al decided this guy should be called, Big Ben, because he is a very large cat, though a little lighter than he was when he first arrived. Ben has made himself quite comfortable in his new St. Louis home, and I think likes the idea of being the only cat in the house! He even joined us for Thanksgiving dinner! Not to be left out, Rocky found his own spot near the table!

Hilton Head - 2010

We did our annual trek to Hilton Head at the end of October, but because of all the time Wes had taken off of work in the past 6 weeks or so, he felt he could only stay for a long weekend. We did take advantage of his time by playing three different courses before he left on Monday. As soon as we arrived on Saturday, we played at Crosswinds Golf Club, where we were paired with another young couple who had moved to Savannah from Kentucky. The most interesting course was the Club at Savannah Harbor, Home of the PGA TOUR's Champions Tour Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. When Wes left on Monday, my sister, Karen, arrived to take his place! We did a lot of site seeing of the historic areas around Hilton Head, and generally, took life easy. We spent one in day in Beaufort, a beautiful town on the coast that once was the Union Army Headquarters during the Civil War. Full of history and beautiful old mansions. Wes' brother, Glenn, and his wife, Judy, came down from Charleston for a night. We had a great dinner at Hudson's and spent the next day in Harbor Town, where we climbed to the top of the Lighthouse.

Sa-wat dee, Thailand

Today we depart for LA. We hate to leave, it is such a beautiful country, and we have learned to appreciate the gentleness and kindness of the people here. We say "Sa-wat dee" or goodbye to our "Porch Bird" and the dogs on the beach. And hope that we are able to return some day.

A Visit to Thailand - Day 8 - Phuket

What a fantastic day! We participated in a seven island tour, visiting some of the spots made famous in movies! The beaches are beautiful! Soft white sand, azure blue seas, lush green hills rising from the sea, and spectacular sunsets! What more do you need? No wonder this location was selected for movies like "The Beach" and James Bond "The Man with the Golden Gun".
We also met our "Porch Bird". This little guy greeted us each morning as we had our first cup of coffee on our veranda. We fed him banana chips each day we were there,and he became tame enough to take the chips from Wes' hand. He didn't seem to like my nails too much, maybe the color scared him? But he certainly was an entertaining visitor, and we looked forward to seeing him each morning.

A Visit to Thailand - Day 7 - Phuket

Another beautiful day in paradise! We wandered the city of Patong today, checking out the shopping venues, buying a few souvenirs,indulging in a second Thai massage, getting our feet scrubbed by the fishes, trying scuba in the pool and walking the beach. The sunset again was fantastic, unbelievable colors spreading across the beach. We met our friends from the tour for dinner at the Number Nine restaurant and indulged in some of the local fare. As usual, the meal was excellent! Not only the taste, but the presentation! We hate to think that on the morrow we leave.
Sa-wat dee!

A Visit to Thailand - Day 6 - Off to Phuket

Today is the day we leave the mainland of Thailand and fly to Phuket, a most beautiful island south of Bangkok. We spent the morning playing in the beautiful pool at our hotel on the River Kwai, and then left Kanchanaburi to return to Bangkok and catch our flight. We arrived in Phuket rather late at night, ready for a good night's sleep in a tropical paradise!

A Visit to Thailand - Day 5 Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi is about 150 km west of Bangkok, in a much more rural and hilly area of Thailand. We saw a lot of rice fields, since Thailand is the major exporter of rice in the world. There are many types of rice; sticky rice, Jasmine Rice, brown rice, long grain rice, parboiled rice, etc.  They also grow a lot of tapioca. We stopped at a food vendor along the side of the road where there was freshly barbecued "clean rat" for sale along with either live or dead cobra's, take your pick!  You can eat them with a coke to drink!  You could also purchase a live turtle, which you would then let go back into the river as an offering to Buddha.  This would ensure good luck!

Another stop in Kanchanaburi was at the site of the Bridge on the River Kwai, which was part of the Thailand-Burma "Death Railway" built in 1942 with slave labor of captured Allied prisoners. The Thailand-Burma Railway Centre near the bridge gave us a detailed account of the horrors these POW's experienced at the hands of the Japanese during the war.  The cemetery across the street had the graves of nearly 2,000 men who died during the construction of the railroad.  It was a somber and thought provoking experience.

We also met a tiger cub and an ocelot cub that were a lot of fun to play with!

A Visit to Thailand - Day 4 - Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya, "The Ancient City" in Thailand, was the Thai capital for 417 years, and was almost completely destroyed by the Burmese during Thai-Burmese war in 1767. It is where the Summer Palace, Bang Pa, is located. Hilliary Clinton spent the night here on one of her trips to Southeast Asia. We also spent a good portion of the afternoon at Wat Mahathat, built in 1374, which is considered the heart and soul of Ayutthaya.  Today it is in ruin, but has been dedicated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We also stopped at Wat Yai Chai Mongkol before heading to our hotel for the evening.

A Visit to Thailand - Day 3 in Bangkok

On our third day in Thailand we headed out on our own, and visited the Floating Markets of Bangkok.  Bangkok was traditionally a city of canals, many of which have now been filled in to handle automobile and truck traffic.  At the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, tourists can see the old style and traditional way of selling and buying fruits, vegetables, etc., from small boats. It was  a very busy place, full of unique sites, tastes and smells.  We fed a two year old elephant making a living selling his own food!  We then took a ride on an elephant named Ti Tong, what a rocking motion it is to sit up on top of such a huge mammal!  Before returning to our hotel for lunch, we stopped at a wood carving factory, such beautiful pieces they created!

In the afternoon, we went to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, home to generations of the Kings of Siam - Thailand. As you walk in, you feel as though you are entering a surreal world on another planet!  Such an amazing place!

A Visit to Thailand - Day 2 in Bangkok

On our second day in Bangkok, we visited a lot of "Wats", or temples for Buddha. The first was Wat Trimitr, which is the home of the largest Golden Buddhah in the world. We saw a man in a Packer shirt praying to Buddha and wondered if he was hoping for a Packer win on Sunday! The second temple was Wat Pho, home to a huge reclining Buddha, he's 46 meters long! Wat Benchamabopitr, the Marble Temple, was the third stop, where we learned the meaning of the different poses of the Buddha. That evening we went to Siam Billage for a Traditional Thai Dance and dinner.

A Visit to Thailand - Day 1 in Bangkok

In September, we flew to Los Angeles for a visit with Kristen and my sister Joanne. From there, we hopped on a plane to Thailand! It was a very long 14 hour flight to Taipei, where we spent our first night in Asia. The following morning we flew Hong Kong, and then on to Bangkok, landing there about 10 in the morning. Our first excursion was a cruise on the Chao Praya River. We stopped at The Royal Barge Museum and Wat Arun - Temple of the Dawn. What a different culture!

McDonald Family Reunion

In August, my mom's side of the family, the McDonald's, held a reunion at a campground near Flint, Michigan. Rod McDonald and Jennie Campbell, my grandparents were born in Nova Scotia, married and moved to Boston, Mass., where their first three children were born, including my mother. Shortly after the boom created by the new automobile plants in Michigan, my grandfather decided that was the place to be since he was a tool and die maker. And so, the young family moved to Flint where the rest of their nine children were born.
Seven of the nine McDonald children attended the reunion, and quite a number of their children and grandchildren, and great grandchildren!

Ride the Rockies II

Wes did it again! This year, Ride the Rockies covered 543 miles in Southwest Colorado, climbing four of Colorado’s most scenic mountain passes including Red Mountain, Coal Bank, Wolf Creek and Poncha Pass. The first day was in Grand Junction, and included a ride of 46 miles through the Colorado National Monument, a beautiful area of red rock canyons and plateaus. Day two took the riders south to Delta via Grand Mesa, a cold and wet ride of 90 miles. Day three was only 67 miles to Ouray, one of the most beautiful mountain towns we have ever seen. One feels as though you are in Bravaria! Wednesday was a grueling day, riding 70 miles over three passes, the highest being 11,090 ft. before arriving in Durango in the southwest corner of Colorado. On Thursday, the riders only had to ride 85 miles east to Pagosa Springs, over rather flat terrain. Friday was another killer, 90 miles and crossing Wolf Pass at 10,850 ft. before arriving at Alamosa where we had purple potatoes! The final day took them north across desert, crossing Poncha Pass
at 9,019 ft. before heading into Salida.

Kevin and Laura are Engaged!

Kevin invited all of the parents to dinner at Flemings. We were told to wait outside the restaurant until the waitress came to escort us inside. Kevin had arranged a private room for our dinner, and it was a complete surprise to Laura when we all walked in together! She thought they were just celebrating their first year together! Shortly after we arrived, Kevin bent down on one knee and proposed with a heartfelt speech! Laura, accepted, with tears in her eyes. It was a wonderful celebration, and the beginning of a wonderful new life for the two of them!

Breckenridge - 2010

Back again for another week in Breckenridge! Beautiful weather this time, skiing was great! Barb's brother, Rod, and his son, Brodie, joined us this year. It was Brodie's first time to ski in the Rocky Mountains, and I think he loved it! It's hard to go back to the midwest once you've experienced the long run, and the shorter lift lines! We also had lunch at our very favorite restaurant on top of Keystone, Alpenglow Stube. It is very cool. they take your boots, and helmets, all of your gear and give you warm fuzzy slippers and pamper you. We also met a teacher friend, Cathy Smith, and her family who happened to be skiing at Breckenridge also this year. Such fun seeing her away from Einstein School!