In Panama City Beach

We got home from our Utah-Arizona trip to Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon (North Rim) and Lake Powell on the Teigen's houseboat.  It was all really great.  We loved being on the houseboat with the "Friends and Family" cruise.  It is beautiful on the lake and the boat can accommodate 14 people easily.  We made new friends and renewed old acquaintances. Three of us were classmates in the Orange High School class of 1955--seen here.

Gale & Don Sturdevant, Nancy and Cap'n Terry Teigen, Val Fogal and me

While we were on the lake, the government shut down, meaning that all the National Parks were closed.  They did allow us to stay until the end of the week but did not allow the next group that was to meet the Teigens to come into the park.  I particularly feel sorry for all the tourists from all over the world who had planned their year to visit the parks.  So unnecessary!!

After we got home, Jimmy and Teresa Goode visited us on their way to Florida and we followed them a few days later. We are now here in the rental condo I have in Sally's estate.  I think of it as Sally's condo.  There are always some chores to do when we visit and this year was no exception.  But the weather is great, the crowds are sparse this time of year, and the water is still pretty warm in mid 70's. We will return in about a week and get ready for our next adventure in the Galapagos Islands on December 1.  

Turned out to be a busy year after all.

Days are getting shorter

Tomorrow is the first day of Fall and we just had a harvest moon.  We took a trip to Carmel last weekend to meet up with a couple from my housestaff days in Seattle--Pate and Judy Thomson from Berkeley.  Pate is a cardiologist who is "retired" but is working as a volunteer in a free clinic.  We had a great few days seeing old haunts since I had come to Carmel almost every year for medical meetings when I was living in Denver. A few pics from this trip have been posted here. 

We leave Carlsbad next Tuesday to drive to Zion in Utah.  We will spend the rest of the week there and hope to see Zion, Bryce, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  It has been a long time since I have been there and Val hasn't ever been there.  I'm hoping the government will remain functional so that the National Parks will be open when we get there, but the Republicans seem intent on shutting the government down. Typical.

From Zion we will go to meet the Teigen's friends and family for a week on their houseboat on Lake Powell.  We are really looking forward to this.  Neither Val nor I have ever been there. Also, Don and Gale Sturdevant will be on the boat and it has been a long time since I have spent any time with them and they have never met Val. 

After that week, we will drive back to Texas and hope to get there by October 8.  Sally's brother Jimmy and Teresa are planning to come by our Condo in Texas about a week later.  That should be really fun.

Summer's winding down

It's getting toward Labor Day again.  Val and I have had a pretty busy summer with the trip to New York and then being in Sugar Land for a while to see doctors etc.  Today we will be having lunch with some Orange HS buddies from the class of '55. Gosh.  

I put together a book on shutterfly since I had a promotion from somewhere.  It summarizes the summer and is on a separate post.  No idea if this will work.

The rest of the summer includes a trip to Carmel and then a week with the Teigens and friends on a houseboat on Lake Powell.  Hope to get some great shots there.

Summer Pics

Click here to view this photo book larger

Here is the book I put together for the summer of 2013.  These aren't the greatest photos--most of them from my iPhone.  But I had a coupon I had to use so I put together what I had and I think we will enjoy it.  Posting it here is mostly an experiment.

Traveling some

It has been a while since I last updated this blog.  I see that I was somewhat down at the last post, but that didn't last long. We had a very nice June with lots of sun and little "June Gloom". The July 4 fireworks at La Costa were terrific this year.  I guess the San Diego fireworks  went off well after last year's fiasco when all of them ignited at once and the tremendous fireball was over within a minute.  

Ray and Julie Woosley visited Carlsbad in mid month and we had a wonderful time seeing them.  It had been a while since Ray had come to see us in California.

On July 23, we flew to Princeton for a Lexicon board meeting and then on to New York for a few days.  Fortunately the weather was kind to us.  It had been record breaking hot on the east coast but that stopped when we arrived.  We had a great time exploring the big city and seeing a couple of shows and museums.  I have always loved to visit New York.  There is an excitement that I feel with the energy of the city.  While there we saw the most unusual show called "Here Lies Love" about Imelda Marcos.  It was a rock musical with the audience standing the whole time and the stage moving around.  The cast members also become part of the audience and vice versa.  I even danced with Imelda Marcos!! But I confess that Val and I were undoubtedly the oldest hippies there.

Currently we are back in Texas for a few days.  I had a couple of doctor and dentist appointments.  Six months has passed since my surgery and all seems to be well.  The x-rays are good and so I need to see him in another six months and that may be the last visit.  I have continued to walk as my major form of exercise and can go well without any of the limiting pain I had before surgery.  I do get tired and have some lower back pain if I am up for too long, but that may not be too unusual for someone who is 75.

We head back on Sunday or Monday.  We will be driving and hope to spend some time in Tucson on the way to see the Woosley's.  Will be hot on this trip across the southwest. 

Kinda bummed

Just a brief post.  Yesterday I felt lousy all day.  I finally figured out that it was Sally and my anniversary--would have been 52 years. I had not consciously thought about it, but somehow it was affecting me, I guess.

Settling in

Well, it has been a busy month.  Val and I went to my 50th medical school reunion in Boston. It was a good reunion--seeing a lot of my old classmates.  I had only been to one other reunion about 15 years ago and so it was interesting to see if I could remember anyone.  Turns out there were a lot of people I knew.  My old lab partner was there and it was the first time I had seen him in 50 years. We had a black tie gala at the Four Seasons and an evening at the Pops.  Both were really fun.  We also had a "clambake" at Legal Seafoods with a large lobster, clams, mussels and corn.  Yum.

Val explored Boston and poured some tea in the harbor where the real tea party was.  On Friday afternoon and Saturday we explored the historic parts of Boston on the Freedom Trail.  I had done this years ago, but this was Val's first time in Boston.

We got back just in time for me to fly to Nashville for the 50th anniversary of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Vanderbilt.  I was one of the first faculty members there.  It was very enjoyable seeing long lost friends and meeting the young Turks.  The medical school campus has changed so much that I couldn't find my way around. Val stayed home to get ready for our trip to California.

Back from Vanderbilt just in time for Andrew's graduation from Stephen F. Austin HS. Sugar Land, TX must be one of the most diverse areas in the country.  Andrew's class at the public high school is a great mix of colors from everywhere.  Many from India, other parts of Asia, as well as many African Americans and Hispanics.  Whites are a clear minority.  I think it is great.  Andrew will be attending Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.  It is very close to my brother Ken's house so that gives Andrew easy access to family.

On June 11, we flew to San Diego to spend the summer at our condo in Carlsbad.  Christopher's graduation from Carlsbad HS was on the 13th.  He will be attending Warren College at the University of California San Diego.  Craig went to UCSD so Christopher is following in his dad's footsteps.

We are getting settled in here.  We've been walking on the beach and starting to do a few of our favorite things.  We walked on the path at the Bataquitos reserve where we saw a lot of birds, including nesting Great Blue Heron and Great White Egret as well as some Red Shouldered Hawk fledglings. We are gradually getting the back patio organized with new plants.  

Great Blue Heron and 2 chicks

Two Red Shoulder Hawk Fledglings

Great White Egret

We will be here most of the summer with a brief trip to the East Coast where I have a meeting and a week in Sugar Land for followup visits to doctors and dentists.  My back has been good and I remain very pleased with the surgery.  I used to have to stop frequently and sit because of the back, buttock and leg pain.  That is gone.  I still have some low back pain, but who doesn't at age 75.