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2004
Dec 31, Lake Tahoe
  The
snow continues to fall. It is hard to believe that there was no snow on
the ground when we arrived. As you can see from the picture on the left,
cars were completely covered with snow and digging them out was a real
project. The Canadian geese have made their annual visit and can be seen
resting in the soft snow.
Dec 30, Lake Tahoe
  The
snow has arrived with a vengeance. We've had a foot or two accumulation so
far, with another three feet or more forecast for tonight and tomorrow.
Mark, Margaret, and Johnny have had two days of skiing, while the rest of us
have played in the snow around the condo, and have had a few forays to the local
casinos.
Dec 25, Reno
It was 28 deg in Houston when we left, and a relatively
balmy 38 deg in Reno when we arrived. There is no snow on the ground, but
the forecast is for plenty next week at Lake Tahoe where the clan is gathering
for the annual winter family vacation.
Dec 24, Houston
Christmas Eve in Houston and it's snowing. It snows
here about once every ten years, but there is no record of snow here on this
date ever.
Dec 18, Houston
Andy came down for the weekend. The three of us
went to Reliant Center and were volunteers in a project to assemble 25,000 bikes
for needy kids in Houston. After a brief training session we went to work
and fully assembled bikes for a couple of hours. The sponsoring group is
called Elves and More. They did a terrific job of organizing this
worthwhile and rewarding project.
Dec 14, Houston
   New
York was great, but it is good to be back in Houston. Pat has the
apartment in holiday mode. She hosted her annual Christmas bridge luncheon
which as always was a great success.
Dec 9, New York
Foul weather has returned. It's enough to get you
depressed. To make matters worse, we saw the play 'night, Mother
with Edie Falco and Brenda Blethyn. This would make you depressed even if you
had just won the lottery. We'll have a quick visit to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art tomorrow, and then head for home in the afternoon.
Dec 8, New York
Sunshine! We went to see the renovated Museum of
Modern Art. Fabulous building and exhibit. Taking full advantage of
the break in the weather, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. On the
Brooklyn side, we wandered down to the River Cafe for an elegant lunch.
The Maitre d' looked askance at our attire as all the other diners were
well-dressed and had their drivers waiting outside. We may have been the
first River Cafe guests to board a city bus immediately after leaving the
restaurant. In the evening we took in the Met's production of Aida.
It was spectacular.
Dec 7, New York
Lew's college roommate, Jerry Schnee, drove in from N.J.
for breakfast and a nice visit. The weather got colder and wetter. Getting
full value from new umbrella. We persevered. More window shopping
followed by a tour of CNN. At night we saw a revival of Wonderful Town
with Brooke Shields. Who knew she could act sing, act, and dance?
Dec 6, New York
It was cold and rainy so we bought an umbrella from
a street vendor for $3. That enabled us to window-shop on 5th Ave. and go to the
Guggenheim Museum to see the Aztec exhibit without contracting pneumonia .
We walked back from 89th to 46th stopping at the Oak Bar in the Plaza Hotel for
a drink. Prices here are out of control. A bottle of beer is $14,
with a $20 per person minimum. Fuggetaboutit. We snuck
out.
Dec 5, New York
Our initial "superior" room at the Paramount
Hotel was 100 square feet, including bathroom and closet. We
upgraded. Met up with Joel and Sandi Jaffe, friends from Houston, and saw
August Wilson's latest play, Gem of the Ocean. Great acting, but story is
a little arcane. Nice dinner at the Blue Fin.
Dec 4, Houston
This was culture week. On Monday we heard the
Houston Symphony featuring guest violinist Leila Josefowicz. On Friday we
had great seats for a concert given by Yo-Yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax. They
played an all Beethoven program and were dazzling. Continuing in the same
vein, we are off to the Big Apple for a week of plays and opera.
Nov 26, Austin
  Off
to Austin for Dick and Jann Brown's house for the annual Thanksgiving
dinner. Excellent food and lot's of kids having a good time. One of
the kids looked a lot like Andy.
Nov 15, The Valley
 Ross
and Kelly sent this picture of the street in front of their house. I
thought maybe they had moved to New England, but they insist this is southern
California.
Nov 11, Barrington
Congratulations to Monica for landing a great job with
Johnson Controls. She and Mike will be moving to Milwaukee before the end
of the year. With the Bears and Bulls playing so badly, and the Blackhawks
not even playing, this was an easy decision for Mike. Good luck in
Wisconsin!
Oct 28, Killeen
  It
was Family Day at Fort Hood, and we all got to see Mark and his tank crew destroy
some targets on the range. It was an impressive display of force.
The tanks are brand new and the most powerful in the world. The flash of
fire and noise when the big gun fired scared all the kids. A passing rain
storm turned the field into a quagmire. Just up Katie's alley.
Oct 13, Houston
  Got
chocolate? Got sand? Johnny and Katie enjoyed the eats at Johnny's
fifth birthday party. The scene of the action was Mark and Margaret's back
yard in Killeen, but the pictures recently arrived in Houston. Click HERE
to see more.
Oct 7, Houston
 We
were happy to welcome Peter and Lesley Giles, good friends from our Australia
days, to Houston. Peter has retired from BHP and now owns a vineyard in
the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney. Pat reassembled the Australian women's
group for a luncheon in Lesley's honor.
Sep 30, Killeen
Time marches on. Johnny lost his first baby tooth
and was handsomely rewarded by the Tooth Fairy.
Sep 25, Honolulu
We went to Waikiki beach to see the AVP Beach Volleyball
championship. We got to see America's gold and bronze medal winners from
the Athens Olympics. Good fun.
Sep 22, Honolulu
   Nothing
is more romantic than sunset dinner at the Outrigger Canoe Club. We were
the guests of June Anderson, who somehow managed to secure the club's finest
seaside table.
Sep 15, Honolulu
Ross and Kelly had a big time in Hawaii. Click HERE
to see an interesting collage of photos taken by Ross.
Sep 12, Honolulu
  One
day late, we celebrated Pat's birthday with Kelly and Ross in Waikiki. We
had dinner at a new restaurant called Tiki's Bar and Grill. The food was
good and eclectic. We all tried the Kalua Pork Quesadilla appetizers -
only in Hawaii. The restaurant presented Pat with a birthday brownie -
onolicious!
Sep 1, Houston
It's been nearly three weeks since the major plumbing
repair work has been completed, and all systems are go. Normal activities
are resuming.
Aug 18, Houston
Sorry for the absence but I've been working on a big
plumbing job. Everything has been repaired and returned to service and no
leaks or blockages have been observed. Maintenance is important when the
pipes start to get old and the filters start to accumulate some junk.
Aug 7, Houston
According to last night's weather report, a cold front
was due to hit Houston today. Everything is relative. The high
temperature today was a relatively cool 93 deg.
July 20, Blowing Rock, NC
   After
a long hypnotizing ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway we found ourselves in Blowing
Rock. Along the way we stopped at Mt. Mitchell. At almost 7,000
feet, it is the highest point east of the Rockies. When Pat was growing up
in Baton Rouge, her father made an annual pilgrimage to Blowing Rock to golf
with his cronies. We visited the beautiful country club where he
played. The eponymous Rock has been commercialized and is not very
impressive. We found excellent accommodations at the Chetola Lodge.
July 20, Asheville, NC
   On
the way to Asheville we stopped to see Cassandra Manley, a friend from
Houston, at her summer home in Cashiers. This was another gravel road
adventure, but by this time we were prepared. We then headed off to
Brevard to meet Pat's cousin Blair whom she had not seen since she was
five years old. After lunch and a guided tour of Brevard, we drove to
Asheville for a night at the Grove Park Inn, one of the finest resort hotels in
the country.
July 19, Highlands, NC
   This
is a beautiful part of the U.S. somewhat off the beaten path. We are here
to visit Ann and Dick Goodsell. Ann was a sorority sister of Pat's at the
University of Alabama. Finding their house was an adventure as it is
located some two miles up an unmarked dirt road. We were greeted with a
pitcher of Clamato juice Bloody Mary's which got things off to a good
start. The scenery is spectacular and the temperature about 25 degrees
lower than Houston.
July 15, Greenville, SC
 This
is our first visit to upcountry South Carolina.
We are favorably impressed. The
air is clean, the temperature cool, and the people are very nice.
Like much of the southeast, the area is being overtaken by kudzu, a fast
growing weed which covers everything, giving a countryside a fairytale topiary
look.
July 4, Killeen
  We're
back in the USA. Just in time to celebrate the Fourth of July with Andy
and Mark, Margaret and family at Fort Hood's FunFest 2004. There
were rides for the kids, inspiring band music, and a half hour fireworks display
that seemed longer.
June 24, Falmouth,
Cornwall
 We
had just enough time to visit Lizard Point, the southernmost point in
England. The weather is so mild here that they grow bananas. A
change in departure time for a lot of passengers caused us to leave the port
three hours early. Would have liked to visit Land's End, but there wasn't
enough time.
June 23, Holyhead, Wales
The weather was so bad, the
captain would not risk a tender operation. On to Cornwall.
June 23, Waterford,
Ireland
 This
is a very interesting historic city. Reginald's Tower in the center of
town is 1,000 years old. At the 700 year old Jerpoint Abbey, a guide told
us about some little known ruins nearby. Our taxi driver was stumped, but
the guide gave him a hand drawn map to the site. It was fascinating.
June 22, Dublin, Ireland
 After
visiting Trinity College and a mandatory look at The Book of Kells, we strolled
along the River Liffey, and found a pub in Temple Bar which served beef stew
prepared with Guinness. Delicious. We were inspired to walk to the
Guiness factory to see how they made the dark brew.
June 20, Kirkwall, Orkney Islands
 Another cold and windy place. Not far from
Kirkwall is Skara Brae, a 5,000 year old ruin discovered a little over 100 years
ago. People lived here for 500 years then disappeared. They either
died out or decided to move away, nobody knows for sure. The Ring of
Brogar and the Stones of Stenness are Orkney's Stonehenge.
June 19, Lerwick, Shetland Islands
 The local residents are a hardy lot. The wind always blows and it is cold. These people were walking around in
short sleeve shirts eating ice cream while the temperature is in the
mid-forties. We went to the south end of the island to see a colony of
puffins. Along the way we encountered a few Shetland ponies. The
landscape is a beautiful green, but the island contains not a single tree.
June 18, Invergordon
 Invergordon has even less to see than Peterhead.
A representative of the Tourist Bureau came on board to answer questions. The
most frequent question was where to catch the bus out of town. We jump on a bus to Inverness and hire a driver to take us to Loch Ness and the
Urquart castle. The monster didn't show up so we returned to
Inverness and caught a bus back to the ship.
June 17, Peterhead
 Our tour director is Mr. Malaprop. He
keeps referring to this place as Peterburg, or St. Peterhead, or St. Petersburg.
Earlier he had announced a Latin Dancing class, but instead called it Lap
Dancing class. There is nothing to see or do in Peterhead, so we take a bus to
Aberdeen and ride out to see some castles.
June 16, Leith, Scotland
 The first two days aboard Oceania's refitted
Insignia were great. Cabins and food are very nice. The first
problem we encountered was at this port city near Edinburgh, where the cruise
company failed to provide transportation to the city. We wandered
aimlessly for a while and finally found a city bus. Having been here less
than a year ago we were able to find a 300-terminal internet cafe and a good
spot for a lunch of haggis.
June 13, London
Met up with Jane and Barry Adams, friends from
our Brazil days. They gave us a great tour of the city. We followed
up by meeting Nancy and Packy Maxwell and took a ride on the London Eye, the
giant millennium wheel, and took in a play.
June 11, Houston
We are off to England to
start our trip around the British Isles. The trip has an inauspicious
beginning as we attempt to check in at the airport and find that the
Continental agent had sent us to the wrong gate. It would not have been a
good day to enter the lottery as both Lew and his luggage were selected for an
extra security check.
June 3, Rockport, TX
   The
Gulf Coast was the scene of the Levy/Solomons summer rendezvous. We rented
a house on Key Allegro, an island development in which every house is on a
canal. We were able to swim, fish, and trap crabs from the back
deck. The weather was warm, but there was always a breeze so it was very
pleasant. Large, exotic birds stopped to visit, adding another dimension
to our stay.
May 28, Savannah, GA
 Lew's
college fraternity, Phi Sigma Delta, held the biannual reunion at The Landings,
near Savannah. Once again the wives had to endure the same stories and
jokes that they have heard every two years for the last ten. The Landings
is on Skidaway Island. The developers did a very good job of keeping the
environment intact. Like Pinehurst, this is a great place to live for
serious golfers, but otherwise pretty quiet.
May 27, Pinehurst, NC
  We
have heard so much about this place over the years that we took a side trip on
the way to Savannah. It is very beautiful here and would be a good place
to live if you played golf seven days a week. Otherwise there doesn't seem
to be much to see or do. Like the painted cows in Chicago, Pinehurst had a
show of decorated dogs. Some of them were very cute.
May 23, Raleigh, NC
Is there anything more
frightening than waking up with a killer toothache in a town where you don't
know a dentist. Fortunately the hotel telephone operator knew a good
one. Three hours and a root canal later all is well again.
May 13, Killeen
 Mark
was awarded the Purple
Heart to go along with the Bronze Star bravery award he got last week. His
arm has recovered to the point that he can play a round of golf. He is now
enjoying a well-deserved month's vacation.
May 9, Salada, TX
  We
drove over to Killeen for Mother's Day, saddled up with the Solomons Clan, and
rode on down to the Stage Coach Inn in Salada for brunch. A good time was
had by all.
April 26, Los
Angeles
 Just
another day at the office for Kelly and Ross. No cubicles or Dilberts here in
Laurel Canyon Park, the operations center for Kelly's Pet Care. We got
tired just watching Kelly and Ross put their twenty-three dogs through their
paces.
April 23, Cabo San Lucas
 The
big one didn’t get away. Lew snagged a dorado (mahi-mahi) that was five feet long and
weighed almost 80 pounds, boating the beast after a 25 minute battle.
Pat took a tour of the harbor on a catamaran.
Cabo has had amazing development in the twenty years since the last
visit. Definitely worth a return trip.
April 21, Acapulco
 After
hearing about Acapulco for years, the place was a real disappointment.
The out-of-town resorts are probably quite nice, but the city itself is
dirty, noisy, overcrowded, with traffic in a constant state of gridlock.
The cliff divers are impressive, that’s about it.
April 20, Huatulco, Mexico
 The
Mexican government is trying to create a new Cancun on the west coast.
So far, there are beautiful new hotels and idyllic beaches, but there
isn’t much else to do. Wait a few
years before visiting this place.
April 18, Puerta Caldera,
Costa Rica
  Having
docked in the middle of nowhere, we took our only organized tours of the trip.
We saw enough of Costa Rica to realize that we need to return.
The people are nice, the weather is agreeable, and the scenery and
wildlife are spectacular. Eco-tourism
is the country’s leading cash generator, so tourists are well cared for.
We walked on a bridge over the Tarcoles River to view the resident crocodiles.
We also hiked through a forest where our guide pointed out a white bat.
April 16, Panama Canal
  Our
ship had priority so we traversed the canal in about 6 hours.
The operation is quite interesting to see.
The first set of locks lifts the ship to an artificial lake, and the next
two sets returns the ship to sea level in the Pacific Ocean.
The operation is essentially unchanged from the day it opened almost 100
years ago.
April 14, Aruba
  There
are 120,000 people on Aruba and at least that many iguanas.
They are everywhere, including poolside at the posh Marriott hotel.
The beaches are very nice here, but there is little else to recommend.
The primary tourist attraction is a natural bridge which is less than
awe-inspiring.
April 12, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
  This
island is owned by the cruise line and exists solely for the purpose of
generating revenue. This is nothing
here save for some scrub bushes and a souvenir shop.
On the plus side, the water is so clear and the sand so clean and white
that a barefoot walk on the beach is very pleasant.
April 11, Fort Lauderdale
We boarded the Holland-America Oosterdam for a cruise
through the Panama Canal. The
vessel is less than a year old and beautifully appointed, although the cabins
are, shall we say – compact. If
the first night is any indication the food is going to be very good.
April 9, Margate, FL
Mother Kay has moved to the VIP Care Pavilion in Margate.
Her address and phone number can be found in How to find us.
She has good days and bad days, but on the whole she seems to be
adjusting well to her new surroundings.
April 7, Houston
 One
for the road. Baseball season is underway, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are
starting, the basketball playoffs are coming and we are heading for the Panama
Canal. This is an example of poor planning. The next blog update
won't be until the end of April, but come back then to see pictures of our trip.
March 29, Killeen
   We
arrived home from Reno on Saturday afternoon, went to a wedding Saturday night,
then headed off to Killeen to see the grandchildren. Mark is trying to get
Johnny started early in golf, hoping that success on the Tour will allow him to
take early retirement. Katie is learning how to get out of a sand
trap. As you can see, Mark is now able to swing a golf club himself.
He is making an amazing recovery.
March 25, Reno
Playing at the American Contract Bridge League North
American Championships, Pat and her partner Jolie Hess were leading the field
after the first quarter of the National Womens Pairs championship.
Although they faded a bit, Pat and her partner were among the top finishers in
the two day event.
March 21, Houston
The University of Hawaii Rainbows baseball team
was in town to take on the defending NCAA champion Rice Owls. With about
four other 'Bows fans, we cheered the visitors on to an unlikely victory.
March 17, Houston
   Pat
hosted her first annual St. Pat's Day luncheon. Eleven of her friends came
decked out in various shades of green.
March 14, Rockport
This little fishing village is only a three hour drive
from Houston. The weather is bad so our movements are somewhat restricted,
but it is definitely a place to which we would like to return. The bridge
was OK, but we didn't cover ourselves with glory.
March 7, Houston
Our third trip to the new Toyota Center was a good
one. First we were with a group that had brunch with the president of the
Rockets and that was followed by the Rockets winning a close game against the
Dallas Mavericks.
March 4, Houston
We just finished a week of bridge at our annual Regional Tournament.
The hotel gave us an unpleasant surprise by starting a major renovation program
the week before everyone arrived. Lew spent more time solving crises than
playing bridge. We are going to make up for the lost games by driving to a
sectional in a place called Rockport next weekend.
February 21, Barrington
Monica and Mike's dog Willie now has his own
website. The site has a live webcast feature so let's hope that he doesn't
forget his obedience school lessons. You can visit Willie at http://home.earthlink.net/~monicalevy/
February 8, Killeen
  We
visited with Mark, Margaret, and family at their home in Harker Heights, outside
of Killeen. Andy also stopped by. Mark's arm is looking very good,
and he is back at work. Johnny is practicing his Michael Jordan moves,
while Katie has a new best friend who evidently speaks her language.
February 5, Houston
  The
Harvard Business School Club sponsored an outing to see the Houston Aeros hockey
team take on the Utah Grizzlies. The home team won 2-1. After the
game we got to meet the Aeros' Chris Bala, a recent Harvard grad trying to make
it to the National Hockey League.
January 30, Houston
 Habitat
for Humanity is an organization in which volunteers build single family homes
for people who otherwise could not afford to own their own homes. This
year Habitat is building 38 homes in the week leading up to Super Bowl XXXVIII.
The Harvard Business School Club of Houston is a sponsor, and Lew volunteered to
help. The day was spent putting up siding, mostly from the top of a
ladder. Hard work, but very rewarding.
January 28, Houston
 In
2002, Gallery Furniture and Jim McIngvale, better known as Mattress Mac,
contributed $50,000 to the bridge league to support the Houston Nationals.
Yours truly paid a visit to the store to present Mac with a certificate honoring
him by naming an event in his honor at the upcoming Regional tournament.
January 24, Houston
Just discovered that there are 10,861 restaurants in Houston.
Eating in a different restaurant every day, three meals a day, it would take 9
years and 11 months to try them all. That's a lot of tacos.
January 15, Houston
  We
made our first pilgrimage to the new Toyota Center, home of the Houston Rockets
and Aeros. Houston now has new facilities for all its major sports
franchises. We were treated to the Rockets' finest performance of the
year, humbling the first place Minnesota T-Wolves. As you can see from the
scoreboard, the Rockets held their opponents to a mere 16 points with less than
three minutes to go in the first half. Chinese giant Yao Ming was
impressive.
January 4, Lake Tahoe
 Getaway
day. The clouds all leave and we are treated to a gorgeous sunrise over
the lake. It would be hard to find a more beautiful spot on earth than the
north end of Lake Tahoe.
January 2, Lake Tahoe
 A
short break in the weather allows Mama Margaret, Aunt Monica and Uncle Andy to
take Johnny to his first ski lesson at Diamond Peak. He had a few falls
but got up and kept going. Fortunately, all of the adult skiers returned
home without any broken bones.
January 1, Lake Tahoe
 Snow,
snow, then more snow. All roads in and out of Tahoe have been closed by
the highway patrol. Too bad - we were all forced to watch football all
day. At night, a few adventurous souls trekked to the casino.
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