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2006
December 31, Lake Tahoe
  The
champagne is on ice and the steaks are ready for the barbeque as we anticipate
New Years Eve at the lake. Yesterday we planned to go ice skating at
Northstar. When we got to the rink, there were no skates to be
rented. They did have a bungee jumping machine which Katie thought looked
like fun. After an hour waiting in line, Katie got her turn to fly.
Based on her ear-to-ear grin it was the highlight of her trip so far.
There is still a little snow on the hill behind our condo so Johnny got some
rides on his saucer.
December 26, Lake Tahoe
   The
annual Levy-Solomons winter get together is underway. All of the Solomons
(Andy, Johnny, Katie, Margaret, Mark) hit the ski slopes, while the Levys (Lew,
Mike, Monica, Pat) took a short winter cruise on the M.S. Dixie. The
weather is beautiful, but there is a real shortage of snow. The sunsets
are spectacular.
December 16, Houston
 The
Bridge Unit volunteered to take pledges for Houston Public Television's annual
telethon. Somehow we got assigned to the phones which received a majority
of the calls. Lew took one call where a man pledged $2,000, which was
pretty exciting. All told the Unit took in pledges of around $6,000.
No commissions but they did served us take-out from P. F. Chang and we got to
see an old John Denver concert during the breaks.
December 9, Killeen
    To
welcome Mark home, the Texas branch of the family gathered in Killeen. Jan
and Dick drove up from Austin, Andy and Deanna came down from Dallas, Lew and
Pat drove over from Houston as did Margaret's sister Jeannie and her
family. Mark's glory came to an abrupt end as he was drafted to rake
leaves. A new member of the family was introduced this weekend. His
name is Henry, a West Highland Terrorist (Terrrier).
December 6, Killeen
Great news! Mark has completed his
tour of duty in Iraq and is home safe and sound in Killeen. He has been
promoted to Lt. Colonel and is looking forward to spending time with his family.
November 20, Honolulu
 The
American Contract Bridge League is holding the Fall Nationals in Honolulu this
week. Pat and her partner from Houston, Esta Van Zandt, joined up with
four other women to challenge for the Womens Team championship. They
almost pulled it off finishing in fifth place. The four teams they trailed
were all professionals and/or world champions. Well done!
November 18, Honolulu
  Pat
was feted at a Dolman Associates reunion hosted by Vi Dolman and Jackie
Jones. Approximately 50 agents formerly managed by Pat attended to
celebrate her presence in Hawaii. She received so many leis that she
looked like a Punahou graduate.
November 13, Houston
 Every
year the Houston World Affairs Council holds a current events knowledge contest
called WorldQuest. Most of the teams represent universities or corporations, but
the Council puts unaffiliated contestants on a team called the Secretary
Generalists.This year, unbeknownst to your webmaster, his wife entered him
in the contest and he was assigned to the unaffiliated team. Result?....a
respectable second place finish.
November 11, Houston
Pat had a luncheon for a friend who is
moving to Poland. Authentic Polish food, including pirogys and golabkis,
was served and enjoyed. Right now we are getting ready for a trip to
Honolulu on Tuesday. It will be our second trip to Hawaii this year after
not having gone at all in 2005.
October 21, Rockport
   This
one of our favorite spots in Texas. We came down to play in a bridge
tournament but found time to do a lot of sightseeing. The Rockport-Fulton
area is one of the country's best for viewing shorebirds and marsh waders.
The seafood industry is active so great fresh shrimp and oysters are readily
available. Jumbo shrimp purchased from the boats in the harbor can be had
for $3/pound. Here the fishermen are separating the shrimp from the small
fish which are consumed by a flock of pelicans that wait around for lunch.
October 5, Houston
 Every
time I visit my doctor at the medical center I walk past this sign and
chuckle. This is not trick photography. The sign can be seen on the
23rd floor of the Smith Tower.
September 28, Tillamook, Oregon
  We
took a day off from the bridge tournament and toured the Oregon northwest
coast. This part of the country is very scenic. A highlight of the
ride was the Tillamook cheese factory. There is a self-guided tour of the
packaging plant which looks like a nightmare from the industrial
revolution. Hard to imagine working in this plant eight hours a day.
Ever wonder what they did with the part of the milk that doesn't go into
cheese? Well they turn it into great ice cream. After sampling
several promising flavors, I settled on Tillamook Mudslide. Outstanding.
September 26, Astoria, Oregon
  This
place is famous for bad weather, but it couldn't have been nicer today. We
drove up to the Astoria Column, a prominent local landmark. We trudged up
164 stairs to get to the top and saw a truly spectacular view of the mouth of
the Columbia River. There is a bridge across the river to
Washington. When it was built some thirty years ago, the politicians said
they would stopped collecting tolls when the bridge was paid for. I know
this is hard to believe, but a short time ago the bridge was paid for and they
dismantled the toll booths. Courteous police officers and politicians who
fulfill their promises - what a place.
September 25, Seaside, Oregon
We are here for a bridge tournament and to
see the northwest Oregon coast. We rented a Cherokee at the Portland
airport and drove over to the coast. We played an evening game and then
went out for a snack at the only restaurant open after 10:00 PM. We parked
outside on the street which was pretty much deserted. About ten minutes
later a couple of police officers came in looking for the driver of a jeep
illegally parked outside. When I identified myself, one of the officers
said (without sarcasm) "Sir, would you mind moving your vehicle.
Otherwise we will have to have it towed". After I moved to a legal
place, they thanked me and went on their way. I like this town.
September 11, Twain Harte
 It's
Pat's birthday, and Nancy has produced a fine rum cake. Pat musters all of
her strength to blow out the candles. Later she celebrated by teaming with
Packy to blitz me and Nancy in a cut-throat game of cribbage.
September 9, Twain Harte
  We're
here to visit Nancy and Packy Maxwell in this mountain village not far from the
scene of the Gold Rush. We had been here in the winter but never before i
the summer. This is a beautiful area year-round. We drove up to the
town of Murphys where many of the local wineries have tastings. The wines
are good and the people are friendly. We stopped at the Stevenot winery
and had a little picnic, washing down our food with a fine Verdelho.
Although we are in Calaveras County we see no frogs.
September 8, Bodega Bay
  When
we departed Petaluma it was a beautiful sunny day. In less than 30 minutes
we were at Bodega Bay where it was overcast and a little chilly. This is
where Alfred Hitchcock filmed his classic "The Birds". There were
plenty of black and white photo ops. We continued north to Healdsville and
the Russian River valley to taste some wines. Pretty good way to spend a few
hours.
September 7, Petaluma
   We
are visiting Sharon and Brian Olesky, friends from Houston who have relocated to
northern California. We were charmed by their twin grandsons Milo and
Huck, granddaughter Annabella, and a Maltese named Sidney. I'm worried
about losing my curmudgeon status.
September 6, Houston
Our trip to the west coast got off to an
interesting start. On boarding the plane to Oakland I found a man
occupying my seat. I summoned a flight attendant who asked to see the
man's boarding pass. He produced a ticket that said Lewis Levy seat
6C. Aha, I said, the man has my boarding pass. Wrong! He and I
had the same name. The flight attendant resolved the issue by sending my
namesake to the back of the plane, while allowing me to sit in 6C, right next to
a woman with an infant in her lap. I think the other guy won.
August 11, Honolulu
  Foster
Botanical Gardens is one of those places that we always plan to visit when
living in Honolulu but never seem to find the time. We took advantage of
our week as tourists and had a guided tour. The collection of tropical
plants is colorful and interesting. The tree on the left is a baobab,
native to Africa. Click here to see a gallery of
pictures from the FOSTER BOTANICAL GARDENS. We finished the tourist
trail by braving the winds at the Pali Lookout for a view of Kailua and Kaneohe.
August 10, Honolulu
   We
are enjoying being tourists in Waikiki, something we never did when we lived in
Honolulu. Tonight we went to the Hale Koa luau. Better than
average luau food - I passed on the poi and lomi lomi salmon, but enjoyed the
kalua pig, sweet potato and teriyaki chicken. No poke or luau squid but
there was haupia for dessert. Katie showed up in a hula skirt but was not
part of the show (also better than average).
August 8, Honolulu
  We
traveled to Oahu's windward side to visit the venerable Sea Life Park, one of
Hawaii's first man-made tourist attractions. In truth the park is getting
a little tired. It appears that the only thing that has been updated in
the 42 years that it has been open is the entry fee. Never mind - it was a
gorgeous day and the kids enjoyed feeding the turtles, and watching the dolphin
and sea lion shows.
August 7, Honolulu
   We
are staying in Waikiki at the Hale Koa Hotel which is operated for active duty
military, military retirees, and their guests. It is a great facility with
beautifully landscaped grounds, easy beach access, and a swimming pool that can
be enjoyed by kids and adults.
August 6, Honolulu
   Ross
and Kelly are in Honolulu for the 20 year reunion of Ross's Mid-Pacific high school
graduation. They joined us for a visit to the Honolulu Aquarium where
Katie and Johnny got to handle some sea creatures. I think the animals
were a little on the slimy side. There were a lot of interesting fish to
be seen including this scorpion fish.
August 3, Kauai
    Another
day of spectacular scenery as we motored up to the extreme north of the island -
beyond Princeville and Hanalei to Haena State Park. On the way we stopped
at the Kilauea lighthouse and saw the great bird colony in residence
there. In addition to the sea birds the lighthouse has a colony of nene
geese (the state bird) which has gotten used to mingling with the human
visitors. The facility is government owned and operated. They provide
binoculars to all the visitors. The day had a perfect ending with a
beautiful rainbow visible from our front yard.
August 2, Kauai
   The
highlight of the trip so far was Cap'n Andy's sunset dinner cruise to the Na
Pali coast. The seas were calm, the food and drink were good, the weather
beautiful and the scenery was spectacular. The captain and crew were great
- they even let Johnny and Katie drive the boat for a while. The Na Pali
coast is accessible only by boat or by a treacherous 11 mile hike. We
spotted three intrepid hikers on the trail. They can be seen in the photo
on the right.
August 1, Kauai
  Deep
sea fishing in Hawaii can be very exciting. On the other hand when the
fish aren't biting....well these pictures of Mike and Johnny give you the idea.
July 31, Kauai
   This
is a big day for Margaret. Not only is it her birthday, it's also the
anniversary of her marriage to Mark. We celebrated with a nice dinner at
the Poipu Beach Broiler. We also celebrated Mark's making the promotion
list for Lt. Col.
Earlier in the day we went to the
annual Koloa Days Rodeo. This is a long way to go from Houston to see a rodeo.
July 30, Kauai
   We
rented an old house on Brenneke's Beach in Poipu so Andy and Mark could relive
their glory days of body surfing. The boys did pretty well considering
their advancing age. Johnny stayed near the shoreline and was surprised by
a late-breaking wave.
July 28, Honolulu
 A
happy coincidence - as we exited our flight in the Honolulu there was Mark
exiting his his flight from the Middle East (by way of Atlanta). Needless
to say his mother was proud and happy to see him. After a short layover we
flew over to Kauai to start Mark's R&R before he has to return to Iraq.
July 21, New York
For a change of pace, we took in a musical
adaptation of the Michael Caine - Steve Martin movie "Dirty Rotten
Scoundrels". We found it to be very entertaining. The music was
bright and the lyrics were very clever. To the best of my recollection,
the story line was pretty faithful to the movie, but it has been almost twenty
years since I've seen it.
July 20, New York
 A painting by Gustav Klimt named
"Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" recently sold for $135 million, the
most ever paid for a work of art. It was on display at the Neue Gallery in
N.Y. so we made a trek uptown to see it in the morning. It is beautiful
but I wouldn't have paid that much.
In the evening we saw "The History
Boys". We had been looking forward to seeing our first Allen
Bennett play and this Tony award winner did not disappoint. The writing was
masterful and the acting flawless. We had a little trouble picking up the
dialogue so we bought a copy of the script on the way out of the theater.
Well worth the effort.
July 19, New York
In town for a wedding, we decided to take in
a few plays. Tonight we saw Faith Healer starring Ralph Fiennes. The
play consisted of four monologues, the first and last by Fiennes in the title
role, and the second and third by his wife and his manager. At no time is
there more than one person on the stage. First class acting and an
interesting story.
June 20, Rapid City, South Dakota
    We decided to make this the base camp for our exploration of
the Badlands and the Black Hills. The Badlands are interesting but start
to get repetitive after a while. We made the obligatory visits to Mount
Rushmore and the Crazy Horse memorial where we bumped into Pat's niece Grace and
her two kids. What we most enjoyed was driving around Custer State
Park. Lots of wildlife and very few people. Driving on the Needles Highway
and the Iron Mountain Road were highlights.
June 18, Pierre, South Dakota
 After one final family gathering, -
breakfast at Perkins restaurant - we headed west. Not wanting to drive all
the way to the Black Hills, we elected to stay overnight in Pierre, the state
capital. It's a quiet little town situated on the Missouri River.
According to one of my guide books the top restaurant in town is the A&W
drive-in. That about says it all.
June 17, Brookings, South Dakota
 Campus tours and other family events were planned during the
day including lunch at Nick's purportedly the home of South Dakota's best
hamburgers. They were mighty tasty but pretty high in trans-fats. The
gala at night was first class with wines provided by J. Lohr, one of the
school's distinguished graduates. The speeches and award ceremonies were a
bit lengthy but a classical music performed by SDSU graduates was very
professional. Pat got to spend some time with her sister Dolly and cousins she had never
met before this weekend. (click here for
more on the reunion)
June 16, Brookings, South Dakota
  Brookings is the home of South Dakota State
University, the largest institution of higher education in the state. In
commemoration of its 125th anniversary, the school invited the families and descendants
of all of its past presidents to attend a gala dinner dance on Saturday
night. Pat's paternal grandfather was one of the school's longest serving
presidents. Her Uncle George Brown (younger brother of Pat's father) organized a family reunion around the
ceremony and had the largest family group in attendance. For the most part
Pat had never met the relatives in attendance. At an informal
family dinner Friday night each person told the group who they
were and how they were related to the honoree. The family historians were
busy making charts. Uncle George was honored with a wooden flower.
June 16, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
 We're on our way to a Brown family reunion
in Brookings, S.D. This is the nearest airport. It's not immediately
obvious why, but Sioux Falls must be a terrorist target because there is a large
Homeland Security office here. Your tax dollars at work. With some
time to kill, we visited the falls. formerly a power source for a large flour
mill. After the mill was destroyed in a fire, the ruins and the area
surrounding the falls were converted to a a very attractive park.
June 13, Houston
 We're
still recovering from jet lag and "enjoying" Houston's spring
weather. The outside temperature gauge in the car was at 102 deg this
afternoon. We will have all the bags unpacked and the clothes washed by
Friday morning when we leave for South Dakota. Pat and I celebrated our
23rd wedding anniversary Sunday night with a wonderful dinner at the Capital
Grille. Everybody in Houston has a favorite steak house. The Capital
Grille is ours.
June 4, Houston
After a long day of flying, we arrived home
at 7:00 PM, but our body clocks were still 7 hours ahead. Good to be home.
June 3, Lisbon
To break up the trip to Houston, we flew to
Lisbon and spent the night. After freezing in Prague, we thawed out in
Lisbon's 90+ degree weather. We took a tram to the Alto area and found an
interesting bar overlooking the Tagus River. After a couple of beers we
wandered back down the hill and found a crowded restaurant so we went in.
We were seated at a long table and struck up a conversation with some local
folks who introduced us to the local specialty, tiny snails cooked with garlic
and oregano. Delicious.
June 2, Prague
  We
spent the morning at the Prague Castle. Wall-to-wall tourists. Most
are following flag-toting tour guides. It appears that every tourist has a
digital camera. If I had any stock in Kodak or Fuji I would sell ASAP. The
castle itself is spectacular and the views of the city are great. At night
we went to performance of Verdi's Nabucco at the State Opera House.
Tickets are cheap relative to the US so we sat in the third row and
really enjoyed the music.
June 1, Prague
  What
happened to spring? The temperature is ranging between the mid-forties and
low fifties, it's raining on and off, and the wind is blowing. However we
soldiered on, hitting the tourist high spots. Public transport is very
easy and convenient here. The only problem is that all the station names
look alike. The old town square looks like a movie set for a fairy
tale. We went to a puppet show of Don Giovanni and had dinner in a great
restaurant recommended by a friend.
May 31, Prague
 The four hour train ride from Vienna was
very relaxing as we passed through miles of lush countryside. The weather
is still overcast, windy, and cold. We walked across the Charles Bridge,
but headed back to the hotel after an hour or so to warm up.
May 29, Vienna
  In a variation of the old man bites dog
story, a bank robbed a man (me). A bank ATM rejected my PIN code and did
not disperse any cash. However when I checked my bank balance on the
internet the money had been transferred to the Austrian bank. When I went
to the bank the next day they denied any responsibility and said that I had to
contact the maker of the ATM machine to get my money back. VISA is trying
to bring these criminals to justice. Other than that episode, and the fact
that the temperature was in the high forties, with some rain and wind, we
enjoyed Vienna very much. It is a great city. We went to an
excellent Mozart concert and tracked down monuments to many of the great
musicians who lived and worked here. The summer palace of the Hapsburgs
was very impressive, but unfortunately no photographs were permitted inside the
buildings.
May 28, Budapest to Vienna
We bought a first class train ticket at the
station in Budapest. This entitled us to two seats in a six seat
compartment. We were joined by a couple from Alaska, the wife originally
from Germany, and a German couple who didn't speak English. Shortly after
we left the station a conductor, who spoke a few words of German and none in
English informed us that we had to leave because three women and a small child
had reserved out compartment. The German man argued that there was no
reserved sign on the compartment and told the conductor that we weren't going to
move. As we were congratulating him the police arrived with a passenger
who spoke Hungarian and German who volunteered to mediate. We got a little
nervous when the police started grabbing their clubs. We were getting an
interpretation from the German-American woman. After almost an hour (I'm
not exaggerating) the problem was identified. There were only four seats
left and they were in a smoking compartment. The mother did not want her
child exposed to the smoke. The tough-talking German was charmed by the
one year old girl and gave up his seats, as did the Alaskans who by now had
become fast friends with the Germans. The smokers agreed to only smoke in
the hall so everyone ended up happy. The little girl was cute, but we
could have done without the diaper changes.
May 27, Budapest
  Two days is not nearly enough time to see
this magnificent city. We took an open air bus tour which included the
castle on the hilly Buda side. The view of the city from the castle is
magnificent. Most of the highlights are on the flat Pest side where our hotel
was located. We saw the old Moorish-looking synagogue which has recently
undergone a ten year restoration and looks terrific.
May 26, Budapest
 We arrived in Budapest after a 3+ hour
flight from Lisbon. With all the waiting around at airports these days a
trip of that length chews up the better part of a day. We did manage to
hike and bike through Margaret Island and take a night Danube river cruise after
we arrived at our hotel at 4:30 PM. Dinner was put off until 11:00
PM, late even by European standards.
May 25, Queluz
  Our
last night in Portugal was sent at the stylish Pousada Dona Maria, preserved and
upgraded servants quarters across the street from the Queluz palace. The
drive down from Bucaço was long but relatively easy. We arrived in time to
spend 30 minutes at the palace. Opulent does not begin to describe the
lifestyle of Portuguese royalty. The pousadas in Portugal are run by the government
in historical settings and they are first class in every way. We had
dinner in the pousada's restaurant and enjoyed on of the finest meals we have
ever had anywhere.
May 24, Bucaço
  Getting
out of Porto is a lot easier than getting in. The drive south to Bucaço
was without incident. The Palace Hotel is a converted royal hunting
lodge. The hotel is getting a little tired but it still reflects a
glorious past. The estate bottled wine, not available anywhere else was
the best we've had on this trip. It turned out that our day in Bucaço was
the date of a religious festival held on the hotel grounds. It was fun
talking with the local people and seeing them in their traditional garb.
May 23, Porto
  Getting lost in Guimaraes was nothing
compared to getting lost in Porto. We knew if we made it to the river we
could find our hotel but there were no signs that gave us any help. We
stopped several people to ask directions but no help was forthcoming. We
had three maps but could never find any correlation street signs to maps.
After about an hour of aimless wandering we saw the river and made our way into
town. Tomorrow we are going to a place that doesn't even show up on the
detailed map supplied by Avis. Should be interesting.
May 22, Guimaraes
  Getting lost in Viseu was nothing compared
to getting lost in Guimaraes. We asked directions at a gas station and we
were sent to the wrong town. We called the owner who told us to return to
Guimaraes, get to a landmark and call. We made it to a shopping center and
after three more calls made it to the manor house. What a place. Our
room was in the old wing built around 1300. The new wing was built around
1650. The place was charming but very dark and very cold.
May 21, Viseu
  Getting lost in Òbidos was nothing compared
to getting lost in Viseu. We got to the city center and asked a policeman
for directions to our manor house. Didn't help. We decided our best
hope was to go to a landmark (a hospital) and call the owner. Fortunately
he was home and volunteered to meet us at the hospital and lead us to the
house. The rooms were on the fourth floor and of course there was no
elevator. Most of our stuff stayed in the car overnight. On the way
north we saw some amazing Roman ruins in Conimbriga.
May 20, Òbidos
  We rented a car at the Lisbon airport and
made our way to Òbidos but got lost trying to find our hotel. We knew it was
somewhere inside the city walls but couldn't find an opening big enough to drive
a car through. Eventually we tucked in the mirrors, held our breath and
gave it a try. We got lost inside the walls but someone pointed us in the
right direction. We found out later we had come through the large wall
opening. We went through the small opening later and made it through in
only five minutes or so after much maneuvering. The hotel and city were unforgettable.
May 17, Madeira
  Yesterday
we went on a guided tour of the island. We saw some amazing views but
encountered rain on the north shore and in the mountains. We got to
see some colorful fishing villages and went to Calheta we saw the islands only
sand beach. The sand was imported from Morocco, the closest
landfall. Today we struck out on our own and took a cable car up to the botanical
gardens. The gardens were impressive and so is the rare bird
collection. We found a peacock who liked to show off. For the thrill
of a lifetime, we came down from the gardens on a wooden toboggan. As this
mural shows, this means of transport has been in use for over 100 years
May 15, Madeira
 Paradise
found. Warm days with gentle breezes, cool nights, friendly people and
beauty everywhere you look. Despite its small size and remote location
Madeira has excellent infrastructure. The roads are very good, and there
is an extensive network of tunnels and bridges which makes it easy to travel all
over the island. There is even free wireless internet throughout the
downtown area of Funchal, the capital. I was able to get my emails on my
Palm Pilot sitting in an outdoor cafe drinking a beer.
May 13, Nassau
  We
rented a car with another couple and had the experience of driving on the left
with a left-hand drive car. Very disconcerting. On the southern side
of the island we ran across some female figures carved out of wood. We
think that it has some religious significance. We ended up driving
to Paradise Island and the Atlantis Hotel. Compared to this place
Las Vegas has understated good taste.
May 12, Coco Cay
This small island exists solely for the
amusement of Royal Caribbean customers. There is a nature walk where you
can see flies and other insects in their natural habitat.
May 12, Miami
 The
adventure begins. We fly to Miami in time to board the Majesty of the Seas
for the bi-annual RPI Phi Sigma Delta reunion. As a benefit of sailing as
a group Royal Caribbean hosted a private sail-away party for us with free drinks
and appetizers in the Viking Lounge. Unfortunately they told us it was
going to be in the Chorus Line Lounge. It took about a half hour to sort
this out but eventually everything turned out well.
May 10, Iraq
 Mark
tells us that things are going in the right direction in Iraq. Here is an
excerpt from the Fourth ID newsletter showing Mark participating in a
humanitarian supply effort.
May 1, Houston
We have planned our annual getaway
from the Houston summer heat. Between now and August 15 we have
reservations for 21 airline flights, 2 train segments, and rooms in 18 different
hotels.
Apr 17, Austin
  Easter
at Dick and Jann Brown's house in Austin has become an expanding
tradition. This year there were 34 guests. Margaret drove down from
Killeen with Johnny and Katie who were at their cutest. Johnny
participated in the egg toss and somehow avoided getting raw egg on his new
shirt.
Apr 4, Augusta
 We made it to Augusta National for the
Masters practice round. The weather could not have been better. The
golf course is beautiful. We followed Tiger Woods for a while. He
was in the first group to tee off so we just saw him for the last few
holes. After that we watched Phil, Ernie, Vijay and all the other big
stars. We even got to stand next to Arnold Palmer. Click here
to see more pictures.
Apr 2, Atlanta
  We went to Buckhead, Atlanta's high rent
district, to have a look around. It is very impressive. Not too far
away is the High museum, a very interesting facility with a so-so permanent
collection, but some very interesting temporary exhibits. At night we saw
a Maureen McGovern in a musical adaptation of Luisa Mae Alcott's Little
Women. The show was staged at the Fox Theater, right across the street from our
hotel. We also visited the World of Coke where Pat actually sampled the
product.
Apr 1, Atlanta
 Atlanta's most famous residents are a pair
of panda bears on display at Zoo Atlanta. We paid them a visit via a city
bus. They were mostly interested in eating bamboo. At night we went
to the Phillips Arena to see the Atlanta Thrashers take the measure of the
Carolina Hurricanes 5-2. A good game in a first-class facility. Like
almost everything in Atlanta, the arena is easily accessible on MARTA, the local
train/bus system.
Mar 31, Atlanta
 We've never been to Atlanta, so we stopped
for a few days on our way to Augusta to have a look around. At the top of
our priority was a visit to the new Georgia Aquarium, now the top tourist
attraction in the state. There are plusses and minuses. On the
positive side is the open ocean display which features two immense whale
sharks. The negatives are the crowds and the theme park feel of the
facility. On balance, a must-see.
Mar 28, Houston
 We went to see Valerie Harper in Golda's
Balcony tonight. Harper is excellent, and the staging is first-rate.
If this traveling production comes to your town try to see it.
Mar 23, Houston
I used to get spam emails advertising porn
sites. Then I started getting spam emails offering Viagra at a
discount. The porno emails have stopped, but now I get daily spam emails
about hot oil and gas stocks. I think this trend means something but I'm
not sure what. I guess I'll worry when I start getting emails ads for
Depends.
Mar 14, Houston
   To
support our troops in Iraq, Pat organized approximately 20 bridge players to
remain after the regular Tuesday morning game to make Easter cards.
Greeting cards are in short supply in Iraq, so these will be shipped to Mark who
will see that they are distributed to the soldiers to send home. The cards that
they created were very professional and will be appreciated.
Mar 12, Galveston
 A
visit to Moody Gardens is always entertaining and informative. We went to
the aquarium and to the Imax theater. The aquarium has a number of
exhibits where you can touch the sea animals, but Katie and Johnny pretty much
kept their hands in their pockets.
Mar 11, Galveston
  Margaret
and some friends rented a house on the beach in Galveston, so we drove down to visit
with her, Johnny and Katie. The water here is never that great, but today
it was less than inviting as a variety of creatures washed up on the
shore. One of these may have been a form of jellyfish, but it may also
have been a capsule from outer space. Its shell was hard as a rock as
verified by Pat
Feb 25, Houston
I can't believe I just watched the Men's
15KM Biathlon. Guess I'm a candidate for Olympics Anonymous.
Feb 19, Houston
 I
was right. Pat invited a few friends over to help me celebrate my
birthday. Dianna Gittelman baked a rum cake, my all-time favorite.
Note that the cake was not nearly large enough to accommodate a candle for each
year.
Feb 18, Houston
 I
saw some balloons in the dining room so I think Pat is planning a surprise
birthday party for me.
Feb 6, Houston
This time we're really home. We spent
the weekend in Florida to attend a wedding, but plan to stay in Houston for the
rest of the month.
Jan 31, Houston
We are home after a wonderful three weeks in
Australia. See the pictures Here. We
left Melbourne on Saturday morning and arrived in Houston on Saturday
afternoon. Sounds easy but because we crossed the international date line
the trip was actually 27 hour door-to-door. Believe it or not, we went to
an opera (Don Pasquale) on Sunday afternoon, and another on Tuesday evening (Manon
Lescaut), and managed to stay awake (almost). Pat returned to the bridge
wars on Monday morning. Next trip is Friday morning when we go to Florida.
Jan 24, Sunshine Coast
   We
spent our final day on the Sunshine Coast sightseeing from Caloundra in the
south to Noosa in the north. At a national park in Noosa we saw some interesting
wildlife including a ringed-tailed possum and a Kookaburra.
Jan 23, Sunshine Coast
 Lew
and Paul headed out to the fishing grounds at 5:30 AM while Pat and Judy went
for a stroll on the beach. There was plenty of fishing action as a school
of spotted mackerel found our bait attractive. We boated three including
this one that measured just over three feet long. Paul cleaned the fish
and later made a very tasty Thai fish curry for dinner.
Jan 22, Sunshine Coast
  The
Sunshine Coast lies about 100 km north of Brisbane. Friends of ours from
Rio de Janeiro retired here and invited us up. We flew into Maroochydore
and then drove to Mooloolaba to see Paul and Judy Hughes at their beautiful home
on a canal which has access to the ocean. The feel of this place is as
close to Hawaii as we've ever experienced.
Jan 20, Melbourne
  Nothing
is quite as Australian as a day at the races. We took the train to
Flemington Race Course, home of the Melbourne Cup. We got lucky on a
couple of two horse quinellas which paid for the rest of the day. The
scenery at the track is rather good.
Jan 19, Melbourne
 It
was a very hot day but we elected to go to the tennis with a ground pass and
look for some shade. We were successful and saw a couple of very good
second round matches which featured Anastasia Myskina, the reigning French Open
champ. We finished off the day with a picnic on the banks of the Yarra
River. The view of downtown Melbourne from there is spectacular.
Jan 18, Melbourne
 We
walked over to the arts center and saw a new musical called Dusty about the life
and times of pop icon Dusty Springfield. The production was first class,
but the singing and dancing was not quite up to Broadway standards.
Jan 17, Melbourne
The Australian Open Tennis Championship is
always fun to attend. We saw four matches won by Mary Pierce, Tommy Haas,
Juan Ignacio Chela, and Kim Clijsters. None of the matches were
particularly close, but it was still fun to watch.
Jan 14, Kyneton
  We
spent the weekend with friends Heather Carmody and Anthony Baird at their farm
in rural Victoria. Since our last visit in 2002, a vineyard has been
added. We expect to be quaffing home grown shiraz on our next
visit.
Jan 13, Melbourne
The Commonwealth Games will be held here in
a few months, so the Melbourne Cricket Ground is being refurbished.
Cricket has been temporarily shifted to a new stadium, the Telstra Dome. I
saw a rather one-sided match in which Australia crushed Sri Lanka. Two
days later Australia was beaten by South Africa, in case anyone is interested.
Jan 12, Melbourne
  Jet
lag is slowly losing its effect. We are eating well but hoping that
walking will prevent massive weight gains. No scale here so not sure if we
are succeeding. We have spent the better part of two days exploring the controversial
Federation Square project. The design of these buildings is very
strange. At first we were totally put off, but the more time you spend
here the more sense it makes.
Jan 10, Melbourne
The missing bag has arrived - 40 hours late but
apparently none the worse for wear.
Jan 9, Melbourne
Our trip to Australia got off to a slow
start as Air New Zealand lost on of our suitcases. After two days, they
apparently have no idea where it is. They authorized us to buy a large
deodorant for two.
Jan 6, Los Angeles
 On
our way to Australia, we stopped in LA to visit Ross and Kelly. Luckily,
it was the day of a reception to show the promo DVD for R&K's proposed TV
series called "The Pack". We met the producers and production
people who are all optimistic that they can sell the concept to a network.
The promo DVD is very impressive. Keep your fingers crossed.
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