2024 Holiday Letter
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Hi All!
Travel Highlights
Compared to last year, this year was a very quiet travel year. Other than JEDEC meetings, we only visited Bochum, Germany; Hickory, North Carolina; and Colorado Springs, Colorado to visit with family and friends:
- December, 2023: Maui, Hi
- March: Portugal and Germany
- June: Colorado and North Carolina
- August: Montreal, Canada
- December: Hawaii (the Big Island)
Maui, Hawaii, December, 2023
Our good friend Eileen joined us on Maui this year. We took her all over the island showing her many of our favorite places such as beaches, silent volcanoes, restaurants, museums and many more. Helen especially liked calmly wading in a 1.5 foot deep 500 year old native fishpond during high tide, at dusk, where huge sea turtles enter the pond to settle in among the rock walls to sleep. Park rangers were there to answer questions and monitor the turtles. We did have to miss visiting Lahaina Town and the Banyon tree as professionals help them recover from the August 2023 fire.
Beautiful Maui Coastline.
You may click on any picture to get a larger view.
Eileen and Charles standing on a VERY windy cliff at Ho'okipa Lookout
Sea Turtles on the East end of Ho'okipa Beach Park
Selfie of Eileen, Helen and Charles
Is that a separate island in the distance?
No, it is part of Maui. We are standing at the "You Are Here" point on the map above. The far shore is
actually the part of Maui where Lahaina is located, though it is around the corner and can't be
seen from here.
Click on the map to enlarge it.
View from the condo we rented. It is located across the street from the beach. I have been going to this condominium complex for decades.
After one week, Eileen flew home and Charles attended the December JEDEC meeting. This meeting was a bit sad as this is the last meeting on Maui for at least the next 3 years. Hotel prices on Maui have sky rocketed. To give an example, for the past couple of decades we have had the meeting at the Grand Wailea. Our negotiated rate has been going up, from the high $100s to $250 per night in 2023. In 2024, our rate would increase to just under $1,000 per night for a room. Most of the JEDEC member companies will not pay that much for a room for their employees attending the meeting. To be honest, the Grand Wailea is high-end resort hotel with a huge water park and lazy river on the property. It is one of the few hotels that has conference rooms large enough to hold the committee.
This is sad for me as Maui has been my favorite Hawaiian Island since we first started going to Hawaii for our December meetings. Starting in 2024 and for the next 3 years, we'll be on the The Big Island of Hawaii. The hotel JEDEC has chosen will be in the city of Waikoloa, which is near Kona. We have had meetings there before, so I'm familiar with the area.
Here are a few pictures from the area around the Grand Wailea Resort:
The Wailea Beach Path parallels the beach. The path is 1.5 miles long and goes through the property of many resorts in Wailea. This is a small section of the path. Each section is maintained by the resort it goes through.
Helen really wants one of the bananas from this tree, however, they are not yet ripe.
The Wailea Beach Resort has a small sandbox along the waterfront walkway where a local artist creates sand sculptures. We have chatted with him several times as he seems to create new sand art during the JEDEC week. Every two weeks he creates a new art piece. It seems people strolling along the path can't resist the urge to touch it.
Charles taking a lunch break during the JEDEC meeting. He is sitting on the balcony of our room where it is nice and warm. After being in the COLD conference room all morning, the heat really feels good!
One of the many water features on the property of the Grand Wailea Resort.
The resort even has it's own chapel where weddings take place.
Sunrise from our balcony.
Sunset at the Grand Wailea. This picture was taken on the Wailea Beach Path in front of the Grand Wailea.
Porto, Portugal
The JEDEC March meeting was held in Lisbon Portugal. We arrived 4 days early and headed North to the city of Porto, where port wine was invented. We had a great time exploring the many sites around Porto, including the old train station with the beatiful blue tiles depicting varous scenes of the area, the port area where many wineries have their distribution warehouses (we even had a tour of one). The bookstore where JK Rowling wrote the first 3 chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. And of course, the many churches in the area. It was a wonderful 4-day vacation prior to the JEDEC meeting in Lisbon, Portugal.
Our first afternoon in Porto was tough. In the previous 24 hours, we had flown from San Francisco to Washington DC (5 hours). Had a 3 hour layover in DC, then flew another 6 hours to Lisbon, Portugal. After clearing customs and collecting our luggage, we took a subway to the train station (30 minutes), then waited for an hour for the next train to Porto. After the 3 hour train ride to Porto, we took an Uber to our hotel, checked in, then started our sightseeing.
Our first walk in Porto after checking into our hotel. The white building on the right just ahead is the Porto San Bento train station, our first stop.
The inside of the Porto train station. The station has many beautiful murals. The blue tint is a signature
of Porto's blue tiles. You'll see these blue tiles on many buildings in Porto.
Note: my phone's camera takes panaramic pictures, but they all
turn out curved. The inside of the train station is a straight line, not curved. For example, the black tiles
on the floor on the left and right edges of this picture should be one straight line. I need to figure out how
to correct this. If you know how, please let me know.
As we were walking back to the hotel, we stopped in a souvenier shop. Helen found this hotplate made with Porto's signature blue tiles and she wanted it. It was a good thing she bought it, as the remaining time we were in Porto, we never saw another shop selling these.
The infamous book shop, built in 1906, with a sweeping staircase, stained glass windows and artwork.
It is rumored this is where JK Rowling wrote the first 3 chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
There was a very long line waiting to go inside the bookshop. It is so popular, you
need to book a reservation on-line just to get in!
Our animated walking tour guide. In most major European cities, there are "free" walking tours of the city center. However, the guides expect a tip at the end. Since they are working for tips, the guides are very good at their job and all of the "free" walking tours I have been on have been excellent.
We are always amazed at how narrow the streets are in European city centers.
An overlook from atop a hill overlooking the port area. This was a hidden gem we probably wouldn't
have visited if our tour guide hadn't brought us here.
Note: The railing is actually
a straight line. If you know how to fix this, let me know.
Even though the city is very old, they do have a few modern conveniences. The people of Porto are very
proud of this bridge as it was pointed out to us several times during our stay in Porto.
We
are on a tour boat going up the river. The line in the middle of the picture goes from the bow of the
boat to one of the smokestacks.
A panaramic view of the river from one of the bridges. Again, the bridge is a straight line, not curved as shown in this panaramic picture.
You think this street is narrow, wait till you see the next picture.
Oh my gosh, I can touch both sides of the street with my out stretched hands!
A humorous wine shop! Note all the signs are in English. You think they might be catering to tourists?
The tour boat is approaching the mouth of the river where it empties into the North Atlantic Ocean.
Most of the Porto wineries are located about 2 hours outside of the city in the Douro Valley. Once the wine is made, it is then sent to warehouses in Porto to be distributed all over the world. We toured the Quinta do Bom Dia warehouse. Quinta do Bom Dia is a small family winery. They specialize in a high quality boutique port wine.
These test tubes shows how the color of the port wine changes as it ages.
These are all the port wines they manufacture.
These are the two port wines they were giving as samples.
Here we are sampling the port.
An interesting artwork on the corner of a building. It is made up of recycled trash, such as old sinks, window shutters, bicycle fenders and many other items.
On our arrival at the hotel in Porto, we each received a coupon for a free glass of port wine. As you know, neither of us drink very often. Since we were pretty tired after sightseeing every day, we just didn't have time to get our free drinks. Finally, on the last day, we decided to bite the bullet and just go for it.
This happened to be the day we toured the port wine warehouse. Since we had just had a couple of glasses of port at the warehouse, we wanted a little more than just port. I asked the waiter at the hotel if he could put together a cheese and cracker platter for us to go with the free port wine. He had no clue what we were asking for! I guess most tourists at the hotel just want the free glass of wine. After explaining what we wanted, he brought out a great cheese and cracker platter. Turns out the cheeses and crackers were from the breakfast buffet they put out every day. Since it wasn't on the menu, they had no idea what to charge us. We ended up paying only $5 for the platter! We were quite happy!
Lisbon, Portugal
We spent a week in Lisbon for the JEDEC meeting. Since Charles was busy from 7 AM to 6 PM every day, we didn't have much time to do sightseeing. We arrived in Lisbon around noon on a Friday, after a 3 hour train ride from Porto, so we had Friday afternoon and part of Saturday for sightseeing. The meeting ended on Wednesday evening, so we had all day on Thursday for sightseeing. Unfortunately, it was raining most of Thursday, so we limited our activity to a Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour.
This is a famous bakery shop that has a reputation for having the best egg custard pastry in Lisbon. It is well known and there was a long line to get in. It was well worth the wait to be able to sit at a micro-sized table and eat fresh pasteries.
You can read about the history of the bakery on their homepage: Pasteis de Belem
A little pricey...
...but don't they look good!
The receptionist at our hotel recommended a restaurant that was right around the corner. They had good food. Of course, my favorite is always the dessert!
Even Lisbon has a Hard Rock Cafe. This picture was taken from the tour bus.
At the end of the bus tour, they drove by this lookout. I liked the view so noted it's location as the Parque Eduardo VII. It turned out the end of the tour was about halfway down the hill where the tower is located. We only had to climb the staircase on either side to get to the lookout. From there we could see all the way down to the Targus river.
Part way down the hill, we stopped to take a picture of Helen among the manicured bushes.
Now, here is something you won't find in the USA. A gas station built on the sidewalk.
It was quite popular too. Check out the prices per liter (quart) for the gas. You may have to click on the picture to make it large enough to read.
Here is an interesting monument we passed on the way to the airport.
Bochum and Gladbeck, Germany
You may recall Peter, Beatrix, Susanne and their daughters Benita and Frederike visited us last year in California. While visiting the Dusseldorf area in Germany, we stayed with Peter and Beatrix. They showed us new sights including the beautiful Ruhr-University Bochum Botanical Garden, a coal mine museum and an ice cream shop that is much more exciting than Ghiradelli's ice cream shop in San Francisco.
Susanne and her husband Uli invited us over for a wonderful dinner at their home in Gladbeck. Uli is a sailor and woodworker so Charles had a lot in common with him and Susanne is a school teacher so she and Helen had a lot in common. The dinner was very enjoyable with Uli, Susanne, Peter, Beatrix, Benita, Frederike, Helen, Charles and a pet rabbit!
Benita and Frederike were busy with their teaching jobs, but managed to stop by several times to visit with us. Other visitors were Albert (Peter's brother) and his girl friend Uta and Neils (Benita's brother) all showed up to chat with us. It was fun reuniting with everyone.
Ruhr-University Bochum Botanical Garden
Helen LOVES turtles, so we had to take the picture. Charles' Cousin Karen is also into turtles so she'll appreciate it also ;-)
Getting lost in the weeping willow tree. Beatrix and Helen.
Looking across the pond in the Chinese Garden.
Beatrix and Peter
Mother-in-laws chair
Helen and Charles
Beatrix
Beatrix
Helen and Charles
Deutches Bergbau Museum (Coal Mine Museum)
Charles, Helen, Albert (Peter's brother), Uta (Albert's girlfriend) and Peter behind the camera.
In a coal mine, there are lots of fine dust particles in the air. These dust particles can ignite very easily. To help prevent a fire, compressed air is pumped into a special enclosures for lights. If the lamp develops a leak, the compressed air is released. This decrease in pressure turns off the generator to stop the flow of electricity. Here is an example of a flourescent tube contained in a compressed air enclosure.
The explanation of how the compressed air enclosures prevents combustion in a mine. Click on the photo to enlarge it enough to read.
An incandescent bulb in a compressed air enclosure.
An escape capsule. If there is a collapse in the mine, a small hole is drilled down to the miners. A capsule, like this one, is lowered through the hole to the miners.
Albert is about to enter the capsule
Oh, he fit!
Charles didn't want to get in it ;-(
This machine is interesting. Instead of digging out the coal from the end, it actually digs the coal from the side of the tunnel, thus making the tunnel wider.
A saint watching over the miners.
Dinner With Uli and Susanne
Uli and Susanne invited Peter, Beatrix, Benita, Frederike, Helen and Charles over for dinner one evening. We had a terrific dinner and the company was exceptional.
Frederike, Charles, Susanne
Beatrix, Frederike
Charles, Susanne, Uli, Benita, Helen
A very tasty strawberry gelatin dessert.
Uli is a very good woodworker. He enjoys making cutting boards with inlaid pieces of wood. This one he gave to Peter and Beatrix. It is on display in their kitchen.
This cutting board was given to Helen and Charles. It is on display on the mantle above our fireplace.
The Mother of All Ice Cream Shoppes
Story time! In 2011, Albert (Peter's brother) and his girlfriend, Uta, visited the Bay Area. Peter asked if I would show them around San Francisco. As I LOVE being a tour guide, I said "Sure!". So, I took them all over the Bay Area. On the final stop of the day, We went to Ghiradelli's Chocolate Manufactory in Ghiradelli Square. I love this shop as they have the BEST ice cream desserts with names like "Earthquake", "Gold Rush", "Lands End", etc. Like any good tour guide, I had been playing up this stop all day long saying how great it was and you'll never have ice cream as exciting as this.
We went to the shop and had some terrific ice cream and they told me how good it was and it was well worth the stop. We all split one of my favorites, the "Earthquake" which is HUGE. The three of us gobbled it down. We were so full we had to skip dinner ;-) I was overjoyed they liked it.
Well, I may have over played my hand a little bit ;-) On my next trip to Germany, in 2012, Albert said he had an ice cream shop he wanted to show me. Boy was I excited! Well the Eiscafe San Remo ice cream shop really eclipsed Ghiradelli!
Since it has been over a decade since we have been to Eiscafe San Remo ice cream shop, Albert wanted to take us this year. This is the first time Helen had been to the shop. From the pictures below, you can see why I was blown away.
Ghiradelli's "Earthquake Ice Cream Sundae". In 2002, I took my good friend Pattie and her grandchildren, Ryan and Brittney to the Ghiradelli Ice Cream Manufactory. Compare this to Eiscafe San Remo ice cream shoppe.
Outside of the shop was a large ice cream cone.
Hmmmm, wonder how tasty it is...
Five of us went to the shop. Uta, Albert, Peter, Charles and Helen taking the picture.
This is the shop. I asked for a business card and this is what they gave me.
Albert ordered number 133 the "Konigsschale" which translates to "The Kings Bowl".
Here it is! This is huge!!! There is no comparison to Ghiradelli's "Earthquake"!
I was eventually able to get real business card for Eiscafe San Remo.
Helen and Charles had a terrific time visiting all of our friends in Bochum and Gladbeck. Thank you all so much for being such terrific hosts!
Colorado Springs, Colorado
In June, we flew into Colorado Springs to visit with Fred and Debbie. Fred is a college buddy of mine and we have kept in touch all these years. Since we only had one full day, he took us to the treasure of the area, Garden of the Gods, where we did some hiking and wondered at the amazing red pinnacles in the area.
Fred also took us to a fast food restaurant, Rasing Cane's Chicken Fingers. This was our request as we met the facilities manager for Raising Cane's on the flight from Las Vegas to Colorado Springs. He was sitting between Helen and I. We had a really pleasant chat with him about the company. When I mentioned I had never heard of them before, he whipped out coupons for 2 free meals. He told us there was one in Colorado Springs, so we had Fred take us there. When we got home, I discovered there was one in Hayward, California. Also, within the past couple of months, they have started building a new store next to the Business Costco in San Jose where Helen and I occasionally shop.
Fred and Charles
Charles and Helen posing with "Balanced Rock"
Fred posing with "Balanced Rock"
One of Helen's favorite peaks, Pikes Peak.
From Colorado Springs, we took a bus to Denver for the JEDEC meeting. Since we had been to Denver in 2021, we didn't spend much time sightseeing.
Even though it was a couple of days early, this restaurant in Denver, gave me a birthday dessert
Isn't this fancy the way they used cinnamon to stenciled "Happy Birthday" on the plate.
Hickory, North Carolina
After the Denver JEDEC meeting, we hopped on a plane to North Carolina. We spend a wonderful week visiting with Helen's son, Dave, daughter-in-law, Karen and grandchildren, Reghan and Helena. There were two highlights during the trip. The first was watching Helena play the part of a fairy in the ballet "Peter Pan". The second was with Karen's Dad, who took us all gem hunting at Emerald Hollow Mine in Hiddenite, North Carolina. We waded out into a stream and digging up shovelfuls of mud then straining it through a mesh looking for exotic gemstones. Alas, we came up empty handed as there are not that many of the precious stones to be found. But it was fun watching the grandkids splashing in the water and having fun looking for gems.
We arrived on Charles' birthday, so at the Mexican restaurant, they presented me with a sombrero and a dessert.
Helena after her first performance in the ballet "Peter Pan" where she played the part of a fairy.
All the relatives turned out to watch Helena perform.
Back row: Daddy Dave, Grandpa Scott, Grandpa Dave,
and Charles
Front Row: Sister Reghan, Helena, Grandma Janet, Mom Karen and Grandma Helen
Searching for gems at the Emerald Hollow Mine.
Grandpa Dave who organized the adventure.
Helena
Dad Dave and Sister Reghan
Grandma Helen, Son Dave and Granddaughter Reghan
Granddaughter Reghan
Grandchildren Reghan and Helena Visiting the SF Bay Area
At the end of our wonderful time in Hickory, we gathered up the grandkids and took them home with us. They spent a wonderful two weeks visiting and boy did we keep them busy! We toured Chinatown in San Francisco, visited redwood trees in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and Muir Woods National Monument. At Santa Cruz beach and boardwalk the grandkids went for a dip in the COLD Pacific Ocean. On one cold and foggy day, we took them for a walk on the Golden Gate Bridge. The time went by quickly and we are looking forward to Reghan and Helena returning for a visit next year.
For a very detailed day-by-day blog of their visit, click here: Grandkids visiting California for the first time
Here are a couple of highlight pictures:
A walk through San Francisco's China Town.
Visiting a fortune cookie factory. The girls were even allowed to write their own fortunes and have them put into a fortune cookie.
A visit to Pier 39s Sea Lions.
First time at an In-N-Out Burgers.
Helena and Charles making biscuits for our weekend "Big Breakfast"
Walking through a Redwood forest
Taking a splash in the COLD Pacific Ocean at Santa Cruz Beach & Boardwalk
Our pretty Reghan showing off her new dress.
Doesn't Reghan look cute with her new pair of glasses!
Face Timing weth Mom and Dad.
Mailing letters to Mom and Dad.
Exploring the Golden Gate Bridge on a cold and foggy day.
Oh Boy! I get to have ice cream and waffles for lunch!!!
Helena loves the ocean! It was soooo cold, Helen and Charles had Winter coats on. The fog was sooo thick, we couldn't see from one end of the beach to the other.
What would a visit to San Francisco be without jumping on a historic cable car.
Having fun at San Francisco's premier hands-on science museum, The Exploratorium.
Montreal, Canada
The third JEDEC meeting of the year was in Montreal Canada. Helen and I have been to Montreal several times. We arrived 2 days early to do a little sightseeing. The highlight was a walk to the top of Mont Royal for a beautiful overlook of the city. We also walked down to the waterfront, where the 1967 World Expo was held. and rode a Ferris wheel. The first time for me in decades! I was impressed as it was a completely enclosed, climate controlled car. What a difference from the open chairs we rode in as kids!
Layout of the Parc du Mont Royal. We climbed the stairs to the pavilion and overlook at the top of the park.
Helen over looking the city from the top.
The pavilion at the top of Mont Royal with Montreal's highrise buildings in the background.
In 1967, Helen and her family visited the World Expo in Montreal. One of the exhibits that really impressed her was the contruction of a building using modules stacked on one another. Today, the building is still standing and is the brown apartment/condo building shown above.
Amusement park on the waterfront.
Night time view of downtown Montreal from our hotel window.
Helen's Garden
Helen's green thumb showed again! Her garden was filled with strawberries, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, green beans, chives, basil, cilantro, plus more flowers than I can count. Our two year old apricot tree is quickly growing up. We are hoping for flowers in 2025 with fruit in 2026. Wish us luck!
Mr Apricot at the beginning of the year. He had just turned 2 years old.
Mr Apricot at the end of November. At 2.75 years old, we transplanted him from a pot to the ground. As expected, he lost most of his leaves. He does have several small new leaves appearing, however, with the onset of cold weather, we don't expect to see all his leaves return till Spring.
Helen received Iris bulbs from a neighbor and now look at them!
One days harvest from Helen's garden.
Another days harvest. We have been eating well all Summer long!
Helen received this Bougainvillea from our good friends Dee Dee and Jeff when they moved to Auburn, CA. Four years later and it is still thriving.
Helen's tomato garden. There are several plants here. This picture was taken today, late November, and the plants are still producing. There are two red tomatoes on the left and a bunch of green ones on the right. These plants will produce tomotoes all Winter long!
Age Well Center a.k.a. Senior Center
Two years ago, we started eating lunches at the Age Well Center, a.k.a. Senior Center, near our house. During that time we have made many friends. There are about 12 of us that eat together. This past May, we decided we wanted to have a weekly pot luck on Sundays. We tried to get permission from the Center to have it on their property, but were turned down. So, we had a "Tail Gate" pot luck in the street in front of the center. Fortunately, there is not much traffic on the road and it is wide enough to have parking on both sides.
After the second or third time, one of our group said he has a large patio in the back of his house we could use. This turned out fantastic as he is located on a hill with houses on only two sides. The back of the house faces East toward the hills, so we have a beautiful view of Mission Peak and the surrounding park land.
Now that it is turning cooler and it will be too cold to be outside, he has offered us the use of his attached ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit), which he had built to use in their later years when the main part of the house would be too difficult for them to use (too many stairs).
Tailgating on the street in front of the Age Well Center
We meet lots of interesting people. For example, Moira, the lady in the center of the picture, in the blue dress, left last May to go on a 3 1/2 year around the world cruise. She will be sailing on the Villa Vie Odyssey a cruise ship on a perpetual round the world cruise.
When Vic and Doris volunteered the use of their backyard for the weekly pot luck, we moved
our party.
Front row: Doris and ML
Middle row: Vic, Helen, Steve and Phil
Back row: James
Some of the volunteers at the center have a since of humor. Stan has a different T-shirt on everday with a humorous saying on it. This shirt says "EXERCISE? I thought you said EXTRA FRIES!"
This onee says "If I was a JEDI, there is a 100% chance I would use the force inappropriately!"
There is a community puzzle table where most of our group enjoy putting them together. It takes the group about a week to complete a 1,000 piece puzzle
Helen is one of the main contributors. Since the center is only a mile from our house, many times she'll stay to work on the puzzle. When she gets tired, I drive over to pick her up.
There are two centers, Lake Elizabeth which is about a 20 minute drive and Warm Springs which is about a 3 minute drive from our house. We are "menu hoppers", meaning which ever cafe has the most interesting menu for the day is the one we go to. This is a picture of the Holiday decorations at Lakeside Cafe at Lake Elizabeth.
This is typical meal. Chef Mark and Chef Chris at Lakeside cafe and Chef Luis at Bayside Cafe are all excellant and their meals are delicious!
New Floor Tile
Charles has lived in this house since 1983. In all that time, there has never been an upgrade. This year, due to a broken toilet which flooded the guest bath and water damaged flooring in the master bath and split vinyl flooring in the kitchen, we decided it was time to replace the floor in those three rooms. We decided on a white streaked porcelain tile and put that in all three rooms. It looks great and we are very happy with the results.
Master bath before putting in tile
Closeup of master bath. The different vinyl in front of the shower is where the water damage occurred. The damage is under the vinyl so can't be seen, however, we walked on the area, it was a bit squishy and there was a 1/2 inch deep depression we could feel when getting in and out of the shower. This is what initially started the project and it grew from here.
The kitchen before replacing the vinyl.
Vinyl being removed from the kitchen.
Vinyl being removed from the kitchen
The completed tile floor in the kitchen.
The completed tile floor in the guest bathroom.
The completed tile floor in the master bathroom.
Kona, Hawaii
Oh! We haven't been there yet! As I'm writing this in November, we are looking forward to visiting The Big Island. Oh well, guess we'll tell you about our exciting Hawaiian adventure in next year's newsletter!