Christmas! Just Daniel came home (December 23-31, 2007)

Daniel was home for the holidays from Madison, Wisconsin, and we had Christmas, as usual. We had a pretty good time, and Santa found filled our stockings to overflowing but left slim pickings for Joseph & Rachel, who were in Ohio. You can see Daniel, Sailor, and Strat ready to open our stockings above; you can also see Strat playing Red Green at our front door in honor of the DVDs Rachel got last year. We managed to find presents under the tree from family plus bonuses for the two of us here from Santa. (Daniel's big presents were 'coupons' for him to fill when he got back to Madison.) Our Christmas letter was later this year than usual.

Five Weeks in eastern North America My longest trip in 40 years! (August 1 - September 4, 2007)
This trip with Sailor breaks down into blocks, all which begin and end in Natick, Massachussets. You might wonder why Natick; this will become evident from this outline:
August 2-4 - Natick, MA southwest of Boston (staying with Robert Tuttle and his cat Earthquake)
August 4-9 - Smithfield, RI (New England Yearly Meeting at Bryant University)
August 9-13 - Stratford, Ontario (FEFDU III: plays and restaurants with Swarthmore friends)
August 13-14 - Natick, MA (repack, pick up Sailor, & drive to Maine)
August 14-September 1 - Little Deer Isle, ME (at Restawhile Cottage with brothers & activities)
September 1-4 - Natick, MA (repack; fly home)

Details will appear if I ever get better organized.

Joseph's Wedding! (Actually Joseph Jaquette & Rachel Kirley's Wedding) in Cincinnati, Ohio (June 20-25, 2007)

Joseph and Rachel married June 23, 2007 in Cincinnati, 100 years plus a week after Joseph's great grandparents (Jaquette) married in the same city. I had tried to coordinate with Daniel to arrive to and depart from Cincinnati, but UAL did Daniel in. Still, it all worked out: we arrived, all went well, and we got home safely to homes in Japan and Los Altos. (Joseph and Rachel went on to Jamaica first before returning to Portland, Oregon.) I wore a tuxedo, perhaps for the first time. The rehearsal and wedding came off without a hitch; the weather was unseasonably cool and nice; Rachel was radiant and Joseph was beaming; the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception were excellent; and everyone had a good time. Oh, also Joseph and Rachel married. Dennis and Laura Kirley worked hard to ensure that all went well. My brother Peter and his wife Andrea came! Joseph's birthday year Bordeaux vintage wines were excellent. Pictures will appear soon; however, here are John Stuart's pictures and Terry's pictures and a few of Dan's pictures and Mike's pictures, perhaps. Here are the proofs of the professional photographer's pictures - 668 of them. Here are some of Joseph's honeymoon pictures too.

Honolulu and Punahou School 45th Reunion Class of '62 (June 6 - 14, 2007)

I flew to Honolulu early enough to start doing some things withn my parents, who live in Arcadia - a block from Punahou School where I attended 7th grade through High School. I attended all my class reunion events; here are some pictures you can look at. I went on walks with my father and visited family Friends on Rocky Hill, my mother and I had a wonderful couple of hours at the Academy of Arts in Honolulu, we 3 went to visit former neighbors in the house we once lived in in Manoa (the Rians) - where I got some pirie mangoes (most excellent of mangoes: brought to Hawaii by S. M. Damon in 1899) from the huge tree in the back yard, and the day I left, my parents took me to the new Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. (My father was stationed there in WW II.) I also had a chance to walk up Manoa Valley from our old house(s) along my old Star Bulletin newspaper route to my old elementary school - old and new Manoa School; later I went for a good hike up Nuuanu Valley on the Judd Loop trail with a Friend. Pictures will appear in the fullness of time.

Portland Opera's The Magic Flute (May 10, 2007 dress rehearsal).

So I flew up for a day to see former neighbor Scott Six in a real opera with Joseph and Rachel. Since Rachel works for Portland Opera, the 3 of us went to see it. We even had dinner with Scott before the opera, which was the frosting on the cake. The Magic Flute was great! Now I've see 2 operas; this one was better than the one in Prague (1997).

January 2007 freeze and Spring is here. It got cold in January, and my furnace won't light if the control unit gets too cold. We have had much worse freezes since 1972, when I bought the house, some in which a hedge and the orange tree were badly damaged. This year's freeze wasn't so bad, so long as my ginger recovers. This page shows the frozen eugenia hedge cut back in March too. Spring has new growth on the new camphor tree outside my bedroom window (cinnamomum camphora) (planted last fall - and with Sailor - after the original died), and my all-but-dead-last-fall from bark borers cherry tree out front is coming alive, blossoming, and almost looking like a tree with the remaining branches tied upright. Will it survive? [The answer turns out to be "no," and it became firewood after a small crop of cherries, which I enjoyed.] My surviving rhododendron (A. Bedford) looked great this year.

Christmas 2006 at home (with Joseph and Rachel)

Sailor and I weren't going anywhere, but Joseph and Rachel flew down from Portland for a week to have Christmas in Los Altos. (Daniel was on winter break in Vietnam with fellow JETs, escaping the first real cold of winter in Japan.) We had a fine time, and I got many presents, including a new camp axe from Santa to use by the stove, having broken the one I'd had for years. We had adequate number of presents under our live tree in addition to stuffed stockings; here are Joseph, Rachel, and with Sailor or a failing camera shot of all of us near the tree. As usual, our 2006 Christmas letter did not get out until after Christmas. (Here are Christmas letter pictures which didn't fit in the letter.)

Portland for Thanksgiving (November 23-24, 2006)

Joseph invited me up to his house for Thanksgiving (I'd been up for Thanksgiving day [one day up and back] two years ago, which was before he bought his house), so I took him up on the idea. This was another 6 am departure, which meant getting up at 3:30 am, but it was clear sailing, Joseph met me at PDX in partly cloudy weather, and we had a great time. We repaired the Jaquette family Hepplewhite table which had just been delivered, and we used it for the Thanksgiving spread. I helped him stuff the turkey and get it into the oven, and I made the gravy when it came out. Rachel, his fiancée, made pumpkin pies from scratch with lots of whipped cream - and other things, Jesse made yams, Brian and Lena did green beans and potatoes, I brought a bottle of Joseph's 1978 Bordeaux, and we feasted at 3 o'clock dinner. (I carved the turkey with Joseph's Takefu knife - a fine sharp knife with his name on it.) This we all did ignoring the wind and rain outside, but in the evening most of us went out for a movie (For Your Consideration), and I crashed for the night. We had lots of leftovers the next day. Friday Joseph, Rachel, and I went out for brunch and then to the Portland Art Museum for the excellent (fantastic) Egyptian exhibit on tour: "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt." The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and Portland has the only West Coast appearance of "The Quest for Immortality." (I had to sweet talk our way in, since we did not have reservations.) If you are bonkers about this exhibit, here are a couple of articles from the Oregonian from the curator's perspective and the challenges mounting such an exhibit. We didn't get these brochures at the exhibit, but I've borrowed them from the National Gallery of Art, which had this show first on its 5-year tour (they supplement each other): brochure and kid's brochure You might still be able to see an on-line version of this exhibit. This even left time to stop at a coffee shop before my 4 pm flight back to San Jose, getting home in time to work Bus Barn Stage Company's play as Host that evening.

Little Deer Isle, Maine: Well after Labor Day (September 27 - October 4, 2006)

Sailor and I flew to Portland, Maine, on Delta Airlines via Atlanta and rented a car for this trip. All went well, and with the roads pretty well empty, we got to Restawhile Cottage about 3 am. (Sailor does not like car rides, but he only barfed a little (twice).) One (the primary?) purpose of the trip was to sort out Restawhile Cottage, which my parents are giving up; this took most of my time. (The tops of two trees had snapped off and one blown onto the roof in a violent storm in July (we got off easier than some did); I got to see the repairs and split some of the remains of the trees for firewood.) I did get to visit good Friends, Walt and Phyllis Jones, in Waterville with Sailor and go to Vassalboro Friends Meeting with them for worship. Later that day I went to Rockland for a wonderful visit to the Farnsworth Museum, seeing some parts I'd never seen and enjoying yet again the Wyeths' paintings. An N.C. Wyeth painting Eight Bells really struck my fancy this year. Returning to Little Deer Isle via the old Penobscot Narrows Bridge near Bucksport - over the Penobscot River via Verona Island - I had a chance to see the new bridge, nearly completed, and the beginning of autumn colors from the overlook. We did get to the shore on Eggemoggin Reach with view to the Sedgewick-Deer Isle Bridge, explored the woods, and enjoyed the ambiance of Little Deer Isle. Dave and Anette Jaquette were also on Little Deer Isle as were Chris and Shawn, and although we were all very busy, we did get out together for dinner with friends.

Little Deer Isle, Maine: Parents' Gala Party (July 27-28, 2006)

I flew to Bangor on American Airlines using 50,000 miles for a free ticket; Sailor stayed home for this very short visit to help with final preparations for and to attend the gala party at the Island Country Club the 3 sons organized for my parents in honor of 65 years to Little Deer Isle, the very lucky age of 88, and 66 years of marriage for them. You can see all about the party from their website.

This didn't keep me from a little exploring to see the damage from the terrible wind storm of earlier in July. I also found a pair of tiny trees growing out of a stump in the woods near the shore; perhaps it will grow like the one along the driveway (decaying stump and tree which grew out of it).

North to Alaska: '62 Turns 62 Punahou '62 Cruise (June 18-25, 2006)

I still hate trips, but I've always wanted to see Alaska, so when my high school class agents announced a cruise to Alaska, and on the same ship as our Hawaiian Islands cruise of two years ago, I signed up. Fortunately a classmate signed up with me to share a cabin; unfortunately he had to cancel for emergency eye surgery the week before the trip, but it worked for me. This was a wonderful trip with a group of about 70 (not all classmates); here are the route and itinerary for the cruise. My pictures, supplemented by a bunch from others, are available in this Alaska slide show, with more pictures yet to come. I also managed to have some time with my brother, Peter, and his family before and after the cruise. You can read my detailed, in progress, Alaska diary (notes expanded to 17 pages) on-line. Here is the abstract with pictures:

On Sunday June 18 we left Seattle on time Sunday late afternoon.
We cruised north overnight and on Monday were outside Vancouver Island until we entered the Inside Passage and calmer seas, where those in the group with seasickness felt much better.
On Tuesday June 20, with an hour time change, we were in sometimes narrow channels, passing islands - from small to large - which looked very much like Maine, with rocky shores, spruce down to high water line, and apparently significant tides (>15 ft). We could see other giant cruise ships sometimes. In the afternoon, we arrived in to Juneau under cloudy skies with very light rain from time to time. One can buy "excursions" ashore onboard - those over-priced but convenient side trips ranging from coach tours to high adventure up-country glacier landings, hikes, and dog sled rides. I went by coach with informative driver to Mendenhall Glacier (trails, paths, visitor center, video, crossing paths with various Punahou contingent) and (mostly touristy claptrap) rain forest (>90"/yr.) viewing atop coastal hill/mountain back to port (cruise ships galore) and Juneau International (seaplane) Airport. Indeed the forest is just like Maine: hemlock, spruce, a little pine, skunk cabbage, ground dogwood, moss, etc. My excursion - the rain forest part - was too long to have time to run top the peak on the tram or visit the Red Dog saloon/bordello, so after dinner with good friends, I called it a night as we took off for Wednesday in Skagway.
Wednesday June 21 was the longest day in the year, and Skagway is as far North as we went (59° ~28' N). They say that it doesn't really get dark at night, although the sun does set. Our travel agent said to take the last car on the White Pass and Yukon narrow gauge train ride, so we did; it affords a clear rear platform for views in 3 directions - spectacular! Several trains go up as closely spaced as is safe; after all, with 5 cruise ships unloading 2,000 people each, the 834 year-round residents plus seasonal workers have to push them through. We did see bear and cub on the way down. Thence to the Red Onion - best bordello in town - for lunch, after which I took my own path to NPS visitor center (display and video), walked to the edge of down, and went on the ranger guided walking tour of town. Thence back to the ship, dinner, evening festivities, and to bed.
With alarm set I arose early on Wednesday June 22 for our entrance into Glacier Bay at 6 o'clock, when two National Park Rangers and a Naturalist boarded. The pinnacle was Marguerite Glacier (white); Grand Pacific is just beyond (black with gravel/rock). We lingered at Marguerite, showing the upwelling of an under-glacier stream and finally a very impressive major calving of the glacier. Third party reports were that the rangers said no one ever actually sees such a large chunk falling off. The weather was low clouds with some brightening, making the scenery seem mysterious, foreign, and remote. Our exit of Glacier Bay in the afternoon was thus dull after the morning's excitement.
Friday June 23 was an early arrival at Ketchikan; I had planned not to take the 7:15 excursion but the 9:00 one, hoping to sleep in, but still I was up by 5:30. I booked the Lighthouse, Eagles, and Totem small boat excursion, which was quite nice: we went by the totem pole and native lodge park, visited 17 eagle nests (saw eaglets being fed, etc.), saw many eagles everywhere including one juvenile, saw sea lions, seals, porpoises, guillemots, birds, islands, trees, and a fine day. (I joined the Guard Island Lighthouse protection society because the print was so handsome.) All this with some Punahou chums, a nice dog aboard, and interesting captain. We had to get back aboard for early afternoon departure, so I skipped lunch for The Producers in the theater and my usual reading and writing. Thus started the long trek south with a time change overnight in Canada.
Saturday June 24 brought us back south over familiar ground with better weather, arriving at Victoria by 6 pm. Passport in hand, I was off smartly and in the first bus to Enchanting Butchart Gardens, again getting a friendly informative coach driver. I've always wanted to get there, and I was not disappointed. Again I crossed paths with many from Punahou around the gardens. The sunken gardens were the most spectacular: it is contrived in a limestone quarry with center peak (poor quality limestone) left, ponds, etc. I found two large Dawn Redwoods, then the impressive rose garden, then as evening progressing the not so genuine Japanese Garden, through the Italian Garden, and then an ice cream with friends with whom I had not been able to visit. Splendid evening; I'll return to Butchart Gardens again! I packed, leaving the room stewards' towel animals behind (dog with my glasses, alligator, and elephant saved 'til the end), ready for last night's rest.
Sunday again, June 25, I was ready to go after a last breakfast with friends onboard. I was able to take my own baggage off, which entailed my one and only elevator ride - down one floor: walking up and down the stairs between decks 6 and 13 seems to be my cruise religion. Peter met me on a hot Seattle morning, and we went to Eastside Friends Meeting again. Then lunch, ride to the airport, and long wait for my flight. Thus back to my dog and home; and house guests who beat me there.

40th Swarthmore Reunion (Graduation was 6/6/66.) (June 2-4, 2006)

I broke down and took the red eye to Philadelphia on June 1 to be able to have time to talk to the dean of admissions and key person in Friends Historical Library the morning before reunion. That was well worth it, but I missed the Wyeth exhibit in Philadelphia. Our class stayed in the new Alice Paul dormitory. I have a good time with various classmates, including Freebo's reprise concert for us, the traditional parade of classes in front of the newly renovated Parrish Hall (in the rain this year) with Mummers sheltered under a tree. A few friends also gathered for a fine brunch in Cherry Hill at the home of an errant classmate who could not attend reunion, where we formed a conspiracy to find and reveal Scott N. Fitkin to his former schools' alumni giving offices (Punahou and Brunswick). Who is Scott Fitkin! Here we are with Ross taking a picture of our hosts for brunch, Eric & Carolyn. (Had Jack & Gail been there, it would have rounded out we current FEFDUers.)

Japan: Visit Daniel in Fukui-ken 1st time to Japan! (March 20-30, 2006)

I hate trips, especially long trips far away with many time zones to cross, but since Daniel will not be in Japan forever (I hope) and I'd never been there, I decided to go this spring when he had a little time and it wasn't too cold. So I got there the day before Spring and spent 10 days with Daniel, experiencing Japan, the school where he teaches, cold, wet, snow, fine weather, and exciting, new, and interesting places. For the moment, until I get pictures and text reduced to manageable size, you can see my detailed daily notes or look at all my pictures and all of Daniel's pictures for the 10 days if you don't mind seeing the original unredeemed and all of them. The time was too early in the Spring for cherry trees or even the flowering plums.

Joseph & Rachel to Los Altos (February 17-19, 2006)

Joseph and Rachel flew down to Los Altos so Rachel could see Joseph's & where he grew up and to meet his friends & family (again); Joseph came in part to finish his taxes for 2005, complicated by buying his house in Portland and renting out three-quarters of it to his former housemates, etc.. We had a good time, what there was of it! Here's a bigger version of above couple in front of my unused fireplace before we left for the airport.

Hawaii (Honolulu): Visit my parents, etc. (January 30 - February 5, 2006)

My dad had been in hospital when I visited them in Maine in the summer, so it was time to visit them at Arcadia, where they live in Honolulu, and spend some time with them. This meant updating their iMac, doing a little refresher course, and not getting wireless Internet to work. I picked a good week, as usual, with clear skies and little or no rain. The week was also Punahou Carnival weekend, so I visited the malasada booth both days and picked up a great Hawaiian plate lunch on Friday. My father and I went for his traditional walk up Rocky Hill and back via visits with Doak Cox and Marjorie Cox. My parents and I went to the Honolulu Aquarium and saw, among other things, an impressive tank of coral. We also went for ice tea at OCC. Separately I wandered through the new Case Middle School, saw or talked to other friends, went to Honolulu Friends Meeting, had lunch at Kincaid's overlooking Kewalo Basin with good high school friend Simone Botkin Andrade, and went hiking with Friend Carolyn Stephenson. Our hike was up Tantalus from the telephone company building, lunch overlooking Diamond Head, along Pu'u Ohia trail, trying to find Tantalus crater but getting lost in the bamboo forest, and out Pahoa or Pauoa Flats Trail to the Nuuanu overlook. We found some good birds and views and didn't get too tired or sore. Except that my father fell down in his balance class, with repercussions a week later, we Jaquettes had a very nice visit and a good time together.

Thanksgiving to Christmas 2005 at home after completion of the new roof and during installation of the photovoltaic system

We stayed home for Thanksgiving, partly since I was going to Portland to see Joseph and Rachel just before Christmas. I prepared my own Thanksgiving feast and ate in style. The new shake roof was installed in November, and the solar panels to generate my electricity went on in December; the shake was better than expected, and the solar system worked better than projected: new roof and solar panels. For Christmas Sailor and I weren't going anywhere, Joseph and Rachel were off to Kent, Ohio for Christmas with Rachel's grandmother, and Daniel went on winter break in Thailand and Cambodia with fellow JETs, escaping the severe cold and heavy snow of winter in Japan. So I had a quiet Christmas at home, but still with Christmas tree, stockings, and Santa Claus. Our 2005 Christmas letter got out after Christmas but before postal rates went up.

Portland: Joseph, Rachel, and Powell's Books (December 17-18, 2005)

Since Joseph was going to have Christmas with his fiancée Rachel Kirley at her grandmother's house in Kent Ohio, I decided to go up to see Joseph all moved into his house just before Christmas. It turned out to be a very cold weekend, but I still enjoyed the trip. Here we are - (me with Joseph) and (Joseph and Rachel) - in front of the house. One of the housemates (Roy) had just moved out preparing to get married, and Rachel had just moved in. I got to explore the house and the updates done since June; Brian had moved in upstairs, Jesse had taken over the main floor (with his massage studio), and Joseph had moved to the basement. Our excursion was to see the "Lewis and Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition" traveling exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society in downtown Portland (saw the elk and other statues too). This was a very interesting and well done educational exhibit: "From November 2005 through March 2006, the Oregon Historical Society will present the most comprehensive collection of Lewis and Clark Expedition artifacts, artwork and documents ever assembled. Hundreds of rare and priceless objects and documents that have not been viewed together since the Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis in 1806 will be on display. We are the only museum on the West Coast to host this unique and exciting exhibition." If you are interested, an on-line version of the exhibition may still be here. I also learned that 5 million years ago, salmon were 10 feet long, weighed 500 pounds, and had fangs. Thence we went to Powell's Books downtown, since I was hunting for two books; at Powell's we found a conga line of Santa's Elves and one of the two books (sailing dictionary for my dad). Here are Joseph and Rachel in Powell's Books main store; we parked 'inside' the store. After attending Multnomah Friends Meeting on Sunday, I returned home with a long enough time at PDX to listen to the musicians' Christmas music: near my gate the Millenium Brass Quintet was playing.

Little Deer Isle, Maine for Labor Day (August 29 - September 7, 2005)

Sailor and I flew to Bangor on Northwest Airlines via Detroit, arriving in rain close to midnight, picked up Dave's Jeep Cherokee at Bangor airport, and ultimately made our way to Little Deer Isle the next day. The primary reason for the trip was to see my dad and help with his medical situation, i.e., consult with doctors and drive (my mother) back and forth from Little Deer Isle to Bangor (Eastern Maine Medical Center) every day - an hour and a quarter or so each way. My Maine stay began by spending the rest of Monday night with my mother at EMMC's Inn, visiting with my parents in the morning in hospital, and seeing the situation and doctors/nurses. That Tuesday was my dad's 87th birthday, but it was just about his worst day, he having been given something to knock him out from the nausea of a spinal tap a day or two before. Over the week we all concluded that the doctors and nurses at EMMC were excellent! By later in the week, they had figured out 4 things which had likely caused his problems, and he was much improved, so on September 3 my brother Dave and I took him and my mother to Bangor Airport, and they were able to fly back to Honolulu themselves, he to skilled nursing and she to their apartment at Arcadia, their retirement home.

I stayed on for a few more days at Green Ledges but spent the last night at Restawhile. Sailor remembered Maine and had a grand time once he wasn't locked up all days in the house. The rain, including remains of Katrina, filled Black Brook early in the week, but it was clear and sunny (beautiful Maine days) in the last half of my week. Here is Sailor on the bridge over Black Brook - also another. I even got to play some open tennis at the club, went for a sail with Dave, saw the sunset at Eggemoggin with Sailor, made it to Meeting for Worship at Eggemoggin Reach Monthly Meeting (always very nice), saw the sunrise a few times, got some work done around the cabin (trimmed 3 years' growth off the cedar hedge to improve the view off the porch and removed sprouting trees from the 'field' - cedar at the porch rail untrimmed and the half done job in the above picture), got to the Opera House in Stonington for March of the Penguins, had good Friends visit, and came home. I am glad to see my reroofing job on the outhouse in 1975 is still holding up well 30 years later.

England and Spain (!?) for Holiday (July 1-17, 2005)

Having promised to visit my Friends in Reading, England for the past two years, this was the year to fulfill that pledge. The visit was wrapped around a holiday they had booked and paid for, but on which Peter could not go (son graduating from University that weekend), so I had to fill his seat, etc. to Tenerife (part of Spain) in the Canary Islands (off Africa). So I flew to Europe and Africa without ever touching either continent.

In England, I stayed awake for Jo's concert with Reading Bach Choir the day I arrived; we all went to Reading Meeting Sunday morning; then Jo, Peter, and I spent 3+ days on their canal boat on the Oxford Canal. That was seeing English countryside at the proper pace; we even had classical English weather: sun, showers, clouds, and a generally cool July. The Flora Dora is a fine boat; we managed the locks and lift bridges from Lower Heyford to the very end at Oxford, where we managed to turn the boat around manually (too long for the winding hole), spending the night near bridge 218 (Shipton Weir, where Cherwell River and the Oxford Canal part) both going down and returning (plus the one night in Oxford), and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Good breakfasts and dinner on the foredeck. Peter helped with brief tour of Oxford, dodging showers: as we walked around colleges and up to the view from the Sheldonian Theatre's cupola for a fine view; finally nice cream tea at Grand Cafe to escape the showers. In the morning we were off to Christ Church College & Cathedral to explore there: saw Alice's garden and green door (Alice in Wonderland) and discovered why so many tourists were so interested in the great hall and galleries (Harry Potter movies). We stopped for tea with Friends of the Rados who, by chance, were expecting Friends from Palo Alto in a day or two. The drive home to Reading after putting the boat away as by way of Dorchester Abbey, an interesting old church in architecture, windows, and burial plaques. This left a day to visit with the 'kids' to catch up with them and share what Daniel & Joseph are doing, recover, and prepare for the trip to Tenerife on the fateful Thursday (I was in Reading, far from London).

It was most of a day flying down and the same returning a week later - nonstop Gatwick to Tenerife South. The deal was a timeshare out of the main (English, mostly) touristy areas, i.e., Playa des Americas, with its Saharan sand beaches, promenades, and decadence for tourists (but then we were tourists). Peter arrived after Oliver's graduation, which made us 6 (with a 5-person car); with forbearance and accommodation we had a fine time: Peter, Jo, & Rachael with Sue (friend of Jo) and Harriett (friend of Rachael), and me. We did manage a couple of very nice walks up a small canyon above Adeje and cross country in the northwest to a tiny town Teno Alto for local lunch (hikes in American) and drive up to and around the mountain El Tiede (tram up nearly to the top, with some very nice views of the other Canary Islands and mountain), the highest peak in Spain at 3718 meters. Various of us went for a swim in the ocean, explored part of Santa Cruz (explore parks, city, and a natural history museum for me) with stop in Calandaria and its church and plaza, and wandered around locally. Since the Canary Is. are basaltic volcanic islands much like the Hawaiian Is., all was very familiar - yet different.

I had only one full day free before leaving for home. Saturday was Reading Museum day: Jo & I wandered the museum, took the Bayeux Tapestry guided tour (turned out to be private tour), and wandered the Abbey Ruins and center of the city. On Sunday, I went to Heathrow and met Asif Ghani, family friend from Honolulu in late 1960's, for a nice visit at the airport before I left.

Portland and Issaquah: Joseph, House, Parents, and Brother (June 17-18, 2005)

Since I wasn't going to get to Maine this year and my parents were stopping over on their trip to Maine with Peter in Issaquah, just east of Seattle, and since Joseph had just bought a house in Portland but had not moved in yet, I did a whirlwind trip: I flew up to Portland early Saturday, we (Joseph, then-girlfriend Rachel Kirley, and I) drove from PDX to Issaquah by lunch time, where we spent a full afternoon visiting. We went to Issaquah's local fish hatchery for a very nice tour from docent and then went to Peter's volunteer railroad up at Snoqualamie Pass; we saw the trains, station, and engines and walked up to see Snoqualamie Falls.

After early dinner, we drove back to Portland for the night, then Sunday we 3 went to Multnomah Friends Meeting and then to Joseph's 'new' 1942 house in NE Portland. I got to give lots of garden/home repair information and advice, some of which may prove useful, as I saw the house and what he planned to do with it. Here are a few of the rooms in the then-empty house: kitchen, 1st floor bedroom, and 1st floor bathroom. He and 3 of his friends (most had been sharing a leased house in Portland "Hollywood") for the prior two years but are now (July 2005) living at Joseph's house.

New Orleans for FEFDU III<.a> (May 22-24, 2005)

Daniel, already home, and I were unusually ready for Christmas, so when Joseph flew down from Portland, we were able to have some time for Christmas celebration. Stockings were hung by the chimney with care, and behold, they filled up. With camera failing to capture the moment with any clarity, you see but a shadow of the pile of presents under our living tree on Christmas Day, the tree a bit sad from the dry weather the two months beforehand. Joseph's stay was the 24th until the 29th, the latter date matching Daniel's departure for Austin, Texas. 'Twas a Merry Christmas! ... Then I went to Dave & Anette's for New Year's Eve and the Three Birthdays, had a very nice visit, saw their house, survived the heavy rain, and returned home on New Year's Day. Here is our Christmas letter for 2004.

Thanksgiving at Joseph's in Portland (November 25, 2004)

I flew up early Thanksgiving morning and returned in the evening, i.e., went up for lunch (Thankgiving Feast). Dinner was at 2 with a total of a dozen friends of his and his house mates; I took up a bottle of his best 1978 Bordeaux. As you can see, Thanksgiving dinner was amply filling.

Little Deer Isle, Maine ... for Labor Day (September 1 - 12, 2004)

Sailor and I flew to Bar Harbor, got a car, and drove to Restawhile Cottage (my parents' house on Little Deer Isle) for our first night. Daniel arrived in Maine the next day, after visiting friends after his summer job (camp counselor at Camp Lincoln in Brainerd Lakes region of Minnesota from June 5 to August 25) but stopped in Belfast to visit a Beloit classmate, getting to Little Deer on Sunday September 3. Before Daniel arrived, I took my parents up to Eggemoggin to see the sunset over Pumpkin Island; other Pumpkin I. scenes - December '03 and older sunset '01. We spent our time in the woods at Green Ledges cabin, where you are always on your own, and enjoyed a vacation including the usual activities: sailing (with brother Dave), walking the woods, playing tennis at Deer Isle Country Club, visiting with friends (including Friends from California now in Waterville Maine), a movie (in Orno on the day hurricane remnant Frances came to visit), etc. As usual we enjoyed meals on the front porch and the beautiful spot in Maine. Labor Day marks the end of the "season" - marked with a party at Eggemoggin. September 7 is my parents' wedding anniversary (also friends of theirs on Little Deer - the Vanderkays), so we went out to dinner together. The unusual parts were the Blue Hill Fair and a trip to Campobello, Canada. We spent Labor Day at the Blue Hill Fair, where Daniel had not been since he as about 2 and where we enjoyed the true teamster demonstration ( Fernald Lumber Yankee Hitch 6-horse team), the oxen pulling and horse pulling competitions, harness racing, pig races, and the many 4-H exhibits in addition to the cow, goat, sheep, llama, alpaca, etc. exhibits. The weather was beautiful and the day full. After Frances was departing, we drove to Canada to Campobello Island, just a short bridge beyond Lubec, Maine (left edge of picture), where we explored the Roosevelt Campobello International Park including his family's summer house, hike to nearby Friar's Head, chat with the "interpreter" (ranger) about salmon farming, with Eastport, Maine in the background on a hazy day, and general explore. Before returning to Little Deer Isle, and a movie at the Stonington Opera House (Fahrenheit 9/11), we went to he eastern most tip of the USA at West Quoddy Head and the lighthouse there. On September 12, we drove first to Bangor for Daniel to catch his bus to Boston (then flight home) and then to Bar Harbor airport for Sailor and me to catch our flight home: United Airlines misplaced Sailor in Boston, but eventually we were safely reunited.

Cornelia Hancock Day at Hancock House, Hancock's Bridge, NJ (May 22, 2004)

I had a business trip to Virginia the next week, so I was insane enough to take the red-eye to Philadelphia on a hot weekend to attend Cornelia Hancock Day (2nd annual). My ancestors lived at Hancock House in Hancock's Bridge, NJ, and Judge William Hancock was mortally wounded by the Queen's Guard on March 21, 1778 as they attacked Hancock's Bridge, killing everyone they found. I had not been in his house in 50 years, so this was an opportunity to celebrate Cornelia Hancock (my first cousin 4 times removed), a Civil War nurse whose letters were collected and published by my grandmother, Henrietta Gibbon Stratton Jaquette. I was able to add to the pictures and information about Cornelia at my visit; Doris Tice was the organizer with whom I arranged to attend. Cornelia and Dr. Dudley worked together during the Civil War, and this reenactment shows some troops gathered at Hancock House. Here I am with some of the Civil War reenactors and 'Cornelia', played by Viola Loders Smithcors (her husband "Buzz" plays Dr. Dudley). Hancock House was built in 1734 and is known for its "distinctive patterned end wall brickwork". As I left, I stopped by the Hancock's Bridge Friends Meeting. If you don't know where Hancock's Bridge is, here is a map. If you are really interested in this part of the family tree, contact me, as the family genealogy website does not show everything (yet).

Daniel's Graduation from Beloit College! (May 16, 2004)

Daniel graduated from Beloit College with a double major (Computer Science and Sociology) on May 16, 2004 on a beautiful weekend. Daniel provided the campus tour; we met various of his freinds; and we had a fine celebratory dinner. We all (Joseph and I as well as Maureen, John, & Megan Stuart) turned out to celebrate and to help get him packed up and shipped back to Los Altos, California; Daniel didn't stay long at home but was off to Minnesota to be a camp counselor for the summer at Camp Lincoln. For more than you need to see about the graduation, go to dan.jaquette.net/graduation.

Punahou Class of '62 60th Birthday Cruise (April 25, 2004 - May 2, 2004)

Many of Punahou's class agents offer a 60th Birthday event as a reunion opportunity between regular reunions on campus. Ours was a cruise of the Hawaiian Islands; it was supposed to include a trip to Fanning Island, 900 miles south, but the Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Star 'broke' its starboard azipod and could not make the long trip down and back. Thus we were stuck with Hawaii-only stops in Hilo (Hawaii), Kailua Kona (Hawaii), Kahalui (Maui), Lahaina (Maui), Nawiliwili (Kauai), and Honolulu (Oahu) plus a 'day at sea' off the north coast of Molokai. This was a very nice chance to catch up with friends and to spend a few days with my parents in Honolulu before and afterwards. For those who went, click on my nametag above; for lots of pictures, see the slide show.

Here is the short pictorial story. We arrived dockside near Aloha Tower Sunday (me with Woody and Simone), boarded, had dinner, and were off for Hawaii. Early Monday morning along Hamakua coast, Mauna Kea was clear, showing observatories on top. In Hilo, I really like Queen Liliuokalani gardens, which I went to by myself, then walked back to Hilo Harbor and the Norwegian Star. Rain came in as we left, then going around Hawaii on Puna side, where we could see the "Mother's Day" flow beginning to come down the palis. The next day, we arrived off shore at Kailua, Kona. We went to lunch at the Kona Inn (on the lawn at the sea wall). That night we sailed to Kahalui, and several groups went up Haleakala. We stopped only briefly at the ranger station, here showing Grace and John Bowman and Brian Lederer, and then went up to the top as clouds began to fill Haleakala crater from both Kaupo and Koolau gaps - as seen from the overlook. (Here is the view from the nearby hill to the observatories on top of Red Hill.) Back in Kahalui, our Maui classmates threw a party for us; here we are including the Maui crew. Then we left for a day at sea, slowly steaming along the north coast of Molokai and on to the Molokai channel, where we could see Oahu and Honolulu. Then we went overnight back to Maui again, setting off Lahaina (no dock big enough), using the life boats (as in Kailua) to go in to town, with its tourist attractions as well as museums, history, fort, and the famous banyan tree. (A bunch of us had lunch with Simone's parents too.) The our next to last overnight put us into Nawiliwili harbor, where Woody went for a van to take a bunch of us to Wailua Falls, Kailua lighthouse and bird sanctuary, and on to Haena and the end of the road. Our last night was getting back to see Diamond Head at dawn and Honolulu harbor at dawn Sunday. (The ship was 14 decks high, and here we are next to the Aloha Tower from the top deck.) From here we said good-byes and alohas for departure. This says nothing about the food, food, food, entertainment, and long walks around the decks. Finally, here is the picture of all us classmates who went on the cruise - for their names click on my name tag above.

I have posted my cruise diary, which is really too detailed for anyone but my family, for whom I wrote it; it includes notes on my days with my parents in Honolulu (view up Manoa Valley & Rocky Hill from their window at Arcadia) before and after the cruise.

Christmas 2003 & Family Reunion (December 29, 2003 - January 6, 2004 in Kona, Hawaii)

Joseph and Daniel were both home for Christmas, and we had a good Christmas, dampened a bit by influenza during the week before (Joseph did not get flu shots so escaped it). We did get a Christmas letter for 2003 out before the end of the year; its pictures are below in 2003 Maine and Turkey reports.

My parents and all their descendants (except Sarah and husband Jimmy) gathered in Keauhou, Kona, Hawaii for a reunion. We had excellent time together and did some things I had never done. Our weather was dominated by a Kona low with clouds, sprinkles, and, in some places, deluges (we skipped the latter). We had a good dinner together at Teshiba's restaurant in South Kona. Our guided walking tour of Kailua was excellent, starting at Hulihe'e palace and ending at house of Kamehameha on its reconstructed heiau. Former Manoa neighbor John Moore took us all out for a double canoe paddle and worked us well; we returned a bit wet. Most of us went together, via Lapakahi State Historical Park, where we had a very interesting tour of an old Hawaiian village guided by Maile (the village is now abandoned) up to Hawi (far end of Kohala mountains at NW tip of the island) for lunch and the other Kamehameha statue and then to the end of the road at Pololu valley overlook. We did get to the beach at Hapuna. We went to see very interesting Hawaiian petroglyphs near the King's (Kamehameha's) trail. Joseph, Daniel, and I stayed on a few extra days (2 days at Kilauea [via Puuhonua O Honaunau, aka City of Refuge, and Ka Lae (South Point)], where we were able to take a trail down to an edge of Kilauea caldera, then hiked across to where we saw the Kilauea Iki eruption in 1959, getting lost in the fog and then got soaked in the rain, but were unable to see active eruption - but saw lots of previous lava flows on hikes, including at the end of the Chain of Crater Road to see former activity in the steam near where the road used to go, and 2 days back in Kona with Friends with sunshine and sunsets). For a much more detailed illustrated report, with many more larger pictures, see our reunion website.

Trips to See Joseph (Portland September 26-7, 2003) & Daniel (Beloit November 6-7, 2003)

I took a quick trip to Portland to visit Joseph but also visited with a high school classmate Robin Williams (met her son who graduated from Beloit in May) and had a nice walk along the Willamette River with grad school roommate - on beautiful days. Joseph and I walked through The Grotto with nice view of the Columbia River (Friars of the Order of Servants of Mary). I flew home when he went to work on Saturday.

I stopped to see Daniel at Beloit College on way back from east coast on business and had a very nice day (less than 24 hours). We went to an evening talk by a gay Episcopal priest, and I attended his Social Deviance class (very interesting). We could not find direct evidence of Indiana Jones - actually Beloit grad Roy Chapman Andrews - in the museum or visitors' center. It may have been 25°F, but the weather was sunny. Here is Daniel in his senior year room.

Little Deer Isle, Maine, June 2003

I flew overnight June 13 with my dog Sailor from San Francisco; Joseph flew out June 14 from Seattle; and Daniel flew in from Turkey on his way home June 16 - all into Bangor, Maine and all with successful flights despite the variably changing airline schedules. (Daniel's bags took an extra day to arrive.) Dave picked me up in Bangor, then I picked Joseph up that evening, and we then got Daniel when he arrived, exhausted from the long trek from Istanbul. June 14 was mid-May weather, and the vegetation said it was still mid-spring. The mosquitoes were more numerous than anyone could remember. [When we all left (from 2 airports) on June 26, the weather had gone from highs of 56°F to highs of 92°F: summer arrived.] We began by staying in Restawhile cottage (my parents' place) for a few days, ensuring that it was operating 100% for my parents' arrival June 21 (Joseph fetched them down while I went to a neighbor's very nice wedding), opened Green Ledges cabin for ourselves (turn off Eggemoggin Road here to get there), enjoyed the quiet at the cabin, played tennis at the country club as often as possible, explored woods and shore (including a trip to Settlement Quarry), Daniel visited a Beloit friend in Belfast, and we took Friends on a trip to Isle au Haut by boat from Stonington (passing by Crotch Island quarry), recreating a forced march I led Joseph and Daniel on in the summer of 1990. [Isle au Haut (or local copy) was a high point for me, even though the hike over top of Duck Harbor Mountain from Squeaker Cove (another view) almost did me in. I looked fresher before lunch on the way out to the Cliff Trail.] We had a chance to visit with Dave and Anette as well as my parents, John and Margie, and had a very nice, if short, vacation together. [To see more of Green Ledges, see its website.]

Trip to Turkey, April 2003

Joseph and I went to Turkey to visit Daniel, who studied at Marmara University for the spring semester. We made our plans despite the regional geopolitical upheavals, US State Department warnings, and misgivings of some family (Daniel said "no problems") and left April 16, returning April 26. Daniel has a website of his semester in Turkey, which includes his view of our visit there. Joseph's website has other pictures. A slide show of just the Turkey trip pictures springs from that slide show link.

Although most of our trip was home-based at Marmara University, Göztepe campus, in Istanbul, we made a 2 day (3 night) trip to Izmir (Smyrna), Efes (Ephesus), and Sart (Sardis); Sarah, one of the other Beloit exchange students, came with us. Here are maps of Istanbul and of Turkey as a whole, showing where we were. Most of our time in Istanbul was in Old Istanbul (European side) or around Marmara and Kadiköy (Asian side of the Bosporus).

To see more about our trip, with pictures of everywhere we went and explored, see my illustrated Turkey trip page.

Trip to Visit Joseph In Portland in February 2003

The only time I had to get to see Joseph's new digs was the weekend of February 22. Gotta use those Mileage Plus miles before they disappear. His house and house mates are quite satisfactory. They had some dread virus they picked up the previous week at all night game deal, and I may have picked it up there to take home. Joseph and I went for a nice walk in a park and got to Multnomah Friends Meeting on Sunday. You get to see Joseph and his house mates and the two of us on his front porch.

Christmas 2002

If you want to see my Christmas letter pictures in color, here they are: All of us on Christmas morning, Daniel in his Beloit College room (spring), Joseph readying to be a groomsman, Stratton with brother David and father John on Ford Island at Pearl Harbor, Stratton on top of Hualalai (not included in the Christmas letter), Stratton and Sailor (showing my mother Margaret) at Waldoboro Obedience Trials, and Sailor on Eggemoggin Reach. Here is our Christmas letter for 2002.