Getting Going

12/17/2016, Durango Colorado

Part of the excuse we have for going to New Zealand is to celebrate our younger daughter’s graduation from college. We celebrated our older daughter’s graduation with a trip to three “Lands”, Iceland, England and Ireland. Checkers received her BS in chemistry with a math minor this morning, so we will go to another land.

Yesterday, me, Brian and Laura, our older daughter, drove to Durango from Denver to be here for the graduation. On the way, we were wondering out loud what Christmas will be like in the Southern Hemisphere. Would they bother with Christmas lights? We will be flying on the Solstace, so the daytimes will be at maximum. And so many of the carols would be odd. It will be fun to find out!

Last night, we all went to a concert called, “The Majesty of Christmas” at which Checker’s boyfriend was singing. We thought it was a short group of carols, but it turned out to be longer, with a lot of instrumental Christmas music as well. The performers were talented, and I think we were all glad to be reminded of some of the old songs. Most originated in Europe: England, Germany, Czechoslovakia etc., and many I had never heard before.

Here we are in front of the Clock Tower at Fort Lewis College, graduation day.


*****Written by Clare*****

New Zealand Plan

Brian, Clare, Laura, and Checkers are off to New Zealand for the holidays this year. The trip will begin on December 20 with a flight to San Francisco, which connects to a rather long flight to Auckland arriving in the morning of December 22. The map shows many of the cities that we will be visiting. Of course, there are many interesting things to see and do there; Lord of the Rings/Hobbit filming locations, hot springs, volcanoes, beaches, mountains, glaciers, kayaking, caves, Maori villages, and just tramping around and thinking about the geologic circumstances of the places. Postings will begin around December 20-22 and continue until our departure on January 12.

*****Written by Brian*****

90th Birthday Party

In the morning, Brian, Laura and I took a plane to Southern California to see my family. Earlier this week, my mom turned ninety years old, so we are gathering at to celebrate with High Tea.

What a wonderful party! Around fifty people came, and we talked and laughed. David bought a bunch of hats for the ladies, so we would be proper, you know. Fred and Kam took tons of photographs. I didn’t take any. 

Later, we went to Grandma Marie’s house for some quiet time with my mom, my brother and my brother’s wife. A lovely end to the day.

Northern California Day

We picked up Laura at the airport this morning, then went to Stanford University, Pat’s Alma Mater and where she volunteered after she retired from San Jose Unified School District. We saw the museum which houses the Anderson Collection of modern American art.

Three generations of Marshalls under a giant Yucca tree in front of the museum.

The museum housed an interesting collection.

We toured for a while, with Laura taking notes on the artwork.

In the evening, we went to Brian’s brother’s house and had a wonderful time telling and listening to stories, playing cards and looking at slides from their recent trip to the San Juan Islands. We were so busy, I forgot to take pictures!