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| EXPLORING THE ANCIENT SITE OF KSAR OF AIT BEN HADDOOU, MOROCCO |
For the last fifteen years we have been sending "In a Nutshell" as a quick-read, year-end summary of our activities, i.e. mostly travel. For the first ten years, Pam went to Kinko's with a file of photos which were cut, pasted, photocopied in color, and snail mailed, which took a week to get to you. A few years ago we jumped on the technology bandwagon and are now using the Google Blogger platform (also home of Biker Chick Gone Crazy) to send our year-end greeting that will arrive instantly to you.
JANUARY -- Continuous sunshine had us walking the beach in Morro Bay to celebrate Pam's 71st birthday. Good weather meant lots of outdoor activities like hiking, biking & golfing, but it also meant we were beginning a fourth year of drought. Water conservation became an important part of our life.
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| THUMBS UP! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY. |
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| TIDEPOOLING AT MORRO BAY |
FEBRUARY -- Bruce's sister Marilyn made a wise decision to leave snow-packed East Coast and visit our sunny state, and by the time the snow melted, she made an even smarter decision to move to California. This month we attended the annual San Francisco Tribal and Textile Art show at Fort Mason and the sensational Ai Wei Wei exhibit inside the infamous prison on Alcatraz Island.
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| AI WEI WEI SHOW AT ALCATRAZ, SAN FRANCISCO |
MARCH -- The Pinnacles National Monument in California has been a favorite hiking spot for years, but in 2013 it was officially designated a national park. One beautiful spring day a group of us hiked through the chaparral and oak woodlands, explored caves and canyon bottoms and climbed the towering rock spires in an effort to spot the national park's most famous residents, the California condor.
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| WE CLIMBED TO THE TOP BUT ONLY SAW VULTURES |
APRIL -- No yellow roses in Texas this month. Only the beautiful blue bonnets in the Hill Country where we spent a long weekend before flying to New Orleans to meet our friends, Karen and Barry. Together the four of us enjoyed a week-long road trip exploring Louisiana's Creole and Cajun country, eating hot and spicy and doing the zydeco thing!
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| TEXAS BLUE BONNETS IN APRIL |
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| A COUPLE OF HOTTIES AT TABASCO FACTORY IN RURAL LOUISIANA |
MAY -- A road trip in Slovenia, a jewel of a country, with countless stops for photo ops. Highlights: Logarska Dolina, the Julian Alps, Lake Bled, and the Lipizzaner breeding farm. Continued on to Croatia and met our Aussie friends, Glen and Mary Jane, where we hiked, ate, hiked, ate. Mostly ate. Highlights: Wonderful new Croatian friends, Boris and Gordana, the small, scenic country of Montenegro, and the spectacular Plitvice Lakes.
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| YES, WE HIKED (Glen & Mary Jane) |
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| " ZIVELI" ("Cheers" in Croatian) |
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| THE GRACEFUL LIPIZZANER HORSES |
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| BORIS AND GORDANA, GRACIC, CROATIA |
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| ONE OF THE MANY WATER FALLS AT PLITVICE LAKES |
JUNE -- An active month of golfing, hiking & biking. Bruce celebrated his birthday at "Book of Mormon," and we also saw Randy Newman perform at a free concert in Stern Grove, San Francisco.
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| YES, MY BIKE CLUB IS POSING IN A CEMETERY |
JULY -- Nikki 's visit meant several great dinners in San Francisco and a hike at scenic Lands End with views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then up to Lake Tahoe with our friends, Shari and Bob, for their beautiful recommitment ceremony at their lovely mountain home.
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| GOLDEN GATE VIEW ON THE TRAIL AT LANDS END |
AUGUST -- Bruce played poker in Las Vegas with daughter Laurie and husband Tom and WON BIG, i.e. $400 to break even on his last day! Pam's niece, Karen, visited and with encouragement the concept of writing a memoir was launched. Flew to Seattle to see our friends Awoke and Workineh from Ethiopia and learn more about their Project Ethiopia, which we enthusiastically support.
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| MY BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED NIECE, KAREN PERKINS |
SEPTEMBER -- A week with our family, Laurie, Tom, Catie and Connor in Northern Virginia was a wonderful prelude to the two weeks traveling with daughters Nikki and Amy to Romania and Malta, two new countries for us. A 35-year mustache shaved off. Dang, tell me if he doesn't look ten years younger.
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| BRUCE SANS MUSTACHE |
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| Tom surprised Laurie with a renewal of their vows ceremony with Connor and Catie to walk her down the aisle |
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| WITH NIKKI (left) AND AMY (right) IN ROMANIA |
OCTOBER -- Slept in the Moroccan desert under a sky full of diamonds, traversed the Atlas Mountains (by car), roamed the winding alleys in the medinas of Fez and Marrakech, and hiked in the beautiful oasis called the Ziz Valley. Morocco: a travelers' delight!
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| THE CALIPH OF MOROCCO |
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| BRUCE & OUR DRIVER/GUIDE, NAIM, IN THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS |
NOVEMBER -- Sudan's capital city of Khartoum, the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile, nomads in the Bayuda and Nubian deserts, and remnants of the pharaohs and their great civilization of the 25th Dynasty were as exotic as their names imply. Only 1500 people visit Sudan annually and we were a group of 11 friends. Sudan: A five star trip!
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| CAMEL TRADERS IN THE SUDAN |
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| "HERE, LOOK. LET ME SHOW YOU YOUR PHOTO" |
DECEMBER -- Annual trip to Club Med was a washout as San Salvador, the home of Club Med Columbus Isle, was trashed by Hurricane Joaquin in October. Rescheduled for same time next year. It feels good to be off planes for a while.
We are also happy to be home with family, good friends, and of course our beautiful kitties, Sophie and Indie, now age 11. We send hugs and our good wishes to you for 2016. Happy Travels.
2016 our adventure continues.............
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| INDIE WASHING SOPHIE'S FACE |
