IN A NUTSHELL: 2016

JANUARY -- Once an actress in her high school senior play, Golden Girl Pam returned to the stage and enrolled in an 11-week improvisational theater class just for fun. Not to be upstaged, Bruce also had an audience when he narrated and showed his colorful video of our 2015 Sudan trip at the Campbell Library Travel Series.

MEROE, THE SITE OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPATA IN ANCIENT EGYPT (NOW SUDAN)

FEBRUARY -- Pam expanded her photography knowledge with a street photography workshop in San Francisco's Mission District, and after several medical consultations and an MRI, Bruce learned that a new hip was in his future.

CHECKING OUT THE FAMOUS MURALS IN THE MISSION DISTRICT, SAN FRANCISCO

MARCH -- Bruce's dream came true. A family trip in the British Virgin Islands aboard a 47-foot catamaran motored by Captain Bryan of Sir Francis Drake fame. For one week daughters Nikki and Laurie, along with husband Tom, grandkids Connor and Catie snorkeled, scuba dived, kayaked, and drank the Caribbean's famous painkillers. We missed our daughter Amy who was unable to attend since she was busy preparing for a work trip to Africa. Wearing his tee shirt from New Year's Eve 1996, Bruce reunited on the island of Jost Van Dyke with the eponymous Foxy of Foxy's Bar, well known to everyone who has sailed these waters.

THE BERGER/CRYAN FAMILY, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

FOXY OF FOXY'S BAR AND GRILL, JOST VAN DYKE, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

APRIL -- Pam upped her game and attended a three-day landscape photography workshop in Yosemite with master photographer David Coleman. Other than oversleeping and then hitchhiking to the Valley to meet the others who didn't oversleep, the workshop was a major success.

YOSEMITE VALLEY PHOTOGRAPHED BY PAM DURING WORKSHOP

MAY -- Drove on the left for two weeks and covered a big chunk of Ireland with our friends Lynne and Fred Firestone, which was a blast. Highlights: Rock of Cashel, Ring of Kerry, Galway, Cliffs of Moher, and the Giants Causeway. And Guinness beer, of course. We returned home just in time to entertain our Aussie friends Mary Jane and Glen Treacy, whom we met on the Kimberly Coast in 2014 and hiked (and drank) with in Croatia in 2015.

ENJOYING THE VIEW OF KYLEMORE ABBEY, CONNEMARE, IRELAND

WILD GOAT IN THE PEAT BOG ON MILITARY ROAD NEAR SALLY GAP, IRELAND

JUNE -- We boarded the deluxe Seabourn Quest in Copenhagen and began our two-week cruise of the Norwegian fjords and the North Cape. We spent one day in Copenhagen, which was not enough to even make a dent in the sights. A future trip!

CYCLING IS THE BEST WAY TO GET AROUND IN COPENHAGEN

JULY --- Two week aboard the five-star Seabourn Quest was over the top. Beautiful weather, drop-dead scenery, super photo-ops and delicious food prepared by chefs trained by Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame.

ALESUND, NORWAY (SEE OUR SHIP "THE QUEST" ON THE LEFT)

AUGUST -- Bruce goes under the knife for a hip replacement that slows him down for only a couple of weeks. What an amazing recovery, for which we credit the highly skilled surgeon, Bruce's willingness to follow rehab directions, and Pam's never-before-tested nursing skills.

THIS IMAGE SEEMED MORE APPROPRIATE THAN A PHOTO OF BRUCE'S HIP SCAR
(PHOTO TAKEN ON BOARD THE SEABOURN QUEST)

SEPTEMBER -- Bruce recovered well, but since he was not allowed to fly until October, Pam took off for a solo trip to New England to see many close friends during a twelve-day period in New Hampshire and Maine, which ended with her 55th high school reunion at Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine.

(L-R) GOULD CLASSMATES LOUISE HACKETT, BILLI GRAY, SANDY VASQUEZ, PP, HILDA NAFARRATE

BILLI MAKES THE BEST LOBSTER ROLLS

OCTOBER -- Bruce returned to golfing and Pam headed north to Point Reyes National Seashore for a biking trip with girlfriends, but brought her camera and her hiking boots instead of her bike because she's been traveling and is not in shape to climb the hills in Marin County. Pam and Bruce took a road trip to the Eastern side of the Sierras to see ancient Mono Lake and visit the ghost town of Bodi.

GIRLFRIENDS AT POINT REYES VRBO (L-R SUE VOLL, CONNIE JORGENSEN, CARMEN FIGUEROA, MARY ELLEN CUYKENDALL, AND CANDICE STEIN)

JUST OFF HIGHWAY #395 EASTERN SIERRAS

THE TUFAS AT ANCIENT MONO LAKE (SALTIER THAN THE SEA)

NOVEMBER -- Pam and four others flew to Oaxaca, Mexico for a street photography workshop revolving around Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The biggest takeaway of the workshop? Pam has outgrown her current camera, but she was able to salvage three acceptable images (SEE BELOW) for an exhibit at the Redwood Shores Library. Bruce made a delicious pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving spent at the beautiful home of Lynne and Fred Firestone, along with other good friends.

DECEMBER -- There's nothing better than introducing six of our friends for a party of eight at Club Med Columbus Isle, Bahamas. Another week of great food, great conversation, some physical exertion like Aqua Gym (water aerobics) and bloody mary's for breakfast, lunch and dinner.