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| Merry Christmas from California! |
The past two months have been a whirlwind of activity that took us from Florida to Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado and back to Florida. We were thrilled to spend it with family and friends all along the journey.
The first leg of this adventure took us to San Marcos, Tx. where we enjoyed spending a few days with our dear friends Rob and Pam McNeely. We met the McNeely's way back when our kids and their kids were on the same baseball and soccer teams in Burleson. Beth and Pam were walking buddies for many years, solving most of the world's problems along the way. With them in charge of the serious stuff, it left Rob and I more time to quote lines from Monty Python movies and skits, as well as humor ourselves with crude jokes.
We left Burleson a few years before they relocated to San Marcos. In spite of going our separate ways, we've stayed in touch and enjoyed getting together a few times. We were excited to see them and their beautiful home. We're always amazed when we get together that the conversations and laughter pick up right where they left off no matter how much time has passed since our previous rendezvous.
When they picked us up at the Austin airport, they had a special guest with them.......Ben! Thanks to being able to work remotely at this time of year, Ben had flown in from New York two days earlier and would be with us until January 7.
We had a wonderful couple of days together, enjoying delicious food, laughs and fellowship. It was a great kick off to the holidays with some amazing friends!
From San Marcos our adventure continued on to Arizona. We flew into Phoenix, but our Arizona destinations were the Grand Canyon and Sedona. It was Ben's first visit to the Grand Canyon. Although it was a bit on the chilly side and occasionally a bit foggy, we had a great time exploring the South Rim. No matter the weather, the views are always spectacular.
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Like Mexican Food? Like Chinese Food? If you find yourself in Phoenix craving both try Chino Bandido. Thanks Christine, we still appreciate your recommendation from years ago!
Chino Bandido
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| Now you see it........ |
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| Now you don't! |
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| Beth and Ben hiking a SMALL bit of the trail to the base of the canyon. |
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| A Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack in front of a Northern Arizona Lumberjack mural in downtown Flagstaff. |
After two nights at the Grand Canyon, we moved to Sedona for two nights. The massive sandstone red rocks of Sedona are amazing, especially at sunrise and sunset as the color's change constantly. Sedona has always been a treat for us and this visit was no exception.
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| The Bell Rock Loop Trail is one of our favorites in the Sedona area. It's flat and incredibly scenic |
We had hopped from Florida to Texas, skipped from Texas to Arizona, now it was time to jump to the west coast where we would be spending two weeks. We've been blessed to be able to spend part of the holiday season with all of us together throughout the years., usually it has been around Christmas/New Years. This year our celebration was a little earlier on the calendar. We enjoyed Thanksgiving together on Thanksgiving Day and two days later celebrated what we lovingly called "Fake Christmas". James and Emma were out of school the week of Thanksgiving, so we had a nice amount of grandkid time with them and Hank, which reaffirmed that we aren't as young as we once were!
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| Hank! |
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Beth and I entertained Hank along San Francisco's Embarcadero while Sarah, Ben, James and Emma enjoyed some time in The Exploratorium.
The San Francisco Exploratorium
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| Happy Thanksgiving from a bunch of Turkey's |
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| Joey proved once again to be a "pitmaster". The brisket and turkey were amazing! |
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| A quick picture before the prayer and feast |
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| Ben is still Funcle Ben to James and Emma. In about another year he will be to Hank as well. |
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| Just a few more years and Emma will be a Prima Ballerina! |
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| We enjoyed an afternoon/evening at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom thanks to a nice Christmas gift from the Martin family. |
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| It's not Santa Claus, but whoever this guy is with the beard is pretty cool as well! |
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| Mutual Admiration! |
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| Beth and I are very proud of these two! |
Both Thanksgiving and Fake Christmas were great. The gift of everyone being together is something that Beth and I treasure so much. The time passed quickly, but what a great time it was!
Our journey back to Florida had one more stop. Ben lived in Denver for several years and if you know anything about Ben you know how much he values maintaining friends. He has stayed in touch with a number of people. Beth and I have always enjoyed Denver, so we built a few days there into the itinerary.
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We kept our clothes on. The Buff is a great breakfast spot in Boulder!
The Buff
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Ben was able to spend some time with a number of his friends. In addition, we also enjoyed a day visit to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. We were even able to meet one of the newest members of the Beachhouse extended family. Congratulations Hunter and Seirra. You have a beautiful family!
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| There are always elk around Estes Park. Beth took this "National Geographic Worthy" picture |
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| Three Tuckers and a bunch of elk! |
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| It was cold, windy and a bit snowy in Rocky Mountain National Park. We didn't spend much time outside the car, but the views were great! |
After our cross-country adventure, we arrived back in Florida on December 10. We have enjoyed spending time with family and friends over the past few weeks. Celebrating Christmas and ringing in what we hope is a Healthy and Happy New Year for everyone!
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| A Christmas Eve cookout on the beach! |
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Drew beat me to 68 by thirteen days. We enjoyed celebrating my birthday with him and Cindy at Cortez Kitchen.
Cortez Kitchen
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Woody's is a favorite meeting spot for me and my brother. It was great having Beth, Fran and Ben with us this time.
Woody's River Roo
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| Ben and I drove to Bartow to spend time with some of my side of the family. It was great seeing everyone and meeting the newest member of the gang, Cecelia who is now 4 months old! |
Over the Christmas holidays we had an opportunity to fully understand what the term "celebrating a life well lived" means. Beth's mom (frequently referred to as NaNa in numerous blogs) passed away at the age of 97. While there is some sadness, we are grateful for all the wonderful times we had with her throughout the years. I had the honor to write her obituary. If you never had the pleasure of meeting her, hopefully it will give you some insight as to what a special person she was to everyone who knew her.
