| We can't believe another year has gone by, it's gone so fast. It's been a very busy year for both of us, Kevin with work and Susan with her Docent training and volunteering…and of course a few interesting trips. Since we had been away from the USA for so many years, we decided to do a few road trips. So in early February we drove down to LA to watch the first USA Rugby Sevens…5 hours to get to the outskirts of LA, then another 2 hours to go about 10 miles…everything they say about LA traffic is true! Then a few days later, we drove north since Kevin had a Board Meeting in Seattle. It's about a 12-hour drive from San Francisco, through some mountains…very pretty. We arrived in Seattle on Saturday, and since Vancouver was just another few hours, on Sunday we decided to visit Chi, Emil and Ting Ting who had moved there from Hong Kong. Vancouver is beautiful and you can see why so many people from Hong Kong move there…it was February and about 60F…and of course some great dim sum. In March we took what used to be an annual pilgrimage to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Sevens. We had missed the two previous years and were getting homesick. We were also able to catch up with lots of friends while we were there. From there we went to Bangkok for a day and then on to Cambodia to Siem Reap, to visit the ancient city of Angkor Wat that was amazing. Unfortunately we went at the wrong time of year…all the guidebooks tell you to avoid March and April because it is too hot and too humid. Boy, were they right! By 9:00AM it was already in the high 90s. But we were tying it into our trip to Hong Kong so there wasn't anything we could do but suffer the heat, by getting up very early to do our sightseeing and then lounging at the pool in the afternoon or having massages…some suffering!!. But seriously, Angkor Wat is a fascinating place and one we definitely will go back to. .
We arrived back in San Francisco in time for Easter that we spent with some Wells Fargo colleagues, and then it was off to Orlando for the annual Wells Sales and Service Conference…and you thought bankers (and especially auditors) were dull!! We had a little bit of free time and were able to visit with Susan's godmother, Edith, and her husband Kenny.
In the middle of May we were off to Park City, Utah where Kevin was having a managers conference. We stayed at a ski lodge…of course there wasn't any snow, although it was a bit cool. When we got back to San Francisco, we met up with a past colleague of Kevin's, David Chen, from Singapore, who was passing through SF on his way to New York. Then we were off to New York ourselves. Kevin had meetings there and we were able to catch up with Kevin's brother Keith when we arrived. As we flew into Newark at 6:00AM we decided we would just be in all the rush hour traffic to NYC, and decided to stop at the McCabe favorite diner in Bloomfield, Willies. We got there and gave Keith a call as he lives only a few miles away and luckily caught him before he went off to work, so he joined us for breakfast. While Kevin was working in New York, Susan met up with her friend Carolyn, for a day of shopping, eating, and generally chitchat. When the two of them get together it's like they haven't ever been apart. On the weekend, we drove to Pennsylvania to visit with friends, Virginia and Randy, but on the way we stopped to spend some time with Kevin's Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve, which was great. It was also a good thing we visited with Virginia and Randy when we did, because the next week, they were packing up to move to Santa Fe. Now, we know you must be thinking, “I thought they said they were busy with work and school and stuff”…well, January through May was the first semester of docent training for Susan, but it was a 'easing back into school' and she only had one class a month plus a presentation…and with the exception of our trip to Asia and LA, all the rest was work for Kevin. June rolled around and Susan found herself in Jury Duty, picked as an alternate on a Domestic Abuse case. After three days and hearing no testimony, the case was settled…which unfortunately probably means that the wife dropped the charges. June was also the end of the school year and Susan went with the class she helps to the beach during the last week of class. Our friend, Tom Goodale, arrived a few days later to stay with us as he had a family wedding to attend. It's always great fun having Tom around…he's the only guest that we hardly ever see! Our nephew, Adam, also came for a visit...he had a training class for work...and stayed with us for a week. We had a good time showing him some of the local sights. Fourth of July weekend found us flying off to Chicago…well actually Naperville…for the Williams wedding. At the end of the month, Wells Fargo had a strategy session and Board meeting in Half Moon Bay. Because it was held on the weekend, partners were invited, so Susan got a chance to be pampered, while Kevin was in meetings all day long….is this beginning to sound familiar?! We arrived back home in time to pack our bags for our big trip to Europe. First it was off to Hamburg to help Viktor celebrate a memorable birthday. We were the bringers of the good weather, as Viktor and Doris told us that prior to our arrival the whole summer had been raining and miserable. The party was held in a very pretty lodge in northern Germany. When we had received the invite, the only requirement…besides our attendance of course…was that all the men had to wear red socks. It was interested to see how this was interpreted!! After the party we were able to spend a few days with our friends, and then they drove us to Copenhagen for the start of the second part of our trip.
We met up with all our Australian friends…some old, some new…and boarded the Silver Cloud, setting sail for the Baltic. We visited Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Rotterdam (Delft and the Hague), and ended up anchoring the ship in sight of Tower Bridge in London. The whole trip was great, but St Petersburg was amazing. We were there for two days and
In London, the last leg of the trip, we had arranged to have a belated 100th birthday celebration. It was held at Coq D'Argent in the City of London. The weather was perfect and we shared an afternoon of fun with about 80 people. It was a great way to catch up with everyone, as we knew we were only going to be in London a short time and wouldn't otherwise get to see everybody. We stayed with our neighbors, David and Nik at Raven Wharf, and during the week we visited with the Baits down in Micheldever (just outside Winchester), the Ashworths in Frimley (Surrey), Maria in Cobham, and on the weekend headed up to Norfolk for the Mecklenburgh/Allen wedding. We also met with the Estate Agents selling our London flat, and thought all was going smoothly…but in November the deal fell through, so we are back to square one. As soon as we returned from vacation school started in earnest for Susan. Classes were held every Friday, there was one mid term, a gallery presentation, an essay, and a final; she belonged to a study group which met once a week and spent many hours at the museum and at home studying; and she decided to volunteer to burn DVD copies of each weeks lecture so the class would be able to review. While the work has been very hard, she is thoroughly enjoying it and has learned a lot about India, Hinduism, Buddhism, a little bit about Islam, and realized that she is only scratching the surface. Next semester starts in January and will be all about Southeast Asia. (So this is the main reason you are probably receiving this card and letter after Christmas…she couldn't start thinking about Christmas till after the final.) Any traveling we have done since had to fit around Susan's schedule, as she didn't want to miss any classes. We made one trip in September over Labor Day to Denver and got to visit with Vivian, Hugh and the twins, Brodie and Kirstie, as well as catching up with the Elms in Boulder. In October Kevin had a meeting in Albuquerque, so we went and spent the weekend with Virginia and Randy in Santa Fe and Susan tried to go on a Balloon ride...it was the big Balloon Festival in Albuquerque…But it rained and was too windy for the balloons to go up. We’ve had lots of visitors since September...Ian stopped by as part of his round the world 2 month holiday, The Donnellans from Australia, the Cardno’s from England (Birmingham to be exact) and Hong Kong, Beth and Kevin from Santa Barbara, Matthew and Kathy from England, and Kevin’s sister Joyce from New Jersey. Joyce’s visit brings us to the bad news of the year, in fact, the worse news in many years. Kevin’s brother-in-law Ed, past away unexpectedly in September. He and Joyce were married for almost 30 years and he was one of the truly nice guys in this world. We will miss him. Kevin held his Christmas Party for his direct reports at Universal in LA, and invited all the partners. We had a great time visiting the park and Kevin wore his kilt at the Christmas dinner. Susan had her final the next week…only five more semesters to go! We’ve decided to stay in San Francisco for Christmas this year, so we will spend the time visiting with friends and resting for the year ahead. Wishing all of you a very Happy Holiday Season!! Kevin and Susan Christmas 2004 |