January in St. John, USVI

January 6th, Georgia and I flew to Miami, overnighted there, and then flew on the St. Thomas for the ferry ride over to St. John.  We stayed a week at the Westin on Cruz Bay and enjoyed the wonderful weather, the warmth, and the scenery.  We were joined there by Bill and Jennifer Earner.  Bill was my roommate at the Naval Academy, and he and Jennifer have hosted us on numerous occasions in Annapolis.  We rented a car, toured the island and its National Park, hiked to the beach on the Reef Bay trail (1,100 foot elevation drop), and enjoyed wonderful sea food.

Here are some pictures of the week:

 Hugh & Georgia and Hawksnest Beach

 Bill & Jennifer Earner at Hawksnest Beach

 Windmill at Annaberg Sugar Plantation on the Island's East End

 Petroglyphs on the Reef Beach Trail

  Christmas Bush (Comocladia dodonaea) is St John's Equivalent to Poison Ivy on the Reef Bay Trail

 Hugh on the Reef Bay Trail

 Dinner at Oceans 362 Restaurant

Our Dinner Sunset at Oceans 362 Restaurant

Thanksgiving in Palm Desert

In November we rented a house in Rancho La Quinta for a month to celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays with family.  We arrived in Palm Desert on November 16th and left on December 13th.  During our stay we entertained, Sister-in-law, Debbie and her children, David and Kristi; Georgia's sisters, Yvonne and Liz, and their husbands, John and Mike; Sister-in-Law, Mary Martha (Em), and our niece Laura Clark..  Melissa and Lain also made it to the desert on two weekends, so it was a fun visit in the desert.

Here are some pictures of the stay:

 Rancho La Quinta Golf Course from the Club House

 Kristi Schall with Elmo at the Living Desert

 Lain Hugging Elmo at the Living Desert

 The Living Desert's "Zoo Lights"

Georgia, Debbie, and Kristi at the Rancho La Quinta Clubhouse

Georgia, Debbie, Em, Melissa, Kristi and Laura at The Tennis Club

David W Schall Celebration

On August 28th, we traveled to Brunswick, Maine to attend a "celebration of the life" for my younger brother, Dave, who died on July 26, 2019.  The celebration of his life was in the Brunswick Hotel and Tavern on Thursday August 29th and attended by over 100 people.  He was interned in the Augusta Veterans Cemetery in Augusta, Maine on August 30th.

With most of the family members there we had several meals together, with the most notable on being a lobster feast at "Five Islands".

Here are pictures of the celebrations:

 Dave's Burial 

 Lunch at the Dolphin Restaurant after the Interment

 View of Five Islands

 Georgia & Debbie Eating Lobster

 Hugh, David B, & Bob, Debbie's Brother

The Family at Five Islands

Melissa's 50th Birthday Celebration in Novato

Melissa came up to Novato on August 22nd and stayed through August 27th.  It was an early celebration of her 50th birthday and Georgia's August 25th birthday.  On Friday we had a dining experience at La Toque Restaurant in Napa.  On Saturday we went to see "the Raiders of the Lost Arc" at the Green Music center at Sonoma State University.  The music sound track was played by the Santa Rosa Symphony to accompany the movie.  On Sunday evening we went to see "Those Dancing Feet" at the Transcendence Theater in Jack London State Park.  We closed out Monday with wine tasting in the Dry Creek Valley and dinner at Baci Café in Healdsburg.  It was a wonderful birthday Celebration.

 Melissa, Georgia, & Hugh with Cocktails at La Toque

 Dinner at La Toque

 Melissa, Georgia,& Yvonne at the Green Center

 Melissa's Birthday Cake

 Melissa Blowing Out the Candles

Melissa, Yvonne, & Georgia at Jack London State Park

 All of Us at Jack London State Park

Georgia, Yvonne, and Melissa in their Seats at "Those Dancing Feet"

Birthday Greetings to Melissa on her Actual Birthday

Fishing at Yes Bay with Cairn

On July 6th, Cairn and I flew to Ketchikan and took a float plane to Yes Bay Lodge for three days of fishing.  We limited out two days on Halibut and rock fish, caught several humpback (Pink) salmon, and several sharks.  We put out shrimp and crab pots and limited on crab and caught some nice shrimp, which we brought back.  Due to the fishery, we couldn't keep any king salmon, we caught so we had to release them.  Also since the weather was warmer than normal, silver (coho) salmon were running late and had not come in yet.

Here are pictures of the trip:

 Cairn with a Yellow Eye Cod

 Carin with our guide "Old Spice" and our morning catch

 Cairn and "Old" Spice and one of the sharks we caught

 Cairn with a 15 Pound Halibut

  Cairn with a 4.5 Pound Rock Fish

  Cairn with one of the Shrimp

Yours truly and the final Morning's Catch

July 4th Visit

On July 3rd, Melissa, Keith, and our three grandsons come up for a fourth of July visit.  We had family dinners with Georgia's sister Yvonne and her husband John, on the 3rd and 4th, saw the Sonoma fireworks, and visited Rebounders in Rohnert Park and had dinner at Sam's Café in Tiberon on Friday.

On Saturday Keith and grandson Kellen went home, and grandson Cairn and I went to Yes Bay Lodge in Alaska fishing, while Melissa, Georgia, and Lain went to the aquarium at Monterrey.  Melissa, Cairn , and Lain flew home on July 12th.

Here are pictures of their visit:

 Lain taking a swing at the piñata

 Cairn taking a swing at the piñata

 Son-in-law Keith on the ninjas course at Rebounders

 Melissa coming out of the children's slide at Rebounders

Cairn jumping off the big drop at Rebounders

Super Bloom at Anza-Borrego State Park

Since the rain season of 2018-2019 provided California's deserts with much needed water, we decided to go to the desert on March 22nd and visit Anza-Borrego State Park to see the wild flowers in bloom.  Due to our schedule, we were about a week and a half late from the peak bloom.  However, as the attached pictures show, we had some wonderful displays.

 Anza-Borrego State Park Wild Flowers

 Hugh at the Park