January
We began the year with our annual ski trip to Breckenridge, and we managed to get through the week without any injuries or falls! We ended the month of January with a trip to Argentina & Brazil to see the amazing Iguazu Falls and prepare for a 22 day cruise.
February
The cruise began in early February and lasted 22 days. We had stops in Argentina (they don’t lie when they say they have the best beef in the world), Uruguay, Chile (excellent wines and we discovered a new drink—pisco sou), and the highlight and reason for the cruise—the Antarctic!. Just below our balcony suite, we had whales breaching and singing to us. Albatrosses followed the ship for miles, and it seems we were surrounded by icebergs (we even saw cavitation) and penguins. Our amazing captain even got us into the port at the Falkland Islands—in between bad weather and it actually surprised the tour companies on the Islands—they had to scramble to bring the guides in.
March
For the last several years, one of our divemaster’s family members have begged us to come for their Apo Island festival, held in April each year. In 2024 we managed to do so as part of the first of three trips to the Philippines. During the trip, we spent a week on a liveaboard yacht at Tubataha Reef—a United Nations World Heritage site. Rough seas kept us out of the water for a day, but otherwise was an amazing side trip. It was Easter time, so Deb hid the eggs and Frank dressed up for the resort staff kids first-ever Easter Egg hunt.
May/June
As usual, we weren’t home for long when we returned to the Philippines. It was a sad time as we attended and participated in a memorial service. On the other hand, we did have some happy times—each of us reached dive #1200. Shortly after returning, our favorite TX dive shop had an enormous sale on a new regulator, so off to San Antonio we flew. We saved enough on the two pieces of equipment to essentially pay for the trip, including eating at Alamo Café and Casa Rio..
July
Each year in July, Frank’s family has a reunion. This year’s was in Tennessee. We decided to drive, so in addition to TN, we visited 12 states. The big highlights outside the reunion Deb purchasing a new Amish quilt in Ohio, both of us visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY—on the weekend that Colorado Rockies’ Todd Helton was inducte, two Presidential libraries in KS (Truman & Eisenhower), a Wizard of Oz museum, and discovered KC style brisket burnt ends. Deb has been trying to mimic Joes BBQ burnt ends ever since. Getting closer with each attempt. Deb has been making rosaries for over 40 years—we stopped in Louisville, KY and toured Our Ladies Rosary Makers where she gets her supplies. She leaves rosaries most everywhere we travel.
August
During the years we lived in Germany, we made several attempts to visit Vienna but could never find parking. When our longtime friends Rudy and Laurie asked if we would join them on an August Danube River cruise we didn’t hesitate to sign up when we saw Vienna on the itinerary. We in turn invited longtime friends and now neighbors, Trish and Rich along. The absolute highlight of this Budapest to Vilshofen, Germany trip was being on the boat during the St Stephen’s Day Celebration. St Stephen is the founder of Hungary and from the boat we saw a portion of the $10M fireworks show! Just before we boarded the boat, as part of the celebration, we watched a flyover featuring aircraft of the Hungarian military.
September
Although retired from clinical practice for six years now, Frank continues as an Adjunct Associate Professor at AT Still University in the College of Graduate Health Studies (public health) and the Doctor of Medical Science programs. Each September he attends the DMSc faculty retreat and graduation ceremony in Mesa, AZ.
October
Although retired from clinical practice for six years now, Frank continues as an Adjunct Associate Professor at AT Still University in the College of Graduate Health Studies (public health) and the Doctor of Medical Science programs. Each September he attends the DMSc faculty retreat and graduation ceremony in Mesa, AZ. During the long weekend, we also take time out to visit with Don and Cindy—Deb’s brother and his wife.
In October, we did our 3rd and final trip of the year (and 31st overall) to Mike’s Dauin Beach Resort in the Philippines. We met up with Bob and Michelle for one of the weeks. October is our favorite month in Dauin—it’s known as Octopus October. Mating season for the critters.
For our October visit, we brought about 60 pounds of chocolate and hosted a Halloween fest for the kids of our resort family. Frank dressed up in a costume (blow up person costume riding a chicken) and led the kids around the resort to trick-or-treat at the office and kitchen (Deb-supplied chocolate). The next day, we hosted our traditional thank you lechon (roasted pig) dinner for the staff, along with beer for the guys and tequila (with cinnamon) for the ladies. We are thrilled that each time we host sponsor the thank-you dinner, more and more resort guests participate.
We hosted our annual German Octoberfest after we got home from the PI. Frank brewed the beer, and cooked the bratwursts, while Deb prepared all the sides.
November
Air Force Hockey, Thanksgiving with family and friends, and Deb’s annual gingerbread house making weekend were all on our agenda. She’s been hosting the gingerbread machining most every year since we moved to Colorado, and has no plans to quit
December (and beyond)
One of the reasons, besides procrastination, that this letter is late finding you is that we just got back from our annual trip for the German Christmas markets. Dave and Elsa Wong joined us for the two weeks. We visited markets every day, so lots of sausages, cherry/vanilla dumplings, hot chocolate and glühwein.
We close out the year with a trip to Ireland—leave on New Year’s eve and we are bringing Melissa and Scott with us. We have some big travel plans for 2025, especially in the Spring as we celebrate our golden anniversary—50 years of marriage with a 50 day cruise from Singapore to Athens.
