Let in a Little Light ...


Twenty Twenty-Four began with a visit to Diana's Step-Mom Barbara in Corona Del Mar. It was the perfect escape from the cold San Francisco weather.  Our return trip included a stop in Monterey for the Aquarium and Dark Star Orchestra at the Golden State Theater.  The weather report was warning of a hurricane but it looked nice after breakfast at The Wild Plum.  However,  downed trees, mud slides and power outages made the trip interesting.

Early spring we had a little ski trip to Lake Tahoe and concerts: Leftover Salmon at the Guild, The Beat Farmers and The Highhawks at HopMonk Tavern in Novato.   Later in May we played tour guides to Ed's sister Linda and her husband Dean when they vacationed in California. We met them in Montery and visited the Aquarium and drove The 17 Mile Drive at Pebble Beach.  We continued up the coast to San Francisco, highlights included Golden Gate Bridge & Park, Lombard Street and a Cable Car Ride.  Did you know The Top of the Mark gives veterans a free shot?  The WW2 era tradition is called the "Squadron Shot" that honors military service.  Ed enjoyed/shared his "Commando" sized shot.
 
In the Summer we traveled East starting with a dinner with some of Ed's Beta Sig Brothers at the Oldestone Steakhouse set in a former church in New Hope, PA.  Then we celebrated Ed's cousin Cindy's birthday in Bensalem followed by a quick stop in the greater Pottstown area. We appreciated the accomodations in the Gillian Suite (our niece) at Le Château Carpenter.  We gathered the usual suspects for dinner at the Limerick dinner and had a lovely visit with the mayor of Arcadia and artist: Betty Skokowski. Diana & I both love NYC and we were excited to see our niece Lea (Drew & Jan’s daughter) and her husband Michael in NYC. The newlyweds lived at toidy-toid and toid (33rd and Third). Lea was a great tour guide as we explored the lower east side. We enjoyed great Greek food at Kiki’s and of course New York Style pizza.  Our "finale" in the Big Apple included dinner at Carmines followed by Tommy at the Nederland Theater and cheese cake dessert at Juniors.  I think we got some pickles at Katz’s Deli not the book store  (pickles bookstore).

Back home for the remainder of the Summer for whales and Winters, our local bar, who's motto is "no crap on tap."  And ... of course, more music.  Cracker in Novato, North Mississippi Allstars at the Armitage Winery in Scotts Valley, Moonalice with Lester Chambers at the Ain’t Necessarily Dead Fest in Auburn CA and Aardvark at Winter's Steal Your Labor Day Fest.

In the fall we visited our “adopted” niece Chiara (Diana's dear friend Kristine’s daughter) at Mount Holyoke College.  Little did we know … that William G. Morgan invented volleyball in Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1895.   Chiara gave us a great tour of the campus and we also went shopping in Northampton.   Next, we headed to Ed's brother Drew & Jan’s in Rhode Island, and had an enchanted sunset cruise with Drew, Jan & Lynn (Jan’s sister)  courtesy of SeaEscape Charters.  The unseasonably warm evening topped it off.  The next day we went to the Tennis Hall of Fame followed by a tour of The Breakers Mansion. Our East Coast visit culminated up in Boston walking The Freedom Trail including the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill Memorial.  We also enjoyed some of our favorite spots in the North End: Regina’s pizza, Mike's Pastry for their famous Boston Cream Pie and Bova’s Bakery for cookies.

Seasons Greetings!
Looking forward to 2025 and wishing you all health & happiness in the New Year!

Diana & Eddie

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