September to December - The Final Quarter

We packed ourselves into our trusty Prius and set out on Sep 8 for a road trip that would take us 7300 miles.  Our destinations included Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio.  We finally returned home on Oct. 5th.

Joanne's 50th high school reunion initiated the trip.  In the 50 years since her 1967 graduation 27 of the 132 graduates have passed.  All the more reason these get togethers are so special.  Thanks to the reunion committee for doing such a great job of encouraging folks to attend.

Many of Joanne's classmates had heard about her battle with Guillian Barre Syndrome, so Joanne's sisters decided she should go to the informal Friday gathering as a tough biker chick.  No the dog didn't get to go.  On Saturday Joanne was back to normal atire and enjoying catching up with her high school friends.

The class reunion was followed by a family reunion of sorts.  The Johnson clan gathered at the Rutland hall and caught up and shared memories.

Cousins and spouses

On the way to Iowa we stopped and visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD and the falls in Sioux Falls, SD.  Leaving Iowa we visited the Vesterheim museum (all things Norwegian) in Decorah, IA,  Effigy Mounds National Monument in Harpers Ferry, IA, and the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA.

From Iowa we headed east to visit David's relatives and Bucks County friends.  Our apologies in advance to those we didn't manage to connect with.  We voted Indiana the worst state to drive through.  I am sure they saved money by eliminating human toll takers on the turnpike, but the experience suffered.  The rest stops were equally uninspiring.  We chose to avoid Indiana on our return trip.

Our visits in NY, PA and MD involved lots of family gatherings.  Thanks everyone.

Relatives on David's mother's side



Relatives on David's dad's side

We returned back to Anacortes on Oct 5th in time to enjoy the fall weather.  We were delighted to host a former Rohm and Haas couple, Sue and Angus for a couple days.  Unfortunately it had turned cold and rainy for their visit.  David and crew cooked the October yacht club dinner for nearly 90 people.  All went smoothly.  He is already signed up for next year.

November 9th we headed to Mexico for 5 weeks.  It was great to get back after missing last year due to Joanne's GBS. 

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner in Cancun at the Agua Santa restaurant with friends from Oklahoma, Florida, and Canada.

We had friends from Anacortes visiting for the first time, so we visited Chichen Itza, Coba, San Migulito as well as a cenote where the fish give you a pedicure.  Great fun!

In our 5 days home before heading to Iowa for Christmas we managed to run/walk the Jingle Bell 5K, host our neighborhood Christmas party and attend two other parties.  I will never complain that there is nothing to do in Anacortes.

Santa and Mrs. Claus joined us for the drive to Iowa.  Santa enjoyed seeing the country from the back seat.  We hit snow from Bozeman to Billings Montana, but the drive was pretty normal.  The temps in the teens kept the roads from being slushy.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Happy New Year