Dean Straw:  

o Andy can pursue his research on his Phd dissertation. We'll miss having her so close but we are planning two trips to Europe next year to visit. Adele has never met her maternal grandparents, nor has my wife, so it all works out. We spent two weeks in August traveling to and through Alaska with my brothers and their wives. We took the cruise from Vancouver to Seward and the land portion to Fairbanks: we brothers has not set foot there in 51 years. Our former house and the schools we attended were all still there. It was pretty awesome. In September a work buddy and I hiked Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon again. It was more of a workout than the first time: we climbed out to the south rim on the shorter and steeper South Kaibab Trail. We made it out in 12 hours, so we saw the whole canyon in sunlight. Last time we did the final 3 miles up the Bright Angel Trail in moonlight! Flash forward to May, 2014... We spent 8 days in Moscow and at the Dacha that Gulya's parents have about 90 Km south. Andy and I took the train because only 5 fit in the family car. Rae and I got pretty good at riding the Moscow metro around the city. Adele was afraid of me for the first 3 days: we'll see how we get along in Italy for two weeks! 2016: Adele is now 3 and living in Austin again while Andy completes his PHD in Russian History. Great having them close after they were in Russia for 1 1/2 years. Gulya's parents came to Texas in 2015 for Christmas and New Years. After spending time together in Italy in 2014, we rented a villa on Crete in 2015 and had the whole family there, plus my nephew Wesley, so there were 4 "boys" to keep track of Adele, besides Gulya and us grandparents. We celebrated Adele's 2nd birthday in Gerani in the west of Crete, which is a very large and beautiful island! Rae and I were suppose to go to Nepal in November of 2015 for the Jimmy Carter World Habitat build, but it was cancelled two weeks before because of civil unrest and shortages of everything. Rae and I were upset but made the best of it. We rerouted our tickets to the Maldives and spent a week on a small resort island snorkeling and even some sailing. We spent two days in Dubai on the way over and it was pretty amazing. To top off 2016 my brothers and their wives went with us on a cruise of the Adriatic, from Venice to Rome. It was a lot of fun and we had so much fun we're doing another cruise along the coast of western Europe in August. I retired in June of 2017 so I was able to join my son Eric for 4 of his floats as he set out and completed the goal of canoeing in all 50 states (see shamelesstravels.com for his blog covering the whole adventure state by state). We paddled out to Grand Island in Lake Superior for his Michigan float and did the Flambeau River in Wisconsin two days later. My brother and I joined him in New Mexico for the 50th and final float on the Rio Grande near Taos. And we have traveled: cruise from Dublin to the coasts of France, Spain and Portugal. Then it was on to Tahiti for another cruise in the Tuamotu and Society Islands in French Polynesia. My brothers and I snowshoed in Colorado in February and my wife and I hiked the 6 miles up to the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park...with a gain of 2000' ...for my 70th birthday. Next up: Italy, France and Belgium in October. Ooops! The October trip never happened! Two days prior to departure I was going down the trail on my usual bike ride when I slipped on some fresh mud at slow speed and fell on my left hip, fracturing the cup that holds the ball in the joint. 6 and 1/2 hours on the table and I have lots of new titanium hardware in my hip. No walking on my left leg for 12 weeks. Sometimes you just can't undo stupid choices! COLLEGE Started at the College of Guam (now University of Guam). After one year moved to Texas, enrolled in The University of Houston. Graduated in 1971 with BA in Geography. Went to U. of Wisconsin in Madison and completed the hours for a Masters in Geography. Never finished a thesis: my one big regret in life. WORKPLACE I took cartography while earning my degree at the University of Houston. All of our maps were hand drawn on vellum paper with India ink and Leroy lettering templates. In the next semester we learned to make crude maps using the computer, where the values were differentiated by shades of gray created by overprinting characters. If the map was wider than the computer printout, it was generated in strips which you had to splice together. Today I still make maps and other graphics for an oil and gas company, but I haven't touched a traditional drafting tool for years. Everything is done on computer and printed out using large format plotters (up to 60" wide). I no longer deal with drafting machines, DIAZO blueprint machines, airbrushing, ink pens, or 35 mm slides and projectors (except for my own photography). Everything is digital, or if it isn't, we scan it. Presentations consist of posters on the wall or computer generated files projected on a big screen. My, how things have changed. Every time the price of oil plunges to below $50 a bbl., I think that I may be able to fulfill my longtime dream of becoming a greeter at Walmart! Update: I don't have to worry about Walmart any more...I've retired! Now I can spend more time with my granddaughter (who just turned 4) and we can travel whenever we want! Last October (2018) I smashed my left hip trying to ride my bicycle through a slick muddy spot on the trail. Now I've been limping around since January trying to rehab. It didn't work and now I'm going to need a hip joint replacement. The irony is that riding my bike is about the only normal thing I can do right now. Yikes! Now in 2020 I'm back to riding my bike after a hip replacement in June of 2019 and right now that's about the only outside activity I have away from my house. The corona virus has totally altered my life...and I'm retired. My sons still have jobs but how long will that last? We survived the Covid 19 and actually traveled far and wide during the past 4 years. Our granddaughter accompanied us on 3 of our trips and we covered New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, British Columbia and Idaho. We saw wildlife in 5 different national parks, went horseback riding, learned to paddle board and did some awesome hikes. We continued taking cruises with a company that features small ships and sailing vessels, covering 14 different islands in the Caribbean (some twice), Rome to Barcelona and Athens to Israel and Jordan. The highlight of this year (2023) was the wedding of our middle son to his sweetheart in Sayulita, Mexico. About 50 friends and family gathered just 2 days after a hurricane struck nearby Puerto Vallarta with 140 mph winds. Once electricity was restored the festivities went off without a major glitch. And now we have a new stocking hung by the chimney with care for this Christmas!