Today is the last day of 2025 – a day to reflect on the year. I feel incredibly fortunate to have my family, friends, good health, and all the incredible experiences that I have been blessed with this year.
We had a few visitors; Noreen, David, and Julie visited us in Austin this year. I traveled up to the PNW for a visit with all my sisters, all but one of my siblings’ kids, and all seven of my great-nieces and great-nephews. Sadly, we lost friends Melinda and David in 2025. They are missed and fondly remembered. ❤
The absolute highlight for me is our travels in 2025, which I hope to continue into the new year. The Dominican Republic and Portugal were new countries I visited this year. Our Maine schooner trip was another truly amazing experience. The transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2 was a lifetime memory. Our travels in England introduced me to some incredible new places and scenery, and gave me a deeper understanding of British history. Monte and I also enjoyed getting back to nature on some shorter road trips to see some of Texas’s beautiful parks.
My friends kept me laughing and lifted my spirits. Whatever would I do without them?
For all this, I am truly grateful.
I wish you the very best in the new year. Hug your family and friends. Be kind to yourself. Get out there. Embrace every day.
Happy New Year!
São João Festival fireworks over the Douro in Porto, Portugal. June 2025
Portsmouth Harbour lies on the northeast shore of The Solent, on the southern coast of England. We actually sailed by it before dawn as the Queen Mary 2 navigated up into Southampton. It is an important port, naval base, and home to many historic Royal Navy ships – which is the reason for our visit. I’ll share some of our highlights.
The gate to the DockyardThe signal flags on the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard sign spell out D-I-S-C-O-V-E-R. And so we did!
Monte has read novels about real British maritime battles and victories, and so is familiar with the history here. Me, not so much. But after our visits to the fantastic exhibits in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, I am now up to date on quite a few details. 🙂 The HMS Victory is probably one of the most well-known ships, and it is in Portsmouth in a drydock at the Historic Dockyard.
The view of the stern of the HMS Victory
The HMS Victory was launched in 1765, and was the flagship for Admiral Horatio Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 (when it was already 40 years old!) Trafalgar was the location of the British Navy’s greatest victory. The British fleet decisively defeated the combined fleets of Spain and France in the waters off of Cape Trafalgar, on the southwest coast of Spain. The Battle of Trafalgar was significant not just because it was a victory, but because Admiral Nelson was shot in that battle, died on the ship, and was transported back to England after the battle for a hero’s burial. He was, and still is, England’s most beloved sailor.
The Victory is midway through a 20 year restoration. The repair work is actually one of the exhibits – Victory Live. It doesn’t hinder seeing and touring the rest of the Victory as the work proceeds.
Most of the HMS Victory is under a tent, and the mast tops have been removed, but that didn’t detract from being able to explore the ship.
Another fascinating exhibit was of the Mary Rose, commissioned by King Henry VIII in 1510 as a flagship. It sank in 1545 during the Battle of the Solent by the French, just a mile offshore of Portsmouth, in 40 feet of water. It sat on the seabed, half buried in silt until it was discovered and eventually raised in 1982.
The exhibit does a great job of showing just how much of the ship is still intact, and an astounding amount of items that survive.
The HMS Warrier is a battleship built for Queen Victoria’s Navy, launched in 1860. We toured her as well.
Sunset over Portsmouth Harbour – HMS Warrior on the right, Spinnaker Tower on the left.
We spent two whole days exploring all the things to see at the Dockyard. We took a harbor tour, water taxi over to Gosport to tour a WWI submarine (Holland 1) and a WWII submarine (HMS Alliance), toured Boathouse 4, a working shop that restores small craft. We walked through the multiple other museums that are there. The weekend we were there it was “half-term” for the school kids, so the dockyard was teeming with British families as well.
We took a city bus down to see Southsea, and Henry the VIII’s castle there, from which he watched the sinking of the Mary Rose. There is also a D-Day Museum there, but we arrived after closing time.
By the time we checked out of our hotel and hopped a train to our next destination, I felt we had spent just the right amount of time in Portsmouth to soak up all the history there.
Links for the curious:
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard visitor info and tickets. They have so much to experience there. The Ultimate Explorer pass includes entry to 13 attractions. We visited 11 of them, and it was well worth it for us.
Where to stay? There are lots of choices nearby. We stayed at the Ship Leopard, which was a great location. Our room overlooked the harbor and had a view of Spinnaker Tower and the HMS Warrior. It is across the street from the Portsmouth Harbour Rail station, and the Isle of Wight Ferries, a block away from Gunwarf Quays, and a block away from the Historic Dockyard gate.
Forty-six years ago, in a galaxy that seems oh so far away, I took my first airplane trip. I remember sitting for hours in the terminal at JFK waiting on our connecting flight. The big board continually clicked and flipped to show flight status and gate updates.
I heard that that old terminal has been preserved and turned into a hotel next to Terminal 5 at JFK.
Today Monte and I flew into Terminal 8 at JFK, and I just had to find this time capsule before we left the airport.
The flight to Madrid is boarding!
It was fun to see those old memories come back to life.
Noreen and David made a quick trip to Austin in January and stayed with us. They’ve been to Austin many times, and it’s getting harder to find new things to show them. This time we all took a day trip to Gruene. Gotta love the Hill Country’s little towns.
My main intent for this trip to Seattle was to see my 7 great nieces & nephews. ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅
I also spent some good time with all but one of my nieces and nephews, and my sisters. I got a chance to visit my friend Irene again. We surprised her mom who I last saw at our high school graduation too long ago. What a special treat.
The Pacific Northwest is beautiful. It never disappoints.
Sunset at Everett MarinaFog at Port Townsend harborPears at Rachel & Matthew’s homeSilver City Brewery in BremertonSmoky view across Hood Canal
I’m visiting my family in Seattle. I took a break from hugging babies to attend the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend. The rain cooperated and Noreen, Colleen, and I had a fun day.
We had a houseful in the middle of December. Susanne, Laura, PJ, and Frankie found themselves in Austin for a swim meet at the University of Texas that PJ competed in. We had fun going to the meet, cooking up meals, going to the lake, and just enjoying eachother’s company. Susanne and Laura stayed through Christmas to help us ring in the season.
Laura’s puppies Rick and Tito are brothers, and possibly siamese twins.
I’m happy to report that things are picking up in the travel department. Before COVID we happily welcomed regular visitors to Austin and made our share of trips. Four years later, it’s feeling a bit more normal. We took a trip to Denver in January. Noreen and David visited us this Spring. I did a girls’ trip to Santa Barbara. Monte made a guys’ trip to the BVI. We flew up to Seattle in June. Laura came for a visit at the beginning of July. Last week we finished a road trip to see family and National Parks in the midwest.
Monte and I took the Subaru on another road trip. 3000 miles. 8 days and 7 nights. 9 states (well 10 if you count passing through the corner of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas – aka OKKAMO). Made my first-ever visit to a Great Lake. Earned 3 new geocache state badges. Visited four more National Parks, bringing my total to 30. Still lots more to see.
It is nice to reflect that this year alone we have had in-person visits with all of our siblings, most of our nieces and nephews, and even a few grandnieces and nephews. What a treat.
Gateway Arch NP was much more interesting than I expected. The construction of this monument was an engineering marvel at the time, and it is MUCH bigger than I imagined. We took the tour up to the top, and even the tram system was an interesting innovation to learn about. The view from the top was amazing. I was a tiny bit freaked out to look out the window and see both feet of the arch below us(!)
View from the top of the Gateway Arch. The muddy Mississippi River to the east is at the top of this pic.
Indiana Dunes NP was a lovely stop for about 4 hours. We tootled by the homes from the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1933 that have been moved to the lakeshore and are now privately owned and lived in. We scored an amazing parking spot by the beach. And we walked up and down the beach, which did have dunes, but lots of rounded rocks. I waded into Lake Michigan, another first.
The south shore of Lake Michigan. No sea glass was to be found.
Cuyahoga Valley NP was a highlight for me. It commemorates the Ohio and Erie Canal system, with locks, and a tow path for the mule-pulled canal boats. The canal was dug by hand in the early 1800s. It was fed with water from the nearby Cuyahoga River, and carried goods between the Ohio River and Lake Erie, putting Ohio on the map for commerce and transportation. The canal isn’t operating anymore. It was wiped out by floods in the early 1900s and eventually made obsolete by the railway built alongside it. But its footprint is clearly visible and the miles and miles of tow paths make for amazing walking and biking trails. The park is located between Cleveland and Akron and I expected it to be an urban park, but it is in the middle of beautiful forests and hills. It is spread out, so do your research beforehand to pick from the many spots you may want to visit.
We spent 2 half days there, starting at Boston Mills Visitor Center, then visited Brandywine Falls, and the Everett Covered Bridge, walked along the towpaths, stopped in Peninsula to check out the town and to visit Lock 29, and made a visit to the Canal Exploration Center, which helped us to understand the whole canal operation and its history. They have rebuilt a working lock there to demonstrate how they worked.
I’m envious of the people who have this park in their backyard. It’s a beautiful place to get out and explore. If I ever make it back, I’ll bring a bike. And take a ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway.
Brandywine Falls @ Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Everett Covered Bridge @ Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
A rebuilt, working lock at the Canal Exploration Center @ Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Mammoth Cave NP. Having driven by this park probably a dozen times, it was time to make a visit. We took the Historical Tour – a 2-hour, 2-mile, guided tour that took us through the cave at numerous levels of its 400′ of depth. It is different from other caves I’ve visited – a “dry”cave – in that it doesn’t drip water from the surface. So, no stalagmites nor stalactites. Rather, the maze of caverns has been cut from adjacent rivers that flow through the cave. It was amazing to experience a tiny bit of its vastness.
A view inside Mammoth Cave along the Historical Tour.
On this trip, we stopped in Rising Sun to visit Gary & Judy, Mary & Megan, and Bryan, and in Gobbler’s Knob to visit Susanne, Lanny, and Mica. We spent an afternoon making peach jam, and brought some home!
It was a great trip, indeed. I have already drafted our national park road trip for next year!
Happy New Year! I know. I’ve been MIA. Sorry about that. But, I’m still here!
Noreen and David joined us in Austin for the last week or so. They flew down to see the total solar eclipse. Our house and much of Central Texas were in the zone of totality. We wanted to maximize our amount of time in totality. So, Monte picked Lampasas, Texas as our destination, about an hour drive northwest of our house. The forecast was not great for Austin or Lampasas, but we took our chances, and it turned out great.
Lampasas experienced over 4 1/2 minutes of totality, and it was awesome. The clouds cooperated and, like in 2017, the predicted Armageddon didn’t happen. We didn’t hit traffic or crowds.
One thing that was particularly cool, and that I really don’t recall it being as striking during the last eclipse as it was this year, was how upon reaching totality, it was like the lights just turned off. I don’t remember it being that sudden or that dark in 2017.
I guess I’ll have to travel somewhere if I’m going to see another. There’s one in August 2026 in Spain, maybe I’ll make that one!
Photo of April 8, 2024 solar eclipse taken using my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III from Lampasas, Texas
Monte and I made a long weekend trip to Seattle to visit family – old and new. We have 3 new great-niece/nephew babies to meet, and my brother had a big birthday to celebrate.
The last time we were up in the Pacific Northwest together was 5 years ago. The last time all my siblings were together was over 4 years ago. So I was really ready for this trip 🙂
Mount Rainier viewed from the north
We visited the Museum of Flight just north of the SEA airport. This was my first visit, and I would recommend it. It has one of the largest collections of aircraft on display. We flew a flight simulator and did a barrel roll. We walked through a Concord, a 747, a 787, and one of the Air Force One planes from the Kennedy, Nixon, and LBJ administrations. The space flight exhibits are great, too.
So many planes
After the museum, we drove to southern Washington to meet Byron, Rachel and Matthew’s 4-month-old baby, and my great-nephew.
Sunrise at Rachel & Matthew’s home
The next day, we booked it back up to North Seattle and stayed with Patrick and Nga. We had a nice visit and a great dinner. And as a bonus, both their boys were home.
Sunset over the Olympic Mountains, the beautiful view from Pat & Nga’s home
Saturday morning we made it to Noreen and David’s. We took the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry, popped into Poulsbo for coffee and a walk along the waterfront.
Saturday evening we had a party for Brian. It was wonderful to have all 5 of us siblings together again after way too long. We laughed way too much and enjoyed our time together.
On Sunday we walked around the woods in the morning, and watched the Seahawks game in the afternoon. Jared and Cass came over with their new twins, Nora and Viola, my great-nieces. I got to hold each of them for a while. They are tiny and precious.
The next day it was time to head back to the furnace that Austin is. On the way to the airport, we stopped in Port Orchard to see Fran’s kids, Rebecca and Aaron. They are 20 and 18 and each has a good plan for their futures. It was great to see them.
The only faces I didn’t get to see were Neil, who is working 12-hour days, 7 days a week for the next few months, and Julie, who is in Denver. But other than missing them, it was a perfect visit. ❤
I have a bunch of cousins in Ireland. We’ve met in the decades-old past. We’ve had eachother’s addresses tucked away. But I’ve recently connected with them on some internet chat platforms, which has been a much more lively, and quite lovely, connection.
One of my cousins, on my father’s side, posted a photo of an undated aerial photo that was taken of the family farm and homestead from the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. This is where my dad grew up, in County Limerick. The house is on the left. The farm buildings on the right.
You can see workmen on ladders in front of the house, and some other people walking between the buildings. My dad had emigrated to the States by then. But I wonder if my grandfather and or uncles are some of those people…
This week we drove down to Houston to celebrate the birthday and anniversary of friends of ours, Asha and Shekhar.
I’ve known Asha for over 35 years, which seems strange just typing that. We were roommates way back when. We ended up moving to the same state, though different cities. She’s always reached out to remain connected over the years, and for that, I am thankful. I’ve enjoyed her family as it grew over the years, attending her wedding, and getting to know her husband and her strong, successful daughters as they’ve grown up.
Happy Birthday Asha, and Happy Anniversary Asha and Shekhar!
Sheila365 