Merry Christmas from the Deep South!
We had wonderful fall weather, even if it was warmer than usual. We had the “Santa Fe sky” just about every day – brilliant blue, sunny and cloudless with low humidity. We didn’t need to activate our first floor heating system until November 29th. We turned on the second floor heating system earlier, but it did not run very much. For much of the year we had truly awful weather which began with a record breaking cold winter. It was the first time in many years that I did very little walking in January, February and March. Winter really didn’t want to leave which led to a late and short-lived spring. This was followed by a long, hot summer – the third hottest on record. The other two were in 1980 and 1983. And to add insult to injury, the upstairs air-conditioning system broke in July. The heat persisted throughout September, which earned the month the dubious distinction of having the most days over 90 degrees.
We are disappointed Braves fans once again. For a while it looked as though the Braves had a lock on the lead in the NL East, only to be unseated by the Phillies. Then it seemed that the Braves would be the likely wild card team. They were, but it was not official until Game #162 had been played. Their post-season did not last long “thanks” to the Giants.
The main event of the year for us was Kristin’s wedding in Savannah on March 20th, the first day of spring. She and James Moriarty, II were married at 6:00 in the evening by my cousin, the Rev. Barbara Hosmer. It was a beautiful, sunny day, if a bit windy and the temperature was 72 degrees for the wedding. Approximately 85 friends and family members shared in our joy that day. It was wonderful to see people we had not seen in a while. We were very touched that some of the guests traveled great distances to attend the wedding and reception. Kristin and Jim’s honeymoon was a Caribbean cruise aboard the Celebrity Solstice. And there’s more … we will be grandparents by the end of the year.
Eric has returned to GA. After four years of working in Charlottesville, VA, he decided the time was right to pursue a master’s degree. He was accepted at Emory and GA Tech, his alma mater. He decided to return to GT because their program was oriented more toward technology management and entrepreneurship. This is an MBA program which will take about two years to complete. GT also offered him a graduate research assistantship. This offsets about half of the cost of his tuition. Eric was further honored by being one of twelve out of 175 students in the MBA program who were selected for TI:GER – Technological Innovations: Generating Economic Results. In this program, MBA students are paired with GT PhD researchers who are developing commercial technology with the potential of its becoming a business. Eric has enjoyed the return to academic life. He lives in the area, nine miles from us. His apartment complex is an easy walk to the Sandy Springs MARTA station, so he is able to ride the train to and from Tech, which frees him from having to find parking on campus. And there’s even more … Eric became engaged to Amber Davis, whom he met in Charlottesville. We’ve always felt that the only more ideal family for us was to have two girls and two boys. And now that wish has come true with the addition of Jim this year and Amber when she and Eric marry.
This year we limited our travels to VA: Eastern Shore, Northern Neck and Charlottesville; GA: Rincon (Savannah) and Jekyll Island; and the NC mountains. In May we did the first of two camping trips to Davidson River which is in the Pisgah Forest – Brevard area. We were there for six nights. Kristin, Jim and their two dogs, Izzy and Max joined us for the weekend. We were fortunate to have been able to reserve the campsite next to ours for them. Even though we had a little rain, it was nothing compared to a year ago when the campground flooded due to torrential rain.
At the end of June we drove to VA. We started our time there on Chincoteague Island. This is adjacent to Assateague Island which has the beach and the wild ponies, which we saw. It was 103 degrees when we were there. It remained horribly hot until we got to Charlottesville – about a week later. We rode along numerous back roads on the eastern shore as we left the area and headed for the Northern Neck. We stayed at Amber’s home in Warsaw and were treated to the wonderful hospitality of her parents, whom we met for the first time. While there we visited Stratford Hall, the ancestral home of the Lees; Kilmarnock and a day on Tangier Island. This is one of two inhabited islands in the Chesapeake Bay. The other inhabited island is Smith, which belongs to MD. We were very disappointed with Tangier. We made our “farewell” visit to Charlottesville next. The air was a pleasant 72 degrees, so it was very comfortable as we toured wineries in the area. We drove home via the Blue Ridge Parkway, our favorite scenic ride.
We visited Kristin and Jim in August. From there we drove about 100 miles south to get to Jekyll Island. School had already started so the beaches were almost empty. We were fortunate that there were no hurricanes, which can be a problem in August.
At the end of September we returned to Davidson River for another camping trip. Kristin and Jim drove up for the weekend. They set their tent up on the site next to ours which made it convenient. This time they were without their dogs because they drove up in their new car, a Ford Flex. This is a good family car which they will need before very long. We had a good time with the outdoor cooking and eating, walking along the river and a day trip to nearby Hendersonville which has a quaint downtown, including the Mast General Store.
We spent the weekend before Thanksgiving in Rincon to attend a baby shower for Jim and Kristin. After our Thanksgiving dinner Mike and I drove to Dahlonega, GA, the site of our country’s first major gold rush, to see the U. S. Capitol Christmas tree. It was on the flatbed truck, parked in the town square. We signed the banner that accompanied the tree along its cross country route. The Jeff Underwood Trucking Co. is based in Dahlonega and he was selected to haul the 67 foot spruce from the Bridger Teton National Forest in WY to DC. We met Jeff, a Garth Brooks double, as he signed posters and postcards. Only one other 2010 display tree is taller; that one is at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC.
Be sure to see this year’s photos. They are from Jim and Kristin’s wedding album.
We hope that all is well with you. Happy Holidays.
PS: Just after our holiday newsletter was published, we received the news that our granddaughter had arrived. She was two and a half weeks early. Alexis Mikayla Moriarty was born on December 15th at 2:27 pm. She weighed in at 6 lbs. and 7 ozs. and is 20" in length. We've added her photo to the blog.
