Connecticut 2006:
Hello Everybody,
The Connecticut meeting is coming to a close. I am in
the lobby waiting to give a hand to participants
leaving for the airport and home. Since I drove down
here with my minivan and being the handy kind of guy,
I am helping out with transportation. It also gives me
the opportunity to say final goodbyes to the many new
friends I've made here.
We all met Thursday evening, 9 ladies and 12 men, in
Jama's suite to get acquainted. Jama (and her helpers,
Linda, Jerry and more of the guys) had prepared
sandwiches, potato salad, chips and dips, fresh fruit,
homemade cookies and brownies, and more, and people
got the chance to become familiar with each other.
This was above all a social and friendly gathering, so
we had to break the ice somehow. Then we
adjourned to the meeting room where Margaret and Judy
had planned a surprise wedding reception for Jama and
Scott who got married last Fall.
We went to Mystic, CT on Friday. The Mystic
Seaport Museum is a historical reproduction of a
turn-of-the-century whaling community, and has many
displays and interpretation centers. There were many
old fishing and whaling ships upon which it was
possible to board and visit. One of these boats is
reputedly haunted! I haven't met or seen the
resident ghost, but I found it very interresting to
see how these old tall ships operated and how mariners
lived a century ago. For dinner, we went to
Abbott's Lobster in the Rough and most of us had whole
lobsters as you can see by our bibs!
Yesterday, I went out for an afternoon cruise on Scott
and Jama's sailboat. She's a 28' sloop, and although
we didn't go very far, I think I'm hooked onto a new
little passion. I've been invited to have some
private sailing lessons here, and you can be sure I'll
take Scott up on his generous offer soon.
It was a fantastic experience for me, and I'm looking
forward to being at future meetings. Meanwhile,
there's the Monteal meeting this fall to start
planning for...
See y'all
Marc
San Diego!
October 28-31, 2004
We had a great
time! Friday we went to the San Diego
Zoo and wore ourselves out
walking/rolling all over the place (some of
you bums took the bus tour after we got
separated!) then Friday night we ordered
pizza and ate by the pool/hottub.
Saturday we
rode the trolley from Old Town to the Harbor
and went on a 2 hour cruise of the harbor,
then back to Old Town for some shopping and
great Mexican food, some of us in our
Halloween costumes. Tatiana Freedman
wore the best costume I have ever seen (see
the picture below).
Sunday some
left early and the rest of us goofed off
while those with energy went to
Seaworld. Then we went to dinner at
Ricky's (not recommended - a long 2 blocks
away, no ramp and the food wasn't
special).
Monday, a few of us went to
the Maritime Museum and checked out the Victorian era ferry
Berkeley built in 1898, and the Star of India (where Captain and
Commander with Russell Crowe was
filmed). I went down the stairs into
the lower decks (with a little help of
course) and got to see the Captain's
cabin...Very interesting!
*****
Las
Vegas
Halloween 2003
We had 10 ladies and 10 guys, plus a
couple of guys who were there for an evening,
plus some friends of 2 of the ladies who joined
us for dinners and some activities. So
there were about 25 in all,
but I think all 25 were together at only one
time for dinner on Halloween night.
We went to
the Casinos (of course) but casino time was more or
less on one's own or after an evening's
activities. We ate at the hotel mostly - there was a
cafe and a buffet for 3 meals a day, but we did get
out for dinners elsewhere a few times. On Friday night
we all dressed up in our costumes and went to the
Fremont Street Experience (light shows and lots of
things to see, plus shops, restaurants and bars) for
Hallowe'en and it was a hoot! Everyone there was
dressed up too and the costumes were great!
I think we should do Halloween there every other
year!
Then on Saturday, we went to the Strip to see some
of the new hotels and casinos and displays there.
Some saw the Bellagio Fountains - a water and
light show that was
breathtaking. The group I was with went to
the Monte Carlo and the Venetia - a
hotel with gondola rides indoors and outdoors,
painted ceiling reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel
and then we went to New York New York and to the
Nine Irish Gentlemen's Irish Bar, which was
wonderful - Irish songs, and dancing, and the bar
patrons often danced up in the front with the
performers. When they saw our wheelchairs, the
crowd was parted and we were escorted right up to
the front which was very nice since it was
very crowded.
We had dinners of sandwiches and chips, etc in my
room a couple of nights to save on eating out
every meal. A few arrived on Wednesday, and most
everyone stayed until Monday, so it was an
extended weekend. But everyone had a great time.
I know I did! 
New
Orleans
March 2003
We had a
blast as you can see here! There
were 6 ladies and 6 guys in attendance
and
one
more lady, Kelly, who came for one day
on Friday, who we hope to see again
soon!
Orlando,
Florida
Spring 2002
Orlando was great! The
weather was beautiful!
Some of us went to Epcot Center,
Seaworld,
and of course we went shopping and ate
out!
People started arriving Wednesday evening, I drove and
didn't get there until late Thursday
evening,
but Lorry was there keeping
everything under control until I got
there...
Thanks Lorry!
RENO, NEVADA
June 2002
We had a great time in
Reno, stayed at Circus-Circus Hotel and
Casino,
but for the LasVegas conference, I think I
will choose a smaller hotel.
If not for cell phones we would never have
managed
to keep the group somewhat together.
Here is a picture of some of the group at
the Jazz Festival...
Galveston, Texas
Fall
2002We thought we were going to be rained
out, but we all managed to float our way
down there and had a great time! The
rain even managed to let up enough for us
to enjoy our outings the Johnson Space
Center, the Oil Drilling Rig Museum, The
Strand (historic downtown Galveston), and
Moody Gardens. Some of us even made
it to the Kemah Boardwalk for dinner
Friday night at Joe's Crab Shack, as
planned, and the rest of us ate at Joe's
Crab Shack in Galveston! So I guess
you could say we all had dinner at the
'same' place, if not together!
Seems like we ate seafood every night, but
"when in Rome...".Then at night,we hung
out on the "veranda" every night until the
wee hours to talk and get to know each
other. Everyone had a great time and
promised to come back next time, so those
of you who weren't there, try to make it
to New Orleans in the spring or fall of
2004!
San Jose 2001
Conference
