2007
2007
Hello!
It's hard to believe that we are now in our 22nd year of retirement—and still enjoying it every day. The idea of a retirement apartment where Barbara can turn dinner preparation over to somebody else and Glenn won't be responsible for the garden or home maintenance is beginning to have some appeal. Especially since Barbara is now getting replacements for some of her original body parts!
Our last trip of 2006 was in mid-December to the beautiful "Aventura Spa Palace" resort south of Cancun, Mexico. Rooms, meals, drinks, entertainment and tours were all included—sort of like a cruise ship on land! Mark and Karen joined us and we took advantage of tours offered to some of the Mayan ruins. Our first trip of 2007 was to Hawaii but it was marred when Barbara's right knee became so painful that she spent most of the vacation in a wheel chair. That led to a date with a surgeon on August 1 and Barbara now has a new right knee. It's coming along fine; later on, she'll need to have the other "original" knee replaced. Glenn is doing better at avoiding surgeons, but still, our social life includes quite a few dates with doctors and dentists.
It was a quiet summer and fall, filled mostly with physical therapy for Barb and tending the backyard berry crops for Glenn. He also arranged a cruise for us from San Diego to the Mexican Riviera in mid-October, figuring this would help Barbara's recovery, and it really did. The cruise also provided two VERY unusual occurrences. On our second night at sea, probably 75 miles from the nearest land, we opened the balcony door to investigate some strange noises, and a hawk flew into the stateroom! A few minutes later, we opened the door and he flew out again. You have to take our word for this—we were so flustered we didn't even grab the camera! Then, on the way back to San Diego, the ship sounded the "man overboard" alarm. A thorough search found no one in the sea, but we were impressed with the efforts made by the ship's captain and crew.
Mark and Karen made up for our limited travels this year. Mark is now a "pro" at finding cheap air fares, a seat in the front of the plane and bargain rates at five-star hotels. To build up his frequent flyer miles, he took several "mileage runs," to Rome (twice), Romania, Taiwan, the Philippines, Honduras and London (twice). In early April, he took a break from international flights to join river-running friends in traversing the Grand Canyon. Karen had such a great time on a birding tour in Ghana in 2006 that she signed up with the same "Rockjumper Tours" for a South African tour in mid-August. She had a memorable month of viewing birds and wildflowers in various parts of South Africa, and saw the "Big Five" African game animals (plus many more) at Kruger National Park.
We hope you are well and looking forward to a happy holiday season. Take a look at our family's websites—all accessible from: www.mrhalliday.com. Our e-mail address remains: gbhalliday2@yahoo.com.
Our best wishes to you for a very good year ahead!
Barbara and Glenn
Mayan Ruins at "Ek Balam" Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Lagoon at Aventure Spa Palace Resort, Mayan Riviera, Mexico 
Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii
Carnival "Spirit" at anchor in Zihuatenejo Bay, Mexican Riviera
Top Row: 1) Glenn, Karen & Mark at Ek-Balam Mayan Ruins, Yucatan, Mexico, Dec. 2006. 2) Barb & Glenn in their "carriage" at Coba Mayan Ruins, Yucatan, Mexico, Dec. 2006. 3) Mark, demonstrating that you have to row hard, to get a dory down the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, AZ, April, 2007.
Row Two:1) Barb & her new right knee, with "Rolf" her physical therapist at Dallas Rehab Center, Aug. 2007. 2) Leopard in Kruger Nat. Park, S. Africa—"shot" by Karen, Sept. 2007. 3) Glenn & Barb at dinner, aboard the "Spirit" cruise ship, along the Mexican Riviera, Oct. 2007.
Row Three: 1) Cliff diver at Acapulco, Mexico, Oct. 2007. 2) Niece Stephanie, visiting us with her daughters, Adriana & Nicole, with Terry & Gloria, Barb & Glenn, Salemtowne, Nov. 2007. 3) Thanksgiving dinner at Karen's, Nov. 22, 2007. L-R: Karen, sister-in-law Betty, Diane & nephew, Jason.
E-Mail: gbhalliday2@yahoo.com