December 2005

Time marches on. It seems like every year passes more quickly, and 2005 is certainly no exception. It has been a wonderful year for us, and we’d like to share some of it with you.

In February, we flew to Roatan, one of the Honduran Bay Islands, to visit our friends Dave and Deanna Hoops. They have been cruising the Caribbean full time for almost five years. Tim spent two weeks with them, and Sue flew down for the second week. We soaked up the sun, snorkeled, and did some diving. It was a great trip, and we’re looking forward to doing it again in early 2006.

In May, Chris walked across the stage in CMU’s graduation ceremony. Mind you, he didn’t finish school then; that actually happened in August. In any event, it was a momentous occasion for all of us. The most humorous part may have been the robot bagpipe player constructed by the students from the Robotics program. Sue’s mom and Tim’s parents joined us for the ceremony.

Our summer cruise this year lasted five and a half weeks (at least for Tim). It started with Chris and Tim racing 200 miles up Lake Huron together, and extended as far as Traverse City on Lake Michigan. Sue spent a week and a half on the boat in Traverse City while competing in two horse shows, and another week making two thirds of the trip home.

Chris finished up at CMU in August, and then spent five weeks in Europe. He started out in London, and then traveled to Ireland, where he did some sailing and sightseeing. He took the Chunnel Train to Paris, then visited Switzerland and laid on the beach in Barcelona, before flying home from London. It was a trip that he will remember for the rest of his life.

Sue and her horse Clint had a busy show season. After some local shows in the spring, they went to Traverse City for two big shows in July. She was able to ride during the day, and spend the evening on the boat. This is what she called “the best of both worlds.”

In October, Chris started work with Amazon.com, in Seattle. He is enjoying the job, and loves Seattle. Tim flew out in November to visit, and to return his cat, Widget, who had been staying with us while Chris flew around the world. While he was there, he got a chance to sail on Puget Sound for the first time.

Also in October, we spent a weekend at Grand Hotel, on Mackinac Island. This hotel, featured in the movie “Somewhere in Time,” is one of America’s most famous hotel destinations. We were there for “Big Band Weekend,” the last weekend of the season. It was our first time there, and we’ll not soon forget it.

Both Sue’s and Tim’s businesses are doing well. Sue has just about all of the embroidery work that she can handle, given the pressure of her IBM job and her riding schedule. Tim has sold a fair amount of software and navigation electronics, and was quite busy in the spring doing installations and maintenance.