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May was a busy travel month,
celebrating two family birthdays and a wedding in the
States. From Tijax, via the internet, I booked travel from
Guatemala City to Reno to Seattle to Orlando and back to
Guatemala, over a three week period.
My sister Sara’s birthday was the tail
end of April, and my Aunt Maybelle’s 90th
birthday was in early May. As both families live on the US
West Coast, we opted to make Reno the rendezvous spot for
both activities. My lifelong friend Suzanne was able to
join us at the Silver Legacy and the Peppermill (it helps on
the rates to be a “frequent gambler”). I hadn’t seen
Suzanne since our trip to Bimini for Thanksgiving in 2005,
so it was good to catch up.
We first drove to Walnut Creek for
dinner at the very exclusive Duck Club with Maybelle. Sara,
her husband Lance, my brother Jeff, and his wife Kanchana
were there, and we had one of the best dinners I’ve ever
had. Maybelle is who I want to be at 90 – active, mentally
sharp as a tack, and still able to enjoy a glass of wine
with dinner. It was a wonderful reunion.
We celebrated Sara’s 50th
birthday the next night, with dinner at the Peppermill, and
were joined by friends of my brother, along with my cousin
DeeAnn, her husband Tim, and her daughter Hope. It was
great – with the usual gag gifts, lots of laughter, and
gambling until dawn. We had so much fun we decided to get
together at DeeAnn’s house nearby the next evening for a
barbecue. She’s got an incredible craftman-style home sided
with river rock from the Truckee River, with a big front
porch, Victorian garden, and back yard big enough for
festivities.
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After four great days in Reno,
I flew back up to Seattle for a short visit, spending an
evening at Suzanne’s and a couple of nights with Sara and
Lance. We had heard from our friends Dale and Linda that
they had their 49 DeFever hauled out in Port Townsend, and
it just happened to be Cinco de Mayo, so the three of us
drove up to Port Townsend to supervise the bottom painting
and contribute to the Margaritas. A lot of the folks from
Brownsville Marina have their boats hauled out at the same
time, so they can co-op the sanding and painting.
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