Edgar Peck (Defense Systems, 1993 & 1995) and wife, Janet, of Rocklin, California became great-grandparents with the birth of Jessica Diane on July 9, 2003. In August they took granddaughter, Candace, to Hiram College (Ohio) (their alma mater) where she entered as a sophomore. They made a mini-vacation out of the trip with sightseeing to Craters of the Moon, Idaho Falls, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, and the Chicago Museum of Science of Industry.

Edgar is working as a part-time bereavement chaplain with a private hospice organization in Sacramento. Janet volunteers two days a week at a local school tutoring first graders. (E-mail: epeck@2xtreme.net)

Back to another segment of the adventures of Cal Wood (Physics, 1993) and Dixie Wood (Engineering, 1993) entitled "Here, There, But Not Quite Everywhere." They have traveled: to Alaska, where they traveled by boat, seaplane, bush plane and van, and flew near the snow-capped top of massive Mt. Denali; to Canada, where they were in continuous awe of the beautiful scenery; to St. Petersburg, Russia, where they visited the renowned Hermitage Art Museum; and to the Scandinavian countries, where they visited Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Oslo; to China where they climbed the Great Wall, visited the Forbidden City, and puzzled over the terra cotta soldiers, designed to protect the Emperor 4,000 years ago; Hong Kong, Thailand, Viet Nam, South Korea, and Singapore, experiencing the varieties of food and culture and friendly people of Asia..

They have traveled many times to Japan, where they participated as official delegates to Livermore’s sister city, Yotsukaido. They have enjoyed this relationship for 25 years and have made great friends there. They invite the public to participate in this program by hosting some of the Japanese guests when they travel here every other year, and by enjoying a home stay there when the delegation visits Yotsukaido. It’s a broadening and fulfilling experience to visit the gracious Japanese in their homes.

The Retirees Analytical Chemistry Group, also known as the ACS (Aging Chemists’ Society), will have a no-host Chinese luncheon on Friday, February 20 at 11:30 a.m. at the Willow Tree Restaurant, 6513 Regional Street, Dublin, CA. Cost is $11, which includes the buffet, tea, tax and tip. To make reservations, send an email to Robert Lim at annalim@juno.com.

The LLNL Retirees Travel Slide Group meets on the fourth Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in the Livermore Library meeting room. The February 24^th show is entitled "Colonial Mexico: Not the Traditional Tourist Sites" by Dave and Barbara Edwards.

The next Retiree luncheon will be Wednesday, February 18^th at Cattlemen’s restaurant. The speaker will be Buddy Nelson giving an overview of space science discoveries over the last two years, with focus on the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the recent Mars landings. Click here to make your reservation.

Please send any news or input to Jane or Gus Olson. You may send them an email at Gus@LLNLretirees.org or Jane@LLNLretirees.org .

This article appears in the February 6, 2004, issue of Newsline.