| RETIREES CORNER
October 2004 |
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Gus Carlson (Mechanical Engineering, 2000) and wife Charlene spent five weeks in touring Scandinavia and Ireland, with Char's sister and brother-in-law. The highlight for Gus was two weeks in Sweden meeting relatives. Gus' father immigrated to the US with two sisters in 1922 at the age of 19, and two brothers followed in 1924. That left behind five other siblings and quite a few cousins, who by now have produced children and grandchildren. Gus met his uncle Arvid (the last of the siblings), five first cousins, and 24 other relatives, living in 8 different cities/towns across Sweden. He also visited several ancestral homes, including the farm where his father lived and the village churchyard where his grandparents and great grandparents are buried. The church interior looks exactly the same as it does in a 1917 photograph of Gus' father's confirmation class!!
In addition to Sweden, the Scandinavian part of the trip included four days in Copenhagen, a two-night cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki and back, and four days in Norway. The Norway highlight was the "Norway in a Nutshell" trip from Oslo to Bergen via three trains, a bus, and a ferry. The ferry cruises two fjords from Flam to Gudvangen. The whole trip is 10 hours of spectacular scenery. The last two weeks were spent touring west, south, and east Ireland by car. Here also, the scenery is beautiful. B&B's are a very big business in Ireland, and Gus and Char were pleased with the ones they chose in Clifden, Dingle, Kinsale, and Kilkenny. One driving tip for Ireland: Consider paying for full collision coverage on your rental car. With left-hand driving, extremely narrow roads, and overhanging bramble hedges, you are practically guaranteed to scratch the left side of the car. Gus didn't buy the insurance, but was able to pass the rental agency inspection by polishing the side of the car before turning it in. Jan and Harold Pfeifer (Environmental Protection, 1993) recently returned from a vacation in New Orleans, LA. They stayed in the French Quarter, and had dinner at Arnau's, Court of Two Sisters, and Nola's restaurants. Nola's is one of three New Orleans restaurants owned by Emeril of TV fame. Each dinner was outstanding. And, for additional treats, they had beignets and beverages at Café Dumonde in the Quarter. They enjoyed visits in New Orleans and the surrounding areas which included the Easter Parade through the Quarter, Art Museum, WWII D-Day Museum (most impressive), New Orleans River Walk, and a drive to a New Iberia, LA, home of Tabasco. They toured the plant which included the origins of the McIlhenny Company Pepper Sauce and the bottling plant. On the return, they visited an Acadian (French) community, where Evangeline lived. A very interesting, informative and a most enjoyable vacation. There is no luncheon this month because of the Dinner/Dance on Saturday, October 23rd at the Elks Lodge in Livermore. Please send any news or input (please include the date and department from which you retired) to Jane or Gus Olson. E-Mail: Jane@LLNLRetirees.org or Gus@LLNLRetirees.org. This article appears in the October Retirees' Corner in Newsline. |