In September, Astra Gabriel (Energy, 2002) Richard Sites (Mechanical Engineering, 1998) and Mary Sites (Lasers, 2000) flew to Vancouver a day before their Alaska cruise. Vancouver reminded them of San Francisco. They took a city tour of Vancouver before boarding the ship bound for the Inland Passage of Alaska on the Serenade of the Seas. The ship was only a year old and this was the 61st voyage. Ports of call were Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. With their group was also LLNL employee Bill Fankhauser and friend Nancy. To show how small the world has become, on the streets of Skagway, Astra was surprised to run into Laura Sewall from Finance, who happened to be there cruising on another cruise line.

They cruised thru Tracy Arm and saw Sawyer Glacier. Due to high winds and rough water, they were not able to cruise Hubbard Glacier. That was a disappointment for them. This was the last Alaska cruise of the season before their ship headed to Hawaii, so it was shopping heaven with vendors reducing prices substantially to avoid tax to fly their goods back. The weather, unfortunately, was inclement the whole trip, and some excursions in Juneau had to be cancelled. At one point there were 100 mph winds and waves crashing over the porthole windows of their cabin. But that did not keep them from wandering the streets of these historic towns and even doing a little hiking in the rain. There were so many activities on board and such a variety, that they certainly did not have time to get bored. It was Astra's first (very informative, interesting, and costly) exposure to art auctions and art collecting.

Looking back on the trip now, they think it was just great - perhaps because none of them got seasick. On disembarking, they headed to Grouse Mt. in Vancouver BC for a day of hiking. They took the aerial tram 1800 ft. to the summit and enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day hiking on what was an abandoned ski slope. They saw two Grizzly bears and one black bear. As they boarded the plane back to the Bay Area, they left with many good memories of a really fun trip and a great adventure.

Evelyn Heald (Mechanical Engineering and Physics, 1993) spent three weeks in Europe in September. She joined friends in Stirling, Scotland the first week and then flew to the Veneto Region of Italy for the next two weeks. Evelyn’s son Vince joined her for the third week. They visited Venice, Padova, Bassano del Grappa, Asolo, Verona and Lago de Garda . They additionally spent time in Evelyn’s father’s hometown of Cavaso del Tomba visiting friends and relatives. The highlight of their trip there was visiting the home site of Evelyn’s father now deemed an historical site. This was her son’s first visit there and a very memorable one. Evelyn found that many of the people she had contact with there spoke little or no English and was delighted when they told her how well she spoke the Italian language. Interestingly enough it was also easy to slip into the dialect of the region, which was Evelyn’s first language as a child. In the not too distant future, they are planning on visiting the Piedmont region of Italy where Evelyn’s mother’s family originated.

Since there is no Dinner/Dance event in January, there will be a regular Retiree Luncheon at the Elks Lodge in Livermore at noon on Wednesday, January 19th. The speaker will be Art Krakowsky and his topic is TOPS (Teaching Opportunities for Partners in Science). Art gave this talk at an IEEE Conference in Texas and it was well received.

The Travel Group will be on Tuesday, February 22nd at 2:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the Livermore Police building, 1110 South Livermore Avenue. The topic is "The Rockies, Arches and Other Sites of Colorado, Nevada and Utah" by Bob and Juanaita Berlo.

As a friend and occasional volunteer of the Archives Department of the Hoover Institute, Henri Fankhauser (widow of Chuck Fankhauser) was asked to join a group going to Warsaw for a presentation called "The History of a Friendship" - about Herbert Hoover's lifelong interest and assistance to Poland. The exhibition items include photographs, documents and artifacts on his commitments to the survival of Poland following the two World wars, starting with his direction of the American Relief Administration which saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Polish children. He ensured that the food shipments reached throughout the country - as well as major fund-raising, and personal contributions. He also became a friend and political adviser to Ignacio Paderewski. His work is well remembered throughout Poland.

There were about 15 people in the group, staying at the Hotel Bristol - like a great many other buildings, it was extensively rebuilt after the war - in easy walking distance from the Old Town and the Royal Castle and numerous restaurants. On Wednesday their group was able to preview the exhibition at leisure - the formal opening on Friday was very crowded -and among other things they visited the Jewish Historical Institute, a small castle with a vast collection of paintings, the Changing of the Guard, and a wreath lying at the Hoover Square. A Monument of Gratitude to America was destroyed during the war, but is due to be replaced. One evening they went to the Chopin Museum, rebuilt as nearly as possible from sketches during Chopin's occupancy, followed by a concert of Paderewski compositions. To her the most moving visit was to the Warsaw Uprising Monument and Museum - she had never realized the extent of the Polish peoples' struggles after being attacked first by the Nazis then the Russians, and some whole cities destroyed, until at last they became a free nation.

There was not much time for shopping - the Old Town Square had also been rebuilt, duplicating the former buildings. The only rain was during the drives from, and to the airport, and some overnight. They were able to reach many of the places with a five-minute walk, just right for the prevailing temperature - buses available for the more distant places. It was a most worthwhile trip (even at the price of missing a National Review cruise) and besides being enjoyable and educational, she has even more appreciation for the peace and prosperity that we Americans have always enjoyed.

Janice Moura (Computations 1997) and her partner Kelly Tague spent 25 days this summer on a cruise aboard the 120 passenger Clipper Adventurer. The expedition departed from Dublin, Ireland, explored Northern Ireland, the Scottish Isles, Iceland, and Greenland. As a special treat the captain made a stop at Grimsey Island, after a short walk the group crossed the Arctic Circle. Intrepid golfers the girls had a golf ball and tee; the expedition team crafted a golf club so they could drive a golf ball across the Arctic Circle (66° 33’)! Birds, whales, seals, sea caves, Celtic, Norse and Danish ruins, standing stones, trekking on the 2nd and 3rd largest ice caps, Zodiac adventures, remote fishing villages, golfing at Stornoway and Kirkwall in Scotland as well as Hofn (in a driving rain) and Heimay in Iceland; carving a pathway through the icebergs at the entrance of Prince Christian Sound, Greenland. Great Fun! Great People! Great Food!

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 January Retirees' Corner in Newsline.