Last year Steve Mick (NAI, 2000) and his wife, Alicia Watson, finally went on their dream vacation to Europe. Their 17-day River Boat cruise started in Cologne. From there, they cruised through the Rhine Gorge with its many spectacular ridge top castles. They then entered the Main River that later connected to the Main-Danube Canal. Each new day brought a different port of call. They did castle-hopping, walked the cobblestone streets in many towns, and visited several wineries.

The cruise was billed as a Wine & Cuisine extravaganza.  Steve and Alicia report that the wine tasting opportunities were extensive and the cuisine was outstanding. One of the high points was a walking tour of Nuremberg with beer-tasting at a local brewery. The trip ended with a 3-day stopover in Vienna where they found the Naschmarket, a blocks-long combination flea market and food court.

Glenn (Plant Engineering, 1990) and Adele (Plant Engineering, 1990) Pence back on the road again after three years dealing with medical problems, and headed for Tucson for the month February. In November, in the RV again, they went to Missouri to have Thanksgiving with their oldest daughter and her family.  When they left there they had their 3 show fix in Branson and headed home.  Both trips were good and interesting things happened along the way... like a train fire outside of White Sands, NM and a truck day like they had never seen before between Albuquerque and Flagstaff. There must have been thousands of trucks going in each direction.  Doing about 62 to 65, they got passed about 100 times (and that is conservative estimate).

They are continuing to bounce back and forth between Grass Valley and South Lake Tahoe. They think they have the best of both worlds (aside from being rattled by the Angora Fire last year, which came close to their place but the super Fire crew kept it at bay).

The LLNL Retirees annual summer picnic will be held on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at the Ravenswood Historical Site, 2647 Arroyo Road, Livermore, from 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM. Tickets cost $10 per person.

The price includes a buffet lunch with Fresh Fruit, Garden Raspberry Balsamic Pasta Salad, Mixed Green Salad with Tangy Apple Vinaigrette and Mandarin Oranges, Potato Salad, Hoagie Sandwiches with Turkey, Roast Beef and/or Ham, Brownie bites and Cinnamon Crumble Cake. Drinks included are Wine, Beer, Soft Drinks, Iced Tea, lemonade and Water.

Reservations are taken on a first come, first served basis. You must pay in advance, and we must have received your check by Friday, June 13. To sign up, go to the LLNL Retirees’ web page @ www.llnlrtirees.org print out the form for the picnic and complete the form, or print the names attending and telephone on a sheet of paper, enclose your check ($10 per person) and mail to LLNL Retirees, P.O. Box 2202, Livermore CA 94551. Tickets will be held at the door.

The next LLNL Retirees Travel Group meets on Tuesday, June 24, at 2:00 p.m. in the Community Room at the Livermore Library, right next door to the Police Station. The June program is entitled: North Pole, South Pole, and 7 Continents In Between, by Frank Rainer.

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.