As alluded in the previous account from Frank (NIF and ME, 2003) and Sigrid Rainer, they spent 10 weeks traveling primarily in Spain and Portugal from March through May of this year. At the front and back of their trip they spent a total of five weeks driving on their own through these fascinating countries with brief hops into Andorra and France. This marked a milestone for them now having visited every country in Europe. In between they did some Atlantic travel with two weeks on a cruise on their favorite little ship, the 100-passenger Le Levant. It is the sister ship of Le Ponant, the sailing ship that had been hijacked by pirates last fall off the coast of Somalia. They will travel on her next year to the Seychelles, pirates willing. Their Atlantic voyage covered the diverse islands of the Azores, Madeira and the Canaries - still part of either Portugal or Spain. They made stops in Morocco and ultimately wound up at Gibraltar and back on the Spanish mainland. From there they traveled by bus, train and many ferries to more Spanish venues - the Balearic Islands and the unique Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla that are actually on the coast of Morocco. The latter two are the first and last remaining European colonies in Africa. They almost got stuck in Melilla when surface transport in Morocco proved to be very awkward. One of their favorite cities was Barcelona where they couldn't get enough of the remarkable architecture of Gaudi. Frank has presented and will continue to present at other venues later this year a slide show of our 2007 travels: "From Pole to Pole and Seven Continents in Between".

Ray Dovik (Electronics Engineering, 1986) checked in to say that not much is going on right now but he is playing quite a bit of golf. He and his wife will be going to Hawaii in October for two weeks to enjoy the sun and a lot of golf. He missed our annual picnic because his granddaughter gave birth to their first great grandchild. It was a boy and all are doing fine.

Tom Barlow checked in also to say that they will keep us posted as he and Sandy continue to make the route to New York and Washington, with potential for some international trips later this year and early next spring on behalf of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). They've been quite busy with ASME since June, when Tom became president, but late summer is usually a slow time.

The October Retiree luncheon will be held on October 15th at the Elk's Lodge, 940 Larkspur Dr., Livermore. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and lunch is served at 12:00 noon. RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2008. The speaker will be Marcy Feit, President and Chief Executive Officer of the ValleyCare Health System and the title of her talk is: "Advances in Health Care for the Tri-Valley and Beyond." She will discuss the costs of health care today at a national level and locally, including emergency room usage. She is a member of the Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee on Stem Cell Research in California. Her talk will include work in progress at the California Stem Cell Institute.

The Elk's Lodge is located just north of Interstate 580 at the First St/Springtown Blvd. exit. Take the First Street overpass to Springtown, right at the light, left onto Larkspur, and left into parking lot (across from the Springtown Golf Club).

Buffet menu:

• Mixed Green Salad with Italian Vinaigrette, Tomatoes, Carrots, Onions
• Shrimp Penne with a Garlic Chardonnay Sauce
• Rosemary Chicken
• Vegetables
• Garlic Bread
• Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bites
• Water, Coffee, and Iced Tea

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.