No, not the end of the world according to some misguided interpretation of the Mayan calendar, but the end of another year as 2012 draws to a close. We leave the house on Christmas eve to have dinner in Palo Alto with Tim's daughters and their families. Christmas day we fly to Boca Grande for a week with Tim's parents. And then, New Year's day, we are in the air again bound for a London layover and lunch with Gareth at a nearby Heathrow pub before the flight to Cape Town and another six months in the southern hemisphere.
Travels described in my last blog went well. I meandered about graveyards and searched through deeds registries in Yorkshire, adding all my exciting findings to my bulging family folders.
Also managed some wonderful family time too. First with Gareth, Naz & inquisitive Cameron.
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In London for a few days filled with
walks in the park, London Zoo, chilling at their home in Earlsfield.
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And then my niece Polly's wedding at a game lodge north of Johannesburg.
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| Polly McCabe & Chris Kriel making vows at Blaauwpoort chapel near Johannesburg |
Home for October and it sure felt good to have some down time, enjoying friends, hiking our gorgeous trails, and being spoilt with the best music/musicians at the Station House Cafe. But not for long. Nov 2nd saw us at SFO again, this time headed for Boca Grande, Florida to be with Tim's parents for two celebrations. His dad turned 95th on Nov 6th, and late that night we cheered the result of the election of Obama to a second term. The second family celebration on the Florida agenda was Tim's parents 70th wedding anniversary - what a milestone!
After Boca Grande we followed Tim's sister, Cinder, home to spend a few days in Charlottesville, Virginia. I was able to pore through Cinder's archive of family memorabilia and enjoy her photos, putting faces to the many names I'd added to the Stanton family tree. We also enjoyed Cinder's retirement party at Monticello, listening to accolades from her colleagues for all the good work she's done over the years she's worked there.
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| The flash on my little camera was a little wimpy, but here's Cinder responding to some lovely remarks about her contribution to Jefferson's Monticello |
From Charlottesville Tim went to do some prep work in Cape Town while I came home for a week and then flew to London for a wintery day of shopping with GN&C. Early next morning Gareth took me to St Pancras to catch the Eurostar to France and then meet Tim on the train at Charles de Gaul airport en route to Marseille for another Stanford meeting. This time the students from the European centres put together talks on immigration issues in their respective countries of study abroad.
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| The view from our hotel - the new museum on the left, the old fort and the beautiful cathedral in the distance |
From Marseille we rented a car and drove to Vaison-la-Romaine to spend 5 days in Provence in wet and windy weather. Still we had fun dodging the rain, trying out different restaurants, taking day drives to some of the marvelous sights.
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| Tim in the rain on the Pont du Gard |
Back home on Dec 1st for three weeks, being with friends, feeling rooted before taking off again. Life is definitely not dull!
Well, the year was not all travel. After three years of collecting, photographing, sorting, writing and editing I managed to finish a little Blurb book about my maternal grandparents
Irene Kendrick & Thomas Smith. Next project is to finish writing up all the research about my great grandfather, John Garlick. I've enjoyed the field trips to England and Ontario these past few years, stepping back on the footprints of my ancestors. Now for the hard work.
Wishes for the season's best and a peaceful 2013.
