It's all about family

Though the occasion for this gathering was a sad one -- the passing of Thelma Allen -- we're sure she was smiling down on us as we gathered as her family and extended family to reminisce and celebrate her long life. Thelma's funeral was held in New Albany, Indiana with burial in the family plot in Jeffersonville, IN. After the services the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren convened at son, Bill's home for a relaxing day of socializing with family members we sadly don't get to see very often. The weather couldn't have been more perfect with low humidity and mild temperatures under clear blue skies. Unfortunately we were having too much fun to get photos of everyone, so these and our memories will have to suffice for now. Present for most of the day were Bill & Dawn Allen; Dallas Kidd; Bart, Melissa, Max, Macy & Ben Jacobs; Missy Jacobs; Lee, Jennifer & Will Allen; Neal, Bethany, Cheyenne & Brooklyn Allen; Cayce & Gregory Horgan; Marsue Johns; Phillip Allen; Christine & Dave Tomlin; Delilah Allen; Judi & Steadman Matthews; Carolyn, Jim & James Youngs; Monica & Chris Benger. A good time was certainly had by all. The following day, thanks to Melissa scoring us some tickets, we visited Churchill Downs for some horse racing and a visit to the cool museum. Then it was farewell and plane trips to homes scattered all across the country, from New York to California. 

Unfortunately Austin Allen suffered a fall at home just before this event and was hospitalized for a serious neck injury. His immediate family and many of the rest of us visited him there to give him support and recount the activities.

Really multi-dimensional

I guess this photo proves that my interests lie in things other than cars. The back story is that I'm a certified sushi chef, having graduated from the California Sushi Academy in Santa Monica, California some years ago. Okay, so it was only a one-day class that Carolyn gave me as a gift for some long-forgotten birthday, father's day or something. I learned just enough to get me in trouble and cause me to wear this head band and kimono and try to speak in pidgeon-Japanese. Hai, dozo! Actually, it's kinda fun and we get together with friends and family from time to time for "sushi night" at our house. Of course preparing sushi is very labor intensive so I usually enlist the help of sister-in-law, Cheryl, friends of my son James' , Chris and Jeremy, and others to slice and dice along with me. The key (and it's a secret) is that Chris is a sales rep for Seattle Fish Company and gets us great deals on very fresh seafood, typically with enough left over for some seared Ahi tuna steaks the following night. We have also recently discovered an awesome Asian market in Aurora, CO, where we blitz through to collect the rest of the condiments and the best produce at the best prices in town. 

Anniversary coming up

Next week will mark the 37th anniversary for Carolyn and me. We love to travel together and have just about run out of gifts to give each other on such occasions. This year we decided to pull out all the stops and give each other a trip of a lifetime. (Actually, we went on a cruise to the Panama Canal in February of this year, so the trip next week may be considered "another" trip of a lifetime.) We're very blessed to be able to do these things. We leave on Thursday August 14 heading for Tacoma, Washington where two days later we board the GrandLuxe Railroad, trains built in the 1930s and recently refurbished. The train will take us to 4 national parks -- Mt. Rainier, Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton -- in total luxury. We then spend two days at Jackson Lake Lodge in the shadow of the Grand Tetons and then drive home in a rental car from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It's really a different kind of vacation for us and we're really excited. We'll give you some updates here as we can. Wish we were leaving tomorrow! We normally head for Mexico at this time of year (usually a hastily-planned vacation fitted in between magazine deadlines) and you can imagine the heat/humidity. We reasoned that heading north would probably be cooler and that, along with a Travel Channel show on the GrandLuxe, helped us decide on the train trip through the Northwest.