Christmas 2001

Christmas in Southern California

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Picture 1:  Christmas in Southern California doesn't involve snow --  we're in the whirlpool at David's parent's home, one day after flying back from Bosnia.  Picture 2:  we presented SFOR (Stabilization Force) sweatshirts from Bosnia for X-mas -- Dave's sister Kim remarked that they looked like you had to choose between San Francisco or Oregon (SF/OR).  

Pictures 3-4:  Dave's brother Rey challenging the masculinity of Gabriel, the family dog.  Picture 5-7:  Kim is a dog enthusiast -- she brought her gang of German shepherds to meet Gabriel, and Picture #5 is as good as it gets if you really like dogs.  Picture 8:  Gabriel was emotionally exhausted when Kim and the German shepherds left.

Oceanside, California

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We bought a house in Oceanside -- these pictures may explain why.  Picture 9 and 10 are of the Oceanside pier, a few minutes' walk from the new place; Picture 11 is of ourselves enjoying massive burgers (the little American flag is a post-September 11 embellishment); and Picture 12 is a view from the parking lot of our real estate agent, watching the sun go down over the ocean.

Las Vegas

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One of those classic drives is the one through the desert from Southern California to Vegas.  Picture 13:  just about to leave in Dave's Honda (a huge upgrade from the Skoda in Bosnia).   Picture 14:  a road sign informing us we've got a few hours to go.  Picture 15: at a rest stop.  Picture 16:  sunset through the rear view mirror.

We visited Julie's brother Andrew, who is a citizen of Vegas and our guide. Pictures 17-20:  some of the nighttime sights in Vegas, including the fountains in front of the Bellagio hotel (which dance to whatever music happens to be playing -- when we saw it, Sinatra was singing "Luck be a Lady").  Picture 21:  Julie and Andy in front of Bally's on the Strip.  Picture 22:  incredibly dorky picture of Dave and Andy, in the Red Rock Canyon park west of the city.  Picture 23:  saying goodbye to Andy.  Picture 24:  back to California.

New England

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Julie's grandparents in Connecticut.

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We had originally planned to look for a house in New England, but bought one in California instead.  Having already bought the plane tickets, we found ourselves stuck with nothing to do in New England in January, so we did some driving around.  Picture 26:  our means of transport -- Dave's brother's S2000 (another huge upgrade on the Skoda in Bosnia).  Picture 27:  the beach on Cape Cod. 

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Picture 28-30:  Julie discovers that,  yes, the ocean is pretty cold on Cape Cod in January.

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Pictures 31-33:  sampling a beer in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  Picture 34:  Julie looking medieval.

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Pictures 35-37:  Fisherman's memorial in Gloucester.

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