Sabino Canyon (Tucson)

PJ and I had a shorter-than-expected stay in Tucson at the new Marriott Hotel (15-16 February).  Much enjoyed meals at Penca; also enjoyed our usual Tubac wanderings (including quite a fine lunch at Elvira's).

Also had a chance to explore Sabino Canyon a bit - clearly it deserves more of our attention.  But a challenge on this trip:  lots of rain limited our range.  Here's my little friend undeterred by a rather damp bridge:

via GIPHY

Farther into the canyon it looked like this:

via GIPHY

Penca was pretty wonderful.

Virginia visit

PJ and I traveled to Virginia for a January week, and had our typical ridiculously fine time.

via GIPHY

Some highlights:

Picking up Mae, and related adventures - this was a fine trip-within-a-trip - our DC flight landed early evening on Friday 12 January; K&L picked us up at the airport; we head directly to Richmond for a sleepover as part of a dog-nabbing expedition. K drives us through pretty much steady-driving rain (though temps are rather warm).  Richmond may look a bit the worse for wear, but we definitely can see that it would be a worthwhile place for a longer visit.  We check in - "The Graduate Hotel" - nice, definitely not a chain.  K&L had reserved a table at a delightful little restaurant that was still serving dinner as we near 11p ("Saison") - fits the bill perfectly  - among other treats, we are a fan of beers from a local brewery named "The Veil," and we (wisely, as it turns out) make a note of the place.  After:  nobody wanted a pillow fight so we just went to bed.

Perly's breakfast - yes.

Breakfast on Saturday (13 January) is at Perly's - downtown delicatessen recommended by Tom/Kellen - it was wonderful.  And the portions were immense, which turned out to be a good thing since we didn't really eat again for say 12 hours. Then we hit the road for the breeder's place in Spring Hope, North Carolina.

Puppy selection successfully completed.

PJ and I were included in the puppy-pickup by pure coincidence, but it sure was fun.  Have never driven through these parts, except perhaps as part of long-forgotten Glee Club touring.  So that was neat.  Have never seen a puppy breeding place - much larger than we expected (and than the website probably led one to expect) - but seems like they have things pretty well in hand.  Be that as it may - the important thing was to FIND THE RIGHT PUPPY.  There were two from which to choose - helpfully marked with a dab of blue and pink paint, respectively - Blue had some charms and started strong in the interview process; but soon was outstripped by Pinkie, who featured a floppy right ear and a rather delightful little personality. In the end, the choice was pretty easy - Pinkie was sent off to the clean-up zone, Blue was relegated to the next-in-line dog-chooser (a kindly lady with whom K&L exchanged digits so that the sisters could remain in touch), K&L did some adoption business, and "Mae Westie" (fka Pinkie) was officially theirs!

Quick clean-up of Pinkie; shortly followed by formal introduction of Mae Westie.

OK now we have a long drive home.  Stopped at Starbucks for caffeine, and for MW to do some business.  We received a free slushy/smoothy type drink that looked promising but was immediately dumped on the floor of the car between the seats (sad sad). MW handled the car ride well, as did each of the adults. To keep up our strength we pull off in Richmond and visit The Veil. Things are different with new-pup in tow, and PJ volunteered to wait in the car with MW; they seemed to get along famously.  K&L and me are pretty happy with what The Veil is doing.

Road warriors.

Then we finish the road trip, order in some food, try to figure out MW's sleep arrangements, play a bunch of Five Crowns, and pretty much enjoy recapping a really-really fun trip-within-a-trip.

Seeing area friends - PJ and I always enjoy seeing K&L's fine DC-area friends - on this visit, this happened primarily on Sunday evening.  The usual suspects showed up in force and ready for fun; all met and played with MW; lots of chatter; interesting beers; we ordered in pizza; semi-monitored NFL playoff games (featuring Mike/Ally/Palmer departing moments before a miracle Vikings finish); followed by Five Crowns (me benefiting from Kellen's inadvertent largess); and that was pretty much it for a fine evening.

With Mike, Ally, Palmer

Late-night Five Crowns with this crew.

Pedro and Maga happened to be in town when we were.  And we took advantage by fitting in two get-togethers.  Item 1:  the six of us gathered for dinner at Le Diplomate on Monday evening - great food (in the same booth where we dined back in October); great company.  Item 2:  we (with MW in tow) drove out to the Rossello homestead for dinner on Wednesday evening.  Manny & Kristen happened to be in town.  As you might imagine, this grouping made for a fine/fun evening.  Maga's cooking was pretty wonderful.  Somehow we failed to take photos (or I failed to collect them).  What would have been even more valuable:  video, even audio, of Luis's persistent sniper-ish commentary at the dinner table - not sure I've heard him funnier, which is saying something.  We suspect Manny's influence was partly to blame (or credit)?

Lots of this kind of action by
our intrepid new owners.

Doggie management.  Getting everything lined up with the new pup was a major activity of the week (I contributed little value).  Constant "walk the dog" trips to the backyard by K&L; as temperatures plummeted, this was impressively responsible behavior. (OK we also had to clean up messes occasionally, though they were rather small messes.)  Trips to the vet (where MW was appropirately fawned over, I'm told) and the trainer; visits from the dog walkers; testing food, toys, sleep patterns and location (downstairs?  nope, MBR), etc. They definitely found a nice/cute pooch.

Hanging out at the house. We did this a lot, due to MW and the weather - and we enjoyed it a lot.  K&L house is cozy; our downstairs quarters are ideal; I had a fair amount of work left over from recent transactions, and it was pleasant to sit in that well-lit kitchen area and kind of work but also keep an eye on everything.  Many Five Crowns games.  Consistently good food & beers.  Unfailingly pleasant.

Westover is a fine neighborhood place.

Puppy scenes.  I'd never been around a pooch this teensie.

Neighborhood stuff.  Notwithstanding prior paragraph, we did get to most of the local favorites - Peruvian chicken; Lyon Hall lunch with K; Westover for fine beers and those glorious pulled pork nachos; etc.

My assistant.

Office visit.  We also stopped by K's office on Thursday - it was nice to see with our own eyes the high regard in which she is held, and how warmly folks interact with her.  Difficult line - to be professionally successful/respected yet likable on a personal level - not surprisingly, she seems to be finding it.  We are proud.

The week absolutely flew by.  It was kind of sad to say goodbye after being together pretty regularly the past few months, and with a few months ahead prior to the next flurry of visits.  But it's a lucky thing to feel that way.

Until next time (airport drop) . . . 

EMG turns 89

For whatever reason I haven't greeted my dad with an online "happy birthday" here since he turned 8-5 in 2014 . . . well, he's turning 8-9 this year - so I think it's time for a fresh birthday greeting.

We're delighted that he continues going strong . . . I'd say that the EMG "year 8-8" highlight for we here in Arizona was that he traveled out here for both of the 2017 weddings.  Pretty much the only representative of that generation, and it's just important, and a blessing, to have him in attendance.

And there are photos to prove it (a few included here). 

It's a lucky thing to have a great father.  Happy Birthday, Dad!

I much like this photo of EMG alongside  Chris & Dharma - EMG wearing
the suit and tie in which he was married on 19 February 1952.  The photographer 
(Patrick) holds the 1952 wedding portrait in the foreground.  
And yes we missed having mom here.

Grandparent - and godfather - for Kerry; with godmother Carol.

The next-gen folks enjoyed hanging out with EMG at both weddings; this is taken just before
he headed to the airport (complete with Floppy-wave send-off) following C&D wedding in November.

At both weddings, EMG led those present in saying grace before dinner (at the wedding reception for Kerry & Luis; at the rehearsal dinner for Dharma & Chris).  As I understand it, the current formulation goes back around 100 years and trust me - when I hear it, I'm hearing those in the room plus voices of Ernest J and Veronica; Mike & Minnie; my mom; etc.  Audio-challenged in the version below, but I'm grateful Patrick caught it.

year-end 2017

random T'giving day scenes

2017 Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's cycle was a fun follow-on to the year's full calendar.

ASU tailgating (T'giving weekend)

With all the travels earlier in the year, there were less days during the holidays when we all were together in Arizona.  A plus:  Sreedhar and Janu were still in Arizona to help us observe Thanksgiving.

Sreedhar took the lead in preparing a pretty amazing meal - bittersweet to be using
recipes from his wife - PJ assists with dessert - this was a wonderful evening (2 December 2017)

PJ's handiwork looks as good as ever

Ernest Gales holding Roman Gales - nice!  Christmas Day.  Creche in background.

Closing out a wonderful 2017 and/or welcoming 2018.

movie outing

On Saturday we attended the current Star Wars installment - The Last Jedi.  We've been getting to the annual release of the new installments for the last few years.  Perhaps the releases are getting a bit repetitious but it's a fun crew, and a fun outing.

And guess what I enjoyed the movie, and not just due to low expectations.  Sure there were plenty points along the way where the viewer cringes a bit with a "they're not really going to do that again are they" reaction.  But I realize that the throwbacks and repetitions are a significant part of the show, and the overall action is just fine.

And look at the pic - where else do you get this kind of thing?

Liked it.  Also the postmortem at Sorso.  Fun afternoon/evening.

Romie's here!

a big change for this little family

What really is there to say when the very-first representative of a new generation arrives?

Roman Christopher Gales was born on 7 December 2017.  Congratulations and thanks to PJr and Nedda.

ahh 

As I sat holding Roman for the first time, somehow the feeling of generational continuity (don't know how to describe it exactly) was running pretty strong - here I am literally sitting right in the mid-point of a chain linking the only five generations of my/our family that I'll ever know - in a hospital room with my son present, and holding his son, and thinking about my father, and his father before him - thinking of (and beyond grateful for) the women who made all this happen (two of them present in the room with us) - I've known each of them so well and they've each been so central in my little world! - anyway it yields some quiet-deep mixture of gratitude and peacefulness and perhaps feeling just a bit of new/indirect responsibility as the tiny (well, not that tiny, actually) fellow sleeps in that peaceful newborn-way.  I had the very good fortune to live close by both of my grandfathers and see them regularly - I thought about both of my grandfathers while sitting with Romie - they, and EMG, set a daunting standard for being a grandfather. Maybe something like "mostly stay out of the way while being present"?  Lots to learn in this new role, we'll see how it goes.  I don't think that generational continuity-feeling will disappear anytime soon.

PJ seems to know how to handle these little folk!

And of course it's quite marvelous watching my little wife handle RCG and sing him the same little songs that I heard so often with our five in the 1980s.

We're happy that Romie's here.  We can't wait to watch him grow up.

the kid passes inspection

good timing:  Romie showed up just before Sreedhar had to head back to India

three winners; KVG and Beth correctly betting on Palmer's bday

C&D get married (3 of 3)

[This post covers Chris & Dharma Hindu wedding day plus Monday; two prior posts (via this link and also via this link) cover the days prior.]

Showing a goodly portion of the crowd . . . 

Sunday 19 November - breakfast with PJ at the golf clubhouse on a gorgeous morning; then it's time to get organized to check out of the hotel and head over to Tempe for the temple ceremony.  We didn't really know how many of the guests would travel to Tempe for a second wedding ceremony after what already had been a full/busy weekend - and the temple staff started by setting up a fairly limited number of chairs - but then more, and more, and more, guests kept arriving, and more and more chairs were put in place - we ended up with just a great turnout, this made us happy - I'll say again:  what a guest-grouping for this wedding!

ceremony #1

crowd #2

ceremony #2

The temple ceremony itself is difficult for me to describe - it of course is lovely, and exudes a sense of solemnity; deeply developed, longstanding traditions - it lasted quite a while, but seemed to just fly by.  I've included a photo of the document that explained the various parts of the ceremony for we visitors, and one of the temple persons did a good job of verbally explaining things section-by-section.  Chris - and, especially - Dharma - wore traditional outfits that were rather amazing.  Patricia and I joined Sreedhar, Chris and Dharma on what I'll call the "stage" for a portion of the ceremony - it was an honor to be part of, just plain fascinating to see; the process inspires respect and reverence.

ceremony #3

Folks found this quite helpful.

A few traditional Indian touches surrounding the ceremony enhanced things - including little things like Chris being required to pay to retrieve his shoes (from the shelves where we all placed our shoes prior to entering the temple).

Happy parents.

After the ceremony (and some photos): a South Indian style meal is served at the hall adjoining the temple - the food preparers did a great job with this also, everyone seemed to much enjoy.  In some ways this reminded me of taking a meal in the gym at St. Joe school after Sunday Mass - a similar feel.

Most - but certainly not all - of groom's family visitors.

Saris worked!

scenes . . . 

Next - we move onto Chris & Dharma's house - a few more Indian traditions are observed, including rice at the front door, and Chris being required to pay Janu prior to entry - nice!

these ceremonies were just great

We sit and discuss the day's and entire weekend's events; we fill out a calendar betting on Romie's arrival date; we talk and talk some more; folks move in and out.  Photos.

Romie-lottery; guests; badminton (dominant team) . . .

Eventually it's time for EMG's flight home - one further traditional Indian gesture, Janu has a way of so-quickly/gracefully lowering herself and touching EMG's foot and then - equally gracefully - rising and bringing her hand back up in a single motion - we could learn something from the sincere respect they show to elders - this moment really touched me and I think plenty of others (not just EMG).

Farewells to "Grandpa Gales" . . . here a lovely scene with Sreedhar, Dharma, Janu . . .

"Grandpa Gales" with folks from two generations younger.  Showing them, us, how it's done.

As the afternoon proceeds, quite a few folks are heading to the airport - we're sorry that the main events of the weekend are over, but v. happy about how well everything went.  We stay at C&D's place well into the evening.

the "Floppy" wave, circa 1970s, is resurrected . . .

Monday 20 November - most of the remaining guests are departing, but we are able to gather with a nice group (see photo below) at Phoenix Public Market for lunch before they leave.  Carol, Jim, and I do a bit of hiking toward sunset; PJ puts together a fine supper at 11419.

Perfect day, perfect setting, farewell lunch (Phoenix Public Market patio)

And that was pretty much it.  Just an amazing, unbeatable wedding experience.  Again.  We are happy for Chris & Dharma that everything turned out so well; we are happy for old and new friends and family - some great additions including especially our Bangalore visitors! - and most of all we are happy that Chris & Dharma have each other.  We feel lucky indeed.

Next up:  Thanksgiving . . .

C&D get married (2 of 3)

[This post covers Chris & Dharma wedding day plus Saturday; prior post (via this link) covers the week prior; subsequent post (via this link) covers temple ceremony and following.]

Could this setting have been nicer?

Friday 17 November  - wedding day has finally arrived!  PJ and I start with breakfast-on-patio with Barb, Therese, Mark, Jim, Carol.  Then it's time to get busy - PJ joins the girls for all the prep and dressing stuff; I head to Walgreen's to pick up a few family photos for display at the reception; elsewhere the groom's party is doing this and that (golf simulator, lunch, etc.)

Leading up to photo shoot . . . 

Once properly dressed - we start gathering for the photo shoot with the professional photographer.  But prior to this is a nice moment as Chris gets his first look at the bride.  With the groom's party as witnesses.  The photo process does take quite a while - but everyone looks rather nice - especially impressive/unique is the attire of the bride and her party.

. . . photo shoot samples . . .  

. . . and more photo shoot samples . . .

The group next moves on to the staging area outside/back of the main lobby area as more and more guests arrive.  Yesterday was sunny and almost hot - which worked well in rehearsal garb - today was a bit cloudy but perfectly room temperature - ideal conditions.

Walking up to the wedding ceremony area.  A nice moment for us with CPG.

Then the wedding party formally enters the lovely outdoor area that they've set up and - once Sreedhar has escorted Dharma to the front - the ceremony starts.  Rose - as officiant - seems to have a real knack for this kind of thing (the wedding planners were inquiring whether she would take on jobs for others, which seems like a good sign).  Steve and Barb (godparents of CPG) do a fine job with their readings.  Short, lovely ceremony.  Happy.  We walk out in order; paperwork is signed - all is official!

I much like this view of the ceremony.

And also this alternative long view.

It was lovely.

Making it official (#1)

Making it official (#2)

The wedding arrangers at the Legacy resort did a really fine job in the outdoor reception area - it was absolutely lovely - and the perfect November evening temperatures were a plus as well.  The guest list included - in addition to family and locals - a long list of Chris's friends who we've known for so many years, plus a long list of absolutely delightful friends of Dharma's (OK they're all friends of everyone but you know what I mean), some of whom we've known for a while now, all of whom we look forward to remaining in contact with.

This fine grouping seems to be handling the transition from "wedding
ceremony" to "dinnertime" quite well.

That's a long way of saying it was just a fantastic group, and a group that certainly knew how to celebrate a wedding.  And that's what everyone definitely was in the mood to do - all were very obviously happy for C&D.

Dinner/dancing area  . . . outdoor settings were perfect.  Overall, the
resort has an old-time Arizona feel.

Indian food courtesy Marigold Maison - they did a great job.  Plenty of other refreshments.  The DJ did a great job.  Dancing.  Photo booth fun.  Dancing.  Plus a chance to say hello to so many of the guests, we truly enjoyed just wandering around trying to catch up with everyone.  Dancing.  Pretty hard to beat.

Another view of the reception area . . . the dinner portion is just getting started here as our heroes arrive.

Yes the dance was this much fun (#1)

Yes the dance was this much fun (#2)

Yes the photo booth was this much fun.

We had arranged for the golf club bar (right on premises) to remain open after the reception ended - and we had a great turnout there - ridiculously fun, as a few of the photos here might suggest.  Everyone is HAPPY about the wedding, and being together.

For some reason PBR was the featured brew.  For some reason we posed with
same.  For some reason people kept joining us.

After-reception party, with Elephant.

Several efforts were made to capture the next gen folk on film, so to speak.  As
with PBR photography, additional folks kept showing up.

That bar eventually closes, and a good chunk of the party moves onto a guest room where things continue for quite a while longer.  Yes this part also was quite fun.

After the after party.

We were sorry when it finally ended!  A great day.

Saturday 18 November - some of the Midwesterners arise early for South Mountain hiking (Fat Man's Pass) - not us.  Breakfast with PJ; then we gather in [somebody's] resort room where a good-sized group was assembled; we recap the previous day's events and chatter in general.  This generally was a "free day" for guests to do whatever.

The prior day's events left us with quite a bit to review.  Which we did.

Many gathered at the resort pool and ended up hanging out there for many hours - perfect weather, again - this was a good setting for catching up and whatnot.  Some gathered in Charlie's hotel room to watch ND football.

Perfect pool day.

In the evening - we proceed into downtown Phoenix for a gathering at the DeSoto Central Market - a fine turnout here as well, the place works just as planned - games, food, drinks, room to mix and mingle, etc.  Another full, fine day.

Distinguished guests on patio at DeSoto Central Market.

DeSoto Central Market

Saturday dinner at DeSoto, complete
with chattering.