Andrew and Alicia - September 26, 2015, Geyserville Inn, Geyserville, California
HAPPINESS!!!
HAPPINESS!!!
2015 was a year in which I experienced some of the most wonderful moments you can experience in life and some of the saddest – most heartbreaking moments. What a year!
HEARTBREAK!!!
My brother in law, Bill, lost his 9 month fight with cancer. We all miss him terribly.
And...leaving work and Illinois ~
Walking away from work at NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Illinois, on March 13th was one of the most liberating experiences of my life. I was FINALLY doing it…FINALLY moving. The excitement of the unknown didn’t faze me. Where would I live? Would I work? What would life be like?
This was the first time I made the decision to leave a job without
having a job lined up. I walked away
from employment for the first time in many years, maybe ever! Bittersweet for sure as I really didn’t feel
like I was ready to stop working for the rest of my life. And happy – to walk out the door and leave! With my desire to relocate near family, my
thoughts have been that I would work again once I’m settled on the east coast. Turning 65 and being eligible for health
insurance – finally – not linked to employment is what made this finally
possible. Otherwise I’d still be working
in Illinois until I found a job on the east coast. Today I’m still not sure
what the possibility of working looks like…it’s been a “work in progress” to
figure out as the year has unfolded and as 2015 comes to an end.
For many, many years I’ve wanted to move back east. I’ve made a lot of wonderful friends in
Illinois. Friends that are near and dear
to my heart and always will be. In
Illinois I went back to college, finished a degree at DePaul and bought and sold
a couple of houses as a single working Mom.
I started my career in Human Resources.
I made memories traveling all over the Midwest and exploring small towns
with many motorcycle friends. But it was time to move on and do what I hoped to do for a very long time - relocate near family.
March 13th was my last day working at
NorthShore. On March 14th I
left early in the morning and drove to Rhode Island. This is where I decided to make my next
“home.” I rented a furnished apartment in Wickford, RI
for sIx months. In those six months I
wanted to be available to travel to NJ to be with my sister and her husband
Bill, who was struggling with a terminal illness. Also, I wanted to be flexible to travel to
the west coast to spend time with Andrew, Alicia, and Tim. Andrew and his beautiful fiancé, Alicia, were
in the final months of wedding planning and I wanted to travel to San Francisco
a couple of times to see the wedding venue and visit with my sons there.
This is the first picture I took when I arrived in Rhode Island, and walked to the end of the street where I was staying. I love the ocean and the little apartment I was renting was located in Wickford, which is part of the town of North Kingstown where Mike lives.
This is the first picture I took when I arrived in Rhode Island, and walked to the end of the street where I was staying. I love the ocean and the little apartment I was renting was located in Wickford, which is part of the town of North Kingstown where Mike lives.
From March until the end of October, I had a thrilling six
months near my grandchildren, Emma and Will.
I continued to travel, and in between trips to Colorado, California and
Washington, I was able to enjoy dinners with Mike, Shelagh and the kids. Mike loves to cook and I had the enjoyment of
sharing many delicious dinners. It was
fun to be able to go to a school program and watch soccer games that Emma and
Will were involved in. In between all
this my search for my next home continued and it turned out to be quite a
challenge!
Rent? Buy? House? Condo?
Apartment? Choices…choices. I had my wish list and drove all
around the small Ocean State, as Rhode Island is referred to, trying to learn
neighborhoods and communities. One thing
I really wanted was a garage - that isn't expecting too much considering there is WINTER in Rhode Island? Rhode
Island isn’t Florida - they have cold and snowy winers – and I was surprised and disappointed at the housing options
that didn’t include a garage. My six month
rental was coming to an end and I was extremely frustrated that I was not able
to find a place I felt I could call home.
And in the last week a condo became available in nearby South Kingstown
(the next town south of Mike) that seemed perfect.
The deal was put together and I’m happy to say I will have a new
permanent home – and address – as of December 21st.
After I quit my job back in March, I traveled around the
country for almost two months. From
Illinois my first stop was Rhode Island.
Continuing south my next stops were in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. After a little rest in the Atlanta area with
friends that used to live in Barrington, I traveled west
to Texas. I enjoyed a fun visit with my sister Gail. My road trip was a great adventure! From
Texas I flew to California and spent a week with Tim and Andrew in San
Francisco. I spent my birthday in San
Francisco, enjoying a cable car ride, a visit to the SF Apple store, dinner
with Andrew, Tim and Alicia and visits during the week with friends from Moraga
and a high school friend who relocated to the West coast and whom I hadn’t seen
in about 40 years!
In April while I was visiting San Francisco, Andrew and Alicia took me to see the place they chose as their wedding venue, pictured below. I stood there trying to imagine what it would be like at the end of September, vineyard in full bloom, with my son pledging his love to his beautiful bride.
It was fun to celebrate my birthday with Tim, Andrew and Alicia while in California. I decided I could enjoy a "tour" of SF if I jumped on one of the cable cars in the afternoon.
Since Tim moved to California, he has taken up sailing. While I was visiting in April he rented a sailboat and we had an amazing day sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge and in and around San Francisco Bay.
I had fun visiting old friends, Andrea DeLuca in the Atlanta area, Pam Pocklington in Moraga, California and Carol Zangwill in San Francisco.
In April while I was visiting San Francisco, Andrew and Alicia took me to see the place they chose as their wedding venue, pictured below. I stood there trying to imagine what it would be like at the end of September, vineyard in full bloom, with my son pledging his love to his beautiful bride.
It was fun to celebrate my birthday with Tim, Andrew and Alicia while in California. I decided I could enjoy a "tour" of SF if I jumped on one of the cable cars in the afternoon.
Since Tim moved to California, he has taken up sailing. While I was visiting in April he rented a sailboat and we had an amazing day sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge and in and around San Francisco Bay.
I had fun visiting old friends, Andrea DeLuca in the Atlanta area, Pam Pocklington in Moraga, California and Carol Zangwill in San Francisco.
Oh! I almost forgot
to mention a REALLY fun visit when I drove thru Texas! My very first “boyfriend” and I met for
dinner. Thanks to facebook, he found me
a while back and we agreed to meet some day wherever/whenever our paths might
cross. I gave him a heads up that I
would be coming to his home area and we arranged to meet for dinner.
It turned out to be one of those moments where you pinch
yourself cause you can’t believe it’s happening. I don’t even want to count the number of
years it has been since I saw him! When
I was in 8th grade my family moved from North Jersey to South
Jersey…and that was the end of our little “relationship.”
New adventures began in this motor home mid year! And yes, I drive it! My friend Don and I took off on a three week tour in early July. We traveled to Denver and enjoyed time with his son and family and then drove north thru Utah, Oregon and Washington state - where we spent a week in what I love to call "paradise" - the mountains of Washington state. On our way thru Utah we were lucky to catch my nephew Jess and his wife for a dinner visit and meet their two beautiful daughters and new baby Jonah. That was a highlight of our drive north for sure!
During our visit in Washington state we drove across the Canadian border to Vancouver and enjoyed an afternoon at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.
New adventures began in this motor home mid year! And yes, I drive it! My friend Don and I took off on a three week tour in early July. We traveled to Denver and enjoyed time with his son and family and then drove north thru Utah, Oregon and Washington state - where we spent a week in what I love to call "paradise" - the mountains of Washington state. On our way thru Utah we were lucky to catch my nephew Jess and his wife for a dinner visit and meet their two beautiful daughters and new baby Jonah. That was a highlight of our drive north for sure!
During our visit in Washington state we drove across the Canadian border to Vancouver and enjoyed an afternoon at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.
Andrew, best man at his best man's wedding (Paul Ochenrider) in Beaver Creek, July 2015
I was honored to be invited to Paul Ochenrider’s wedding in
Beaver Creek, Colorado in July (Andrew’s best man and high school friend). We
left the Denver area and traveled north to thru the Rocky mountains in the RV. What a beautiful wedding high up in the
Rockies. Driving the 40 ft. RV thru the mountains of
Colorado was an experience in and of itself!
Our destination for our final week of this trip was an hour or so
north of Seattle to the town of Sumas, Washington, almost to the Canadian border. Don’s daughter has family that live on a
ranch in Sumas and they plan a camping cookout each year in August, with
hundreds of local friends and family.
There were dozens of campers in various types of camping vehicles. It was an amazing week outdoors – where cell
phones and computers did not work! I
loved every minute of it. At the end of
that week we drove straight back to Illinois…a long 2,000+ mile trip that took
seven days. In the RV/bus we can cover
about 350-400 miles a day, before getting too exhausted!
There was a car rally during the Campout weekend.
This old boat was strategically placed in a sand pit for kiddos to enjoy!
The entire Campout weekend is hosted by the Hammer family - these salmon steaks were grilled for the crowd.
We weren't the only motorhome that arrived to enjoy the event.
The "dining" area.
The best news of the year was Andrew’s wedding. On September 26th he married a
beautiful California girl, Alicia. What
a fantastic wedding celebration we all enjoyed.
The week began with Tim renting a huge sailboat and all of us sailed
under the Golden Gate Bridge out to the ocean to whale watch. All of this fun just took my breath away! My heart was singing to have this experience
with my sons and grandchildren! The kids
got to see sea lions and dolphins swimming in and around the bay and ocean. And, Will was the first one to spot a whale
once out in the ocean!
Andrew and Alicia got married in Geyserville California in
the heart of Wine Country. Andrew had
asked his brother Mike to perform the ceremony on what was a very warm, picture
perfect day in Northern California.
Night dancing under the stars was magical thanks to mother nature
providing a full moon above the vineyard setting.
No words...just no words...
Big brother marries little brother! Be still my heart....
As the year closes in on me, I’m feeling so very thankful
for being able to make all these memories.
Some of the best moments are those that I spent visiting family and
friends around this country.
May this find you happy, healthy and as ready as I am to
make new memories in 2016.
Happy Holidays!
