Fleeing the Storm

 We have family living on both coasts--Jonny and Jenny in Florida and the Flindts in Seattle.  Usually, coastal living is delightful, with beaches less than an hour away from our children's homes.

We worry about our coastal families, though, when the storms and hurricanes rage.  Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti in early October 2016, and then moved up the Eastern Seaboard.  Jonny and Jenny boarded up their house in Florida and joined the crowded freeways heading west.  Hotels were full all the way to Mississippi, but Jonny and Jenny were able to find an AirB&B in Tampa for the weekend.  Their home was not damaged, although the power went out. Jonny described the exodus as "a bit of a false alarm."  He says his family will always follow the storm warnings, though, because the storms are so unpredictable.  

Haiti was hit hard and some areas of Florida were flooded by Hurricane Matthew.

The very next week, there were storm warnings in Seattle.  Lisa's family was fine, but there was some flooding in the coastal areas.

With the Ladies

"Why?" David asked.  He saw no purpose in my spending a weekend in San Diego with my women pals.  Tracey Cannon, a neighbor and long-time friend, invited seven of us to join her in her LaJolla condo for the weekend of October 8, 2016.  On Saturday morning, we stopped by a chalk-drawing competition which was part of San Diego's annual Italian Festival.  The street art included everything from copies of DaVinci's Mona Lisa and Michelangelo's David to a portrait of Rocky Balboa!

We separated into two cars for the weekend.  I hung out with good friends Julie Monson, Marilyn McSweeney, and Robyn Petty.

One chalk drawing portrayed the skyscrapers of New York.  Passers-by took turns pretending they were Superman and posing above the buildings, as if they were flying.  This was too good for Julie to pass up!

The street fair included shops of all sorts, from fruit stands to hat and jewelry shops.  We bought panini and gelato to share.

It had been many years since I visited the gorgeous San Diego Temple.  Wilma Livsey and I slipped off to attend a session.

Wilma and I discovered we were cousins when, during a ward genealogy class, I announced that I was going to Ireland to find out more about my great-great-grandfather.  "Who is he?" Wilma asked.  "I have a great-great-grandfather from Ireland, as well."  It was the same man--James Hamilton.

The group of us ate dinner together at a Mexican restaurant in Old Town.  From left to right, Tracey Cannon, Robyn Petty, Wilma Livsey, Annette Dunford, Diane Yancey, Julie Monson, and Marilyn McSweeney.

Tracey had a beautiful condo, through this gate covered with bouganvillea.

On Monday afternoon, before flying home, we visited the Del Coronado Hotel, which has adorned San Diego's beach since the 1880s.  We wandered from floor to floor, appreciating the ornate wood ceilings and crystal chandeliers.

We lingered on the beach to watch the sunset.

Conference Weekend

Conference weekend is a time of gathering, not just at the LDS Conference Center, but throughout the Church.  Families gather around the TV to hear speakers and then they talk about what they've learned over breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On Saturday, October 1, 2016, Mike and Heidi invited Spencer, Naomi, Kirsten, Dave and me to join Heidi's parents, Gay and Bevan Bastian, and Heidi's sister, Kalyse, for breakfast.  Mike and Heidi's table and food look as good as the food tastes.

Spencer, Naomi, and Kirsten were up from BYU for Conference weekend.  They watched sessions of Conference with each set of grandparents, and then joined Camille's family, us, and Alan Dale for Sunday dinner.

 We loved hearing wise counsel to guide us for the next six months, until Conference comes again.

New Faces of Culture

One of the perks of being a lawyer is free dinners at fancy places.  Durham Jones & Pinegar bought a table at the Utah Technology Council awards night held September 30, 2016, with Tim Cook, president of Apple Computer, as the main speaker.  I was fascinated to hear Utah's Senator Orrin Hatch interview Tim Cook on such issues as international taxes (Apple accused the US predatory corporate tax laws of driving US companies abroad) and Apple's new products.  Tim Cook also talked about Apple's charity work, including outfitting Salt Lake's Franklin Elementary School, which serves low income children, with free computers.

My new office, come next February, will be on the top floor of the new 111 Main Building, the skyscraper in this photo.  The 111 Main Building is cantilevered over the new Eccles Theater, which has a 2500 person auditorium.  The theater was built to attract the first touring companies that leave Broadway with new shows.  Many shows will appear in Salt Lake City while they are still playing on Broadway.  Utah now waits two or three years to see the new shows, produced by the number three or four touring companies.  On September 30, I toured the Eccles Theater with the Rotary.

Move Along, Little Dogies

 We've seen bears and moose at the cabin, but a herd of cows moseying down the middle of the road was a new attraction.  It was definitely fall, the weekend of September 24, as we enjoyed the sight of the last golden leaves iced by the first snowfall.  

 The Weber Canyon is a recreation mecca, but real farmers do raise real cattle there, as well.  A cowboy and his dog hustled cows towards their winter pasture.

Love at Long Distance

 On September 22, 2016, Dave's sister, Janice, invited us to The Pie to celebrate her engagement to Mark.  Mark asked Janice to marry him on the BYU football field, just before the BYU/USC football game began.  Mark is an air traffic controller working as a military contractor in Bagram, Afghanistan.  The area is so dangerous that he never goes off the US military base, and the air control tower is a continuous target for enemy bombs. The location's not great, but the pay is excellent. Janice is planning a wedding for early June.

Ashley and Joshua joined us at the party with son Finn.  "We named him after Huckleberry Finn," Ashley said, "and we hope he'll be adventurous, too."  Finn already skis all winter in a pack tied to Joshua's chest.