December 2016
Christmas greetings from Austin, Texas . . .
Annette and Larry are creating and writing this year’s Christmas card ‘on the road.’ We are midway through a twelve-week road trip. By the time we return to our southern Utah home in January, we will have visited a dozen states in about the same number of weeks. We began this adventure in the 4-door Jeep Wrangler towing our ‘Miss Daisy’ T@B teardrop camper. Along the way, we ordered a new Raindrop trailer that will be manufactured this coming Spring. We’ll pick it up at the factory in Necedah, Wisconsin in April. Check it out at Tiny Camper. We have been camping and have also stopped in several states to visit with family members including some of Annette’s Aunts and Uncles in Iowa, weekends with Brooke in Chicago and Benjamin in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and stops to see Larry’s siblings in central Illinois. Along the way while visiting Annette’s mom, dad and sister Allison in Hollister, Missouri, we purchased a new Toyota
Tundra pickup. It works wonderfully towing our travel trailer. From the Branson area, we drove south through Arkansas camping a few nights in Louisiana State Parks, before heading to Austin for the Christmas season. Annette was happy that so many of the campgrounds had wifi or good cell access making work much easier throughout the trip. We are spending a few holiday weeks at Annette’s sister’s home. We enjoyed kid sitting while Arrion and Ben completed some work travel and are staying for the holidays. We’ve also enjoyed being back on the road again. It’s been a relaxing and enjoyable trip so far. Earlier in the year, we took a winter camping trip to the Arizona-California border near Parker and Lake Havasu for hiking, rock-hounding, exploring backroads, and checking out the wild burro population. In late spring, we made another Midwest trip to visit family and friends. In late summer, we enjoyed a trip to Tavaputs Ranch in the mountains of northcentral Utah and explored the amazing Range Creek archaeological site.
It has been a busy year. Annette and Larry both continue to volunteer with the nonprofit Entrada Institute. Annette is just finishing her first year as the President, and Larry continues to act as program chair. Entrada is continuing its capital campaign to fund the construction of a new ‘world class’ stage and the creation of its education center. Annette recently received a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities to fund community programs over the next several years.
We both enjoyed photographing our trips, the annual county fair and several other local events. Annette continues to enjoy teaching full-time. This year she received the School of Informatics and Computing Teaching Award from the IUPUI Board of Trustees. We were both honored and surprised to receive the “citizen’s award” during the Torrey Apple Days celebration. We checked off riding as passengers in a rumble seat in a parade on our bucket list. We’re looking forward to a future that includes lots more camping with the new travel rig throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Annette and Larry