Family Photos 2023
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023 – Cherokee, NC – Class I & II White Water Rafting
During our trip to the Northeast, we saw people whitewater rafting on the New River in West Virginia. Mei thought it might be fun. Howard thought so too, but having gone down the Youghiogheny River (Class III-IV) in his 20’s, he remembered people falling out of the raft and being run over by the raft while trying to free it from rocks and generally getting sore muscles and very wet. With this experience in mind he thought it might be prudent to try a tamer river first. So we decided to try the considerably milder Nantahala river near Cherokee. We had a nice peaceful trip amongst a beautiful setting on a perfect fall day – and still had a little workout while getting splashed.
September 2023 – Great Smokey Mountains – Clingman’s Dome
During our 2022 trip to Gatlinburg, Nashville, and finally Memphis – to visit some of Howard’s family, we passed by the Great Smokie Mountains National Park.
While on another day trip we decided this time to stop and stay a couple of days in Bryson City, NC. Bryson is a nice little town tucked into the mountains, but it’s real attraction is it’s gateway to the smokies.
August 2023 – Home
We attended the local HOA board coffee meeting where community issues are discussed, and feedback is offered to the board.
We eat most of our meals at home – sharing cooking duties. This month Mei taught Howard how to make Won-Tons for a delicious soup.
2023 June – Ballpark and Mountains
In early June we mostly stuck around home. Went to the ballpark to enjoy some more Fireflies baseball and made another trip up to the Mountains – seems we can’t get tired of the Great Smokies.
2023 June – Big Northeastern Road Trip
Rested and ready! For the past two years we have been building Mei’s tolerance to long road trips in the car. Prior to coming to America, the longest she had probably traveled was about 5 or 6 hours and our first long trip through Arizona and Nevada seemed to be too much at once. So once here in South Carolina, we started “slow” with 2 hour trips to Charlotte and Charleston; then went 4 hours to Atlanta; a “Sunday drive” of about 7 hours looping around SC, Georgia, NC and back home; a long trip to Orlando FL, and a long trip to Washington DC.
Finally, we decided to take a big trip. Traveling from home to Niagara falls and back. During this trip we logged approximately 2000 miles by car over 10 days or so. During this trip we toured the Cities of Pittsburgh, Niagara falls (both sides), New York City, Philadelphia, Washington and Harrisonburg, VA. We also visited Shenendoah, Independance, and Niagara – a mix of state and national parks.
New River Gorge, West Virginia
Pittsburgh, PA
Niagara Falls, New York and Ontario, CA
New York City, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Washington, D.C (again) And Shenandoah National Park
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023 – Baseball
Our Second Year of Fireflies Baseball. This time we invited Shireen to a few games.
March 2023 – St. Augustine FL
We thought at first that this would be a rather boring trip – but welcome because it is in Florida where the would be a lot of heat and sunshine. We stayed at the Castillio Real Resort (not sure why they call it a resort) Hotel. Actually, this turned out to be a very pleasant trip. We took a tour bus to see an overview of the city and ate at a great place for breakfast. Dinner however turned out to be a disappointment. The one restaurant that was recommended (in fact, people raved about it) and the one we found on our own were both a bust. But still, the beach was very nice and we went out in the morning to catch the sunrise over the ocean. This is a nice trip for a tree day getaway.
February 2023 – Home, Riverbanks Zoo, Segra Park
We spent much of our time at home in February – after the long Washington DC trip the month before. While at home we went early o get tickets for our second Fireflies baseball home opener together and also visited the Zoo again. I believe this is the time when we purchased Mei’s for baseball jersey.
During this month Mei started doing watercolors and I hang her first works on the wall.
Mei met my friend Mamie for the first time. In these pics at home, both Mei and Howard are dressed for warm weather. At first I though there must somehow be an error on the file name/date – especially since the plant in the background is green; but then I remembered that this is one of the plants that I nursed through the winter in the basement of the house – and even though it survived, it didn’t produce much fruit for the rest of the summer.
January 2023 – Washington D.C.
Mei visited Washington D.C. with her children years before we met; and I had been there many times when I lived in the northeast. But this was our first time in Washington together. This was an opportunity for both of us to visit museums that neither of us had visited before. These included African American History, Native American History, The National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of Art. In addition, we also visited the Air and Space museum and the Capital. We tried to get tickets to visit the white house, but none of the local politicians would return our calls. While in Washington we celebrated Howard’s birthday at a restaurant named Pi Pizzaria. I can see from their website, they are now out of business. I cannot say exactly why, but I didn’t think it was a great place – good, but not great.
Mei volunteers at the local college theater where we occasionally attend shows.
