Mt. Rainier
Noel at Ingraham Flats campsite on climb of Mt. Rainier, Washington. Roll mouse over image to see picture of Noel & Kathy at Times Square in New York City.

Just added:

Old guy (Noel) and young guy (Karl) with our "rock art" and a cool beer.

NOTE: I HAVE FOUND 'FACEBOOK' TO BE AN EASIER PLATFORM FOR UPDATING TRAVEL AND PICTURES. MY FACEBOOK TIMELINE IS PUBLIC FOR ANY INQUIRING MIND. I'LL CONTINUE TO POST SHORT SUMMARIES ON THIS WEBSITE.

November 2019: It's been a while. As stated above, Facebook is so much easier for posting pictures and current comments. The 'Hall' family is still alive and kicking in Louisville, Kentucky. I'm still traveling, although it is becoming more difficult. Kathy and I are still in good health for a couple of folks in their 70s. Our daughter, Amanda, along with her husband, William, and the grandkids, Christopher & Charlotte are living close by and we interact with them almost daily. If I have lost contact with you, send me an email at noelhall@aol.com and let me know how you are doing.

April 2018 - August 2018: Sailing with friends at Antigua & Barbuda in April. Visiting Doug at Roatan during May, while Kathy was in England. Then two weeks in Africa, scuba diving on Zanzibar and safaris in Tanzania during June. Took family to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico during July, followed by a week of hiking in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park.

November 2017 - March 2018: Kathy and I were on a short cruise featuring 'IL DIVO' during late November into early December. In mid-December I joined a small group for a week in Roatan, Honduras. In late December into early January Kathy and I were on another short cruise featuring the 'MOODY BLUES' and other artists from the past. In mid-January I was back to Roatan, Honduras with several friends to visit Doug and Susan at their new home. In February was a major scuba trip to Thailand. March is our annual family trip to Breckenridge, Colorado.

October 2017: A good weekend aboard a houseboat on Lake Cumberland, Kentucky, including fellowship, beer drinking, and a little illegal fishing. End of the month traveling to visit Jerry and Barbara in Key West for Fantasy Fest, followed by a couple of days in Orlando attending the annual scuba diving & travel expo.

September 2017: Joined friends from the Bluegrass Dive Club in Lexington, Kentucky at Ambergris Caye, Belize for a week of scuba diving.

August 2017: A bareboat sailing adventure with friends. We departed the marina at St. Martin, visiting the islands of Anguilla and St. Barths. Certainly a great trip, although unfortunately a major hurricane a few weeks later destroyed much of these three beautiful islands.

July 2017; More wrestling tournaments with Christopher followed by jury duty at the Jefferson County Court House, including the first week of August.

June 2017: My third sailing trip to Havana, Cuba. This time we took the short route from Key West, rather than the long trip from St. Petersburg. Toward the end of the month I took Christopher to wrestling camp at Ohio State University.

May 2017: Kathy and I traveled to Amelia Island (for a friend's wedding) followed by a few days at St. Simon's Island. At month's end, the whole family took a one week vacation at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.

April 2017: I joined several other members of the Louisville Committee Foreign Relations at the annual American Committee for Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. A great weekend with informative speakers.

March 2017: Joined with the Louisville/Rotary dive group for my sixth trip to Little Cayman Beach Resort, finding it as good as ever. Pictures are at https://www.dropbox.com/home/Little%20Cayman%20Mar.%20'17

February 2017: Began the new year scuba diving at the Caribbean island of Dominica with members of the Bluegrass Dive Club followed by a short trip to Breckenridge, Colorado with family for three days of snow skiing. Pictures are at https://www.dropbox.com/home/Dominica%20Feb.%20'17

December 2016: Spent almost three weeks on a sailing catamaran in the British Virgin Islands, broken into three adventures and crews. Plenty of sailing/motoring, scuba diving, swimming & snorkeling, and of course, socializing. Later I headed to Orlando with Kathy and Christopher to attend the University of Louisville football bowl game and four days of fun & sun with our grandson.

October/November: October included a houseboat adventure for five days on Dale Hollow Lake, the Spring Meet at Keeneland, and a short trip to Key West during the annual Fantasy Fest. November is a hike to the summit of Mr. Le Conte in the Smoky Mountains, staying over night at the LeConte Lodge. Next week is a trip to Houston for the UofL vs University of Houston football game and a short trip to Las Vegas to attend the DEMA dive & travel expo. We then head to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas for several days to watch UofL participate in a basketball tournament. I then leave town for 18 days on a sailing catamaran in the British Virgin Islands.

August/September 2016: August was several days in Toronto, Canada and Niagara Falls. Very touristy, but Kathy wanted to see the falls. September is a houseboat trip on Dale Hollow Lake, followed by a return trip to Roatan, Honduras with the Lexington scuba diving group.

April/May/June/July 2016: April was mostly enjoying the Spring Meet at Keeneland. May brings us Charlotte, our new granddaughter, followed by Kathy and I visiting San Antonio for a few days. June is sailing in the Gulf & San Juan Islands of Puget Sound. And finally during July was my second sailing trip to Cuba. We took two boats and 13 sailors.

March 2016: I participated in an adventure sailing to the "forbidden land"... Cuba! Along with six friends, we chartered a 44 foot sailing catamaran out of St. Petersburg, Florida, and sailed to Havana. It was a very unique experience, and as a result we have now booked two boats for a return trip in July. We posted a few pictures on Facebook.

January/February 2016: Return trip to scuba dive in the Philippines with members of the Bluegrass Dive Club out of Lexington. Unfortunately, this was to be the last dive trip for our long time member, Gordon Green, who died shortly on return home. Later in February I traveled with Amanda and Christopher (joined by Judge) to Breckenridge, Colorado for several days of snow skiing. And finally in February Kathy and I traveled to Miami and boarded a cruise ship featuring 60's bands over a three day period, including the Moody Blues.

January 2016: Returned to the British Virgin Islands with Kathy. We took advantage of booking a bedroom on Airbnb.com at the wonderful home of Davide & Cele ... "Wali Nikiti", on Scrub Island.

December 2015: Two weeks and two crews, chartering a sailing catamaran in the British Virgin Islands, and off to Nashville for the Music City Bowl on December 30th. Pictures on Facebook.

October/November 2015: I traveled with about 30 menbers of the Bluegrass Dive Club, out of Lexington, Kentucky, to Roatan, Honduras for a week of scuba diving out of Anthony's Key Resort. I was then invited by friends to visit Key West and enjoy Fantasy Fest. Upon return to Kentucky I attended Breeders Cup at Keeneland. Now I'm off to Orlando for DEMA, the annual scuba diving equipment & travel expo.

August/September 2015: Several trips, first to San Juan, Puerto Rico with Kathy to see exhibition basketball between University of Louisville and the Puerto Rican National Team, followed by a trip aboard the Solmar V out of Ensenada, Mexico in route to Isla Guadalupe to cage dive with Great White Sharks (a link to pictures is on the left). Then Kathy and I traveled to Atlanta for the first UofL football game of the season versus Auburn at the Georgia Dome, in which Louisville lost, although a good effort against a nationally sixth ranked team with a huge football tradition.

July 2015: I joined Charlie, Will (and his son, Stephen), Karl and Rachel, along with Karl's parents, Hans and Marianne in Sweden. After a couple of days in Stockholm we boarded our chartered sailboat for seven days sailing ing the Swedish Archipeligo. Beautiful summer scenery, although a bit chilly and damp. I've posted a few pictures on my Facebook Timeline.

June 2015: I traveled to Costa Rica with members of our Bluegrass Dive Club (Lexington, KY) where we spent two days a Arenal Volcano (very scenic) and then four days at scuba diving at Playa Hermosa (low visibility, but great critters). I've posted some pictures to my Facebook page.

May 2015: I traveled to St. Maarten where I meet the Caribbean Explorer, a liveaboard dive boat. We then spent two weeks scuba diving around the Islands of Saba and St. Kitts. I've posted some picture to my Facebook page.

April 2015: Kathy and I traveled to Mexico and attended Karl & Rachel's wedding, then continuing by ferry from Cancun to Cozumel, joining the Louisville Dive Club, along with our family, Amanda, William and Christopher.

March 2015: Long travel to the South Pacific and the Solomon Islands for ten days of scuba diving aboard the MV Bilikiki. I found very primative conditions on the remote islands, with people still in dugout canoes and no electricity, no cell phones, and certainly no Internet. A few pictures by clicking on link on left.

February 2015: Two adventures. First Kathy and I took a cruise ship to South America, Antarctica, and Falkland Islands, with a few other stops. Click on the link to the left to view some pictures. Next I traveled with Amanda, William, and Christopher to Breckenridge, Colorado. It was the first attempt for Christopher (snowboard school) and William (adult lessons). We were joined by Judge and his two daughters. Some pictures were posted to my Facebook timeline.

November 2014: Spent four nights with Kathy at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee before joining with Amanda, William and Christopher for a week at Disney World in Orlando. Once we returned home, I had a quick turn-around to join our crew of friends in the British Virgin Islands for ten days of sailing, scuba diving, and playing "Pirates of the Caribbean". Pictures were posted to my Facebook timeline.

September 2014: Took a chance on traveling to the Caribbean during hurricane season, along with about 20 members of the Bluegrass Dive Club out of Lexington. Weather was fine, no problems. Diving was basic Caribbean, but we all enjoyed ourselves. Pictures were posted to my Facebook timeline.

August 2014: Immediately after returning from Croatia, I traveled to Northern Maine with my friend, Judge, who was finally completing the last 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail. We were joined by his brother, Chris, and another hiking/climbing friend, Jodi, for the final push up Mt. Katahdin. It seemed like nothing went as planned, but we got it all done, with Judge making the summit on August 19th. Pictures were posted on Facebook.

August 2014: Crew of seven travel to Croatia for a week of sailing along the Dalmatian Coast, followed by three days in the old town of Dubrovnik. A few pictures can be seen by clicking on the link on the left.

Jun/Jul 2014: Family trip to Cozumel, Mexico. Noel, Kathy, Amanda, William & Christopher at the Cozumel Palace Resort. A few pictures can be seen by clicking on the link on the left.

June 2014: Kathy and I traveled to Europe, joining friends and others primarily from Louisville, cruising up the Rhine River from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Prior to joining the river cruise, we spent three days in Venice, Italy. A link to some pictures is on the left.

April/May 2014: Joined Captain Roy, and crew members Fred, Scott, and Pete in St. Petersburg, Florida and boarded "14 Pennies", our sailboat entered in the 2014 Regata del Sol al Sol race to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. We finished a respectable third overall out of eighteen entries. Some pictures can be seen by clicking on the link to the left.

March 2014: Joined Will Robinson and his crew for a week of sailing in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, finishing up with a couple of days on St. Lucia. Other than sailing and scuba diving around the islands, we also had a couple of nice hikes. We summited the La Soufiere volcano on St. Vincent, and later summited Gros Piton on St. Lucia, both strenuous hikes. Karl proposed to Rachael on Mustique, and she accepted. Now time for some racing at Keeneland!

February 2014: Sorry, website has been down for the last couple of months. I had to change web hosting, and it took a little time. After October I continued to travel, with a trip to Orlando to attend DEMA (a scuba diving equipment & travel expo), followed by another sailing adventure in the British Virgin Islands with a full crew. Later in December, Kathy and I traveled back to Orlando to attend the UofL vs Miami bowl game (Louisville won!). In January, Kathy and I joined Judge and his daughters in Breckenridge, Colorado. Later in the month I joined Bluegrass Dive Club members traveling to the islands of Yap and Chuuk in the Pacific, and the first week of February joined the Louisville Dive Club (Rotary) at East End on Grand Cayman. We did experience a very nice "shark dive" when visiting Yap, and I added some pictures which can been seen by clicking on the link on the left. The full picture album from both Yap and Truk Lagoon can be seen here.

October 2013: A very busy October. After returning from Orlando, we spent four nights at Blackberry Farm, a resort in Tennessee. Immediately upon returning home, we left for Boston and boarded a cruise ship with stops in Halifax, St. John (New Brunswick), Bar Harbor and Portland, before returning to Boston. A few picture can bee seen by clicking on the link at the left.

October 2013: Our first family trip to Disney World with our grandson, Christopher. Feel free to click on the link at the left to see a few pictures of the family.

August 2013: Just returned with Kathy from a long seventeen day trip including three nights in London, three nights in Paris, seven nights aboard the Queen Mary II (cruising from England across the Atlantic to New York), and two nights in New York before returning to Louisville. Got to meet up with Gary, Troy, Amanda and Mark in London, and had the treat of staying at the George V Hotel in Paris. Time for some college football before heading out to Breckenridge, Colorado to meet Patrick the end of September.

July 2013: Once again chartered a sailing catamaran in the British Virgin Islands, this time for two weeks with two different crews each week. Week one was Mary Beth, Alyssa, Dave & Melissa, Brian & Danielle, along with Rob & Kim. The second week I was joined by Kathy, along with Judge & Betsy, Gary & Maureen, Troy & Amanda, and Corinne. In a few days Kathy and I will be headed to England, with a few days in Paris, before boarding the QE-2 for a trans-atlantic cruise to New York.

May 2013: Just back from another trip to the British Virgin Islands (BVI). I was joined by Patrick and Bob, traveling from Kentucky to the island of Virgin Gorda. After six days of diving and meeting new friends, we continued to the island of Anegada for another three days. We tried a little "bone fishing", but didn't catch anything. We then did some snorkeling out by the reef and took several conch and one lobster, which became our dinner.

April 2013: Traveled with Karl, Will, Charlie, Eric, Heather and Kathy P. to Puerto Rico and the Spanish Virgin Islands. We spent three nights in Rincon, a sleepy surfing village on the west coast before driving to Fajardo on the west coast, and the location of Puerto Del Rey Marina, the largest boat marina in the Caribbean. We took command of our Lagoon 450, a new sailing catamaran and headed west toward the Spanish Virgin Islands. We visited the islands of Culebra, Culebrita, Vieques, and Palominos. They did not have the infrastructure to support much scuba diving, but we did manage a couple of dives, along with a lot of snorkeling. Click on this link to see a short video of a colorful shrimp.

March 2013: After several days in Breckenridge, Colorado, including snow skiiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling, I joined the Lexington, Kentucky, Bluegrass Dive Club on their dive trip to Grand Cayman. I was able to snap a few underwater pictures, which can be seen by clicking on the link to the left. Next is sailing in the Spanish Virgin Islands in April.

February 2013: I couldn't throw together a crew to charter a boat in BVI this winter, and received a late email special for a single cabin aboard a crewed sailing catamaran with Festiva Sailing Vacations. I left Kentucky on a snowy morning in route to the Caribbean for a week of playing pirates of the Caribbean with some new friends.

January 2013: Okay, I've been neglecting the website, and apparently getting a little too "hung-up" on Facebook. Kathy and I headed to New Orleans for New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street followed by the UofL vs Florida Sugar Bowl football game. I actually left a day early to travel to the island of Grenada and meet friends for a week of scuba diving. Now leaving February 1st back to the British Virgin Islands for a week of sailing and playing pirate.

November 2012: Returned from nine days aboard the Solmar V, a "liveaboard" dive boat out of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The trip was to dive around the Socorro Islands, approximately 250 miles south of Baja. We were able to dive up-close and personal with many sharks, including schools of large hammerheads. In addition, we had several opportunities to dive with dolphins, manta rays, and large schools of fish. The real treat was our ability to free a mature whale shark from a large rope cinched around it's girth. You can see Dani, one of our dive guides, cut and remove the rope, in the YouTube video:

September & October 2012: A busy couple of months. Kathy and I were joined by our daughter, Amanda, her husband, William, and our grandson, Christopher on the Island of St. John in the Caribbean. Afterwards I traveled to Roatan, Honduras for a week of scuba diving with the Bluegrass Dive Club. And finally, Kathy and I spent three days at the Blackberry Farm in Tennessee enjoying the fall colors, before I joined our team of eleven participants at the Kentucky Tough Mudder event in Maysville. Click on the link at the left for pics.

August 2012: One more item off the "bucket list", which is the Burning Man Festival held at Black Rock City, Nevada. It's a week long party with about 60,000 hippies, with an "art" angle. Difficult to explain. I have added a few pictures, but they don't do it justice. Most everything was at night with loud techno-music, colored lights and high power lasers. The link is on the left.

August 2012: Just spent the weekend in Denver with Kathy to attend an Il Divo concert. Before that I traveled to Geneva, Switzerland and transfered to Chamonix, France with my hiking/climbing buddy, Judge. Our itinerary was to spend three days hiking/climbing on Gran Paradiso in Italy, and then three days on Mont Blanc. I finished the adventure with a parapente glide above the Chamonix Valley. Some pictures can be seen by clicking on the link at the left.

July 2012: Returned from England with Kathy. With travel, three days in London, two days in Portsmouth, and twelve days aboard the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, we were away from home for nearly three weeks. Some pictures of our travels can be seen by clicking the link on the left.

June 2012: Returned from the British Virgin Islands after ten days of playing "Pirates of the Caribbean" with 25 friends aboard three large sailing catamarans. Perhaps some pictures a little later, as I was too busy to act as trip photographer. After a week at home I then traveled to Cozumel with thirteen members of the Bluegrass Dive Club to Cozumel, Mexico for another week of scuba diving in the Caribbean. I have posted a few pictures which can be viewed by clicking on the link at the left.

April 2012: Returned from eight days on Grand Turk Island, Turks & Caicos. This was a combination Louisville Dive Club & International Rotary Club trip. I think there were about twenty-two persons. I have posted some pictures which can be seen by clicking to the link in the left menu.

March 2012: Returned from the Philippine Islands, along with members of the Bluegrass Dive Club in Lexington. Trip was split into a week at each to two different resorts at two different locations. It was a long trip, but well worth the effort. A group of pretty good pictures can be seen by clicking on the link at the left.

February 2012: Returned from my first trip aboard Caribbean Explorer II, a scuba diving boat traveling between St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Kitts. It was a good trip and perhaps I may return one day. A few pictures are posted, which can be viewed by clicking on the link in the left column.

January 2012: Kathy and I enjoyed four nights in Las Vegas where Celine Dion sang to me ... well, at least she glanced briefly in my general direction ... so, I'm counting it. The following week I traveled to Colorado and enjoyed a week of snow skiing at Breckenridge & Keystone with Judge and Patrick. We also mooched an overnight at the beautiful home in Aspen being managed (and lived in) by Kate (Katey) Buster. What a phenomenal property with an unbelievable view. We skied Aspen Mountain the next day, which was sunny with no wind ... just perfect. Thanks Katey.

November 30th: Returned from a week sailing and diving in the British Virgin Islands, followed by three days on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. A link to some pictures is at the bottom left.

November 6th: Returned from three separate adventures. First, a week in Key West at Fantasy Festival. A very crazy carnival type celebration with lots of body paint. There is a link to the left if you want to see a selection of pictures. (WARNING - Some pictures contain what I will simply call "Artistic Nudity", so use your own discretion.) After Key West, I spent three days in Orlando at the DEMA Show (scuba diving and travel), before joining the family at a cabin in the Smokey's. Back home now for some football and basketball.

October 15th: Returned from a week on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, along with nine other members of the Bluegrass Dive Club in Lexington, Kentucky. Pictures and a short video at the link on the left.

September 29th: Kathy and I returned from four days at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. Did some hiking and fly fishing. No Fall color as of yet.

September 22nd: Kathy and I returned from four days at Disney World in Orlando. Stayed at Wilderness Lodge and scuba dived in the aquarium at Epcot.

August 12th: Kathy and I returned from a ten day safari in Kenya, Africa. We took our niece to visit her brother who has been serving in the Peace Corp for the past two years. Feel free to click on the link to the left to view some safari pictures.

July 16th: Amanda marries William. Christopher is one year old. Wedding and reception at the University of Louisville Alumni Center.

June 18th: After three weeks in the Caribbean, I returned home to Kentucky and my family. The Bluegrass Dive Club had nearly 30 members in Bonaire, including the three of us traveling from BVI. Follow the link of the left to view some pictures.

June 10th: Finished ten days in the British Virgin Islands with friends from Lexington, Kentucky. Afterwards continued the adventure to Bonaire, meeting with members of the Bluegrass Dive Club for a week of scuba diving. Feel free to check out the BVI pictures by clicking on the link to the left.

April 9th: Returned from two weeks in Grenada and The Grenadines. After a week of sailing we joined other members of the Bluegrass Dive Club for a week of scuba diving, hiking and socializing. Click on the link to the left to see pictures of our adventures.

February 20th: Returned from two weeks in the South Pacific Fiji Islands with 18 members of the Bluegrass Dive Club from Lexington, Kentucky. Click on the link at the left to see a short narrative with pictures and a shark video.

January 29th: Returned from one week with the Louisville Dive Club at the Little Cayman Beach Resort on Little Cayman Island. You can view a few pictures and a short video by clicking on the link on the left.

January 1st: Traveled a week ago with Kathy to St. Petersburg, Florida to watch the Louisville Cardinals play Southern Mississippi in the Beef O'Brady Bowl. Louisville wins football game, but yesterday afternoon gave a poor showing against University of Kentucky in basketball. New Year's Eve with friends in Louisville, and the "happy feet" finally kicked-in after about seven beers. Headed to Little Cayman with a few members of the Louisville Dive Club on the 21st of January. Anybody want to go to Little Cayman in three weeks?

December 18th: Returned from one week in the British Virgin Islands with a crew of five aboard Wind Dancer, another bare-boat adventure of sailing and diving. A picture link is on the left.

December 6th: Four days, three nights, in Breckenridge, Colorado with my hiking friend, Judge. We spent two days on the Quandary Peak Trail stomping through the snow. Feel free to click on QUANDARY PEAK to view a short video at 13,000 feet.

November 19th: Three days in Las Vegas at the DEMA show (Diving Equipment & Manufacturers Association). Lots of new scuba toys and many great diving destinations!

November 7th: Returned from French Polynesia where we were on a ten day Princess cruise ship, sailing through the islands of the South Pacific, including Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. Total travel time from Louisville to Papeete was about 20 hours (each way), however, it was worth the hassle. The islands are very scenic, but also expensive and my French ain't so good. I have posted some pictures if anyone would like to take a look. Just click on the link on the left.

October 10th: Returned from one week in Key West with a small group of Bluegrass Dive Club members. The weather was nice, except too windy, resulting in only two days of scuba diving. One day was a big mess due to a nasty current and poor visability. The other day was a little better, but still marginal. The "Duval Street Crawl" was a success, and often a singular activity during the week.

September 21st: Returned from my first trip to Bayfield, Wisconsin. I was met by friends Randy & Sue in Minneapolis and drove 5 hours to the Pike's Bay marina on Lake Superior. We sailed the Apostle Islands for three days where I had the opportunity to visit with Steve, my former sailing instructor. In addition, I had a chance to visit with Marba & Rich, old friends from California. A link to pictures is on the left.

September 12th: Sunday at the "Cookie Stop", a SAG rest area half-way between Bardstown and Louisville. This is the second day of the annual Old Kentucky Home Tour bike ride with over 1,000 riders.. This 50 mile ride was definately the limits of my biking ability. Not many 64 year old dudes on the route, certainly a younger man's activity. I made it without walking my bike, but did not break any speed records.

August 29th: Returned from several days in Key West with the Mel Fisher people. After the regular "dog & pony show", I actually got to spend a day diving with the crew aboard their search vessel. Unfortunately, no gold or silver, only three musket balls.

August 2nd: Returned from a week on the Red Reflet Ranch in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. Rode horses & ATV's, along with fishing & hiking. Also made a guick stop at Mt. Rushmore before returning home to Kentucky.

July 23rd: Michael Beans travels to Louisville to perform at Noel & Kathy's "Pirate Party". We drank 16 gallons of rum punch & painkillers during the several hours of fellowship with friends. Picture link is on the left.

June 9th: Just returned from eleven days in the British Virgin Islands, along with a total of sixteen pirates split between two sailing catamarans. Feel free to click on the link on the left to see some pictures and a short video.

May 11th: Springtime in Kentucky, finally. Weather has been a little "all over the place", but great to see decent temperatures and colors. Primary activity during April was attending Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, along with friends. A few pictures at the link on the left. Not long before I head to BVI with a motely crew of 16 pirates. My 64th birthday coming soon, along with my 40th wedding anniversary. Our daughter's (Amanda) baby is due in three weeks.

March 31st: Returned with Kathy from a week at Sandal's Grande Resort on the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean. The resort is marketed primarily toward couples, and we are a couple, so that worked out pretty good. While we were there, the island was invaded by a couple of rich Russians, who flew in on their private Boeing 737 to meet up with their private mega-yacht. Click on the link to the left to view a few pictures.

March 6th: Returned from Little Cayman where I joined a group of twelve members of the Bluegrass Dive Club out of Lexington, Kentucky. It was a good week of fun in the sun. You can view a few pictures by clicking on the link to the left.

January 9th: Returned from the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean, where I spent a week of scuba diving with the Louisville, Kentucky dive club (associated with the Rotary Club). I, along with Bernardo & Dean, also took 3 hours of kite boarding lessons. We found that it will take more than 3 hours to acquire even the basic skills necessary to reach a novice level of ability. We all agreed that it is "do-able" , but we will need more instruction. As Dean remarked, I looked like a hooked marlin as the kite pulled me out of the ocean and slammed me on my face. There was blood and rope burns involved, but we refuse to be discouraged! Weather was great, but now I'm back in the cold & snow in Kentucky. If you would like to see a few pictures and a short video, click on the link on the left.

December 9th: Returned from Minneapolis, where I joined sailing/diving friends Randy, Sue, Rosy, Eric and Heather. We attended a "Golden Gophers" basketball game at The Barn on the University of Minnesota campus. Thanks to Jerry for helping us obtain excellent game tickets and passes into the University Club Room. Later we moved the party to "Sally's", a campus watering hole, to finish the evening. One comment.... I'll never complain about winter in Kentucky again! Damn, it's cold in Minnesota.

November 28th: Returned from Thanksgiving week in the British Virgin Islands with a group of ten from Omaha, Nebraska. We chartered two sailing catamarans and hit most of the high spots during the week. Click on the link on the left for some pictures and a short trip review.

October 21st: Returned from three weeks in Indonesia. We were actually on the dive boat for eleven days, but with travel time and a few days on the island of Bali, the total was twenty-one days. The trip home really "nailed" me, as from the time I left the hotel on Bali to the time I landed in Louisville was 42 hours! Feel free to click on the link at the left to see some pictures and a short video.

September 10th: Just returned with nephew Charlie, along with Judge and Jimmy, from Telluride, Colorado where we completed our 217 mile mountain bike ride between Telluride, Colorado and Moab, Utah. We only skipped one section, John Brown Canyon, in order to return to Telluride a day early and climb Mt. Sneffels. We made the summit on the morning of September 9th, an altitude of 14,150 ft. I have added some pictures and a short video of the mountain summit, just click on the link on the left.