Hello Again Good Readers!
Fully vaxxed (at that point) and ready to get back out there in the fine Duke tradition of Christmas Adventures, but wanting to avoid a protracted quarantine in Thailand, we booked a packed Christmas adventure, once again returning to the Big Apple and planning to make it back on Christmas Eve. It was truly packed with stuff and with Gabby being a little older now, we fit more in as well as some key repeats. Cold but not frozen (for the most part) we did okay with the weather and lined up some wonderful visits to the Empire State and the Botanical Gardens with their fabulous Christmas Lights and handmade displays inside the impressive Glasshouse, followed by dinner in the Italian section of the Bronx. We simply had to go back to the classic Museum of Natural History but despite a pre-booked and timed entry (all of NYC was like that), there were massive queues and we waited nearly an hour to get in, but always always fun inside. We also did our first carol service at Saint Thomas and saw the parade for Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the nearby and very impressive St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Our prepaid tickets for The Met paid off in terms of limited waiting and helped bolster Gabby’s growing fascination with Ancient Egypt, and what trip wouldn’t now be complete without a visit to see Santa at Macy's! We also squeezed in Charlie Brown Line at Time Square’s Palladium, a wonderful visit to the New York Public Library and Bryant Park Christmas Market. On our way to the fascinating The Morgan Museum, we visited the splendid Grand Central Terminus and then marveled at the private collection the Morgan Family (think Banking) collected over the years. We took a smashing NY Harbor Cruise so Gabby could see Lady Liberty and spent our last afternoon wandering around Central Park and paying homage to John Lennon at the Imagine Mosaic. That left only a visit to the Museum of Modern and Wicked to finish! But Covid had different plans, and that night, late, after the girls had gone to sleep in the apartment, we started getting notes of flight cancellations and delays the next day and despite lots of back and forthing with United (who like most carriers were struggling with what would eventually be the Omicron wave causing pilots and staff to miss work) we resigned ourselves to a Christmas Day trip back to Houston (a fact we managed to cover up with an anxious Gabby) and we were lucky enough to get the same rate for an extra night in apartment, a trip to the excellent Children’s Museum of Manhattan, and a last minute early slot for dinner that night.
Of course, that wasn’t to be the end of it. We almost got stranded in Memphis on the way home that Christmas Day with an equipment issue and by then, Matt was pretty sure that late afternoon that he was coming down with a cold. NYC had very strict covid protocols (at least compared to Houston). Masks for taxis, Uber, restaurants, museums, libraries, shows and the hotel except when in our room, and all four of us had to show our vax passes at every stop. One enterprising Uber driver even found a way to use plastic sheeting, duct tape and some clothes dryer exhaust tubing to connected to the heater to keep his air separate from us. Despite all that and being super careful, Matt’s reading the news on Christmas Day Morning as the girls open presents (well, it’s actually Boxing Day by then but you get the story) relating how this new strain was going bonkers in NYC and not to mistake the milder symptoms for the common cold……….. (Dramatic music please). A quick home test later and two others over the next 3 days confirmed Covid and Matt spent the next 10 days sleeping and living in the guest room! Luckily no one else caught it and apart from a lot of fatigue (perhaps amplified by the prior week’s hectic schedule) and one afternoon of body aches, it was largely a non-event but a poignant reminder that the risk remains!
Late Jan our first camp out on the new strip of garden at the back of our house our pizza oven that was our anniversary present to ourselves last year. It actually got (almost) chilly and reminded Matt of what camping used to feel like in the UK (without the rain). January is a great time in Houston for things like the wood-pellet Ooni pizza oven with cool temperatures at night as the oven itself cooks pizzas in a few minutes with temperatures getting up to 500 C (950 F). That camping theme on a cold and rainy day that really felt like the UK continued into February with Gabby’s first Girl Scout Day Camp at the semi-legendary (for Houston-area Mums) Camp Robinwood, about 50 miles north of us.
March’s Spring Break for second time in three years became the Daddy-Daughter Road Trip. And as with 2020, we decided to go to New Mexico but unlike 2 years ago, the driving was done in a much less cumbersome Toyota Tacoma. With Jeab seizing the opportunity with much less cumbersome Covid restrictions to return to Thailand and visit Mum and Dad, the remaining Dukes flew into Albuquerque (yes, you have to say it like Bugs Bunny does) to begin the road trip. Starting at the lovely but somewhat subdued Chaco Hotel (with its roof top dining and gorgeous sunsets over the Sandia Range, oh, and actor Luke Evans in our elevator), we ventured to the nearby and very walkable Historic Old town (the highlight for Gabby being the Rattlesnake Museum) and most excellent Museum of Natural History and Science. Just to the other side of our hotel are the Sawmill Markets for a wide variety of food options and Mama’s Minerals with a wide variety of rocks. Also worth a visit was the highly informative if not somewhat eclectic Turquoise Museum. You will learn more than you thought possible about the history and quality grading (and how to spot fakes) of this multi-billion dollar industry. The museum itself was a wealthy lady’s private home at one time, built in a Paris-style estate (or German depending on who you believe), right in the middle of Downtown (Skid Row to be precise). It used to be called the Gertrude Zachary Castle and despite looking quite aged and grand, it was built in 2008 by the eponymous wealthy antique collector and Jewelry maven.
Next up was a scenic drive along the east side of the Sandias (as opposed to the more direct, straight up the Rio Grande Valley route (Root as opposed to Rout ). We had tickets – a pre-booked time slot - to take the cable car up the mountain as it was closed due to the pandemia last time we were here, but the 90-120 minute wait put us off and so we decided to get to the crest the less direct method by driving up there. At 10,679 feet the air was quite thin, still a lot of snow on the ground, and quite breezy but the views over the valley far below were amazing and much less crowded. We finally got to our hotel just a little east of Santa Fe Plaza and settled in for what was going to be the longest of our 3 stays. Santa Fe has an amazing number of Museums and things to visit just in historic district and all walkable. Yes, there is a fair amount of touristy shopping to be had, and reservations for the nicer places to eat are a must, but packed in to that area and well worth a visit are the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Loretto Chapel, Our Lady of Guadalupe, San Miguel Chapel, the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, the Palace of the Governors, the Museum of Education, the State Capitol Building, the NM History Museum and the NM Museum of Art. Not to mention a plethora of private art galleries. In addition, and really only a short drive away, we found ourselves enjoying an indoor climbing center, blowing glass at Prairie Dogs Glass, and making things at Paseo Pottery. These can all generally be found in the same area to the southwest of downtown along Cerrillos Road. For our last day on a somewhat snowy day, we spent a good 4 hours at the excellent Santa Fe Children's Museum. Only thing left to do was box up and ship all our creativity back to Houston and continue the road trip to Taos. Once again, we eschewed the direct root and headed out to the 285, branching off at the junction with 68 to stay more to west of the Rio Grande on the 285 to the 567, to eventually join the 64 and approach Taos from the West. This gave us a much better view of the snow-covered mountains that sit behind Taos and contain the famous ski resort. Unfortunately, due to covid, all the Pueblo communities were closed to visitors, but the drive was amazing, nonetheless. After settling in that night, we went back to spend more time at the stunning Rio Grande Gorge. Geologists will know about how this area represents the northern reaches of the Rio Grande Rift (lesson warning!). The Rio Grande Rift began forming between 35 and 29 million years ago when Earth’s lithosphere began to spread apart, triggering volcanic in this region of which you can see many examples. It stretches from the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, to at least Leadville, Colorado. In Albuquerque, the basin sediments are three miles thick. The Rio Grande Rift continues to widen very slowly today (about 2.5 mm per year in central NM).
A few easy days in Taos included wandering around its Arts and Crafts district and taking in the fascinating El Monte Sagrado. Before long though it was time for another circuitous trip back to Albuquerque for our final night. Back then to Espanola to branch off to Los Alamos and the home of the Manhattan Project and on to the very pleasurable Bandelier National Monument. Here they had eased some of the restrictions and we were free to wander around and, in some cases, climb up into the caves. The Ancestral Pueblo people lived here from approximately 1150 CE to 1550 CE. They built homes carved from the volcanic tuff and planted crops in mesa top fields. Corn, beans, and squash were central to their diet, supplemented by native plants and meat. By 1550, the Ancestral Pueblo people had moved from this area to pueblos along the Rio Grande. After over 400 years the land here could no longer support the people and a severe drought added to what were already becoming difficult times.
We still had to get to the outskirts of Albuquerque that evening but not without a very scenic drive through the Valles Caldera. It is one of the world's largest and youngest calderas. It was created 1.2 million years ago by collapse of a magma chamber during a large "super volcano" eruption, similar to those postulated for past Yellowstone eruptions. Geologists consider the volcanic features in the rift region to be dormant, not extinct, and measurements of ground surface motion show that processes associated with magma intrusion continue under Valles and within the Socorro magma body. HWY4 is a very attractive and scenic drive through this volcanic terrain. Eventually. We drive south passing through Jemez Springs with its stunning red rocks, Canon and the Jemez and Zia Pueblos (all still closed to visitors) before ending at Santa Ana at the northern end of town. Great trip and thoroughly recommend this itinerary to get to know central NM.
With Jeab back from Thailand, life continues with a number of fun evens for us all. Callie was invited to join a band at school made of seniors, as their bass player, and importantly, to be in their HSPVA senior show written and performed by seniors. It was extremely well done and we are very proud of Callie who really pushed to be ready to play and act in the show as the band were an integral part of the play. Meanwhile, Gabby continued to enjoy Sunday School at our Thai Temple. Finally, at the end of March, Matt got to see Genesis’ last every convert. Canceled twice already due to covid (most recently on a trip of Matt’s to England the prior Autumn), it was going to be now or never. And so, on the very last night of their very last tour at the O2, Matt and Simon showed up to see what was at once both wonderful and sad. One by one, the supporting artist left, leaving only Collins, Rutherford and Banks to make their goodbyes. Then, at the very end, only Phil. He shuffles off, clearly in pain, to be met at the edge of the stage and helped down the exit steps as the lights go down one final time.
In April we hosted and Unocal Thailand Reunion comprising of many Thai and Expats friends we had worked with in the 11 years that Matt had lived there. Most, but not all, had ended up working for Chevron and we had a lovely afternoon (albeit a little warmer than we were expecting) by the pool catching up, swapping stories, and importantly, eating lots and lots of Thai Food.
May is always exciting for Gabby’s birthday and this year’s post pandemia celebration was even more enhanced by the fact that she wanted a joint 6th Birthday Party with Bestie Ellie. In what was a somewhat unusual idea for Texas parties, but in any case, at least appreciated by the parents, the birthday girls decided to make tie-dye shirts instead of bags with sweets for their guests. A fun party at her “tumbling” was enhanced by the addition of Sharon and Keith Shepstone. Also, of note for this month was the final removal of the training wheels for Gabby who now rides her bike like a pro.
2022 also turned out be a year of retirements for Matt’s Friends, and maybe one last ride for Route-2-66. The band reformed for a retirement concert at the once again renamed Bubba’s on Washington for 4 colleagues from work with Stan and Kathy Franklin heading down from Arkansas to play for a packed house of our collective friends. However, as fun as that was, there were more mainstream concerts to attend, with many bands shaking off their pandemic restrictions and hitting the road. During this period, we saw 80’s maestros Tears For Fears, Steely Dan and Snarky Puppy at the same venue, a sell out and thoroughly enjoyable Coldplay and the legendary and still entertaining (on their 4th farewell tour we think), the Eagles
June was very busy for Callie as she approached the end of her Junior Year by making her first stop animation project for school, and almost as soon as school finished (well, in fact, just a few days earlier), Callie, Gabby and Jeab headed off to spend 3 weeks in Bangkok. Matt, on the other hand, went on his first Geology Field Trip in some 18 or so years. But not before an informal reunion of the graduating geologists of 1987 from Aberystwyth. Matt, Dave, Yvonne, Sophie, Chris, and Amanda all converged on Aber for a great weekend of nostalgia and fun. Joined Amanda’s family, and for a day, house mate John Simms, they met at the department for a magic trip down memory lane with their old (78) Geochemistry prof Ron Fuge, before wandering the town and meeting that night for a meal, joined by Rob Whittington. Next day, the gang continued the tour with kicking the bar, walking to the top of Constitution Hill, then on to the always popular dunes at Borth and Ynyslas. That final Sunday evening say Matt, Chris and Dave keep the party going. Not sure when we might all get together, but hopefully not in another 35 years.
Keeping the reunion theme going, Matt stopped by to visit George Taylor in the Welsh Marches, at his studio, on the way to meet Simon in London and sneak in a visit to see a fabulous Queen at the O2. Then on to western Ireland for a week’s geology school, looking at some of the most impressive outcrops in a shelf to deepwater fan system extravaganza. In addition to a great trip, there was the Summer Solstice at the beach in Kilkee, meeting up with Leah and James at a restaurant, Matt temporarily joining a local band as an impromptu bodhran player, and a visit to the bucket-list Cliffs of Insanity, more commonly known as the Cliffs of Moher.
The family are reunited in time for Callie to turn 17 and just before she heads off to Philly for a 3-week deep immersion program at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Law, you say? Hmm, surprised us too to be honest but having done a “what career” questionnaire earlier at school that suggested looking at law, she did that, and came back very intrigued having floated to the top of the moot court elimination rounds and the contract negotiations sections. She enjoyed staying in the dorms and living the student life, making new friends, and rethinking her university choices. She now has a preferred path to do her LLB in the UK next Autumn with some back up schools in the US. This presents us with both and problem and an opportunity. Perhaps it’s time for Matt to return to the UK for at least a few years to see how it plays out for Callie. In any case, for someone like Callie, who loves language, getting deep into details, is stubborn and wants to do the right thing when winning, turns our law might just be her thing. Stay tuned!
With Callie safely settled into summer school it was time for the rest of us to jet off to England and France. First stop, the Derbyshire Peak District to meet Matt’s Brother Stephen, over from Australia, and Fran and Jez driving up from the Bristol area. We rented a lovely farmhouse in the middle of Edale, not far from Castleton and the amazing sights of the beautiful part of England. Summer and glorious (if not a little busy). Little did we know about the ensuing heatwave and the very real fact that the farmhouse did a great of keeping the heat in!. Gabby and Matt slept on the kitchen floor two nights as it was the coolest (relatively) spots in the house. We also visited a few caves that also helped with the soaring temps. A day to the air-conditioned Arndale Center in Manchester, a walk next to the Ladybower Reservoir and lunch with Dorinda and Grace, plus a hike up on top of Stanage Edge, Mam Tor and Pevensey Castle helped take the edge off too. Most of all though, it was a chance for the Duke Siblings to reunite and for Uncle Stephen to spend some quality time for the first time with his niece Gabby. The only downside, Jeab started to feel a bit rundown and unsettled in the stomach, but more to come on that.
After that party broke up, the three of us headed south over a two-day period on the Anglo Saxon Trail from Mercia to Wessex, starting off visiting St Wystans in Repton. Repton was an earlier capital for the ancient kingdom of Mercia, and the church, named after the Saint of the same name, it contains an impressive 8th century crypt beneath it. Repton is also home to the very famous (and pricey) Repton School which dominates much of the town. After lunch we headed south to the next ancient Mercian Capital of Tamworth, but not before a quick check in with Jeab’s friend from college in Bangkok, Khun Fon and her beau Simon.
Tamworth has a very nice, if not compact, Castle and a lovely medieval church called St Editha, and a statue to Sri Robert Peel – who while Prime Minister, is credited with creating the forerunner to the modern police force known then as the “Bobbies” or “Peelers” - but the main attraction for us was the statue of Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians (c. 870 – 12 June 918). She ruled Mercia in the English Midlands from 911 until her death. She was the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and his wife Ealhswith. A wonderful role model for Gabby to learn about, Æthelflæd was a great ruler who played an important part in the conquest of the Danelaw. She was praised by Anglo-Norman chroniclers such as William of Malmesbury, who described her as "a powerful accession to [Edward's] party, the delight of his subjects, the dread of his enemies, a woman of enlarged soul". Heady Stuff! But had more to explore and continued on towards the Cotswolds and the lovely Bourton-on-the-Water for a night. By now Jeab was not feeling too good and so after a light dinner, she went back to our room while Matt and Gabby explored the town with its multiple small bridges over the river that runs through the town.
Feeling a little more rested the next day we set off to explore the much filmed and very photographed “chocolate box” village of Bibury. William Morris called it “the most beautiful village in England” and it is easy to agree (go early and be prepared to hunt for parking). The picturesque Arlington Row cottages were built in 1380 as a monastic wool store. This was converted into a row of cottages for weavers in the 17th century. With more to pack in before ultimately ending up in Lightwater for a BBQ at Simon’s house, we headed off south once more for Uffington Castle and White Horse, a late lunch at Wantage- Home of Alfred the Great and finally in Wessex, before a spot of tiffin with Sandra Bull and Greg just outside Oxford. The next day we spent almost all of our time at Windsor, not realizing of course, that there would be a changing of ownership in the not too far future with the passing of Elizabeth II, considering we had a rare chance to see her impressive coronation gown.
So now we are heading over to Kent, to the fine medieval (and earlier) city of Rochester in the Thames-Medway confluence. Home to both an ancient castle and cathedral, this was to be the site of Duke Family reunion organized by Cousin Margaret and Colin. Stephen, Fran and Jez joined us and although, in the end due to covid, 2 of our cousins and some of their children (and their children) weren’t able to make it, we did have a lovely visit and are very thankful. The next day, before heading to Lyme Regis, Matt and Stephen visit their Nana and Grandad’s house in Chatham and visited some of the sights they remember when they were two little boys.
Driving back round the M25 to eventually branch south to the Jurassic Coast, we pass through Surrey, and therefore must meet Donna for Sunday Lunch at a very very nice converted The Red Barn, near Lingfield. As much as a nice nap would have rounded off that afternoon, we were Lyme Regis bound, past the traffic scrum that is Stone Henge, to go on the trail for Mary Anning, Gabby’s favourite Paleontologist.
With two fantastic museums, the fossil hunting beaches and cliffs, the Cobb small fishing harbour and a number of nice restaurants to choose from, Matt and Gabby had a great time here. Sadly, Jeab was MIA for most of it, with the return of what we thought was a tummy bug. As wonderful as the NHS is, for something like this, we fall through the cracks. Not enough for an emergency, too much for a Chemist’s consultation. We’ll get to a resolution eventually but for now, Jeab was confined to a limited activities during the day. Gabby and Matt found some great fossils including a huge ammonite, as found Mary’s final resting place but Jeab’s poor condition was worrying so instead of a long drive to Norwich for what would have been a lovely high school reunion, we decided to head northwest to stay with Fran and Jez and see what might be going on. After a 6 hour wait at the Urgent Care on the outskirts of Bristol, we realized that we needed to find a private doctor to get some testing done for a number of things including pregnancy (not!), hernia-mesh related issues, sonogram, and parasite test. All were negative but while Jeab was feeling a little better, she was far from back to normal and had started to lose weight.
While resting and waiting for any results, Matt and Gabby met up with Emily, Andrew and Frances who happened to be in Bristol visiting family (Facebook happenstance again). After another lovely Sunday lunch, we headed north to Manchester to await the arrival of Callie. The night before her plane, we watched the most amazing football as the England Women’s Team won the European title. More Girl Power for Gabby! We had really missed Callie but she was having adventures of her own and having spent the prior night at our house, Sharon Shepstone drove her to the airport to make the overnight to Manchester, where a very excited Gabby got to see her big sister again! We had a surprise tour of Beatles Liverpool planned for her, but that had been covid-cancelled so know we improvised and made our own tour at the Docklands where there is a great new museum, the large bronze statues near the Liver Building, the Mathew Street and Cavern Quarter area and of course, Penny Lane.
Now for the final stage of the trip, flying over to Toulouse to stay, once again, with Dave and Linda
near Bouloc-en-Quercy, in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. It’s always fun to stay although the weariness of yet another heat wave did limit the amount of activity. That and the fact that our bags didn’t make it for a few days after we did. The heat did take a little bit more out of Jeab than the rest of us, although the doctor had not been able to find any smoking gun. Left without a diagnosis we continued to be worried, but Jeab was able to join in with some of fun and when we were not all napping for our daily siesta, we were hiking, and visiting wineries, doing arts and crafts, picking fruit, camping, and staring up at the clear sky at night. As with every other trip, they were the consummate all-round excellent hosts, and we love them dearly. All too soon though, our time was up, and we were heading back to Manchester for one more night before the return to Houston and back to work, the 1st Grade for Gabby and the final senior year for Calliana. And also, finally, back in Houston, a diagnosis. Jeab did indeed have a parasite, we think in hindsight, for the past 8 weeks, but not one they know to test for in Europe. So, a lot thinner and a little bit weary, Jeab was able to shake it off with some specific and very strong antibiotics and now, 4 months later, is back to normal.
Was it all good time from then? Yes and no. First, the sad tale of Mortimer. We decided it was time for a family dog and so we did our best at the nearby shelters to find one. Mortimer was that one. Friendly, bright, and simply adorable, they said he was black lab cross. So, we took him home. In less than a few days he was playing fetch in the back yard, spending the night in his cage, telling us when he needed to go out and do his business (and using the pads in his room in an emergency, but the more we looked at him, the more he started to seem a bit Pit Bull to us. Not an issue for us if we plan to stay in the US and most shelter dogs in Houston are part Pit Bull it turns out. However, he’s breed needs to be certified by a vet if we are to live in another country and our vet says, “very strong Pit Bull traits”. So, that rules out the UK and NZ where this breed and crosses (Dangerous Breeds) cannot be brought into those countries. As these two very probably next locations for us, we were faced with a painful return after a week or a really painful parting in a few years. We chose the former and while there were tears, we’re happy to report that Mortimer was readopted in about a week. We’re still mulling over our next steps for a dog…….
So, a 1st Grader and Highschool Senior in the house. A very different vibe as you can imagine. One is stressing out about grades and ACTs and LNATs and one is just ecstatic about her new teacher, even though only one of her Kindy classmates is in her new class. Gabby has a full schedule between gymnastics, ballet, and soccer- when she’s not doing girl scouts things. Meanwhile, to help release some of the tension for Callie, we continued the concert going, including the excellent Billy Joel, the very stately and still grooving Frankie Vallie, and a wonderful Beatles Tribute band called the Fab Four.
Matt doesn’t get too school-boy-tongue-tied, but when he got to meet a real-life hero in the form of Apollo 13 and the Space Shuttle Program, Mr. Fred Haise, he was just that. And so, it seems, October to
mid December have simply flown by. One minuet Jeab and Matt are seeing the Texans and we’re decorating for Halloween, the next it is the 1st grader Camping Trip while watching the Astros win the baseball championship, Callie is dressing up for the Renaissance Festival and Jeab is off to Sedona for a Ladies Hiking weekend with Sharon, Michelle, Susan, and Frances. Oh, and we got the building approval and the contract finally signed and ready to start digging in Wanaka, NZ! Also very very proud of Sister Frances who completed her Master's Degree this year and had a lovely ceremony in Bristol. Well done!
Not to be out done, Matt had always wanted to visit Sedona, so the very next weekend after Jeab’s adventure, it was back to Phoenix and after a late lunch with Fred and Elise, we drove up to what really must be one of prettiest towns in America. Note to self, probably avoid Thanksgiving next time, but it was absolutely stunning and well worth a visit. Upon our return, we get into the Christmas run. Decorating the tree, hosting some Christmas Parties like the one for the Ponthier Family visiting from Kuwait, attending other like Lights in the Heights and the Shepstone Party. Matt’s Band have started playing again (well, at least rehearsing) and we have a slab poured in New Zealand. We’ll go to Bangkok on Christmas Day this year for a few weeks and when we return, we look forward to a year of change for all of us. A trip to NZ is on the cards. Matt will have several overseas business trips and hopefully the band will take off again. Callie will have applied to colleges in the UK and America and will have a big decision to make before the summer begins in earnest. Jeab will take it all in her stride and make sure the family stays fit and healthy.
So here we are. Another year that was generally fun, full of adventure, some drama and also a little sad as we said goodbye to some great people who crossed the Rainbow Bridge this year. Wherever you are and how ever you celebrate the end of one year and the start of another, we hope you stay hearty and hale and we thank you for your continued fellowship over the years and miles/kilometers.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Gabriella, Calliana, Jeab and Matt
Houston, December 2022
Not really sure we'll ever get back to "normal" in a post-pandemia, co-covid world. None-the-less, life moves on a pace for the Dukes and 2022 was pretty packed.
2022:The New Normal?