Hubert is still mostly retired, going to the Lab one day per week, and Deb in heading in that direction. However, we are in full retirement-travel mode.

Early in the year, we went to Baton Rouge to visit Deb's brother Miles, who was in failing health. (Pass Christian)

While there, we finally got to visit LIGO Livingston. We had tried before, but they only are open for visits one Saturday per month, and over the years, this had never coincided with our visits. Turned out to be a good thing, since our visit came after their observation of the black-hole merger.
We also visited Poverty Point, an archeological site older than the pyramids. In New Orleans, we caught an early Mardi Gras parade with our friends Sissy, Jim and Jolie

In the early spring, we went to Portugal. Hubert's sister Sofia and her husband Ed, who live in Holland during the warm parts of the year, are snowbirds there, spending the winter in the Algarve. We arrived in March, and spent some days together in Lisbon, before they headed back home to Amsterdam. Portugal is a beautiful, hilly country country with many lovely walled cities overlooking the ocean. Lots of stairs and steep streets to climb.

We spent some days in Holland before and after our Portugal visit, squeezing in as many friends and family as possible, the usual routine.

Capulin trip with cousin Jennifer and family

Return visit to Lousisana to visit Miles and then for the funeral

Since retiring, Hubert has been taking Spanish, and one of the women in the class has organized trips to Oaxaca, Mexico over the years. We joined her for a 2-week trip around the Dia de los Muertos. If you have seen the movie 'Coco', it is just like that. The city of Oaxaca... The ancient Zapotec culture survives to this day, and there are nearby Monte Alban Zapotec ruins which are spectacular.

We spent Thanksgiving with Saskia and Andrew in Tucson. A wonderful city once the temperatures have abated.

In December, Hubert had to go to CERN for a weeklong meeting of the experiment that his team is now a member of ( LHCb). We had not been back there in decades. We decided to stay in same town where we lived way back in the mid-80s. Of course, many things had changed, but it was nice to drive through the familiar countryside. After that, we drove to Frankfurt and spent a few days with our friend Sam, and then onward to Holland for a few days before heading home again. After all that travel, we were happy to spend Christmas in Santa Fe, a magical place during the holidays.

Wishing you health and happiness in the next year,