Christmas Newsletter, 2009

If you can’t read this in email, see the full newsletter with photos online at
http://tayara.com/travels/archives/491

 

Dear Friends,

Bettie and I enjoyed the last year of the “ought's” making music, riding motorcycles, and sailing before the mast.

Music

For Bettie, the year was all about bluegrass music and Allen’s Landing Band (www.allenslandingband.com).

The band changed staff, now with Bettie, Renna, and Bobby; the harmonies are a bit different with two female voices, but just as engaging. They are in the process of acquiring a fancy Bose portable sound system so they can perform at larger venues. An unusual   upcoming gig features them in a wedding ceremony; you would be surprised how few bluegrass songs don’t center on dead mothers or murdered lovers. Below is a (poor quality) photo of a recent performance at Hickory Hollow here in Houston. (The fourth person is Kelly Lancaster on mandolin.) 

You can follow the band on Facebook.

Motorcycles

In describing my motorcycle spiritual evolution, I am (sadly) aware that most normal human beings are unaccountably not obsessed with the sport, so I will keep this brief. Last year I started with a small “dual-sport” Yamaha 250XT and headed for the national forest. Encounters with several trees with bad attitudes persuaded me that the open road is more attractive than trail riding, so early this year the Yamaha was traded for a small “cruiser”, a Honda Shadow 600cc, sort of a Harley-wannabee. It was a good bike, and I learned a lot riding it. In particular I learned I preferred the ruggedness of a dual-sport: a bike that turns pot-holes and speed-bumps into personal ski jumps. But I needed one with highway power, so after agonizing for months (Bettie can provide heart-rending details), I finally settled on a BMW F650GS, an 800cc parallel-twin in the BMW “enduro” line. Theoretically, it is a bike one could ride from here to Tierra del Fuego. Here it is shortly after taking delivery.

So far I am resisting the urge to strike off for Tierra del Fuego and am satisfying myself with delights closer to home such as Texas road food restaurants in the Houston hinterland

and beauties of the Texas Hill Country.

 

Sailing

Our long-time friend Janusz recently retired to pursue his dream of sailing. After preparing his sloop Wereda, he headed south to the ABC’s (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao). His passage down was more arduous than expected, and while he was taking rest in Curacao, we joined him for two weeks.

We shipped aboard Wereda, intending to try our land-lubberly mettle against blue water and tropical heat. In life, learning what you are not is as important as learning what you are, and we discovered we are not sailors. After a week we abandoned ship for an air-conditioned and reassuringly stationary hotel in Willemstad, lucking into a fabulous situation on Curacao’s equivalent of the Grand Canal.

Curacao is a large island of Dutch, African, Spanish, Latin American, Portuguese, and Jewish influence, with much of historical and geographic interest beyond the obligatory sand and sea. We enjoyed touring it thoroughly by car. Here are photo albums of our trip, created by Janusz: part one, part two.

Et Cetera

Other stuff continues as in previous years. We are still involved with Houston Early Music (on the board and running the web site); Bettie is president of our homeowners’ association; I am active in Houston Investors Association (web site and a SIG on investing fundamentals) and another Houston investors club; and I also do the website for the ROMEO Rice University alumni group (don’t ask what the acronym stands for).

And here are online photo albums with a few views of our year. (Click to open).

XmasLetter2009

 

We hope this Christmas season finds you in good health and spirits.