2006 Year in Review

2006 Year in Review

Highlights: 

• TDY to the Financial Support and Training Office (FSTO) in Paris to spell the Director from January 9 - February 3.

• During the TDY in Paris Doris and I took advantage of the French cuisine and many of the tourist sights through "Paris Walks" like Monmartre and Bastille and took in shows like Jacques Brel and at the Moulin Rouge and Crazy Horse.  We had an apartment in the Neuilly district near the Bois de Boulogne and used to take the bus into work together each morning.  Doris would do more sightseeing and shopping and we would meet for lunch.  In fact, she found her wedding dress at a store in Paris. 

• Continued to attend cultural and music events in Charleston at the Symphony and North Charleston Performing arts center Broadway series.  Tristan & Isolde

• March 18 our wedding at St. Mary's of the Annunciation downtown followed by a reception at Magnolia's.  My cousin Father John Kelly from Biloxi, Mississippi said Mass and gave us our vows.  The Frank Duvall trio played.  We first met Frank at Charleston Place where he used to play on the weekends.  He still teaches at the College of Charleston and plays Bass for the Charleston Jazz Orchestra. Wedding was preceeded by receptions at the Darby's (March 16) and Groceclose's (February 12).  My cousins from California Bob and Rosemarie Porter and Tom and Sondra Meehan as well as my Peace Corps buddy Jack Colbourn and his wife Kathy also flew out for the wedding.  Brother Chris was my best man.

Wedding Announcement

Best Man Chris

Wedding Party with Father Kelly

          

Chris with Ann Darby Maid of Honor

Gordon Darby with Doris

• March 25 - April 1 Honeymoon cruise on Norwegian to Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Key West.   We remember Jim and Mary Millette waving to us from the shore as we left. 

• Doris made a trip to visit her sister Raine and her husband Dick in York, Maine from April 6-10.

• April 10-16 - Volunteered at the annual WTA Family Circle Cup tournament working with court maintenance.  Nadia Petrova (Russsia) defeated Patty Schnyder (Swiss).  Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur defeated Virginia Pascual and Meghann Shaughnessy in doubles.   

Lenny holding a Green Iguana

• On Friday, April 21st in conjunction with a visit to D.C. Doris and I went to the famous Blues Alley to catch a performace by singer-songwriter Regina Belle.

• May 6 Doris and I rented kayaks and paddled Beresford Creek out to Clouder Creek and Cooper River.

• May 11-12 Visited Patrick in Fairfax.

• May 26-29 Visited Highlands, NC for long weekend of hiking and rafting down the Natahala river.

Great time with me almost falling in

• While in Budapest in June the participants took a night dinner cruise on the Danube.  It happened to be Jim Millette's birthday as well so we celebrated.  We also found a neat English pub near our hotel to congregate after meetings each night.  Budapest was formed by the union of Buda on the right bank and Pest on the left bank of the Danube.    

• Out to San Francisco June 23-27 staying at the El Rancho Inn in Millbrae, remebering the BART trains passing in the night.  Visit the brothers and got to a Giants game. Meehan family reunion.

• We also managed to visit David in Atlanta on the weekend of July 8th and attend a Braves game at Turner field.

• I remember pack out and closing on the purchase of the lot for our eventual new home the week of July 10.

• It didn't take long to get introduced to Bobby Raja (Raja's Fashions) Soi 4 Sukumvit for tailoring my shirts, pants and suits.

• Doris and I made our first trip out of Bangkok to Hua Hin on the long weekend of September 2-4.

• For more photos see:

http://dorisandbilltraveladventures.blogspot.com/2007/01/hua-hin-thailand.html?view=timeslide

• October 7-9 we participated in our first CLO (Community Liaison Office) trip to Luang Prabang original capitol of Laos headed up by Kuhn Jeed.  It is common for tourists to offer food to monks like sticky rice, biscuits, fruit or vegetables

Doris Feeding the Buddhist Monks

Shrine to Buddah

•  For More Photos See:      

http://dorisandbilltraveladventures.blogspot.com/2007/01/luang-prabang-laos.html?view=timeslide

• We Spent the weekend of October 21-23 in Phuket. Our first visit to this popular resort town and beautiful beaches on the Andaman sea which had been hit with a terrible Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004, which killed 250 people (230,000 in Thailand total) captured in the movie "The Impossible"

Picturesque grounds of the
Cape Panwa Hotel 

   

Beachfront on the Adaman Sea

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• For more photos see:

http://dorisandbilltraveladventures.blogspot.com/2006/10/phuket-thailand.html?view=timeslide

• October 26-November 3 attended an ICASS conference in Sydney, Australia. Doris accompanied me and we visited both Meehan and Booth relatives. Alan and Kate Jones (Meehan) in E. Lindfield just outside Sydney. We learned that last year 2020 Alan and Kate were killed in a head-on car accident. We went out to Windsor, NSW by train to visit Muriel Gilmore (Booth) about 30 miles from Sydney. 

At the Sydney Zoo

With Kate at Paradise Beach

   

With Muriel in Windsor

Overlooking Sydney Harbour

• For more photos see:   Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog Sydney 2006

• Played tennis at least once a week at the JUSMAG compound mostly with GSO Dave Rockey and his wife. JUSMAG compound also included the offices of American dentist.

• FSNs planned holiday parties especially at Christmas time where they would rent a ballroom at a local hotel and celebrate with a luncheon followed by singing and performances by staff. We also had a lot of office parties with pot luck luncheons and especially remember the smoked salmon prepared by Bill Estell.

• Of course every Novemeber around the 10th we would attend the Marine Ball usually held at a local venue.

• Pictured are FSC/Bangkok staff Steve Carignan, Jim Basso and spouse, Marilyn Ferdinand, Bill Estell, Amika and Fred Mauren. I ran into Jim Basso "the old curmudgeon" when I was on an OIG inspection of embassy Moscow in 2013 while he was TDY deputy FMO. Fred Mauren ended up marrying a Thai lady and going to Baghdad. Presently in New Delhi. Bill Estell recently passed away. We still stay in touch with Marilyn whos retired here in Charleston. We lost contact with Fran and Steve.

• November 23rd, in route to Cairo for an ICASS conference, we stopped over in Singapore and spent Thanksgiving and had dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel. We also visited the famous Raffles hotel, Botanical Gardens and Little India.

Singapore Skyline

Botanical Gardens

• In Egypt we visited Cairo and took a cruise down the Nile to Luxor returning to Bangkok December 2.

       

• For more photos see: Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog Egypt 11/12-2006

• Every year our local staff planned holiday parties especially at Christmas time where they would rent a ballroom at a local hotel and celebrate with a luncheon followed by singing and performances by staff. 

• We also had a lot of office parties with pot luck luncheons and especially remember the smoked salmon prepared by Bill Estell.