2011 Year in Review

Highlights:

In early March Doris joined me in New Delhi towards the end of the OIG inspection. We participated in the Holi Festival and made side trips to Jaipur, Amber Fort; Rambaugh Palace, Rajistan and Neemrana Fort-Palace. We also celebrated our anniversary and my birthday while there.

Neemrana Fort-Palace

At the Taj Mahal

March 24 we attended the Charleston Jazz "Jazz Samba" featuring music of Stan Getz, Antonio Carlos Jobim among others with band leader Charlton Singleton and Sax players Robert Lewis, Mark Sterbank and Jon Phillips.

On May 12 we took a Revolutionary Walking Tour of downtown Charleston with the Low Country Explorers. Tour included: The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, one of the three most historic buildings of colonial period likr City Hall, Council Chambers and St. Philips and St. Michael's churches especially their grave yards.

From July 23 to August 4 we took a cruise on Oceania Regatta from Anchorage Alaska to Vancouver down the Inside Passage stopping at Skagway, Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan.

Kayak to Eagle Island

In Seward at the Exit Glacier

For more information and photos see:

In September I attended the 50th Anniversary Anniversary of the 50 Peace Corps in and participated in the march from Arlington Cemetery to the Washington Monument. I met a number of old PCVs from Liberia, Chad and PC staff. I went with my good friend Jack Colbourn who went to a rival High School in the Bay Area, Bishop O'Dowd when I was at Serra (1957-61). Jack was a PCV in Micronesia. We ended up working together in the Africa Bureau in Peace Corps Washington (1975-77). Jack was a Desk Officer and I was the Budget Officer.

I was busy with OIG inspections of embassies in Nassau and Caracas later in September and October.

Brother Chris and his wife Debbie visited us in late November and we took them on a Revolutionary war tour of downtown Charleston and restauarants.

We departed December 11 for six month Temporary Duty (TDY) assignment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with USG/Saudi government, Ministry of Interior project at the U.S. Embassy. I remember we were downtown parking the car when I got a call out of the blue from my former boss, Jim Milette who said that he had recommended me for this TDY. OIG was kind enough to give me a leave of absence to take the job. It was nice that Doris could accompany me. We understood that we would be provided housing on the embassy compound and the same access and all the privileges of embassy staff.

Years in Review