Fun Visit with GIGI !

We recently visited Nicole, David and Gigi, now 15 months, in Denver. Nick attended the International Fire Chiefs' convention while I took the "D Line" from Downtown Denver to Littleton (closest train station to where they live in Highlands Ranch) to spend the days with the kids!! After his convention we went and stayed with them for a couple more days.
In these photos she is amazed at the "wa-wa" in a fountain in Castle Rock, just south of where they live. She loves the water, loves to swim in the pool, taking a bath and the rain (which she called both "wa-wa" and "bubbo" for bubbles, another favorite.

Gigi is at such a fun age. We love being grandparents--it is the BEST ! She is mimicing just about everything we say and babbles so much in her own language. She loves being with us and saying "yaya and 'ba-pa'" over and over again.


When she can't say a word she studies your face so closely and with such attention to try it. We talk to her a lot on "skype" on the internet so she is very familiar with who we are. Her face lights up everytime she says our names.

She's climbing,on everything, much to her parents dismay, and constantly on the move, not sitting still, a lot like her mom at that age and I suspect like her daddy, too. And oh what a 'mind of her own' she has, mixed with a bit of a temper when she doesn't get what she wants! Dare I say, "terrible twos, here she comes"??? Although for us, it'll be more like "testing twos" because even in her frustrating moments she is just too adorable for words! (as every grandparent will agree about his/her own grandchild!)

It was a great visit and hard for both Nick and I to leave. But, in a few months, hopefully we will be seeing a whole lot of them, when they move home to California!! YIPPEE!!

More pictures from our visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157606946071204/

The A B C's of Me!

I was "tagged" by my daughter to do this! I know, you all have been anxiously waiting for a new blog post and to learn all this interesting and fascinating stuff about me that you didn't know. So I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Here goes, just for fun:

A. Attached or single? I've been married 30 years this November!

B. Best friend? My husband, Nick, and my best girlfriends are a close second... here are a few of the many I've been blessed with: Susie, Lynn, Sue & my daughter, Nicole!

C. Cake or Pie? Berry pie a la mode

D. Day of choice? Friday! It's the start of another great, long weekend!

E. Essential items? reading glasses, cell phone, computer, sunglasses, digital camera, a good book, milk tablets so I can have ice cream anytime I want it, and sewing machine

F. Favorite color(s)? yellow and any shade of blue

G. Gummy bears or worms? I prefer chocolate (!)

H. Hometown? Grew up in Reseda, CA (San Fernando Valley/LA); college in San Luis Obispo; Hometown for the last 29 years: San Marcos, CA (North San Diego county)

I. Favorite indulgence? Coldstone or Baskin Robbins ICE CREAM!

J. January or July? January-I love the rain but also love the summer!

K. Kids? Yes, 4 grown, wonderful kids: Nicole 27 married to David! ; Alex 23 married to Angelina!

L. Life isn't complete without? Family

M. Marriage date? November 19, 1978

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 younger sister, Kathy

O. Oranges or apples? navel oranges (especially if someone else peels them for me; like daughter like mom!)

P. Phobias? I don't much like bugs

Q. Quotes- "A baby fills a special place within your heart, you never knew was empty," author unknown; "i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)" e.e. cummings.

R. Reasons to smile? My family; my cute little granddaughter

S. Season of choice? Winter, but I really like them all.

T. Tag 5 people: I guess I will tag Susie, who might do this, Lynn and Sue (but doubt they will do it) and Kristina!

U. Unknown fact about me? I have always loved the Olympics and can remember watching as much as I could every time they were on TV. I love how patriotic Team USA made/makes me feel. The problems of the world seem to fade away during the time of the Olympics which also makes it such a magical time. As a preteen I secretly dreamt of competing in the Winter Olympics in slalom skiing (although I never was good enough or fast enough)!

V. Vacation of choice? cruising or rving!

W. Worst habit? Wasting time.

X. X-ray or ultrasound? I don't like either but have had both numerous times.

Y. Your favorite food? ice cream, chocolate, fresh fish

Z. Zodiac sign? Gemini

Any surprises?? So how about you? Tag it's your turn --email me your responses--I'd love to learn about you too! Now back to watching the Olympics; only a couple more days!

NORTH TO ALASKA...!

We just returned from our fantastic 10 day trip North to ALASKA! We went with our camping friends: Lynn and Rick Nance, Sue and Bill Laurie, and Robin and Pete Merandi. What an adventure into some of the most beautiful scenery we've ever seen!! The dense, green forests are thick with spruce, birch and pines, so thick you couldn't see through them, and colorful flowers were abundant everywhere we visited. The daylight almost doesn't end, at least for most of northern Alaska in the summer. We saw a lot of cool weather in the high 40's and 50's with some rain, but that didn't dampen our trip.

We arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska, about 1 a.m. Alaska Time (1 hour ahead of California Pacific Time) and walked out of the airport doors thinking our watches had stopped. It looked more like 5 o'clock as it was still daylight. It seems, Fairbanks is so far north that the sun doesn't truly set. It gets kind of dusk-like for about 2 hours, maybe, from 2-4 a.m. with about 22 hours of daylight for about 2-3 months in the summer! In the winter, it is dark most of the time with only about 2 hours of daylight and temperatures that can get to 60 degrees below zero!! So the long days of summer are a welcome change for the locals!

We bus toured the area the next day, taking a steamboat river ride down the Chena River, till it joins with the Tanana River (largest glacier-fed stream in the world). Glacier fed waters are a murky, gray color due to the glacier silt that flows from the melting glaciers; it is so thick it doesn't easily mix with the sea. We also visited an authentic local Chena Athabascan Indian Village; visited a working gold mine-El Dorado, where we panned for gold; and visited the famed Alaskan Pipeline.

The next day we drove to Denali National Park and toured there. Years ago the name was changed from McKinley to Denali, its original Athabascan name which means "most high." We weren't able to see the peak of Mt McKinley as it was covered in clouds, which it is about 70-80% of the year.
We did see a real, wild moose along the side of the park road, but no bears! We stayed in a lodge high on a mountainside which overlooks the Denali area-what a view!

Next day we drove to Anchorage and onto Seward our starting port of our cruise. From there we cruised to Hubbard Glacier-a truly awesome sight! We slowly made our way through the ice and iceberg pieces to within 1/4 mile of the glacier. The glacier is many shades of light teal blue and the ocean water was a murky shade of gray caused by the glacier silt runoff. We saw bergs fall off the glacier into the bay amidst the rain causing some rolling waves. Truly a sight to behold!

From there we cruised to Juneau, Alaska's capital city-which is only accessible by boat, ship or plane! Nick and Rick went Fly-out fishing, getting to their fishing destination via a float plane in pouring rains! Despite the rain they had a fabulous time catching lots of trout (all catch and release)! The rest of us looked around shopped in downtown Juneau!

Next port stop was Skagway, Alaska, a true old Alaskan town, looked around and took the White Pass and Yukon Route train up to Bennett, Canada (at the border of the Yukon Territory and British Columbia) above the treeline. More breathtaking views of steep mountains, dense forests, waterfalls and lakes.

Then to Icy Strait Point, port stop at the Indian village of Hoonah; guys deep sea fished for Halibut, but only Rick caught one.

We headed to our last port of call in Ketchikan, where we looked around the cute seaport town and then took a boat to a remote area where we drove 2 seater ATV's-what fun that was (a surprise for me! I even liked driving it myself).

Lastly, we cruised the beautiful, breathtaking Inside Passage to our final destination of Vancouver, Canada. Our friends all flew home early in the day, while Nick and I took a city tour visiting Stanley Park (a huge park on the water in the midst of this big city). We also went to Capilano Suspension Bridge park where we walked around the park and across the long suspension bridge which crosses 200 feet in the air over a river below-boy did it sway! A great end to a great vacation!

See all our pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157606394482759/
More photos taken by Lauries:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=13po946e.5gx0gn9e&x=0&y=-aexlya&localeid=en_US

Meet the new MR & MRS ALEXANDER T. PAVONE!

Alex and Angelina at their
Rehearsal Dinner at The Old
Spaghetti Factory, May 29, 2008.





Alex and his new bride, Angelina arriving at the
reception in our backyard.






Alex and Angelina's first dance!









Nick toasting the new couple!

Our New Expanded Family!!

More photos of the Rehearsal and Wedding can be seen on my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157605454807776/

It's May Already! Our Big Month!

This month is a big month for us.
Gianna turns "1" and Alex an Angelina get married, not to mention Alex will be 23 on
the last day of May!!

It seems like only yesterday when Alex got engaged and they started planning for their wedding, which is now a mere 25 days away!! Nick has been working really hard on on the yards. He put in a new walkway on the side of our house using pavers (right).

It is so awesome and really opened up the area. He's also been busy planting, trimming and weeding.
Yesterday we bought a patio heater, which he had to put together, in case of chilly May gray weather the night of the wedding. Most of the plans are in place, much still has to be done, but not till the day before...... so, the countdown is on!!

It is hard to believe it is the 5th of May already. Many celebrate "Cinco de Mayo;" but really, it is two days before our sweet little kukla (Greek for "doll"), Gianna's, FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! Yes, she will be 1 ! Doesn't seem possible, does it?! Can't wait till they arrive for the wedding on the 24th--it's been almost two months since we've seen them, and now she is walking!! Yikes, she'll really be on the go here in our big house! Last time she was here she was barely crawling!

Last week we attended the Annual RSF Appreciation Dinner given for all safety personnel in the district. It was a huge success with the largest attendance ever, including several retired firefighters! (Sorry it's a side view of Nick-my camera took too long to take it!! Guess I need a newer one with a faster shutter!!)
The picture to the left is of the three recent Fire Chiefs of the RSF Fire Dept. Left to right, Irwin Willis, chief prior to Nick, Pete Pedersen, chief who retired 15 years ago, and the present chief, Nick!

The dinner was put on by the RSF Rotary and held at the Rancho Santa Fe Inn. The Rotarians served us a delicious prime rib dinner and lots of service awards were given out. Nick gave a special presentation on the Witch Fire, which was incredible !! Then all firefighters were given a special honor for their service to the community during this fire.


P.S. The last time I wrote our Padres were starting the season well. Not so true right now, but we are still cheering them on--hopefully they will turn things around soon. On Saturday, May 10th, we are going to the game as it is Firefighters' Night at the Padres, sponsored by the San Diego Burn Institute, and proceeds benefit this great organization.

GO PADRES!

Baseball season is here and our family rivalry begins. Yes, we are a family divided. The Pavones (Nick, Karen, Alex and Angelina) are cheering on the San Diego Padres!!, who are in first in the west currently, and the Bennetts (Nicole and David)are LA Dodger fans (the only thing good about that is Gigi looks adorable in her Dodger Blue garb!)

In recent years I have become a much more avid Padre fan, watching most of the games on TV and attending several games throughout the season. In honor of the season, I received an email that I had to share with you.

"Spring training is over and America's favorite pastime (quilting, not baseball!) is now in full-swing. In celebration of the season's start, we'd like you to sing along with us:

' Take me out to the quilt shop
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some fabric right off the rack
I don't care if I never get back
Let me root, root, root for the new stuff
If it don't come I won’t stop
For it's one, two, three trips and more
To the old quilt shop!' "

Since I have a TV in my sewing/quilting room, I often can be found watching the Padres while quilting!! But, then, I am a good multi-tasker!

GO PADRES!!

Goodbye Georgetown! HELLO Pacifica!

For the last two years we have enjoyed camping in our 33 ft Georgetown Motorhome. It had two slides and gave us so much more room than our previous class C motorhome, or so we thought. We had a great weekend camping at Newport Dunes RV Resort, February, 2008. We ventured to Balboa Island with Alex, Angelina, and Alex's good buddy, Jake. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather. We walked around the shops on the island, then along the broadwalk and took the ferry to the Peninsula where we had lunch at BJ's Pizzeria.

While we were at Newport Dunes, a local RV dealer had about 6 or 8 diesel pushers on display right at the resort. So one night while we were walking the dogs we decided to take a look. These motorhomes were really nice, top of the line, big boys!! All 40 ft and way too pricey for us.

But Nick's always wanted a diesel pusher, and as he gets closer to retirement he couldn't resist "just looking!" When he does retire, we plan to do a lot of RVing and traveling across the United States. I think the "just looking" started last November. At first I would catch him on the computer searching for RV's a few times a week. Weeks of casually looking turned into months. Then after the first of the year, he went to the two RV dealers that were closing their doors in San Marcos, to look over any sale prices. Then, Camping World, which is located about 3 miles from our house, and right across the street from Home Depot, opened their new RV Sales showplace. So Nick just had to check them out. Each time I caught him searching RV's on the internet I knew he was being reeled in.

Finally, he convinced me we should go look at some motorhomes at several dealers in San Diego before going back to Camping World. After a month of weekends, looking at new motorhomes all day each Saturday and all day each Sunday,it became obvious we would be buying a new one very soon, despite the high cost of diesel fuel these days!! The looking process was exhausting and consuming!! We thought we wanted a 35-36 footer, but soon came to realize that the 40 footers had more of what we were looking for if we upgraded.

We thought we had narrowed our decision down to one made by Fleetwood. But Nick wanted to go to a couple more dealers up in Orange County. On our way up, we decided to stop and look at what Traveland, Irvine, had in stock. The salesman there showed us his inventory of Fleetwoods and we happened upon a 40 ft Pacifica made by National RV.

We immediately liked the floor plan, but the price wasn't right. But....they had another floor plan available at their Corona store, that they could make a great deal on. So the dealer had it brought over to Irvine, and by that night we were the proud owners of a 2007 40 ft Pacifica Diesel Pusher, with three slides! Talk about lots of room inside!

We picked it up on Sat., March 22,
and went camping for our first
trip in it at San Mateo Campground,
east of Hwy 5, S. San Clemente.
What a beautiful campground,
lots of trees and foliage, really big
campsites, plenty big enough for our huge motorhome. This is our last RV, at least that is what we tell ourselves! Can't wait to take it out again in the near future.
Here's a panoramic of the inside-composed by Alex!

PAVONE VELASQUEZ WEDDING

By now you've probably heard that we're having another wedding in May, and we're so happy to share this great news! It's an exciting time. Alex and Angelina will be getting married in Carlsbad, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The wedding is set for the late afternoon and the views will be beautiful. Here's a view with the happy couple in the front.
The reception will be held in our backyard, following the ceremony. Alex and Angelina are really organized. Most of the plans have been made. We are happy to be able to have this big event at our home!
Alex compiled both of the panoramic views of the locations. He's almost finished with his Digital Arts Certificate Program at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. He is looking forward to starting his new career this summer after the honeymoon.

If you need a place to stay for this big event we have a block of rooms reserved at the Hampton Inn, about a mile and an half from our house. It's located off Hwy 78 and Twin Oaks Valley Road, at 123 Carmel St., San Marcos, CA 92078 (760) 736-9249. Special rate of $119/night (mention "PVW") is available for all reservations made at least a month before the wedding, or by April 30.

OUR WHITE CHRISTMAS IN COLORADO!

Yes, we had the most wonderful visit to Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where we enjoyed our first real WHITE CHRISTMAS and the biggest snowstorm the Denver area has experienced in over 100 years!!! Nicole came down to the basement where Nick and I and Alex were sleeping on Christmas morning to tell us it was snowing!!! It was beautiful to watch the snowflakes fall from inside Nicole and David's warm house! Later on Christmas day, pictured above, David, Nicole and Gianna are all bundled up to be outside while it was snowing.

Alex's fiancee, Angelina arrived later on Christmas afternoon! That's correct! Alex asked Angelina to marry him on December 17th. We are all very happy for them.

There were 14 of us who stayed with Nicole, David and Gigi: 11 adults and 3 little ones!! It snowed several times the week we were there and I loved it. Both Nick and Alex tried their hands at shoveling the driveway and both concluded they are glad they don't have to do it in California!


We went to Golden, Colorado, where we toured the Coors Brewing Company, tasted some free beer, and visited the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.

Below is a picture of the whole gang at Coors, l to r: Paul & Reuben, Stacey, Nick, Karen, Dan & Jeri, Nicole, David & Gigi, Carly, Alex & Angelina.

We drove to the Rockies, about an hour and a half, where Nicole, David, Alex, & Angelina snowboarded, and Nick and Paul skied at Loveland Ski Basin. The temperature was -14 degrees with the wind chill factor at the top of the slopes. (I was glad to be back in the lodge babysitting little Gigi!)

In the picture to the right, that's Nick, Alex and David loading the car in the afternoon.

We took the Light Rail to Downtown Denver and walked alone the 16th Street Mall before going to the Pepsi Center to watch the LA Kings beat the Avalanche.

The entire time we were there it didn't get above 20 degrees except the last day; I think it got up to 27!! (extremely cold for those of us who call Southern California home!!)

It was a lot of fun to hang out with family, Pavones and Bennetts alike. We were one big family. Fellowship and food were grand! Sure do miss everyone.

Our BEST Christmas ever!!

Winter in California

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Christmas is right around the corner! We spent a nice relaxing weekend rving at San Elijo State Beach, in Cardiff, with clear, sunny days and crisp nights!! We enjoyed campfires, great food, family and friends: including Nicole, David and Gianna from Colorado; David's parents from Chicago, Illinois; Alex and Angelina from Costa Mesa; my sister, Kathy, Josh my nephew, and my mom from Simi Valley; and friends, Rena and Jesse Frey.
In the top left picture, papa is holding Gianna, who is constantly in motion these days. To the right is a shot of Nicole, Gianna and David in the tide pools.

The next picture is daddy, David with Gianna sporting her new U-Haul beanie getting ready for the cold outside! David returned to Colorado on the Monday after Thanksgiving while Nicole and Gianna stayed in California for two more weeks.





The picture to the left is great-grandma holding a
sleeping Gianna.



It was great having Nicoe and Gigi (now 7 months) stay with us after Thanksgiving. Playing with Gianna is the best!! She was trying so hard to crawl while she was here. She was scooting and doing the wiggle worm crawl all over the family room floor. She discovered our dogs and was really fascinated by Sydney.
Luckily, Sydney was very good with her and allowed
Gigi to grab her nose, mouth and eyes.







Winter is here and Southern California has finally gotten some long overdue, and much needed, rain in the past few weeks. I'd forgotten how much I love the rain, since we so rarely get any. We're expecting some more rain this week. The nights have gotten much colder since before Thanksgiving. We even woke up to frost on the lawns this morning. The colder temps at night are sort of preparing us for our visit to Colorado to spend Christmas with Nicole, David, Gianna and family, although it's been in the 20's there, and snowing, so maybe not! We are looking forward to and praying for a White Christmas!

Christmas is such a joyous time, bringing families and friends together to celebrate the birth of our Lord. May you and yours have a joyous celebration remembering the true Meaning of Christmas!

PS Update of the Firestorm 2007: Things have started to calm down since the Firestorm. Nick's had a lot to do. His community has really poured out their support for the fire department. 61 homes were lost in the Rancho Santa Fe Fire District and 23 homes were damaged.

Firestorm 2007

As you know, since Sunday night (10/21/07), San Diego has been burning, in fact much of Southern California has been burning in the worst Firestorms California has ever seen. It's also the worst wildfire Nick has seen or fought in his 30 year career with the fire service. The first two photos are in Del Dios, part of Nick's district.

The Witch Fire named after the starting point of the fire, Witch Creek, between Julian and Ramona, burned its way southwest due to the fierce Santa Ana winds and low, almost non-existent, humidity.
It has burned more than 198,000 acres, and it, along with 9 other fires in San Diego county, caused the evacuation of almost 500,000 people. It burned heavily in Nick's district of Rancho Santa Fe, burning 6 homes in their 4S Ranch area of Rancho Bernardo,(this photos is of 4S Ranch) around Lake Hodges, and the area of Del Dios, where they lost 23 homes. Fortunately, the Santa Ana winds died down and switched to westerly winds, so the fire didn't destroy any more property in Rancho Santa Fe.

While the fire no longer burns in the RSF area, there is still the possibility of hot spots flaring up which firefighters have to attend to> RSF firefighters continue to assist fighting the fires in other nearby areas.

Amazingly, amidst this immense tragedy, while many San Diegans have rallied together volunteering their time, making donations of necessities, taking in their neighbors, to help the evacuees, there has still been some controversy. Rather than supporting the tireless, selfless efforts of the thousands of firefighters and law enforcement personnel, some evacuated residents of Ramona were screaming mad wanting to get back into their community before officials had thought it safe. Officials have a lot of criteria that is considered before repopulation of an evacuated area is done. It is astonishing to read some of their selfish, irate comments on a San Diego news blog page, many of which are ignorant at best.

Some of those same angry residents were screaming they would never evacuate again. Evacuation has more to do with the safety and well being of everyone, residents AND firefighters who are putting their lives on the line to save the lives and property of those in a fire affected area!! The firefighters have a most difficult job to do; they never give a single thought to the danger they might be in as they fight fire. People asked to evacuate need to cooperate and allow them to do their job. They also need to let the officials who know all the facts to make the educated decision as to whether it is safe for anyone to return to their community safely. There is a system in place for the safety of the all. Too often well-meaning residents often get in the way of the firefighters doing their job!!

Firefighters dedicate their lives to serving the greater good of mankind and they fought this fire from the beginning with little rest for days. They don't do it for political gain, or personal glory. They do it to help others! They have to make quick decisions in the worst of circumstances. Often their hands are tied if a fire is moving too fast, particularly when driven by fierce Santa Ana winds of sometimes 50-100 mph, or if it is too late to save a structure. They then must decide what to try to save.

All family members of every firefighter know all to well about the dedication and sacrifices each and every firefighter makes every day of a career in the fire service. While it can't compare to the mental and physical exhaustion of a firefighter, those of us at home experience a mental anguish and exhaustion of our own. Reports of controversy in the middle of a tragedy such as this are both maddening and frustrating for all connected to the fire family. The fire service and law enforcement have done a phenomenal job on this, the worst Firestorm San Diego has experienced, and they deserve everyone's thanks and praise!! It is heart warming to know they do receive it from the majority of San Diego!

As of today, Oct. 26, 2007, officials have said the Witch Fire is 45% contained. Although fires were burning around us, our home and area were not threatened, here in San Marcos. We have had a lot of smoke and ash, of course, nothing more.

Check these links for lots of unbelievable photos:
from FoxNews in SD--
http://www.fox6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=ea431094-6c02-455e-bfcd-464c9c3129b5

http://photos.signonsandiego.com/gallery1.5/071019ramonafire?page=14

Vacation and Goodbyes

WOW! It's almost the middle of October! Much has happened since July.
Here's a recap:

In August we went to Bass Lake and Pismo Beach for our summer vacation. We met our camping buddies, the Nances there and had a great 10 days just hanging out. We took a day trip and drove through Yosemite National Park--truly awesome, and breathtaking views, despite the fact that Bridalveil Falls was a mere spray off the top!


Nances' Daughter, Emily and husband, Dave joined us for a long weekend,as did Nicole,David and Gianna!! Gianna (3 months old) is a natural camper-slept well in the tent and seemed to enjoy the whole outdoor experience!


She had her first boat ride (didn't like having the life vest put on, but fell asleep the minute the boat went fast), and she went for her first swim in a lake.

After Bass Lake we headed to Pismo Beach for a few days. Nicole and Gianna traveled with us. One night we had dinner with my college roomie, Dianne and her husband, John. Reminiscing is always fun.


September 8, we said a very difficult goodbye to Nicole, David and Gianna as they drove to their new home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. David's company moved there and so they went. We are happy for them and yet sad for us. We are missing them very much every day.

We do get to chat online with a webcam so we can see them! But I can't touch cute little Gianna!

Thanksgiving can't get here soon enough. They are all coming out here to camp over the long weekend. YEAH!!

Joe's 50th Surprise Cruise!

The weekend of July 19-23, in honor of Nick's younger brother, Joe, turning the BIG 5-0!, we surprised him by joining his family for a 4 day cruise to Cabo! Nick's older brother Tom and his wife, Veneta drove to our house on Thursday morning, and then the four of us drove to San Diego, where we boarded the Carnival Elation Cruise ship and walked up to an unsuspecting Joe while he and family were eating!! Joe's jaw dropped a mile as he was shocked and surprised to see the four of us standing there.

Laurel had planned the whole event last Spring. Joe never had a clue. He didn't even figure it out, when one day about a week before we were to set sail, his oldest daughter, Breanna let it slip that her "Aunt Veneta was so excited about the trip she'd been packed for almost 2 weeks!"


This was the first vacation the three brothers have taken together and we all had a blast! From left to right, sitting, Laurel, Joe, Breanna, Marissa, me (Karen), Nick; standing Tom and Veneta. Weather was great, food and drinks abounded, and lots of fun was had by all! The only thing missing, or rather people missing, were the boys' older sister Sibbie and her hubby Tony, and of course our kids (Nicole, David, Alex, Thomas and Amalia). Maybe next time the whole Pavone clan will be able to go. Everyone is talking about a next time, especially Veneta who really enjoyed herself!

"AB DIVING" with the Nance Family

For Father's Day weekend, (June 14-17, 2007) Nick and I flew to Sacramento, where our good friends, Emily and Dave picked us up and we all drove to Fort Bragg, about 3 1/2 hours northwest of Sacramento. We spent the weekend camping and "Ab Diving!" with our best camping buddies, Lynn and Rick Nance and family. For those of you who aren't sure what "Ab Diving" is, it's free diving for abalones at the lowest tide, among the coral reefs almost before dawn, in almost freezing ocean waters--about 55 degrees or so.

The Nance family has been "Ab Diving" for over 25 years and have always invited us to join them. But the fact that is so far north (between Mendocino and north of Fort Bragg), it just wasn't feasible till now.

Everyone dove except me--wasn't sure I could do it (but Lynn assures me if she can I can!). I did go watch the second day--almost froze my buns off as I sat on the shore watching from quite a distance. Maybe next time we do, as Nick enjoyed it so much we will most likely go again next year!

Nick rented his gear-everyone else had their gear, which includes, booties, gloves, wetsuit, 7mm thick!! a head hood (or whatever it is called), weightbelts, an inner tube floatie that holds the abs once you find them, a knife to pry the abalones off the coral reefs/rocks, and a measuring device, which measures the abalone--they have to be 7" and "Click" the device in order to keep them. They got up at 5 am! and were diving by 6:30 am!! Almost everyone got their limits, of 3 each.

What a fabulous weekend it was! Hanging with good friend, camping, relaxing, talking and more talking! We were sad to leave on Sunday afternoon and fly home. We had a delicious Abalone dinner on Friday nite., the highlight! There's nothing, absolutely nothing, like fresh abalone!! Yum yum--it melted in your mouth.
THANK YOU NANCE FAMILY! We love you guys!!