After early morning Mass in Bishop CA we headed south on US-395 to Death Valley National Park. We’re awfully glad we did this in October and not in the middle of summer. Not only were we hot but the car’s radiator got hotter than it has ever been. The landscape was stunning but forbidding. It was spooky to descend to an elevation hundreds of feet below sea level! We especially enjoyed learning about the borax mining and refining operations in Death Valley in the 19th Century. The name 20 Mule Team Borax comes from the fact that the refined chemical was indeed hauled from the refinery to the railhead by large teams of mules.
By deliberate choice we were in Medina for all the winter holiday festivities from Candlelight Walk in the days before Thanksgiving through A Christmas Carol and A Celtic Christmas as well as an Alex Bevan Concert and a historic house tour all the way through Medina’s 31st Ice Festival but perhaps the highlight was the town hosting hundreds of folks whose homes and lives were devasted by Hurricane Helene at the A Promise of Christmas Event the middle of January. It’s an honor to be a part of this amazing community!
The warmth we anticipated when we headed to the Caribbean in mid-January didn’t really materialize but the fun we had with our dancing friends and the great crew of the Margaritaville at Sea Islander more than made up for the not so favorable weather.
Aboard Jewel of the Seas, a favorite ship of ours, we enjoyed a foray into the history and geology of Canada’s Atlantic coast while enjoying the joys of friendships, longtime and new. Now we’re looking forward to returning to the same ship for further adventures!
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