guestbook-03
2001

 

  • Christmas 2001
  • 2001 has been a busy year for the Bickerdikes and Nagels.
  • Several Sea Doo trips were taken to Laughlin, including one that ended with a very hasty trip back to Hacienda Heights on September 11th. We awoke to the horrid images on the hotel’s TV and didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary below Hoover dam. Due to the increased security on all the Colorado River dams, we were almost unable to retrieve our boats from Katherine landing.

    In late September (right after the airlines started flying again), Katie and Pete took a long awaited trip to Europe, beginning with a 12 day cruise from Barcelona, Spain to Italy, France, Croatia and back to Barcelona. At almost every port, we took a side trip: Monte Carlo, Pisa, Florence, and Rome.

    We then flew to Amsterdam, saw the sights, and took the train to Paris. Pete really liked the top of the Eiffel tower. We also enjoyed a night boat ride on the Seine viewing the lights of Paris. On the train from Paris to London, it was really impressive to see our GPS show 189 mph just before entering the tunnel under the English Channel.  We spent several days in London at a ten star hotel.  We played tourist in London with lots of sightseeing, a couple of plays, lots of travel by the “tube”, and taking a train to see Kevin at his University in Bristol.  Since it was Pete’s first trip to Europe, all the sights were new and exciting, especially ancient sights in Rome, Pompeii, a musical moonlight Gondola ride in Venice, and Monte Carlo.  We didn’t always run on time, but the European trains did.  Ask us sometime about being stuck in an elevator at the Rome train station.

    We mentioned Kevin being at Bristol. He was on an exchange program for his computer science major. To allow him to obtain his degree in July, he has converted to an accelerated program. We see another European trip on the horizon. Kevin is adjusting to the “different” English weather, cooking using foreign supplies, and living in a “dorm” (a converted old hotel that probably wouldn’t pass U.S. safety standards).  He is also getting a taste of endless school projects, sort of what work will be like when he hits the job market next year.

    In May, Karen completed her National Charity League responsibilities by participating in her presentation ball, “Senior Presents”.  It was a gala event with 18 beautiful young women in wedding dresses.  Karen graduated from Los Altos High School in June and started San Diego State in September.  After a change in plans, she will now start at Riverside City College in January. She is living near the college and learning of all the complexities of running her own apartment.

    Pete and Katie head to Park City, Utah just before Christmas.  Kevin will join them there after a long flight from England.  Hopefully the snow will be good (Pete will confine his snow activities to snowballs and snowmobiles).

    Katie’s parents will come down from Santa Barbara to join us for the Christmas celebration. Katie’s sister, Chris, and her daughter Lisa, will join us too, thawing out from their Minnesota weather.

    Pete continues his job with Southern California Edison, surviving the layoff caused by the almost bankruptcy of the company (no, Pete didn’t cause that). The job isn’t the fun that it used to be, but there are still a few challenges. Lots of vacations help soften the blow.  Edison recently switched to a 9-80-work plan, so Pete has every other Friday off.

    Katie is still doing her substitute teaching, planning great trips, and keeping Mr. Beau, the dog, in line.  She still plays Bunko with her long-time friends one Friday night a month.

    The “big” boat was put in a Long Beach slip for the summer.  West Marine, In-N-Out, and several other great establishments were less than two blocks away from the slip. With a short cruise on most Wednesday nights and a longer one on Saturdays, we spent a lot of time on the water.

    We celebrated Pete’s July birthday in Lahaina, Maui. Relaxing, eating, scuba diving, snorkeling, and horseback riding were all activities we enjoyed.

    Pete and Katie took a long weekend trip to the Sacramento area in early November, and on the way back received a phone call from Mike Kaliczak and his fiancée Meg.  They wanted to know if we would join them at a Lake Nacimiento lodge they had rented. To make a long story short, we took a detour from I-5 to Paso Robles, did some supply shopping, and had a great sleep at the lake. We woke up to deer and rabbits on the lawn looking for handouts then rode around the lake on their boat, and also watched Meg water skiing on the lake.

    Thanksgiving, we attended a great feast at Mike Toft’s house in Thousand Oaks. Mike stated that he had two pounds of meat for each person, and although we did not eat our full allocation, we were fully stuffed.

    Pete’s daughters are staying busy. Jennifer is the director of human resources at a small children’s hospital in Orange County and Liberty is snowboarding as much as possible.

    Our best to you and your families during the holidays.

    Contacting us: address 2650 Daytona Ave., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745, (we’re just East of the 605 freeway and just South of the 60 freeway, about 18 miles East of downtown Los Angeles), phone 562-907-9003, Pete’s e-mail: , Please note Katie’s new e-mail address:  For fun sometime, find where Pete’s car is located: http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?wb6dao-5, Kevin is , Karen is bagelbites543210@hotmail.com

     

[Bickerdike's Home] [Current Events] [Family & Friends] [Hobbies] [Travel] [Pets] [Christmas Letters] [2006] [2005] [2004] [2003] [2002] [2001] [2000] [1999] [1998] [1997] [1996] [1995] [Links] [Website Info] [Contact us]