Let it snow...12-19-2009

We are under blizzard warning, a rare event in Annapolis! It started snowing around midnight last night and there was 8-10 inches on the ground by morning. The forecast is for 12-18 more inches by tomorrow morning with winds gusting to 45 MPH! Should be fun for 95% of the people in this town that do not know how to drive in the snow!

Montreux, Switzerland 12-09

I had a conference in Switzerland and Eileen had the opportunity to join me! This is the first time that she has accompanied me on a business trip. Another first for Eileen is she had never been to Europe before! All work for me, all play for Eileen...what a deal!! We spend a week here in the Swiss Alpes. Enjoy the photos!

Shopping in Vevey

Another pic in Vevey. These row houses have a street on each side.

This Italian restaurant wasn't much from the outside, but the food was unbelievable. Best red sauce I have ever had (including my own or Grandma G's. Sorry Grandma!). The tiramisu was incredible. We went back for "take away" tiramisu later in the week.

West view from the balcony of our room at sunset

Same view a few hours earlier

View to the East from our balcony. The mountains were majestic and was the first time I had ever seen mountains meet the water. Truly magnificent!

Way up in the mountains, an overlook at one of our schools "Glion Institute" which is acclaimed as the best hospitality schools in the world.

Zoli, here with Eileen, flew from Budapest, Hungary to spend a few days with us. Zoli was our foreign exchange student five years ago and lived with us in Ithaca, NY. We were thrilled to see him again.

Crazy Hungarian!

This is my Asian team in the lobby of the Montreux Palace!

CRAB Sailing

Jamie is participating in Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating and is learning how to sail a Freedom 20 sailboat. This organization makes sailing accessible with some awesome modifications to their boats. Jamie had the helm the whole time and he did quite well. Here are some shots from our excersion!

This is the CRAB fleet

At the dock just prior to heading out

The bay bridge in Annapolis

Jamie and Arthur, our neighbor

Julie...We're sailing!!!

Our Next Boat??

Here are some pictures of "Caribbean Wings" a 1997 Catalina 28 MK II. We are considering this as a possibility for our next boat! She is lying in Norfolk, VA so if we do buy her, it will be a very long sail back to Annapolis...oh shucks! Let me know what you think!!

Port bow

The stern has a swim platform, a non-negotiable for my first mate! The entire cockpit is covered with a bimini top.

The cabin looking forward

Cabin looking aft. Behind the door is the head, complete with shower

The galley featuring a two burner stove and oven, sink with hot and cold water

The Grandest kids!

It has been way too long since my last post. All three of our grand kids came to visit their Amma and Cappy. The pics in this post only scratch the surface. We treasure our time with them and our time with their parents!

Alex asking Uncle Jamie for a ride on his wheelchair!

Matthew and I learning a song together for our upcoming CD...stay tuned!

Abby at our beach overlook

Leah and Abby watching a serious game of beanbags

This pic is just prior to Stephanie getting cut off from free samples of Gelato

Alexander playing it cool

What a cutie huh?

Alex getting to know Shiloh at his first concert

Amma and Alex at Quiet Waters Park

Mima and Alex

Bri taking Isaac for a dip in the Chesapeake. He wasn't sure about this beach thing!

Thanks Amma...I like the sand much better!

A couple of our "adopted" grandkids (Gabby and Emma Sorensen)

Elise Sorensen with Isaac

Cappy and Amma at the Bay Ridge pool

Brittish Virgin Islands - May 2009

I along with my brother Steve and three other guys chartered a 45' catamaran in the Caribbean from May 8th to May 16th. We sailed from island to island and had a great time together. We spent a lot of time snorkeling, fishing, and just doing guy things. Of course we sailed a ton! No major casualties to report during our week together. You can click on any picture to enlarge it.

This is the Dodger II at anchor. We proudly displayed the colors of the Poor Man's Yacht Club while anchored or moored. I am a bona fide member of the club!


"The Caves" was our first stop after we set sail on Saturday morning. We snorkeled here and the reef was vibrant and alive with all kinds of sea life. There were schools of fish and the diving birds and pelicans were after them in a big way. It was really neat to see.

This is our crew at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke (White Bay)

Sandy Spit is the most amazing island ever! We anchored off this tiny island and took the dinghy in to shore. We ended up spending a half day here. The reef to the right was another amazing spot to snorkel. We tried to capture a couple of lobsters here but were unsuccessful.

Here is the crew on Sandy Spit. From the left is Roger, Zack, Steve, Jeff, and me of course! How about the color of that water?

We caught this barracuda on our sail from Anegada.

Here is a 4' shark we caught. We saw lots of them but only landed one.

Okay, this photo needs some explanation. I had a fish on and only landed the head. A barracuda or shark tore into this as I was fighting it. With all of the blood in the water, the sharks showed up. I put more blood in the water and the sharks went into a frenzy! Very cool to see live!

A couple of pirates at Marina Cay on their way to the Happy Arrr Bar!

Under way, chillin with my brother! We are thankful to our departed grandparents Rizzo, who made this trip possible for us!