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DEAN'S QUARTERLY NEWLETTER, Vol. 12, No. 4,
06/01/2009
HIGHLIGHTS OF Spring 2009:
Europe 2009 – A three-week
trip to England, Belgium, France and Italy in late May was the
highlight of my spring.
The 10 days in England with my mom was the
fourth trip with her designed partly to explore our genealogical
background. Each of the four trips – to Germany and Poland, Switzerland, Ireland and this time to England – explored different
lines of her great grandparents’ lineages. This particular trip felt quite rewarding since
we not only managed to find various records and see sites noteworthy in our
heritage, but we also managed to meet people who share a common ancestry,
albeit removed from us by nearly 300 years.
My great, great, great grandparents left England in 1841 for America and eventually settled in
Minnesota. While in
England we found the church where they were married, another where their
children were baptized, a rail line on which they rode, a foot bridge they
crossed and an English pub (adjacent to their church) that has been in
operation since 1807, before they were born, and where I speculate that they,
like us, enjoyed a draft beer. Meanwhile
our very distant “cousins” welcomed us warmly – one taking us out for a
wonderful meal and another traveling an hour and a half by train to meet and
greet us with welcoming gifts. My mom
seemed to love it all, along with the sightseeing around London, York, Durham,
Bath, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Winchester and our ancestral region west of
Manchester.
My mom then
headed home, and I continued the remainder of the trip on my own, stopping for
visits to my friend Agnes in Paris, my cousin Darin near Brussels, the Cinque
Terre region of Italy, and Nice, Carcasonne and Lyon in France. Agnes and I enjoyed a bike ride around Paris, Darin and I enjoyed
Belgian beer and the Brussels Jazz festival, and I loved my fourth repeat visit
to scenic Cinque Terre, Italy and new explorations in France. I’d visited Nice a
few times before, but this was the first time I did it justice, and now I
better understand its powerful appeal to so many. If I could afford to eat at an average
restaurant there (all of which seemed very pricy), I could imagine buying or at
least renting property there for a while.
Carcasonne, in south central France, is a wonderfully well-preserved
walled city. Lyon was a pleasant discovery for
me that I suspect tourists commonly overlook, as I did. It has a charming old city, Roman ruins and
other interesting attractions.
Trip to California – In addition to the
journey to Europe, I also thoroughly enjoyed a visit with my old girlfriend Cathy and her
husband Mark in La Cresenta, California. I’d seen them a month earlier when they came
to visit my mom and me in Arizona, but it was nice to see
them in their native environs. Cathy was
occupied some of the time with work, but our time together was quality
time. Mark and I got to know each other
better during a climb up a mountain that overlooked the L.A. basin. He also kindly gave me a tour of where he
works as a spacecraft navigator at Jet Propulsion Laboratories, a fascinating
chance to see up close a place on the forefront of space exploration, both
historically and currently.
Movies – Sin Nombre – Fleeing gang violence, Hondurans head north
to the U.S. ***
COMING UP NEXT QUARTER (Summer):
California,
Minnesota
Check in and let me know what’s up with you.
You can contact me by clicking on this E-mail address: mailto:%20mail@deanoman.com.
My new address in Maryland since Feb. 2009: Telephone numbers:
Dean Oman Home: 301-931-1144
10401A 46th Ave., Apt. 305 Work: 301-504-2317
Beltsville, MD
20705
Review previous newsletters:
Winter 09 – Dean’s News Vol 12, No. 3, 03/01/09 – – Visit to Arizona
Autumn 08 – Dean’s News Vol 12, No. 2, 12/01/08 – – Autumn visits to Minnesota, Toronto, Boston, New York and Charlston
Summer 08 – Dean’s News Vol 12, No. 1, 09/01/08 – – Summer visits to Minnesota, Oman reunion, Perk fire
Spring 08 – Dean’s News Vol 11, No. 4, 06/01/08 – – Springtime visit to Minnesota
Winter 08 – Dean’s News Vol 11, No. 3, 03/01/08 – Arizona, – Philadelphia and my brother's visit
Autumn 07 – Dean’s News Vol 11, No. 2, 12/01/07 – Western Europe – Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Belgium
Summer 07 – Dean’s News Vol 11, No. 1, 09/01/07 – Minnesota
Spring 07 – Dean’s News Vol 10, No. 4, 06/01/07 – Ireland
Winter 07 – Dean’s News Vol 10, No. 3, 03/01/07 – Colorado, Arizona, New York City
Autumn 06 – Dean’s News Vol 10, No. 2, 12/01/06 – Western Europe
Summer 06 – Dean’s News Vol 10, No. 1, 09/01/06 – Minnesota and San Diego
Spring 06 – Dean’s News Vol 9, No. 4, 06/01/06 – Hanging around Beltsville, MD
Winter 06 – Dean’s News Vol 9, No. 3, 03/01/06 – Minnesota and Arizona
Autumn 05 – Dean’s News Vol 9, No. 2, 12/01/05 – Minnesota, Toronto, Boston
Summer 05 – Dean’s News Vol 9, No. 1, 09/01/05 – Washington, Oregon and Northern California
Spring 05 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 4, 06/01/05 – Joshua and Dean’s Great European Adventure
Winter 05 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 3, 03/01/05 – Minnesota and Bahamas
Autumn 04 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 2, 12/01/04 – Boston, Orlando, plus new digs in Beltsville, Maryland
Summer 04 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 1, 09/01/04 – Toronto, Minnesota, San Diego, Chicago
Spring 04 – Dean’s News Vol 7, No. 4, 06/01/04 – Italy, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, New York City
Winter 04 – Dean’s News Vol 7, No. 3, 03/01/04 – Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Arizona
Autumn 03 -- Dean's News Vol 7, No. 2, 12/01/03 -- Minnesota
Summer 03 -- Dean's News Vol 7, No. 1, 09/01/03 -- California and Toronto
Spring 03 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 4, 06/01/03 – Minnesota, Boston
Winter 03 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 3, 03/01/03 – Arizona, California and Colorado
Fall 02 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 2, 12/01/02 – Balkans and Turkey, Minnesota, Toronto
Summer 02 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 1, 09/01/02 -- Minnesota, California and Canada's Maritimes
Spring 02 -- Dean's News Vol 5, No. 4, 06/01/02 -- Nearly arrested
Winter 02 -- Dean's News Vol 5, No. 3, 03/01/02 -- Arizona and California
Fall 01 -- Dean's News Vol 5, No. 2, 12/01/01 -- Boston, Minnesota, New York City
Summer 01 -- Dean's News Vol 5, No. 1, 09/01/01 -- Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Minnesota
Spring 01 -- Dean's News Vol 4, No. 4, 06/01/01 -- Baltic Nations, Poland and Czech Republic
Winter 01 -- Dean's News Vol 4, No. 3, 03/01/01 -- Boston and Arizona
Fall 00 -- Dean's News Vol 4, No. 2, 12/01/00 -- Colorado, Minnesota and Gettysburg
Summer 00 -- Dean's News Vol 4, No. 1, 09/01/00 -- Minnesota and Washington
Spring 00 -- Dean's News Vol 3, No. 4, 06/01/00 -- Eurailing in Europe, and Minnesota
Winter 00 -- Dean's News Vol 3, No. 3, 03/01/00 -- Jamaica, Arizona and the Millennium
Fall 99 -- Dean's News Vol 3, No. 2, 12/01/99 -- The Middle East and Minnesota
Summer 99 -- Dean's News Vol 3, No. 1, 09/01/99 -- Minnesota
Spring 99 -- Dean's News Vol 2, No. 4, 06/01/99 -- Pacific Northwest
Winter 99 -- Dean's News Vol. 2, No. 3, 03/01/99 -- Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Fall 98 -- Dean's News Vol. 2, No. 2, 12/01/98 -- Germany, Poland and Czech Republic
Summer 98 -- Dean's News Vol. 2, No. 1, 09/01/98 -- A summer romance
Spring 98 -- Dean's News Vol. 1, No. 4, 06/01/98 -- New York City and Minnesota trips
Winter 98 -- Dean's News Vol. 1, No. 3, 03/01/98 -- Arizona and Colorado trip
Fall 97 -- Dean's News Vol. 1, No. 2, 12/01/97 -- Venezuela and Trinidad
Summer 97 -- Dean's News Vol. 1, No. 1, 09/01/97 -- Toronto and Niagara Falls
Best wishes to all,
Deano
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