WELCOME  SUMMER!

2026
This summer has been a blast! We kicked it off with two months in Ouray, Colorado and then the Caribbean for our fifth-year family trip to the British Virgin Islands. After BVI we made a brief stop in OK, then a month in SPI, finally landing in Washington DC as the school year started. All were great, and completely different.
As you may know, JoDon and I do a few house sits every year and this year we were invited to Ouray (YOU-ray), Colorado.  The previous year while driving through this area I mentioned in our blog, “You can travel the world (and we have) and not find a more spectacular sight.” The mountain views from Montrose, CO are unbelievably beautiful.
We spent seven weeks outside Ouray and enjoyed every moment. There were two dogs to care for; one was old and slept all day and the younger, OZ, an Australian Shepard that was a well behaved/trained trail dog who captured our hearts. We hiked between 7,000’ and 10,000’ in altitude so this took a little adjustment but we did a 3-4 hour hike most days. Some hikes were moderate but many could be classified as difficult. They were all enjoyed by the three of us. Colorado did not receive much snow this year but there was one hike we turned around early because the snow was deep on the trail, even in May. One thing we enjoyed about Ouray hiking was the trails had very diverse views of the mountains. If you hiked up a creek in one direction you had a set of mountain views and when you hike a creek in an opposite direction the views and terrain could be completely different.

In summary, Ouray was one of our best house-sits and competed with Kauai, Hawaii. That says a lot!
We made a brief stop in Oklahoma to pay our respects to the first of JoDon’s father’s siblings to pass away.

We came across these wobbly newborn twins as we were leaving.
On to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) for our annual family retreat! The BVI never disappoints for sailing and having fun. We have been going to the BVI for about 30 years and we never tire of the beauty of the land and sea. The locals are especially welcoming and hospitable and that adds to overall lure to return for another year of adventures.
In looking back at pictures, we realize how small some of our crew was when we began this journey. We hoped the grandchildren would enjoy the experiences but we have been blown away with their enthusiasm to return each year. The kids have enjoyed many new, and old experiences.  They have not gotten bored with crawling through the giant rocks at The Baths, the crystal-clear saltwater, jumping off the boat (each year the jumps have been a little higher), the voyage and time spent on the remote island of Anegada, dance parties at night onboard, cards and mahjong, the crowds/beach at the #1 beach bar in the Caribbean (The Soggy Dollar/White Bay/Jost Van Dyke), etc. This year we added to the luggage a small projector and a tablecloth to enjoy movies at night. It was a great way to decompress after a day of sun, sand & salt.
Weston standing at the helm year five and year one.
An annual celebration is granddaughter Gabi’s 4th of July birthday. This year’s themed party was “Under the Sea”. It was a costume party event and the crew went all out.
After one week we have a crew change with some leaving and some new crew joining. More partying and a disco themed costume party was one of the highlights.

Of course, one of the most popular vacation activities is DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

From the 1908 book, The Wind In The Willows, the Rat tells the Mole, “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
From boats in BVI to Oklahoma, we found ourselves in Stillwater, OK celebrating with family the marriage of nephew Cohl, and grade school girlfriend, Madelyn. It was great to be with family for those two days and the wedding reception was a hoot, as highlighted by Cohl’s mom, Brandi, getting launched on the dancefloor by one of the groomsmen.
Never ones to linger, the morning after the wedding we drove 13 ½ hours to South Padre Island for more friend/family time. More cousin time was highlighted by finally meeting the newest cousin, Eva (Evie) Marie Castillo. What a sweetie!!
Then a couple more birthday celebrations. Evie’s mom, Tillery, celebrated her milestone birthday with a hibachi beach party. SAKI! SAKI!  shouted the crowd when the young boys took their saki (pineapple juice) shots. It was a fun night!
For the last summer birthday party, granddaughter, Penny, with four friends had an all day SPI party that included tubing, pool, and sailing! Not bad!
After all the parties we had friends join us for some beach time, relaxation and good conversations.
We are now taking care of Millie in Washington D.C. until October enjoying some cooler weather and spectacular sights.










Folks that’s a wrap on summer 2026!

Best,
Brian and JoDon