Carol Rist, Spring, 2001 In mid April we flew from Miami to Athens for our first Elderhostel experience. We landed in Athens at the brand new airport, built to serve the multitudes expected for the 2004 Olympics. Near the airport are many of the venues being built for the Olympics, and the road from the […]

Carol Rist, 1999 In the middle of September, 1999, Hurricane Floyd was bearing down on the east coast of the United States. We weren’t eager to desert our house with a hurricane approaching, but knowing that Curtis and Julie had had ample experience in post hurricane clean-up and repair, we put on our hurricane shutters […]

Carol Rist, SUMMER 1998 On July 4, 1998, the extended Byrd family gathered at the Lago Mar Resort on the beach in Fort Lauderdale for a family reunion. Tom Byrd, Jr. was the only family member who couldn’t make it. All 23 of us, from 3year-old Robin Graney (Marilyn’s youngest grandchild) to the oldest Byrd […]

Carol Rist, 1997 Preparation for a trip to Kenya begins well before the plane takes off, with a visit to the travel doctor. If the lecture on how to avoid diarrhea, the shots for diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid and yellow fever and the dreaded anti-malarial pill, Larium, don’t dissuade you, you’re in for a real adventure. […]

Lake Baikal Carol Rist September 1, 1995: It was a sweltering day in Miami but we packed our bags with our warmest clothing before heading out to the airport. We were on our way to Siberia. Luckily our tour group met in San Francisco. That gave us the opportunity to spend the weekend with Andy […]

China Trip Carol Rist, 1994 Quite early on Sunday morning, June 26, we gathered at the Miami airport along with Bob Merkel, Debbie Safford and the rest of the Florida International Art Exchange Group and embarked on our three week visit to the People’s Republic of China, led by David Chang, native of Shanghai, artist, […]

Carol Rist June 1991 We left the Berlin airport in a rental car with the navigator (me) totally lost. As we were trying to get our bearings, Karsten saw a sign that said “Ploetzensee Memorial.” Some 2,500 persons were put to death by the Nazis at the Ploetzensee Prison, including many of the participants in the […]

Carol Rist August 3, 1990 We really enjoyed our vacation in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick two years ago, so this year we decided to visit a different part of Canada. To say that Quebec is different from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is an understatement. The only thing that was the same was the […]

Carol Rist, July 20, 1989 Dear Marilyn, Phil, Carl, Lisa and Andy, Marilyn and Phil, you must think I have stopped sending you my offspring letters. Actually there haven’t been any. Carl and Lisa have been en route from Yakima to Durham, and Andy has been in England and Norway and then moved, so I […]

Carol Rist September 23, 1988 Dear Carl, Lisa, and Andy, We are finally getting settled back into the old routine after two weeks of a totally different existence. I am enclosing a map which I copied from the atlas, on which I have marked our trip. I’m sorry that you can hardly tell land from […]