With a very heavy heart, I have to pass on the somber news that the world-famous Aunt Barbara passed away on February 21, 2025. She will be sorely missed. Below is the last family picture we all took together last summer (2024).
Here is a small tribute to her in pictures. First, 2004.
2005
2006 thru 2014
In 2019, Cindy and I took my mom and Barbara to Cody Wyoming and Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. We had an amazing time and more fun than four people should be allowed to have together.
2023 and 2024
Aunt Barbara will be missed.
After our return to California, we hosted Thanksgiving. Garrett, at six feet tall stood next to my mom, at just under five feet tall.
A great time was had by all. In early December, Cindy and I participated in a group activity with our Missouri friends via Facetime. The activity was making a gingerbread train.
We did a good job and finished second this time. Right before Christmas, we joined our friends Todd and Edie at an opera event at Bella Cocina restaurant called Bella Notte. We sat in their covered patio area and ate a fine Italian meal while being serenaded by the Mission Opera singers.
We had a really good time and all four of us recommend not only Bella Cucina restaurant, but Bella Notte and Mission Opera as well. Typically, Bella Notte is the third Saturday of the month. See the links below. One reason I really enjoy returning to California for the winter is being able to golf all winter. Here is our view during the early morning hours at Valencia Vista golf course in December.
On New Year’s Eve, 2024, Heather and Machelle flew in from Missouri and spent the night with some of Heather’s relatives in the San Fernando Valley. We met up with them the next day and drove to Vega Vineyards just outside of Solvang in Buellton. Todd and Edie are members there, so we had lunch and did some wine tasting. The food is always good, and the wines are very good. The grounds are well maintained. We all recommend a stop here if you are in the area. The link is in the usual place.
Our next stop was some sightseeing in Solvang, a Danish town. Todd, Edie, Cindy, and I have been there too many times to count, but Heather and Machelle had never been there. Our last stop was at Rideau Vineyards, where Cindy and I are members. We did some more wine tasting and had a great time as usual. Rideau has a link at the end of this post. We headed off to an Airbnb we had rented for the night and freshened up for dinner. We ate at a local Islands Restaurant where I had this crazy looking drink. The drink was pretty good and the food was average.
The next day we all headed to Santa Barbara for more sightseeing. We walked up and down State Street and then on the pier, where Machelle was attached by a whale.
After lunch, it was off to Summerland Winery for our last wine tasting of the trip. They would have earned a link, but they have closed their doors.
The next day was quite busy. Todd, Edie, Heather, Machelle, Cindy, and I went to the Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank for a studio tour. This was Cindy and my second visit to the studio tour, but everyone else’s first time. The tour started with a look at the back lot where numerous movies and TV shows have been filmed.
Next, we walked through numerous displays associated with the studios.
Most of the characters from A Miser Brothers Christmas (2008) were the same as from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). Here is a costume from the holiday classic Elf.
Of course there was a large display devoted to the amazing animation unit.
The Harry Potter section was very popular.
Toward the end of our tour was the superhero section.
The Warner Brother Studio Tour is more than link worthy and a must visit when visiting the Los Angeles area. Use the link at the end of this post to make your reservations. After the tour, we all lunched at the classic Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank. Following lunch, Cindy and I took Machelle to tour the Hollywood and Highland area. Heather, Todd, and Edie all went about their merry ways.
The night before our tour, Heather and Machelle spent the night at our house. Machelle and Cindy watched an episode of Bosch and in the episode, a woman was sitting near the check in desk of a hotel. She was followed out of the hotel and eventually murdered. That hotel was the Roosevelt Hotel and the area she was sitting in was actually a bar and not the front desk. So we had to go to the Roosevelt Hotel and have a drink in that same bar.
Here we are at Hollywood and Highland.
We had a great time and returned home. Heather and Machelle flew out the next day to a blizzard in St. Joseph. Here is the weather from our doorbell camera in California.
And here is the weather in St. Joseph from our doorbell camera there.
They made it home safely, but there was a lot of snow there to greet them.
That ends the first post of 2025. The next post will be all about Todd, Edie, Cindy, and my trip to Costa Rica! Try to avoid the blizzards until then.
LINKS