2022 ended with Delilah turning ten on Christmas Day (morning is for Christmas, evening is all about Delilah)! The Pardinis started 2023 hitting the slopes, while Bill and Carrie started the year with a staycation in San Diego, visiting the Midway (including both the flight deck and the bridge) and the Star of India, as well as enjoying the sights and delights of the Gaslamp District. More pictures of their weekend in San Diego can be found here. Wrapping up January, Austin took his girlfriend to the Winter Ball.

February brought a couple of birthdays, Austin turned 17 and Nathan turned 31! Nate celebrated by hitting the slopes (as usual) with Retta. Bill and Carrie hopped on a redeye (with a stunning sunrise in New Jersey - who woulda thought?) to catch a truly stunning weekend in Key West. After the mandatory visit to Mallory Square at sunset, the next morning found them at Margaritaville Resort, meeting Radio Margaritaville hosts JD and Kristin doing a live remote feed. This was followed by a fantastic concert (with stellar seats) by Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers (fronted by Mac McAnally). Truly epic. After returning to the West Coast, Bill and Carrie went to the opening match for the San Diego Legion at Snapdragon Stadium - easily the best rugby field in Major League Rugby. Shaylee celebrated winning the winter North Bay League fútbol championship, and Carrie continued west to Maui, where she got to spend a week with both the Prewitt and Pardini family.The Pardini's took up surfing, and everyone enjoyed a luau towards the end of the week.

In March, Bill picked up his new toy, after patiently waiting well over 15 months (but worth the wait). Bill and Carrie were able to see the Eagles on their Hotel California tour - just an amazing concert. The next weekend, they headed to Palm Springs to break in said new toy - and what better place to do that then a Margartaville Resort? After being greeted by true Parrotheads, they found their flipflop and headed out to listen to live music at the venue onsite. Before heading back home, they stopped by to see some old friends - definitely a fun weekend.

In April, Bill had to head to Singapore for customer/partner meetings.He once again visited Marina Bay fronted by the famed Merlion, and visited the iconic Marina Bay Sands Resort/Casino/Concert Stadium, with views of the Bay from above. Singapore is an amazing country that rebuilds about 10% of the island every five years - so it's always different. More pictures from Singapore can be found here. The return trip resulted in Bill's first experience with COVID, transitioning into bronchitis. And THAT'S when he got to talk for the first time to his first son, William (Will) Cusic. He's a Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer (CPO) and Operations Specialist for the Port of Houston, while his girlfriend Megan has the same role for the Port of New Orleans. He has a son, David, in the Army, a daughter Amy, who works for UPS, and a younger son, Logan.

May kicked off with Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers performing the first ever concert at Snapdragon Stadium (and, it turns out, the last ever Jimmy Buffett concert - more on that below). After enjoying tailgating activities, they enjoyed San Diego native Jason Mraz as the opener, followed by Jimmy. Even Sophia got into the Parrothead scene! Savannah did her first ballet recital, and Austin had a couple of celebrations - his Prom, and getting on the Presidents List for academic achievement!

Mid-May, Bill and Carrie celebrated their upcoming 24th anniversary and Carrie's birthday with an extended trip to Greece. They used a boutique travel agency out of Athens to build the trip - and the staff there proved to be rock stars! Starting in Athens, they toured throughout the country side, as well as touring one of the oldest cities in Greece, Mycenae, and the Corinth Canal, joining the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea. Of course, time was spent at the Acropolis and Parthenon, where they learned about the extensive history of each, and checked out the infamous Odeon of Herodes Atticus (aka Acropolis Amphitheater). From Athens, they flew to Naxos (the island where Zeus spent his childhood). There, they learned about the Temple of Apollo and the Statue of Ariadne, and visited Naxos Town as well as other towns throughout the island. They had a chance to visit the Melanes Kouros Statue, dating to 570 BC - damaged during transport and left behind - found by a farmer just 100 years ago. Naxos is interesting - while most of Greece relies on tourism, Naxos relies on agriculture, with tourism a mere 15% of its revenue. From Naxos, Bill and Carrie went to Santorini via ferry (every ferry requires an F1 car, of course) - likely the most famous of the Greek Islands. Staying in Imerovigli (one of the best views of the caldera), they caught several sunsets - one from their room in Imerovigli, and one from a Sunset Cruise through the caldera. Santorini is also home of the archaeological site of Akrotiri, a Minoan town destroyed in the eruption of Thera in 16th century BC (truly ancient!) - absolutely worth a visit to this fascinating place. On their journey, they made their way to the highest point on Santorini, the Summit of Mount Profitis Ilias - offering fantastic views of the entire island. From Santorini, Bill and Carrie took another ferry to Crete, spending one day in Heraklion - Europes oldest city, and home of the Palace of Knossos, a major center of the Minoan civilization - built in 1900 BC. The palace has a famous Throne Room for ceremonies, as well as the Red Bull fresco - and the oldest roads in Europe. Pretty amazing! From Heraklion, they went to Chania - easily their favorite town of their trip. Founded in 1100 BC by the Minoans, it has a natural harbor that every dominant civilization desired - so much so that Chania was conquered by (in order) the Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, the Ottomans, Greece, Nazis, and finally, Greece (again). Each conquering civilization simply built atop the previous, resulting in very interesting architectures throughout Chania - here's a restaurant with five different architectural styles. The harbor, built by the Venetians, is absolutely stunning, and the roads throughout Old Town rarely extend more than two meters wide. They spent several days exploring above Chania, visiting a yogurt and cheese factory, a church literally built into a mountain, with yet another church hidden behind that one. To view more of this incredible trip, click here,

June brought a bevy of birthdays - starting with Shaylee turning fifteen and Amy celebrating a milestone birthday. Ryan celebrated his 35th birthday with a golfing party, with Al Czervik and Paula Creamer stopping by to say hi!

In July, Will's son David got married, and Will, Megan, and Logan did a huge trip through the South - visiting (among other places) Alabama, South Carolina, and ending in Maryland, and Sophia celebrated her first birthday! In August, Amy and Danny celebrated their 16th anniversary, and the Prewitt's enjoyed lots of time in the pool, Carrie went to visit friends in Bar Harbor, Maine - a fun weekend catching up with old friends.

September started on a sour note, with the passing of Jimmy Buffett. An homage was made, and his music lives on. Savannah turned seven! Nate and Retta got a chance to go hiking through the mountains around Telluride, and September also brought school days, with the Pardini's clearly excited about the new school year. The month wrapped up with a visit from Carrie's friend Vickie. The pair enjoyed the hot tub, and she didn't hesitate to go for a ride in the new toy. The month wrapped up on Steve's boat enjoying cigars with good friends from the great white north.

In October, Bill flew to Nevada for a two day course in how to drive the new toy - and learned how to drive cautiously through town. After he flew back to San Diego, Bill and Carrie hopped on a plane to New York, joining her sister and her husband and their dad for a weekend in New York! They took a harbor cruise past Ms Liberty, toured the financial district and the 911 Memorial. The first night, Missy, David, and Dad went to a comedy show while Bill and Carrie visited Audrey II. On Friday the group visited Central Park, and they simply HAD to visit Margaritaville. Friday night was at the Madison Square Garden to see Billy Joel, and October wrapped with Sophia picking out pumpkins, and Austin visiting San Diego. He and his girlfriend joined the Pardini's with Bill and Carrie for a fun afternoon at Spamalot.

In November, Will and Megan were selected to represent the Coast Guard for Veteran's Day at Cowboy Station. The Pardini's enjoyed Thanksgiving and helped put up the Christmas tree - Bill and Carrie spent the weekend on another staycation in San Diego, exploring Barrio Logan, Sunset Cliffs, and Cabrillo National Monument. Those pictures can be found here.

In December, Will and Megan joined Bill and Carrie for an afternoon at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Bill and Carrie joined Steve and Lisa on their boat to participate in the San Diego Bay of Lights Parade, and Delilah and Savannah each learned that they made the Nice List!

And that about wraps up the year...Bill and Carrie wish all of you the best for 2024, and are truly hoping that this continued madness of COVID-19 variants is soon behind us - so that we can just truly get back to normal.