We looked after Gerard and Chris’ dog, Dawson, for a day or two in early January. She was a beast of a puppy and tore up Gerard and Chris’s house when she was young, but she’d mellowed a bit and was a pretty good house guest…for a short while.
Harry Potter and I were a little worn out, even a week later.
Allie wasn’t.
We headed down to Florida in mid-January to celebrate Grandpop’s 86th birthday. One way or another he decided we should all go out for a gambling “cruise to nowhere” on the Palm Beach Princess that sailed out of West Palm Beach. The ship was an old, smallish cruise ship that sailed out twice daily to international waters a few miles off Palm Beach and then opened its casino for legal gambling. Grandpop generally never gambled but he’d gotten it into his head that this would be a fun event for the family. He was paying so we were all game. Sue, Keri, Jon and Jill came down from Gainesville, Laurie was in town from Brazil, and we were joined by cousin Leecy and a nice friend of Mom and Dad’s whose name I’ve forgotten.
Keri, Allie and Laurie on deck, with Peanut Island in background 
Jon and Barb…and a guy that looks like Joe but isn’t 
The birthday boy
The cruise included a meal while we cruised out to international waters. This gave us some time for photos.
Birthday boy and bride 
With Sue 
With the nice friend 
The conversation flowed 
A bunch of us 
Barb and Leecy 
Keri, Jon and Allie 
Keri and Jon 
Jill, Laurie and Sue 
Another bunch of us
After the meal, the casino opened. None of us were experienced gamblers. Laurie seemed to know more than anyone and taught Grandpop how to use the slot machines. I think he offered a few dollars in quarters to the bunch of us but he and Laurie were the main takers. They didn’t last long.
Grandpop pinches a quarter goodbye 
You can tell he’s enjoying this 
It’s my birthday, dammit 
Grandmom’s prune face as she waits patiently 
Laurie meditates for good luck 
Pulls the handle, no buttons for her 
This one’s a winner for sure…
A number of us preferred to lounge on deck instead of gambling.
Jon, Keri, Sue and Jill soaking up the grey skies on deck 
Jon and Keri recover from lunch
That evening, the party continued at Grandpop’s favorite Thai restaurant, Thaicoon. No doubt, he ordered Panang chicken curry and some chicken satay appetizers. And plenty of Tsingtao beer.
The birthday couple, again 
Doing some damage at Thaicoon: Sue, Laurie, Jon, Keri, Allie, Barb, Jill
The next day we stayed at Sugar Sands, stretching out the family fun. I think Allie took the extreme closeup pictures of Laurie and Barb at the Sugar Sands pool.
I’m getting too big to hug 
So, time for dessert! 
Back in Maryland, for the President’s Day holiday on February 15, Allie and I ventured on a road trip to Assateague Island near Ocean City to see the ponies. I don’t think Barb came with us. I’m not sure if Allie and I did this as a long day trip or if we stayed overnight somewhere. Either way, it was cold. But we did see ponies up close and personal, maybe more than we could have if it was warmer.
First pony! 
She was a skinny girl 
We felt sorry for her but couldn’t feed her 
Even though she tried to convince us otherwise 
Proof we saw more than one pony 
Allie finds poop! 
We also saw deer and other wildlife 
Why are we stopped? 
Because there was a toll taker 
Thanks for coming!
Allie wrote this rather wonderful poem for school on February 19. Well, I think it’s pretty wonderful. Barb doesn’t like it very much.
My Mom Says
By Allie Duncan
My Mom says that I talk too much
My Mom says that I’m too messy
My Mom says that I cry over strange things
My Mom says that I’m like her Mom
My Mom says that I snore when I don’t
My Mom says that I don’t do the dishes well
My Mom says that I can’t do things that I can do
My Mom says that I can’t hang clothes well
My Mom says that I have to write neater
My Mom says that I need to be quiet
But I think my Mom talks too much.
Laurie headed back to Sao Paolo, Brazil to teach. She also signed up for a samba squad to learn the dances. She and the squad traveled to Rio for Carnaval in February and sent these photos. Her crew also spent some time in Tiradentes, a small town between Rio and Sao Paolo. We admire her adventurous spirit!
Tiradentes view 
Sao Joao del Rei 
Xica da Silva, our pousada in Tiradentes 
Liz and Laurie in Tiradentes 
Laurie and Lindsay in Tiradentes 
Laurie and Kelly in Tiradentes 
Gorgeous landscape 
Shopping for tablecloths, blankets, etc. 
Laurie…we think 
Ipanema Beach, crowded 
The view from behind 
Sam, up close 
Liz, excited to go dance in front of 80,000 people 
Carnaval costume 
The whole samba crew…Laurie front right
Allie’s dancing career continued with Jazz and Ballet classes in Cindee Velle’s school every Saturday at the Long Reach Community Center. Her “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” team became a competition squad which was effectively a third class. Here they are on March 4, at practice in Long Reach in their upgraded outfits. They started competing in regional events around Maryland, for which I was most often Allie’s chauffeur though I was no help at all with costumes, hair or makeup. Allie learned self sufficiency and otherwise relied on the kindness of strangers.
Getting ready outside the practice studio at Long Reach 
Allie’s coach is at left, Caroline and her Mom on the right 
Caroline, Allie and ??
March 7 was a good day for posing. Allie got an outfit of silk Chinese pajamas and went for the whole look.
Before… 
…after 
Praying up trouble 
Cute pose we later used for a painting
On March 9, Allie and I went on a field trip (with one of her buddies but I’m not sure which one) to the Smithsonian’s Udvar Hazy Center, an extension of the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport in Virginia. It had just opened a few months earlier in December, 2003. I was definitely more excited than the girls to see all the planes in this huge facility. The stars of the show for me were the SR-71 Blackbird, the space shuttle Enterprise (which has now gone to New York), the Concorde, and the Enola Gay.
SR-71 Blackbird 
Shuttle Enterprise 
Concorde 
Flying Wing Northrop N1-M 
Marines F-4B 
Enola Gay
This seems as good a place as any to insert this playlist from the Allie 8c CD that I made. We’ve lost track of Allie 8b and 8d, so this will have to do for now.
On March 14, the O’Neills threw a big birthday party for Auntie Jessie — her 70th, I suspect. The party was at the Army-Navy Club in Arlington. We were happy to be invited to celebrate with longtime family friends.
Barb and Auntie Jessie 
Barb O’Neill and Barb 
Uncle David and Auntie Mary 
Barb with Irelands 
Steven O’Neill 
Kathy and Jay Ireland 
Barb with Kathy Ireland 
Bruce Diamond and Jim Ireland 
(Barb O’Neill’s girl), Allie and Jessie 
3 girls leaning 
3 girls leaning, and John
On Saturday, March 20, we flew out to Denver for spring break with the Embreys. Allie and Kristen were both 8 years old and pretty darn happy to see each other.
Kristen serenaded us with a recorder concert played through her nose.
The next day, we all made a visit to the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado for a nice dinner.
We headed up to Copper Mountain for a couple of days of skiing and tubing. The girls were also pretty excited to go to the indoor pool.
In early April, Allie did an assignment for school describing Grandpop. We made a copy for him. It was a fine essay (click for full page) and an especially flattering drawing.
On April 18, our weeping cherry was in particularly fine Spring form, as was Allie as we set out to get some pictures to send Grandmom. We took a lot of pictures but it was a worthwhile day. Lots of good ones.
Our Bleeding Heart bush also had a good year; it’s the same bush we transplanted to Pfefferkorn
On April 21 we placed a deposit to construct a new home on Pfefferkorn Road in West Friendship, Maryland. I’ve started a separate page with (overly) detailed posts about this project which would consume much of the next 18 months for me.
At the end of April, Henry Goldberg retired from Barb’s office with much fanfare. There was a party at work and then a few days later a dinner El Tio Pepe in Baltimore. See separate post for full set of photos.
Henry with Mary Salhus 
Barb with ?? and ?? 
Retirement proclamation 
Henry with Jeff Goland, Tom Coons and ?? 
Barb and Don 
3 Amigos: Gerard, Larry and Tony
Allie’s dance squad went to multiple regional competitions and qualified for the big Starpower Championships in Ocean City. She and I drove out and stayed overnight for the show at the Ocean City Convention Center. It was a big production with hundreds of teams in all age divisions, lots of lights, a big stage, professional photographers and a gift shop of show swag. Allie’s team did very well, but I think the winners were another troupe that did a very cute dance to the Barenaked Ladies song, “Another Postcard,” an earworm and visual that has stayed with me forever.
A third grade tradition at Glenelg Country School was Colonial Day at the end of May, capstone of a semester of on colonial life in Maryland. The highlight of Colonial Day itself was a parade around the school grounds in period attire. I think Miss Faith offered to make Allie a costume since her nieces had been through the class in previous years and she had the basics for her daughter, Sydney, and one more. Colonial Day made for a nice photo opportunity. We started with shots at home.
The action then moved to school.
Allie and Gabby Cha 
See how many names Allie can remember… 
Allie’s teachers: Miss DeVoe, (actor), Miss ?? (Allie’s teacher) and ?? 
Time for a colonial dance 
Allie with Ellen and ?? 
Allie, Sydney and ?? 
Jess, Allie, Sydney 
??, Hannah, ??, Jordan 
Ellen’s horse and carriage, with KevynAnn 
Lifers at GCS
A few days later, on June 2, Allie participated in a Brownies ceremony at GCS. Local Brownie politics dictated that Allie could no longer be in her old Brownie troop associated with Centennial Lane Elementary. There was a troop of some old timers at GCS but it was full, so Barb helped find a group of strays that formed a new troop based at GCS. I can’t remember the name of the troop leader but she was a nice and very good natured lady. I volunteered from time to time to help the troop and sometimes brought a guitar and tried to teach them folk songs. It was mildly embarrassing for all involved but I did give it a try a few times. I don’t remember the specifics of the ceremony pictured here.
The next day, June 3, Barb and I took Allie and her GCS buddy KevynAnn to Hershey Park for the day. This was, I think, the last thing we did with KevynAnn though she and Allie were in same class for the next ten years. They didn’t stay buddies long, but things went well enough for this day.
Barb’s happy in anything that spins 
Allie, KevynAnn and I got soaked 
The very next day, June 4, we have photos from a zoo. I think Allie took them and I think it’s from the Baltimore Zoo though there are no identifying features. There is a fuzzy shot of an okapi and the Baltimore Zoo is the only place I can remember seeing one of these oddball creatures.
Warthog? 
Okapi! 
On June 11, we signed the construction contract for our new house on Pfefferkorn Road. Just a few days later, the three of us celebrated by packing off on a trip to Hawaii. We stayed for a full week on the Big Island in a condo at the Mauna Lani Point Resort where Barb and I stayed in 1993. This was Allie’s first trip to Hawaii. We were eager to show her the best of our favorite island in the world…other than Hong Kong. See separate post for more details and photos.
At the end of June, we took a day for a family outing to Mount Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery to visit Louise and the JFK eternal flame.
Visiting Nanny 
JFK gravesite and flame 
Who’s JFK? 
Mount Vernon
I’m not sure exactly what precipitated the following document, but on June 28 Allie and I prepared this formal contract of “Things Allie Will Never Do.” I don’t have the signed, witnessed version but I’m pretty sure she did sign it. I don’t recall the risk/reward implied in the contract, other than “Or Else!” but I think Allie is to be congratulated for (mostly) living up to it.
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