This past weekend, both Maureen and i got some balance.

i have noted when we return from a trip, we are usually empowered to keep up the good vibes from our travel experiences. But we quickly resume a rather predictable routine. We do our things: Maureen goes to her yoga, out with her friends, and attends her OSHER classes; i play golf, write, do too little and infrequent exercise, get further behind in a bunch of projects, and sit staring at this computer; and together we play golf occasionally, go out to eat all too infrequently (but since i am married to one of the best and healthiest cooking chefs i’ve ever experienced, this is not necessarily a bad thing), go to the museums, and that’s about it. Seems like something is missing.

About a month or so ago, i received a request from an old friend. Andrew Nemethy sent me a Facebook message or an email asking if his daughter and her friend could stay with us for a few days on a cross-country excursion, i, of course, said certainly…after consulting with my wife to verify “certainly” was appropriate. It was.

Andrew and Rob DeWitt joined the USS Hawkins (DD 873) in 1968 about a month after we returned to our homeport of Newport, Rhode Island. I had met the ship in Malaga, Spain, and spent a very short time in the Mediterranean and the transit across the Atlantic. For several months, the three of us shared a stateroom in forward officers, a small, dark, and dank little place where the most junior officers are assigned. We had a good time before i moved back to after officers, the more elite quarters if such a thing could be possible on a WWII vintage destroyer. We spent a lot of time together on the ship and ashore. Several of our stories approach legendary.

Andrew, Rob and i, along with our close friend and compatriot from Newport days, Kathy McMahon Klosterman, have reconnected on Facebook.

Then Andrew’s email arrived. Then Esther Nemethy and Erica Claire arrived on Friday. They are rather amazing young ladies. They both went to the University of Vermont. They recently hiked the Long Trail running the length of Vermont (272 miles) in 21 days and stopped in Chattanooga, Austin, Santa Fe, and Tucson (and probably several more) before our weekend together. They left on Monday headed for San Francisco before traveling to Colorado. There Esther will be working in the food industry with her degree in food repurposing and Erica will be a ski instructor in Breckinridge.

Most of the time they were here, they scouted out San Diego for the possibility of eventually moving here (i hope). But we had every breakfast and several dinners together. They were a complete delight. They energized me, and lord, did they make me wish i were in my twenties again.

Thanks, Esther and Erica.