While on our latest trip (Italy), Jen received an unusual text that sent us down a panicked rabbit hole trying to determine if our house at the least was broken into; at worst, hosting squatters while we vacationed.
Thanks for letting us use the pool. Who's white Cadillac SUV is in your driveway?
We don't own a white Cadillac SUV. No one we know owns a white Cadillac SUV.
We took the kids to Italy again, this time to Florence, Venice and San Miniato in Tuscany region to see the sights and enjoy the Mediterranean beaches on the northern west coast.
Of all the bands of my youth, the one I regret not seeing live was Helloween. By the time I was going to concerts, Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske had already left the band and although I liked and listened to some of their new material, the classics live without Kai and Michael just wouldn't have been the same. Knowing they all reunited and were playing huge festivals in Europe, I was eagerly awaiting a North American tour. The 40th Anniversary tour was it and they were coming to my state! The only problem ... I was going to be in Sint Maarten during their local show!
Luckily, Canada is "close", so the Toronto show it was!
Jen and I and three other couples took a trip to St. Maarten to celebrate one couple's 40th anniversary. They had all come with us to celebrate our 20th anniversay, and since this couple originally honeymooned in St. Maarten, we all revisited with them to celebrate! We stayed at the Sonesta Ocean Point Resort in Maho Bay, a beautiful, adults-only all-inclusive.
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds," goes the postal carriers' motto. Yet we did not get the mail Monday, 23 February, 2026. Or as it will be know in the future, "the great blizzard of '26" ... you can bet I still ran though! Laps in my basement since the road wasn't plowed.
And today, Tuesday, after clearing my and neighbors driveways, I got back outside to get my mile in! I should also add I'm dealing with a significant ankle sprain (see the brace on my left ankle).
This year, my third polar plunge in a row, was - at the invitation of my lovely wife Jen - with the Rotary Club of Fall River at Little Beach, on the east side of Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA. We raised close to $3,000 to help with community service efforts in the greater Fall River area.
This Christmas season we took the kids to see if they were truly good or bad - to the Krampuslauf in Salzburg, Austria. There, St. Nicholas and the Krampus would sort it out for us.
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