All In The Family... and Friends part 2!

 Dobar dan..... from the Wandering Berkmans!

A Croatian greeting for you all from beautiful Split, Croatia.  Yes, we too needed to look up exactly where Split is located and having arrived, we are not disappointed to see stunning views of Mount Mosor and the Adriatic Sea.   But we're getting ahead of ourselves. But as a teaser, here's our "office" today.  Pretty sweet.

When we last left you, we were in the process of our Friends and Family Tour.  Our time in the US was a series of some special reunions with hugs around the country!  From Mexico we traveled to Albuquerque, NM for the Berkman reunion-- it was an added bonus to see Cecelia join the crew as well!  So many happy, mask-less faces!

We also had a special birthday celebration for a certain 56 year old!  

                                Even Morsel the cat offered his birthday greetings.  

Next stop, Ohio, for a fun couple of days with my dad and uncle Ron, Beverly and Frank.  And of course the pups Tara and Lola!

Off then to Wisconsin for more fam fun (Laura, we missed you!), talks, and a verrrry careful straight shave.  Ok, maybe it could have been a bit more careful!

Don only looks in pain.  No animals were harmed in the shaving of this man.

Off to Jersey/New York  for the "friendsfam" portion of our adventure. We may have missed taking a pic with you but we were so happy to see so many of you! 

     Our Outhwaite family welcomed us back with open arms and puppy kisses from Teddy <3

Our sibs from another mother!

Celebrating 37 years of friendship with Vaz and Sam (we missed you, Kar and Rob!)

Lunching with Brian on a boat on the Hudson in NYC.  We missed being in the city and our Chelsea Airbnb was the perfect spot to roost as we explored for 2 weeks.  

The Altoids-- singing, talking and laughing together for hours, as we are wont to do! 

Who has the best bookclub? Me!! 

Gifts? For me?? My buddies from the OCTS know me too well.  

And, of course, no visit to NJ would be complete without a stop in Clinton to lunch with our good friends Judy and Beth and to Citispot for Mark's amazing coffee and a "Happy Birthday!" 

                Don's bench is still outside Citispot, as it should be! 

When we look back at those last whirlwind weeks (7 places to stay in 2 months!), we're relieved now to know we'll be staying put for the next 2 months but we wouldn't change a thing about our visits-- it was so terrific to see so many of you.  We love and cherish you all!  Be well, stay healthy, and hopefully we hug again in person soon!   

In the meantime, here's a little Slice of Life (SOL) from Croatia-

A very ebullient Croatian fisherman after presumably a great catch? Points to anyone who can tell us what he's singing!  (Beth T??) 

Thanks for following along!

Don and Monica

new mexico, wisconsin, new jersey, ohio