June 2016 – March 2025
Events Timeline:
2016 05 – Japan, Bali
2016 06 – Lake Louise, Banff, Canada (with Anya)
2016 09 – Novosibirsk, Russia (Lana, Anya)
2016 11 – Trip to N. California. Visited Tom & Sue Farrell, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite Park
2016 12 – Bali (Lana with Gosha’s family)
2017 05 – New York, West Point ,Greg’s 50th WP Reunion
2017 07 – Vancouver, BC Canada
2017 12 – Florida (Tampa, Sarasota, Marie Shelby Botanical Gardens, Earl & Speedo friends)
2018 02 – Bangkok & Pattaya, Thailand (Lana with sister Irina)
2018 08 04- Anya’s wedding
2018 08 19-22- London
2018 08 22-28- Montenegro
2018 08 29-31- Albania
2018 09 – We moved to SC; Greg’s job at Boeing, Lana quit her job at Seagen (after 6.5 yrs).
2018 11 – Charleston sightseeings; Magnolia Plantation
2018 12-2019-0- Aruba & Curacao
2019 02 – Barcelona (Lana & Irina, sister);
Novosibirsk & Moscow, Russia
2019 03 – Lana started job at AstraZeneca in Frederick, MD
2019 04 – Washington, DC (Lana, cherry blossoms)
2019 09 02- Harpers Ferry, MD
2019 09 21- Washington DC, Greg’s HS reunion
2019 11 15-30- Mexico: Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Ajijic
2019 12 22-30- Sweden, Norway, England
2020 02 – Lana’s trip to Novosibirsk, Russia (mom dyed). COVID.
2020 09 – Lana retired
2020 10 – Greg retired
2020 10 – Florida, Key West car trip
2021 04 – Asheville/Biltmore, NC; Cypress Gardens;
2022 08-09- Scotland, Ireland, England (visited Julia). Also visited Montenegro (sold the apartment).
2023 06 – Florida, Nokomis, Lana visited Marina
2023 08 – Lexington Home Exchange, near Boston; visiting Irina Koroleva
2023 10 – Dubai, Lana
2023 11 – Moscow, Golden Ring (Suzdal, Vladimir), Lana
2023 11 – Baku, Azerbaijan, Lana & Gosha’s family
2024 01 – New York, Lana visited niece, Alena
2024 04 – Charleston tour of old gardens, Lana
2024 06 – Smokey Mountains car trip
2024 08 – Nice, France, 6 weeks on Home Exchange
2024 10-27- Greg’s high school reunion at Myrtle Beach, SC
2024 11 – Caribbean Cruise, Lana
2024 12 – Vegas with Gosha & Anya, Gosha’s visit to WA & SC
2017
Fifty years ago in June 1967 Greg graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. To celebrate that we traveled to West Point in May 2017 where we joined the group of West Point graduates as part of our 50th year reunion. The event is held over a weekend filled with activities involving those in attendance. At this reunion a new ice hockey facility was opened thank to the contributions of our class primarily made by one of our classmates who could donate several million dollars towards it’s construction. Needless to say, he was not a career military officer. The reunion involves several group activities such as sitting down together in the academy mess for lunch and toasts/speeches from distinguished members of the class and other dignitaries. the reunion ends with a parade of the corps of cadets in full dress uniform while the reunion class members and their families observe from bleachers along the route of march. The cadets march by in review while the WP Army band plays some of the traditional martial music that we all marched to when we were cadets. Towards the end of the parade the oldest living member of the long gray line is recognized. This time he was a graduate of the class of 1932. At the time he was 103 years old.
WP Cadets Pass in Review:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=us+military+academy+cadets+pass+in+review+photos&t=lm&ia=images&iax=images
2018
Following the end of Greg’s contract work in April, and our Japan trip in May, we took a travel break while Lana continued to work as a senior research associate for Seattle Genetics in Bothell, WA. Greg looked for work without success until Boeing contacted him in May 2018 regarding work in Charleston, SC at their new 787 airplane assembly facility. He was offered a lead engineer position in their interiors structures team.
August 4, 2018 Lana’s daughter, Anya, married Adam Smith at our house in Darrington WA. The event was well planned and included a large number of their friends as well as ourselves. Stephanie and her husband, Mire, also joined us. The wedding was held outside on our patio overlooking the Sauk river. Adam’s sister, a lay preacher, conducted the ceremony. Greg made a video of the event that is available upon request.
Towards the end of August Greg and Lana flew to Europe (London, Montenegro, Albania) for a visit to see their dear friend, Eckhard Schmidt, the owner of the Villa,Katarina, where Greg and Lana’s apartment was located. Greg had helped Eckhard finish his vacation apartment building by financing the finishing work needed to complete the project. As compensation for the cash Eckhard gave Greg and Lana ownership of one apartment. It was located on the upper floor of the building with great views of the sea shore near Utjeha, Montenegro from the apartment’s wrap around balcony.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=utjeha+montenegro&t=lm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
We moved from Bothell, WA in September 2018 to Summerville, SC near Charleston where we rented a 3 bedroom home not far from the Boeing facility in Ladson, SC.
For those who revere American colonial history, there are few locations that compare to Charleston SC. One of the earliest settlements and the best anchorage on the East Coast apart from New York. Charleston developed earlier and was the port of entry for seagoing ships from Europe long before New York. Cotton, tobacco, timber and rice grown in Carolina were exported while European goods and slaves from Africa and the West Indies were imports. Originally, there was only one Carolina that was founded by appointees of the English king who granted them ownership of the colony. In 1712 the Provence of Carolina was split into the colonies of North and South Carolina.
Not far from our home lie two plantations situated along the Ashely river, Middleton Place and Magnolia Plantation. Both are open to the public offering tours of the grounds and buildings that date to the 18th century. Both have park like surroundings with well cared for gardens and restored structures characteristic of the original buildings. They are in many ways a living museum that takes us back to antebellum life in the old South. Both offer a place to sit peacefully while glazing out over the Ashely river and its views of reed grass, birds, turtles and other life forms that have continued to exist all these many years. And yes, you can occasionally see an alligator sunning itself on the river bank of slowly swimming along the river bank.
Charleston, the city, was founded in 1670 making it 355 years old in 2025. New York originally named New Amsterdam was founded in 1608. Saint Augustine Florida is perhaps the oldest US city being founded in 1565.
The city of Charleston offers numerous tours of historical buildings including homes, churches and public structures. The Pink House was built between that date and 1712. It can be viewed today at 17 Chalmers Street. Many of the homes along the “Battery” date to the early 19th century. The Battery was a fortified seawall facing Charleston harbor. the homes there are mostly single family residences. Many other historically significant homes are close by and can be toured.
Even from the earliest days the residents followed their faith by building churches. There are 28 churches listed in Charleston, South Carolina. The city is known for its historic and diverse religious architecture. Visible even from the edge of the city are steeples of some of the most notable churches. Perhaps that is why Charleston’s nick name is the “Holy City”. Perhaps it is also because of its religious tolerance of many denominations since the early days of its existence.
Over the end of year holiday season we took our first vacation adventure to the Dutch West Indies by visiting Aruba and Curacao. Both islands are full of interesting places and natural beauty. Both islands belong to the Netherlands. Aruba is quite near Venezuela. Both islands have a dry sunny climate most of the year and are considered to have a zenic landscape meaning they are primarily desert in nature. Their coasts have many cliffs with sandy pocket beaches, blow holes, caves, grottoes and other dramatic geologic features that add to the visual attractiveness for tourists. The principal city is Oranjestad where we arrived/departed by air and toured.
Next we took a short hop by air to Curacao. The history of the island is distinct from Aruba and their sister Bonaire; however, all were part of the Spanish colonial empire before they were ceded to the Dutch in 1634 vis a vis Spain’s defeat in the 80 years war between Holland and Spain. The principal city is Willemstad. The climate and topography is similar to Aruba. Perhaps the most interesting sight to see in Curacao are the buildings of Willemstad.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Willemstad+Capital+city+of+Cura%C3%A7ao&ia=images&iax=images
2019
In March 2019 Lana was offered a job with AstraZeneca as a bio-technology scientist in Frederick, MD. Since no work was available for her in the Charleston, SC area, she accepted the position.
We lived apart during 2019 until she resigned her position in September 2020 and moved back with Greg in Summerville, SC.
In November we traveled to Mexico to check out a possible retirement location, Ajijic, near Guadalajara on the shore of lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest freshwater lake, located on the border between Jalisco and Michoacán states. Our interest considered the almost perfect climatic conditions of the location and its not so crowded tourist population. While we did encounter numerous visitors, Ajijic maintained much of the traditional Hispanic feel of real Mexico. If you went shopping knowing a few words of Spanish went a long way towards finding what one wanted. Cobbled streets, beautiful flower gardens, houses with courtyards, friendly natives, and authentic food all helped immerse us in a real Mexican experience.
But there were other not so nice realities to be considered such as the fact that foreigners cannot purchase property in Mexico. Long term leasing or renting are the only options for those who want to live there. Lake Chapala, very beautiful natural element with an extensive shoreline is very polluted with algae and other invasive fresh water growth. The infrastructure including roads and public transportation is functional, but needs much restoration to bring it up to what most Americans would consider safe and satisfactory conditions. It’s obvious that the local governments have been unable to maintain the roads and other public services including buses/trolleys as well as one would find in typical western European countries. If you don’t mind waiting for a burro to pull it’s wagon from your path then you’ll be fine here.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lake+Chapala&t=lm&iax=images&ia=images&iar=images
Over the end of year holidays in 2019 we traveled to Sunne, Sweden where we visited Lana’s friend, Alena and her boyfriend, Sven. They lived in Sunne with his parents in a large home near the downtown.
The Sunne visit was pleasant especially given the end of year holiday festivities. We got a glimpse of Swedish traditions and cuisine including a Christmas dinner with traditional Swedish dishes cooked by Sven’s mom and sister, and a dinner with elk steaks from Sven’s hunting success.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=sunne+sweden&t=lm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
Having flown into Oslo, Norway which is actually closer to Sunne than Stockholm, we drove a rental car from Oslo to Sunne and back over snowy roads. Our trip over was uneventful, but on the way back to Oslo we encountered black ice that required extra caution to avoid ending up in a ditch or worse. Made it back to Oslo without incident fortunately.
2020
2020 began with us returning to our respective jobs and living apart. However by the end of the year both had retired to live in our second home in Summerville, SC. We liked South Carolina’s sunny climate and the laid back pace that characterizes life in the south. South Carolina is very supportive of US veterans both regarding facilities such as VA hospitals and clinics as well as tax free status for property taxes for disabled veterans.
Greg’s brother, Scott, and his wife Diane live about 20 miles away on Daniel Island, SC where they have a lovely home. Both have retired and Diane’s daughter and her husband live nearby with their growing family of grandkids.
Our retirement celebration, yep, you guessed it was a sightseeing trip. In October we drove from Summerville to Key West along the east coast of Georgia and Florida passing well known places such as St. Augustine, Cape Kennedy, Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Ratan, and Miami where we spent one night in an Airbnb before driving down the Florida Keys to Key West where we spent a week in a Boutique hotel near the waterfront.
Key West is a small city with many interesting places to visit. A week is not too long if you want to see even the most famous locations. Among the highlights: Hemingway’s home and the “Little Whitehouse” where President Harry Truman spent many of his days during his terms in office conducting business away from the Washington DC. hustle and bustle. The seafood is great and there are plenty of watering holes along the beaches where one can while away the time in the shade sipping a tropical concoction of liquor and fruit juice. Key West struggled in the early years due to the lack of a road to the mainland. Most of the full time residents were engaged in fishing or salvaging goods from ship wrecks that were abundant due to the many unmarked sand bars and reefs.
That changed with the building of the railroad from the mainland to Key West connecting the keys to the national rail network. Known as the “Overseas Railroad” and built by Henry Flagler, the railroad opened in 1912. It was 128 miles in length and built with private funds from Flagler’s oil baron fortune.
https://www.visitflorida.com/travel-ideas/articles/florida-keys-railroad-history/
Now people from all over the US could travel to Key West by rail making it one of the first vacation destination resorts.
The railroad stayed in service until 1935 when it was partially destroyed by a hurricane. By that time a highway had been constructed running parallel to the railroad and many Americans owned automobiles. Hence, it was not restored. Even today some of the railroad tressels and other structures remain, but most are inaccessible to tourists.
2021
Closer to home in Summerville our adventures focused on the Appalachian mountains on the western side of North Carolina where we visited Asheville,NC and the nearby Biltmore estate. The city is a major tourist destination for those interested in the history and art community that flourishes along the French Broad river nearby. The artists’ quarter comprises of many small galleries and exhibition shops as well as many craft industries and their outlets. Asheville is famous for its “Art Deco” structures built in the first quarter of the 20th century.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=asheville+art+deco+tour&t=lm&iax=images&ia=images
The Flat Iron building is perhaps among the most iconic.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=flat+iron+building+asheville+nc&t=lm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
Just outside of town lies the Biltmore estate. Built by George Washington Vanderbilt between 1889 and 1895, the estate is the largest American residence with 135,280,sq.ft of living area. It remains one of the most prominent Gilded Age mansions.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=biltmore+estate&t=lm&iax=images&ia=images&iar=images
Closer to home in what is called the “Low Country” due to it’s nearly sea level elevation and numerous, swampy areas we visited Cypress Gardens. Crisscrossed with pathways a tour of the swamp on foot is possible or a row boat can be rented that will carry you around the many waterways. Lush vegetation abounds everywhere among the many cypress trees and fallen logs. The swamp is full of life, flying, buzzing, swimming, floating, wriggling, crawling and just floating. The air is filled with strange sounds and odors. You are in a very different world that harkens back to primordial earth. the water that looks black from a distance is actually quite clear. It might even be safe to drink, but not recommended. The black color is from the decaying vegetation underneath its surface.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cypress+gardens+sc&t=lm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
2022
Twenty Twenty Two was the stay at home year due to the Covid pandemic for many, but not for us. We managed a trip to Ireland, Montenegro, England, Scotland and back to Ireland. We flew into Dublin, Ireland from the US. Stayed one night and on to Podgorica, Montenegro the next day. Rented a car and drove to our vacation apartment in Utjeha, Montenegro about two hours away. This is the same apartment that was mentioned in 2018 when we visited our dear friend Eckhard Schmidt. This time we could only meet his widow, Dragana, as he had passed away late in 2021. Our purpose was to settle our accounts with her before we returned to the US. Following our stay in Montenegro we flew to London.
There we visited one of Lana’s friends, Yulia and Richard. They had just moved into an interesting home near Cambridge, a former grain storage building dating several hundred years old that they remodeled into a two story country house with a large garden full of flowers, fruits and vegetables.
Yulia took us on a walking tour of Cambridge and the university founded in 1209. After the tour we had lunch in one of the excellent local restaurants near the university.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cambridge+university&t=lm&iax=images&iar=images&ia=images
Next we flew to Edinburgh, Scotland on the weekend after Queen Elizabeth’s death, September 8, 2022. The city was in mourning with massive crowds lining the Royal mile in the downtown. The thanksgiving service took place at St. Giles’ Cathedral. From our apartment in the city we took a taxi to the foot of the hill below the castle and hiked up the Royal mile to the castle gates. Shortly after we arrived and while we were standing near the closed castle gate, several black, shinny expensive looking cars exited the castle and passed through the gate where we were standing. Inside we could see figures that may have been part of the royal family attending the queen’s ceremony. Later that day we saw on TV the departure of the queen’s hearse from the Edinburgh on its way to London where she is buried in Westminster Abby.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=edinburgh+castle&t=lm&iax=images&ia=images
Our next and final stop was in Dublin, Ireland. Lana found a large well appointed apartment home exchange for us. It was several miles from the city but Uber was available so we used them for our trip back and forth over the next couple days. The city dates to the 7th century and became Ireland’s principal city by the 12th century. It is the capital of the Irish Free State created in 1922 and is now the capital of Ireland the Free State was renamed in 1937. It lies on the shore of the Irish Sea near the mouth of the river Liffey.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dublin&t=lm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
Among the most well known Irish products are the ales and spirits produced by the Guinness and Jameson companies respectively. You can visit the brewery and the distillery on tours that are interesting and get a sample of their products and an opportunity to purchase their products after the tour.
2023
Aside from our home exchange trip to NE (Boston, Lexington) where we met Irina & John (Irina and Lana had been university friends in Russia), Lana did all the traveling that year while Greg stayed in Summerville tending our home while he worked remotely on a contract assignment with Boeing.
In June she visited her friend, Marina, and husband, Mike, in Nokomis, FL. She flew through Dubai in October on her way to Moscow where she toured the Golden Ring towns of Suzdal and Vladimir with her sister Irina and niece Olga. On her way back to the US she met her son, Georgi, and his family in Baku, Azerbaijan.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=suzdal+russia&t=lm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=vladimir+russia+city&t=lm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=baku+azerbaijan&t=lm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
2024
January 2024 Lana met Alena, her relative from Russia, in NYC where she has lived for several years. Alena’s business involves dance training and management of live stage productions. Her father, Lana’s cousin, Gennadiy, lives in Dubna, not far from Moscow. He visits the US occasionally to see his daughter. Lana, who had never met him managed to meet him in person during her trip to Moscow in 2023.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dubna+russia&t=lm&iar=images
In June, Greg and Lana drove to Cherokee, NC to spend a week in the Smokey Mountains at a cabin listed on Home Exchange. They drove Greg’s recently acquired 1985 Jaguar sedan for it’s first long trip. The cabin was not far from the Casino owned by the Cherokee tribe. The complex covers several acres and includes a hotel, restaurants, showrooms, theaters the casino and other tourist attractions. Easy to get lost in in without a map. Our primary interest wasn’t the casino, but we did eat there once and got lot’s of walking in trying to find our parked car.
The two bedroom cabin had been recently remodeled and sat up a steep hill from the two-lane country highway. A very large wooden deck surrounded the front half of the cabin, the rear faced the hill. View from the deck was the river valley below and highway.
https://www.airbnb.com/l/OsRSPlom
August we flew to Nice, France to spend a month and a half on the Cote d’Azur in a Home Exchange apartment Lana found for us. The owner, Bernard, and his girlfriend of many years agreed to let us stay in their spacious two bedroom luxury apartment facing the harbor not far from the yacht club and numerous cafes, bars and restaurants along the waterfront.
The apartment was very comfortable and well appointed. Bernard welcomed us with a tasty home prepared collection of delicacies such as wine, mineral water, hot tea, charcuiterie board with variety of cheeses, cold cuts,fresh fruits, figs and liver pate, baguettes, and he also prepared a tasty lentil dish with local spices served warm.
Mentioning warm brings to mind the reason we decided to vacation in S. France during August. Summerville SC is hot and humid that time of year. We thought that escaping to S. France and spending the time near the Mediterranean would be drier and cooler. How wrong we were. The summer of 2024 was one of the hottest on record for Nice.
After a couple weeks there by ourselves, Lana’s Russian girlfriend, Alena, from Sweden, joined us. She was so happy to escape from the cool weather in Sweden to sunny, warm Nice. First thing she did after getting settled was to head to the nearby swimming beach. It was an easy walk from the apartment. Every morning Alena was up and heading for a swim. Full of energy and curiosity, Alena, provided a great wing woman for Lana. They explored the waterfront and spent hours catching up on whatever gals discuss when they are face to face while Greg stayed out of the heat in his air conditioned solitude watching the vessels in the harbor and the ferries from Corsica and Sardinia load and unload passengers not to mention the gals in bikinis sunbathing in the park below the apartment’s balcony.
Russian women are the world’s most active net workers. Evidence is found in the magical way they seem to find each other. Case in point…
After Alena arrived suddenly another Russian gal, Elya, appeared to join Alena and Lana in Nice. It turned out Elya and Alena were long time friends from Novosibirsk. Elya married a Frenchman and moved to Nice several years ago. Elya was very active in many ways. She seemed to know all about the art scene and social events. What a great advantage to those who are interested in art and other sophisticated cultural activities in this city already rich in these subjects. Her contributions to our enlightenment included a visit to the Russian Saint Nicholas Cathedral, the village of Eze that sits high above the city providing spectacular views of the coast and nearby villages; Villefranche-sur-Mer and Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=marc+chagall+meuseum+nice+france&t=lm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=lm&q=eze+france&iax=images&ia=images
Over the period October 24-27 we attended Greg’s 63rd high school reunion in Myrtle Beach SC. He graduated from Fort Knox HS in 1961. The reunions happen about every 3-4 years, but recently the events have become less and less frequent with fewer and fewer attendee. Graduates now are in their 80’s. Fewer and fewer of us remain alive. Nevertheless, the spirit is still enough to keep some of us still going and planning for the future. This year Greg volunteered to be the primary organizer. No matter how few actually show up the same tasks must be handled. A few close friends from the class helped him with most of the work. The event came off as planned. Those in attendance gave positive feedback and Greg is looking forward to the next reunion with another team handling the event.
FKHS Reunion Movie
https://greg-lana.com/our-life/friends-family/fkhs-reunion-at-myrtle-beach-sc/
Lana stayed busy in November with a cruise to the NE Caribbean where the cruise ship stopped at the Dominican Republic, Turks & Caicos, Virgin Islands, St. Martin and Antigua. She joined a group of Russian/Ukrainian ladies who were US citizens with their husbands from the US. The voyage originated in Ft. Lauderdale, FL lasted 9 days aboard the Celebrity Lines cruise ship Eclipse.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=lm&q=celebrity+lines+cruise+ship+eclipse&iax=images&ia=images
Finishing her busy travel year in December, Lana flew to Las Vegas where she met her son, Georgi who was there on business from Russia, and her daughter, Anya, who flew from Seattle WA to join her mother and brother for a brief get-away meet-up. They spent some time seeing the nearby Canyon lands and Zion Park in Utah.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=lm&q=zion+park&iax=images&ia=images
Before they departed their visit included a city tour of the Las Vegas strip.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=lm&q=las+vegas+strip&iax=images&ia=image