Greetings and Happy 2025 to everyone! We wanted to share with you what we have been up to during the past year.
Mike and Mindy had some very fun travel experiences! First, we traveled to Johnson City, Tennessee, to visit close friends. We had a wonderful time exploring the surrounding area which has many beautiful mountains and which provided both very scenic views as well as some wonderful hiking opportunities. We explored nearby Jonesborough, where our friends own an art gallery where they display their works, as well as works of other local artists. While there, we were able to join a painting class, run by our artist friend, which was a very fun and different experience. In Mike’s case, the old saying, “Don’t quit your day job,” applies here, even though he doesn’t have a day job! We made a day trip to visit the artist community at the River Art District in Asheville, NC. While there, we met many of the artists in their studios, and they sell their artwork there. Unfortunately, 5 days after our visit, the whole area was flooded and completely underwater due to Hurricane Helene. It was such a terrible tragedy with so much destroyed, both the buildings and the beautiful artwork which we had just been able to enjoy.
In September we visited with our Aunt Michele and Uncle Michael in Boynton Beach, Florida for a few days. A highlight of our stay was a visit to the Morikami Museum, which has an interesting history and beautiful grounds which we explored. After that wonderful visit, we embarked on a 5-day cruise to the Caribbean. We boarded the Sun Princess ship in Ft. Lauderdale. While the ship is very large and can accommodate about 3,000 guests, we were part of a group of 120 Mah Jongg enthusiasts. Mike doesn’t play, so he had some quality time by himself relaxing, reading, and exploring the ship, while Mindy played many sessions of Mah Jongg. We had 2 ports of call: Dominican Republic and Grand Turk, where we enjoyed the local beaches.
We spent Thanksgiving at our niece and nephew’s home in the Boston area, along with our extended family. Thanksgiving has always been a special time in our family, and this one continued in that tradition.
In addition to these longer trips, we had a number of day and overnight trips to Ocean City, NJ, Cape May, and Long Beach Island.
Mindy has been busy as usual with her Polymer Clay pursuits. She has been developing some new designs, many of which she has added to her Etsy Shop and exhibited at recent local craft shows. Mindy has also been enjoying playing both Mah Jongg and Canasta which provide lots of social time with her friends. She has been playing Mah Jongg for many years, but Canasta is a newer interest for her. Meanwhile, Mindy won’t retire from her speech therapy career because she loves it so much, so she continues to see a few clients in her private practice.
Mike continues his passion for flying his drone in interesting places to capture both still photos and video from a different perspective than can be achieved on the ground. In addition to his current “camera drone,” he built his first “First Person View,” or FPV drone, which is a different type of drone that allows the pilot to do complicated acrobatic maneuvers. He built it with the help of his friends in the Jersey Droners group that he has been part of for several years now. The build was pretty challenging, but it is working properly! A friend from the group tested it for him, while he is honing his piloting skills on a flight simulator so that he can fly it himself.
Mike photographed the solar eclipse which took place in April. The sky was pretty cloudy that day in South Jersey, but he was able to get this photo during a short break in the clouds:
In November, we were honored to attend the beautiful wedding of our niece Sarah to Eric. It was a night to remember! They make such a beautiful couple! Kayla was also honored to be a bridesmaid.
Mike and Kayla, along with a close friend, attended their first pro soccer game, where the Philadelphia Union played the Washington DC team, D.C. United. The Union’s stadium is a wonderful venue. It was a great game, with Philadelphia winning the game, 4-0!
Some concerts that Mike attended this year, some with Mindy and some with friends. These included Bruce Springsteen (of course!), Graham Nash, Samantha Fish, who is a really talented blues guitarist. All were very enjoyable!
Kayla continues to live in her apartment in Voorhees, NJ, with her cat, Nova, and a newer kitten, Autumn. She is a Social Worker and has a newer job, where she is a Support Coordinator helping intellectually developmentally disabled individuals. In this role, she helps coordinate needed services for her clients and periodically visits them in their homes to ensure that they are getting what they need. We are very proud of her! Kayla enjoys reading, country line dancing, and visiting local wineries with her friends.
We wish you all a healthy and happy 2025!
With love, Mike, Mindy, and Kayla
Wow! You have made it to the end, thank you so much for reading!
Feel free to leave a comment below.
Thanks for connecting Mike Mindy. I am back in FL and settling in; am doing ok. Always enjoy your annual letter; glad Kayla doing well.
Happy New Year.
Terry
Thank you for sharing your delightful travel experiences, especially the photos!
Come join us again in warmer Sarasota now that winter has arrived!
And happy healthy new year to all three of you!
Love, Lois and Bill
What a nice letter, and terrific pictures ! We are sure looking forward to our upcoming “🦊FamilyFest” in DC this Saturday. And hoping the winter blast will have subsided by then ! Sending much love and warm thoughts your way 🌞❤️❤️🥳
I enjoyed reading and viewing your beautiful pictures. Mike, Mindy and Kayla are a wonderful example of a supporting and loving family!
Wishing everyone a New Year filled with good health, much joy and peace! Happy 2025!!
Hugs, Helene & Murray
(tell Mindy that I also play Canasta and I’d be glad to be a sub at your game) She can contact me by email or text.
It’s wonderful you had a good 2024…wishing you an even better 2025!
Great news letter and some really fabulous photos . Thanks for including us! You two are very dear to our hearts! Laurie and Don.
What a great year in review! Great photos, too! Thanks for sharing and hope to see you soon.
Bob and Diane
Wishing you all a joyful 2025 filled with happiness and more cool experiences! Love, Suzy and Dan
Your Holiday Letters are always worth
waiting for! We enjoy reading about your
busy, fun year, but those photos…wow!
Looks like 2024 will be hard to beat,
but we wish the three of you all good
things in the New Year and send our
love.
🥳 happy new year! We enjoyed reading your summary, and especially the pictures of your travels. We look forward to rescheduling our dinner soon.💜Gaby&Jim
Hi Mike, Thanks for sharing your year in review. I enjoyed your narrative and your photos. Impressive photo of the eclipse . .. much better than mine from Lake Ontario, where the clouds blocked the sky just as the full eclipse occurred. Wishing you, Mindy and Kayla a happy and healthy New Year.
Amy and Stan
Hey Mike, I always enjoy reading your annual letter! Great pictures! We weren’t able to make a Philly trip last year like we were hoping, things got a lot busier than expected…. hopefully this year it will work out. I will let you know, it’d be great to see you. I’m glad you and the family are doing so well 🙂 I hope you all have a great year!
Mike Dello