Travel for work has nearly gone away completely. I may have made one trip to Auburn, and I did take a short trip to Washington, DC, to prepare for a conference. I was all signed up for the week long conference, also in DC, in August, but that went away since I never got the paper (on my dissertation topic) written for it.
On the personal front, I did a little bit more gadding about.
Besides the conference planning trip I was in DC twice on personal
business. Christmas was at Ron's new house in Potomac, MD. The whole
family made it in for a slightly early Christmas celebration, except
for Ron's estranged wife Katie (see Divorce or
A Year in Division). We were pretty much dispersed by Christmas
day; I got to go to Pennsylvania to ski with Ron and Dickie. Then in
February I flew up to see Tiffin Gregory, who was on her way home to
New Zealand 
after nearly a full year hitch serving on the Logos
II, a missionary ship belonging to
Operation Mobilization. In my time
around DC I got to spend some time with some Tennessee Tech-connected
friends, Karen
O'Donoghue and Brian and Jenni Jones. I also made phone contact
with several others. I never did get to see Anh Do Hick's little
baby, which was a bummer. Otherwise, some really good visits.
On March 9, in Cookeville, Tennessee, Billy Tindall married Joanne Bare. At last (just ask Joanne)! I was honored with the opportunity of singing with the music group. It was like stepping back in time; the music group was nearly a reforming of the group from back in the "old days" of the Search retreats. The wedding and reception was, to me, bittersweet. So many people I love, many whom I'd not seen in years, all together for a very short time. So little time.
I'm currently planning on making a trip to New Zealand this
November! My tickets are bought, and I have my passport. 
Natasha Gregory
is getting married on December 14. I'm going to fly to Auckland, with
a three-day stop-over in Fiji to visit with Allen and Julia Wright
and family (Christian missionaries in Suva, supported by Central).
I'll be in Auckland by Thanksgiving. That gives
Tristan and
Tiffin a good two weeks to show me around the country. I met the
family when Joe (the father),
Tristan,
Tiffan, and Natasha were in
the States for a year about 8 years ago. Tristan and I dated most of
that time. I'm pretty excited about the trip; I've never been out of
the country, except for to Grand Cayman. I need to buy some good
hiking shoes!
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