The Canterburys – Christmas 2019
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Hello
friends and family! The year 2019
found the Canterburys living their best life!
We hope the year has been excellent for you as well. We
began the year as we always do, heading to nearby Jordan Lake for our annual
Polar Plunge! The water only gets down
to 50 degrees so it’s never too bad. In
February we visited Florida with Jerry’s family, hosted by Jerry’s sister Kim
and her husband Jim. It was the first
time that most of Jerry’s family had been together for a while. Jerry
ran four marathons this year, each one 26.2 miles long. After qualifying for it in 2018, he ran the
Boston Marathon with his brother Bryan this April. Nancy, family, and friends were there to
cheer him on. Two weeks later, Nancy
and Jerry flew to California where he ran the Big Sur Marathon, completing a
coast-to-coast challenge. We both met
Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Wait Wait... Don't
Tell Me! who was also running the race that day. While in California, we visited Pinnacles
and Death Valley national parks. Both
parks were exceptional and we very much enjoyed the trip. June
saw Jerry travel with friends to Belgium, where they rode their bikes and
sampled beer for a week. They rode
over 300 miles and visited over a dozen breweries during that period. In
August, we flew to Arizona. The main purpose
of the trip was for Jerry to complete a 21-mile hike: from the North Rim of
the Grand Canyon, all the way down to the Colorado River (where the
temperature reached 115 degrees), then all the way back up to the South Rim. Jerry signed up for this adventure package
the year before and had been looking forward to it for many months. He also convinced his high school friend
Ellen Reisig to complete it with him.
Jerry and Ellen met many interesting new friends in our 8-person,
2-guide tour group. We spent two
nights at the bottom of the canyon in a rustic cabin at Phantom Ranch. Nancy drove from the North Rim to meet us
on the South Rim, and had some hiking adventures of her own. On
the same Arizona trip, we had some other adventures as well. We stayed a few nights – and stood on a
corner – in Winslow, Arizona. It was
such a fine sight to see. We stayed
again at La Posada, a rehabilitated historic railroad hotel that was designed
by the famous architect Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter. We visited Antelope Canyon near Page, AZ then drove through Zion National Park on our way
to visit friends in Nevada. We
traveled on to spend a few days in Sedona before finally flying home. The entire trip was a great adventure. September
brought the annual Ohio State University Marching Band alumni reunion. Jerry went alone this year and decided to
just attend the game without playing or marching. However, the day after the game is when all
of Jerry’s friends from college days get together for the annual reunion party,
which is actually a lot more fun than marching and playing. October
brought the third and fourth marathons of the year for Jerry. The third was the Cannonball Marathon in
Greensboro, NC. The final one was the
Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, VA and Washington, DC. Jerry received his entry for MCM by raising
funds for 261
Fearless. 261 Fearless is a
charity focused on empowering women through fitness and running. The organization was formed by Kathrine
Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with an official entry,
with bib number 261 to be exact.
Jerry was the top fundraiser for the 261 Fearless charity at the
Marine Corps Marathon. As a result, he
got to spend some time speaking with Kathrine. He also met many great individuals who were
also fundraisers for or involved in the charity, and remains in touch with
many of them. We wrapped up the year with our nearly-annual
trip to New Smyrna Beach, FL. Jerry
first visited the area with college friends in 1985, then both of us went
there for our one-year anniversary in 1988.
It’s a wonderful town without the usual tourist trappings of a Florida
beach town. We continue to enjoy our membership at the
Durham Performing Arts Center (aka “DPAC”) where we saw a number of excellent
shows, including:
We also saw a number of musical concerts throughout the area, at
DPAC and other venues.
Nancy
has stepped up her volunteer activities this year. She continues to support the Safe Haven cat
rescue shelter on a weekly basis. She
is also on the board of a local cycling team, Team CBC. Our
four cats continue in good health.
Jackson (gray) is the oldest at 14 years old. He had a tough year in that all his teeth
were removed, but he bounced back strong and has actually gained some
weight. Chaplin (white) and Spats
(tuxedo) are about seven years old now, while Tiger is a rambunctious
3-year-old. Unfortunately,
there was some sad news this year.
Nancy’s brother Warren died in June after a long battle with
alcoholism. Many attempts were made by
family members to intervene, but ultimately all attempts failed. Warren passed at the young age of 64 years
old. Friends and family attended his
service in West Chester, PA this past July.
Warren will be missed by many, including his three children. Please
hug all your friends and family this holiday season and tell them you love
them! We wish you the happiness and
joy you deserve this holiday season! Nancy
and Jerry Canterbury |
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