The Hutchings

285 Rinconada Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301-3728

Season's Greetings
and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year
from the Hutchings Family

This is an interesting photo of us, taken at the Uluwatu Temple in Bali, Indonesia. There are more photos from Bali in the Bali Gallery at our SmugMug site! There's a full report on our trip to Bali below. Briefly, it was a wonderful vacation in a tropical paradise.

We hope everyone has an enjoyable Celebration of the Winter Solstice and the Changing of the Year - according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, since last year was the Year of the Dog, it must be the Year of the Boar (starting February 18). Here is the full legalese disclaimer for our Season's greetings (see also the note 12/16/2004 9:48 AM by A very disillusioned Engineer and the rebutal 12/23/2004 8:09 AM by An Highly Illusioned Engineer - then close the window to return to the newsletter).





And not to forget Alan, here's a picture of him with a friend at the San Diego Wild Animal Park in February. He was very enamoured of the park's giraffe and rhinocerous population, and they of him—he had them eating out of his hand. We were invited to the Park by Anna and Wilton, and it was a really enjoyable outing. We saw a large variety of African wildlife in typical settings, roaming free as we were driven around in the safari truck. Well, the lions, elephants and primates were caged, as much for their protection as for ours; but most of the vegetarians were out. I highly recommend the photo safari if you get to San Diego.

This is our Christmas Card photo of Kiyomi, Stan & Aya, taken at the Uluwatu Temple in Bali, Indonesia. (There are more photos from Bali in the Bali Gallery at our SmugMug site!) a picture of Alan with a friend at the San Diego Wild Animal Park in February. He was very enamoured of the park's giraffe and rhinocerous population, and they of him—he had them eating out of his hand. (There are more photos from the San Diego Wild Animal Park and Anna Atkinson's Birthday reunion in the 2006 Feb - Anna Atkinson 85th Birthday reunion Gallery at our SmugMug site!)

Highlights of 2006

This is a compilation of some of the high spots of 2006. Some of the links below (which are not in the printed version) are to pictures, others are to the website mentioned; you'll have to close them if they open in a new window, or use your browser's "Back" button to get back to this page after viewing them.

Stan continues as Webmaster

Stan is webmaster not only for the family home page, but also for Kiyomi's business CrossTech, and her nonprofit organization, Teachers International Exchange. In addition, he is co-webmaster for the Stanford-Palo Alto User Group (SPAUG) for PC's, and hosts a Web Page Creation and Maintenance Special Interest Group (SIG), and is a consultant in Alan's Home Theater Installation website. I invite everyone interested in computers to visit the SPAUG site, especially ShareWhere, which lists interesting websites on the Internet. The Newsletter has a monthly column by our president that has a lot of useful, current information and advice; and usually a report on the General Meeting and Planning Meeting by yours truly, including quite often summaries or even transcripts of the feature presentation. And visit Alan's site if you're interested in home theater discussions. Stan continues to bike to work and home from work (try the satellite view!), enjoying the fresh air, music, and the aerobic exercise. . Note Stan's updated email address; the LMCO address will still work just fine, but if you're updating your info, you might put the gmail address in your address book. The gmail account is set to forward mail to the LMCO account, which will be fine until I retire after next year.

Kiyomi

Kiyomi's jobs continue to keep her busy and intellectually stimulated. The first part of the year she helped Alan get his business going. She has considerably cut back flying back and forth to Japan, but has accompanied groups from Japan to various U.S. cities, and consulted for U.S. companies with Japanese branches. She has been writing articles, reports and reviews for various Japanese agencies. She is researching a presentation on work-life balance that will try to help people deal with the stress of balancing their career with their personal life. She continues mentoring people from government, education, and industry, both in Japan and the United States. She is also researching e-learning and online learning, for both education K-college, and corporate or government programs. This research is sponsored by a Japanese publisher and will culminate in a book to be published in Japan, in 2007 probably. She also hopes to research some European e-learning companies on-site in Europe sometime. In her spare time, she is the one who plans our wonderful vacations. For 2007, we're going to Japan for a week to visit Aya and our other relatives (many nieces and nephews have had babies in the past few years). We'll continue on to Cambodia, to visit Siem Reap and Angkor Wat for about a week. Kiyomi's still investigating accommodations and outings. She has a book that gives all kinds of travel hints—unfortunately for me, it's in Japanese. Apparently Siem Reap and Angkor Wat have become "hot" destinations. .

Aya at The Gap and in Japan

Aya is still our Gap kid. She led a softball team again this summer, this time sponsored by one of her favorite bars. They were hoping for a successful season; but if not successful, at least FUN.
She was chosen for a six-month assignment in Japan, starting 31 July. She was hoping for the assignment, it'll give her a chance to really brush up on her Japanese skills, and visit all her relatives there. Here's her initial announcement, "Banana Republic launched its first store in Japan last year and I have been the merchandise planner (basically finance for product rather than p&l/balance sheet analysis) for the Non~Apparel Division (anything that isn't clothing - bags, jewelry, etc). As a new brand we developed, tested, integrated and implemented all of the tools, processes and systems currently in place to run our business. Approaching our 1 year anniversary, the heads of business decided it was the best thing for Banana Republic Japan to have the functions of merchandise planning (me) and merchandising (the people who pick the product) move in-market to be closer to our customer. As a result, my position in San Francisco has moved to Tokyo and I'm part of the transition team to train the new merchandise planners so they can continue to run and grow our business successfully. Work is crazy [14 Aug 06] as I am now starting to train for my new jobs - Company Planning (liason between Planning and Finance) and Strategy for Outlet, on top of training the new planners."
She and Matt have started their own website, it's a work in progress, and they say they will keep it current with their most recent adventures, gastronomical and otherwise - The Unbelievable Pages - ayahutchings.googlepages.com/theunbelievablepages2, "Dedicated to recording the events of the lives of Aya, Matt and our friends. Pictures, upcoming events, softball scores, restaurant reviews, etc. are posted - my hope is to update it with my adventures in Japan and Matt will update on his end. The idea is to create a SF and Tokyo tab. Enjoy! let me know if any of the links aren't working...rather than send out email updates, if you're bored and have a couple minutes, visit the site!!!"
Also! Sign up for either Yahoo Messenger, Googletalk or Skype. Webcams cost between $30 and $100 and it's WORTH it! You can talk for free with other members. I've signed up for all 3 while I'm trying to figure out what is the best for me. You can also get just a headset if you don't want the viewing capabilities.
I don't have a lot of email addresses in my personal accounts, so !
miss you all!!!!"
[N.B. - you might look for Aya online around 3-4 in the afternoon Pacific time (7-8 in the morning in Japan), her Skype name is ayahutchings]
She has posted many photos at here Kodak EasyShare Gallery - you can visit them here:
Bali #1 January 2006
Bali #2 January 2006
Bali #3 January 2006
Japan February 2006
Japan Week 2
Yukata Bune Party
Japan Week 3
Japan Week 4
Week 13 - Hakone

Alan is still teaching Tae Kwon Do and installing home theater systems

Alan continues putting his Tae Kwon Do background and experience to good use. He's found that teaching kids and adults is more rewarding and less stress than other jobs, plus gives him the aerobic exercise he needs. He's been asked to manage a new studio to be opened in January 2007, and has agreed. This will become a full-time occupation, although many details remain to be worked out between him and the studio owner.
He still finds time to keep his knowledge, skill and expertise up to date for his other job: consulting, designing and installing home theater systems. Some of his installations are very elaborate, involving the whole house, or considerable carpentry in addition to wiring (click for his photo gallery). There is a lot of information about his company and the products and services they provide at this website, which Stan has created. He is a good resource if you're thinking about installing a new home theater, or just upgrading what you have. He installed our home theater, and you can see it featured in his gallery. You should really see the HDTV picture and color live, though - come on over an enjoy CSI, Discovery HD, or 24! He passed his Contractor's License exam, and is now a real contractor, bonded and insured. He also attended a CEDIA class in Indiana in October. He learned many interesting and useful skills and techniques for his business.
His love is a sweet Rottweiler female named “Kuma”. With his busy work schedule, he doesn't have as much time as they'd like to play with each other. Her “grandparents” often “baby”sit her - here's a recent picture of her enjoying "her" living room (the red chair behind her is "hers". .

Stan & Kiyomi Big Nights Out

New Years Eve was pretty exotic - a Balinese feast at the Grand Hyatt at Nusa Dua (Bali, Indonesia), with a traditional dance exhibition by Balinese dancers and gamelan orchestra.
Our family 32^nd wedding anniversary celebration was at one of our favorite restaurants, the Peking Duck. Alan, Aya, and Matt joined us, and we enjoyed our usual favorites.
We had a 3-day stay at the Highlands Inn at Big Sur, a very delightful and relaxing stay in a luxury suite. We ate at the Pacific's Edge Restaurant, a glass-walled restaurant with spectacular ocean vistas, both nights, returning the second night because we so enjoyed the first. The food was fantastic - visually and organoleptically. Although expensive, it was well worth it for a "special romantic night out" to celebrate our 32^nd anniversary.

Bali, Indonesia vacation 28 Dec 2005 - 11 Jan 2006

Our Bali Photo Gallery will open in a new page. You can follow the text with pictures, they are arranged in chronological order. You should change from "Caption" to "File name" and click to put a check the box. The links below will also open in a new page; if you open them, just close the web browser page to continue reading.

29 Dec - It was an extremely long trip, with a long overnight layover in Singapore. After arriving at the Bali airport and clearing customs, we took a cab to the Grand Hyatt (their website is here, and a photo tour here). We finally could relax, walking around the beautiful grounds and beach of the Grand Hyatt. For dinner we had a special Balinese buffet, our first introduction to the delicious variety and styles of Balinese cooking. It was delicious, despite all the unfamiliar foods.

30 Dec - We walked around the Grand Hyatt, investigating the various attractions, and then ventured out to the Nusa Dua surroundings. Nusa Dua is a resort area, with many international hotels along the beach, and shopping areas that cater to visitors. Returning to the Grand Hyatt, we found the Grand Club, one of our favorite places to spend time. We drank coffee and nibbled sweets while we admired the beautiful, peaceful setting and enjoyed the warm tropical weather.

31 Dec - We spent the day relaxing on the beach and wandering around the Grand Hyatt grounds, which are quite extensive, and very beautiful. We had coffee in the Grand Club, enjoying the weather, scenery, and lack of pressure to do anything. That evening, we had a special Balinese buffet feast, with Balinese dancing demonstrations. After the feast and dancing, we were tired out and jet-lagged. Aya finally arrived about 11 PM after many hours of flying plus an overnight in Japan. We didn't feel like staying up to see the New Year in, so we just went to bed early.

1 Jan - New Years Day Due to the jet-lag, we awoke early, and Aya started her custom of watching the sunrise. One of our favorite places was the Grand Club, where we often had breakfast, coffee, snacks, and later in the day, "happy hour". It's a free benefit of Hyatt Gold Card holders, a truly generous and welcome benefit. We enjoyed watching the birds and fish, enjoying the tropical scenery, fragrances and weather, and just relaxing in the ambience. We spent time relaxing on the beach in the morning, then walking along the beach past the Putri Bali to the Bali Hilton International, and later visiting the nearby street that had a multitude of vendors and shops. The exchange rate is about 10,000 rp to the dollar, so we were millionaires. We found many interesting arts and crafts shops, many clothes and shoe stores, and many interesting looking restaurants. We couldn't resist some of the bargains.

2 Jan - We had an enjoyable sunrise, breakfast at the Grand Club. Later in the day, Aya had a swim in the Balinese pool. Starting from 6 in the evening, Paul Pranoto Tjahjadi was our tour guide to Uluwatu. The area is known for its excellent surfing, beautiful sunsets, the temple overlooking the ocean, which is inhabited by hundreds of monkeys, who are very naughty. We were cautioned to remove all jewelery, watches, glasses, and not let the monkeys get on us - they would steal whatever was unguarded. We arrived around dusk, walked through the temple grounds, and watched the sunset from a cliff overlooking the ocean. A Monkey Dance performance was about to start, so we decided to attend it. After the sunset and the dance, we went for a fresh seafood dinner on the beach at Jimbaran. We picked our choices from the tubs of fresh fish, then they prepared and served the feast.

3 Jan - Aya arose early and took her camera to record the sunrise. We had breakfast at the Grand Club, enjoying the antics of the "predator bird", some kind of kingfisher, who would perch on the deck and then grab a fish. We had an enjoyable time on the beach. In the afternoon we moved to the Bali Hyatt in Sanur (bali.resort.hyatt.com). Aya and Kiyomi visited Ubud for shopping and sightseeing, while Stan relaxed on the beach. We ate dinner at the Penjor Restaurant - Balinese, Indonesian and Chinese plates were 50,000 rp (~$5) each had a selection of the characteristic cuisine. All the plates and selections were tasty and interesting. Large Bintang Beer 20,000 rp (~$2) each. Included was a very nice floor show, featuring a gamelan orchestra and Balinese dancers.

4 Jan - Aya again arose early and took her camera to record the sunrise. We hired a colleague of one of Aya's friends, whose name is Made (mah-day). He took us around Bali's main tourist attractions. Today we had a great time investigating the Balinese arts and crafts. We stopped by a silver and gold shop, the Sari Karya Art Gallery, specializing in gold and silver (in Celuk, Sukawati, Gianyar). We admired the encredible skill and delicacy of the objects of art. Kiyomi and Aya bought some examples of the art work - beautiful, delicate silver filigree earrings.
We then attended a Barong and Kris Dance at Putra Barong temple (Celuk, Sukawati, Gianyar, 50,000 rp). A Barong play represents an eternal fight between good and evil spirits. The Barong (a mythological animal) represents a good spirit and Rangda (a mythological monster) represents an evil one. The Barong dance features a lion and a monkey interacting humorously.
We spent several hours visiting an artist co-op that had paintings by multiple artists, all on display and for sale. It was like an extensive art gallery, displaying really beautiful and interesting paintings by various local artists. Kiyomi bought a painting she fell in love with. Afterwards, we decided to visit Mt. Batur. Driving through the countryside we saw many scenes unique to and characteristic of Bali - temples, farmers plowing with oxen, women carrying large bundles on their head, lush tropical vegetation.
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant with an incredible view of the sacred volcano Mount Batur. We had an excellent buffet lunch, tasting many of the local specialities. Mt. Batur was draped in clouds, sometimes visible, sometimes mysteriously veiled. We could see the scar from the eruption several years ago, and had a great view of the surrounding countryside.
After lunch, we stopped by a coffe and tea plantation, where many other plants were raised. We saw many plants growing: banana. coffee, tea, cocoa, pineapple, snakeskin fruit, breadfruit, etc. Then farther down the road we visited a beautiful balinese temple. Although it was raining off and on, the weather was warm, so we were not cold. The Balinese seem to be used to lots of rain, and hardly pay attention to it.
On the way back, we stopped by a wood carving shop. It was filled with innumerable statues of all sizes, from tiny to huge. All sorts of subjects were represented, too. At the gallery, Kiyomi got several beautiful items: a horse (representing Stan's birth year), a dragon (representing Kiyomi's birth year), and a Japanese-style Kannon goddess. She wished she could buy more, they were so beautiful and reasonably priced.

5 Jan - Today was another day of discovery, first on the beach, where we found all kinds of interesting things in the various tide pools. Later with Made, a visit to a stone carver, to several temples, including a temple with multi-layer pagodas; a visit to a monkey-inhabited temple (at Aya's special request); and the Tanah Lot temple, situated on an island just off the beach.
First we visited the Singa Bali Stone Carver. Kiyomi got several sculptures to go on our backyard fence. By now we had gotten so much we had to ship a cubic yard package home! Fortunately, Made could take care of it for us. The temples were fascinating examples of Balinese architecture, so different from other Asian temples. The relation to Hindu temple architecture in India was evident. The multiple-layer pagodas were unusual, but very interesting. Of course, the temple grounds were incredibly green and lush, with many kinds of flowers blooming everywhere. At one of the temples, Aya made friends with a snake (her birth year animal), and also a mongoose. The mongoose was surprisingly docile and relaxed. I had expected a very active, nervous animal, but it seemed content to be held in Aya's arms. The monkey temple and forest had hundreds of monkeys running around. We had to have a guide to make sure the monkeys didn't get too friendly with us (or too mischievious). Aya, at least, enjoyed being surrounded by monkeys. Kiyomi and I were a little stand-offish. The Tanah Lot temple was situated on an island completely separated from land at high tide, and only accessible at low tide. The surroundings were very commercialized, many little shops sold all kinds of souvenirs and food.
On the way back to the Hyatt, we witnessed just how unconcerned the Balinese are with even heavy rain. We drove through flooded streets that surely would have stopped traffic in the States, but the Balinese just carried on. Even the motorcycles hardly slowed down. We drove through Kuta at rush hour, and found that even paradise has traffic problems in the cities. We had dinner at a restaurant recommended by Made, and ate what he suggested as characteristic - unfamiliar, but good.

6 Jan - In the morning we took a walk north along the beach. There is a very nice sidewalk between the beach and the hotels, with many shops opening onto the beach. Along the way, we passed many interesting and lovely hotels and restaurants. Later in the day, Aya took a surfing lesson in Kuta; she had a great time at a very reasonable price. We had dinner at the Palay Restaurant, three Bintang beers 13,000 rp each, Kiyomi had Grilled Snapper 36,500 rp, Aya had Nasi Compur 29,500 rp, Stan had shrimp in a coconut 18,500 rp for a total of 212,300 rp (~$21).

7 Jan - We all got up early for a sunrise walk along the beach. Later, after breakfast, Stan and Kiyomi relaxed, while Aya took another surfing lesson (the first one was so much fun!) We had dinner at Casa Luna restaurant - Seafood Boom (platter, wow!) 265,000 rp, Keranjang 79,000 rp; large Bintang 18,000 rp; total 457,700 rp. It was a real feast for three, for only about $48.

8 Jan - Another sunrise walk along the beach, no worries or cares. The temperature has been in the 80s with high humidity, and there was lots of rain (but not as much as caused the flooding in Java). It has been interesting watching the Balinese cope with the daily showers, especially the ones bicycling and motorbiking. They have plastic raingear they don, and just keep going. We fortunately missed any disasters or other unpleasantness, and had a truly relaxing and enjoyable stay.

9 Jan - Aya again arose early and took her camera to record the sunrise. This was her last day here, so she wanted to get one last sunrise.

10 Jan - Our last full day in Bali we continued relaxing and wandering around.

11 Jan - Leave Bali at 1 pm, arrive Singapore. It was raining, so we just walked around the neighborhood of the hotel. We found interesting "vertical" malls, with different shops on the different levels. The restaurant level was especially fascinating. The cuisine was truly international. Dinner was a fantastic buffet, featuring the dishes of at least five different countries, and a spectacular dessert section.

12 Jan - A rainy day in Singapore. Took the city tour in the afternoon, a very interesting overview of Singapore areas and history. Highlight was the orchid garden in the Botanical Garden. Despite the rain, the walk through the garden, seeing one amazing orchid after another, was very enjoyable. One of the art galleries was like a museum, with beautiful carved ivory, jade and other precious materials, fantastic collages, beautiful art. We looked in a huge grocery store for tea, looking all over the three floors for it, and finally found a whole shelf with many different kinds. We got some to try, but the line was so long at the checkout counter that our tour bus would depart before we could get through. So we put the tea back and left. It was a fascinating place, though.

13 Jan - Up at 4 am for the trip back home.

Lima, Cusco, Urubamba River and Valley, Ollantaytambo, and Machu Picchu tour 22 March - 2 April

Our Peru Trip Photo Gallery
22 March - Depart SFO at 7 am, connect through Atlanta on Delta, arrive Lima at 12 pm. Our trip leader Anna Maria got us checked into the Hotel José Antonio in the Miraflores section of Lima, about 30 minutes from the airport, close to the ocean.

23 March - We had breakfast at the hotel, then a group meeting to discuss our plans, and meet each other. We had our first taste of Pisco Sour (much like a whiskey sour). After the meeting, we went by bus to the La Paz restaurant, just at the town square, and a few blocks from the Inca Arts and Crafts center. The Peru Trip Photo Gallery link here and above is an online photo album that will open in a new window at www.hutchings.smugmug.com. You'll have a chronological tour if you ask for the slide show of our Peru trip. After lunch we had a tour of Lima with our guide Shalya (Sheila), who pointed out places of interest, architecture features, etc. We visited the National Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology. There we observed many Peruvian indian artifacts, ceramics, gold & silver items, bones, mummies, and textiles. We learned the Incas were the last of a long line of Peruvians, who included the Chavin, Mochica, Chimu, Tiahuanaco, Pucara, Paracas, Nazca (famous for the Nazca lines in the desert, sometimes attributed to extraterrestrials), and Ica. This was graphically displayed on a timeline showing various other cultures of the world. We visited the Cathedral y Plaza de Armas, with its catacombs holding the bones of over 20,000 people - eerie! We walked through the Plaza San Martin, where the main city offices are, and which was preparing for a workers strike. After the tour, we went to a dinner buffet at the Larco Mar shopping center that featured Peruvian foods and a display of Peruvian dances. Some were quite spectacular, like break-dancing competitions, very acrobatic and vigorous. Others were courtship-type dances between a man and a woman. We were quite impressed by the Peruvian foods, especially the great variety of potatoes and corn, the delicious ceviche (the national dish).

24 March - We slept late, trying to catch up after the long flight and busy day. We had a delicious seafood lunch at the Al Fresco restaurant, Kiyomi had a great broiled octopus dish, Stan had wonderful mixed shellfish, including shrimp, scallops, and some octopus. After lunch we went to the Inca arts and crafts shops. We were amazed by the variety of goods, and the bright vivid colors of the clothes. Stan found beautiful necklace with the three religious symbols of the Inca: bird (condor), cat (jaguar) and snake (anaconda) combined in a pretty colors in a silver setting, which he gave to Kiyomi. Dinner was at another local restaurant, and featured the Pisco Sour and more delicious food, and an Andes band (a band playing Inca and Indian music during our dinner or lunch was an ongoing highlight of our visit).

25 March - Up early and fly to Cusco in the high Andes (11,000 feet). Cusco (Cuzco) is the Inca Center or Navel of the Universe. We stopped by a church for a view of Cusco spread out below, characterized by the red-orange roof tiles introduced by the Spanish. There were photo opportunities of cute Indian children in native dress with their llamas. We continued down to the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba River. We had lunch in a nice restaurant that had a beautiful garden. This is the end of the rainy season, so the hills are green and the flowers blooming nicely. Later, the hills will turn golden and it will be very dry. After lunch, we visited Pisac, an Inca religious center with the characteristic stone walls and agricultural terraces. We were greeted by a sales force that had anything you could want made from llama and alpaca wool.

26 March - We visited the Farmers Market, seeing and tasting the various foods the Incan's buy and sell, including some unusual fruits and vegetables. Then we went to the Urubamba River for a rafting experience. We got dressed in wet-gear and life vests, then set out on rubber rafts. The sailing was mostly smooth, with a few exciting moments where it got pretty rough. We had a nice picnic lunch after the rafting, feasting on local foods. After lunch, we proceeded to Ollantaytambo, one of the few places the Incas defeated the Pizarro and Spanish in 1536. We climbed up the terraces, and got a very nice view of the town and surrounding mountains. After climbing down, we visited an Inca house, still like it was 500 years ago. There were horses, dogs, chickens, llamas and other critters in the courtyard, and cats and guinea pigs in the kitchen (it was a dirt floor, and the pigs keep it "clean"). We returned to our hotel, the Recoleta de San Agustin, a renovated monastery. We enjoyed the pisco sour, and then another delicious dinner, with Inca music band.

27 March - We visited a Peruvian school, a class of 20 or so students of various ages, depending on when they had started school, which is now mandatory, and is being slowly enforced. The town kids don't have much problem, but the kids up in the mountains have to walk miles to and from school. Then we went to the train station to catch the train to Aguas Calientes, the town at about 8,000 feet, at the base of the mountain that Machu Picchu sits atop, about 2,000 feet up. After lunch, we took the bus up to Machu Picchu - an exciting 20 minutes of hairpin turns and buses passing each other with inches to spare. We arrived at the ruins as the "day trippers" were leaving and the rain was stopping. Soon the crowds and clouds had dissipated, and we had the ruins pretty much to ourselves. It was overwhelming, much more impressive than pictures. You really have to experience the presence - up in the clouds, with nearby peaks towering above, the Urubamba gorge thousands of feet below, and ruins as far as the eye can see. We saw all the highlights - the "Hitching Post of the Sun", the astronomical observatories, the religious buildings, the homes, the amazing plumbing system. Returning to town, we stayed at the Hanaqpacha Inn. That evening we walked down the street and had a delicious buffet, the local beer, and Peruvian desserts. We were serenaded by an Inca band. That night, our hotel room was overhanging the Urubamba river, so we were soothed by the sound of rushing water all night.

28 March - After breakfast, we went back up to Machu Picchu to hike on the Inca Trail. This is one part that comes from Cusco, and some people hike the trail for days to get here. We were satisfied with an hour hike along the trail to the "Gate of the Sun", with excellent views of Machu Picchu and the surroundings. We returned to Aguas Calientes for lunch, then departed by train for Ollantaytambo, where we got our bus to Cusco. On the way, we took the road up to the 12,000 foot high Quechua plateau, where we stopped by the Quechua village of Chinchero for a demonstration of Peruvian weaving, the skills passed down over the generations, and being preserved here. Stan got a camera bag strap and a hat. We got to Cusco late in the evening and checked into the Jose Antonio hotel. After a delicious dinner with Inca band performance, we were glad to get to bed.

29 March - We had a tour of Cusco, including Tambo Machay, the Incan Temple of the Sacred Waters. We toured the Sacsayhuaman site on a hilltop overlooking Cusco. We heard the temple was the eye of the jaguar that Cusco represented. We then experienced a ceremony led by a Paqo who used the energy of "Pacha Mama" to bless us and remove our tensions. He then burned the "bad vibes" he had removed from us to complete our purification. Then we stopped by an alpaca wool factory, where Kiyomi found some warm, lightweight sweaters, and Stan got a nice sweater vest.

30 March - We visited the Qoricancha Sun Temple, had lunch at a polleria where we had Pollo a la Brasa, a broiled chicken. After lunch we visited several notable Spanish cathedrals and churches, including the Basilica Catedral and Convent of Saint Domingo, with exceptional art work from the 16th and 17th centuries.

31 March - Up early to fly to Lima. After three cancelled flights, we finally got out. We walked along the cliffs above the beach, visited the shopping center, where we had a leisurely coffee, enjoying the warm weather and beautiful view. That evening, we went to the La Rosa Nautica, one of the best seafood restaurants in Peru.

1 April - depart Peru about 1 am, for the red-eye to Atlanta, then the flight back to San Francisco, arriving about noon local time.

Feng Shui Garden Project continues

Kiyomi read about the Feng Shui philosophy as applied to Japanese gardens, and has re-landscaped our yard to conform to some of the principles and guidelines that resonate with her sensibilities. The fountain and brick fence in the back yard are the focus as seen from our living room. The fountain is very soothing in the summer, with the tinkling sound. Wisteria hang down from the gazebo in the spring, gardenias and jasmine provide a delicious odor in the summer and fall, and the sweet olive give their fragrance in the fall. Visit us, and enjoy it with us! Our bas-relief stone carvings we brought back from Bali have become focal points of the garden and entry. Kiyomi, Alan and Alex decided brick structures would best support and display the carvings. They worked many long hours to complete the project.
The whole brick wall construction project chronology is available at the Hutchings Smugmug page, and choose the Front and Back Brick Work Project 2006 Gallery. The picture here is our new front entrance, with carvings displayed on either side, and a "dorbell" that rings the telephone inside with a distinctive ring. Eventually there will be a custom-made iron gate to complete the project.

Birthday Celebrations

Kiyomi celebrated her birthday (she's stopped counting, but not stopped celebrating) with relatives and friends at the June family reunion. Pat Ward and Wilton Atkinson also celebrated, and we sang happy birthday to everyone whose birthday was between 1 January and 31 December 2005.
Alan celebrated his 26^th birthday with a barbecue at home, with the Ward family and Aya's friend Matt Andrews. The grandparents and great-uncle & aunt were planning to come, but due to an unseasonal heat wave, could not attend.
Aya celebrated her 29^th birthday in Japan with her friends, relatives and coworkers. You can view Aya's birthday photo album online, either click the link or copy and paste the following URL directly into your browser: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=43maw9n.3bamco3n&x=0&y=e96zs3. Here's what she said, "hi friends and family!
first of all, thank you to EVERYONE who helped me celebrate my 29th birthday this year!!!! between the surprise dinner on saturday, a pink feather boa, fan and roses, bowling with hello kitty and ichiro balls, karaokeing in a themed room, pink twinkling lights around my cube, everyone dressed in PINK at the office, the bedazzlement of my computer and phone, pink champagne, pink flowers and special gifts, all of the emails and ecards i received, and just when i thought it was all over - a huge suprise party at my favorite shabu shabu restaurant, On Yasai, i had a wonderful birthday! as hard it was to be away from home for my birthday (and we all know what a production i usually make out of it), thanks to everyone's help, this year was no different. thank you thank you thank you. i am one lucky girl and appreciate everything everyone has done. enjoy!
- Aya

Aya and Stan celebrated their birthdays at a very enjoyable family reunion in November at Palo Alto. Most of our relatives were able to attend, and we had a great time. The photo gallery is here, with pictures contributed by most of the attendees.

Family Reunions

There was a big family reunion 25-26 February, held at Anna & Wilton's home - lots more photos here. Everyone had a great time, and it was good to see folks we hadn't seen in a while. Then the trip to the Wild Animal Park and a Photo Safari was exciting - we got up close and personal with giraffes, rhinoceroses, and ostriches.
Many relatives got together around Thanksgiving for Stan & Aya's birthday celebrations, plus Thanksgiving at Pat & Bob's. Aya was back from Japan for a week, and Eric was back from Northwestern for the holiday. Lee & Debbie and Wilton & Anna flew in from San Diego to join the festivities. Lee & Debbie showed some amazing photos of Africa they took on their trip earlier this year. It was great having Lee narrate the photo show, but if you didn't get him to tell you the story, here are the photos on Kodak EasyShare Gallery - use stan.hutchings@lmco.com as email address and and keg9753 as password. Don't try this unless you have a broadband connection - there are 435 photos, each pretty large, and will take hours to download on a dial-up connection. Also, the SmugMug photo gallery is here, with pictures contributed by most of the attendees.
Hopefully we'll be able to do some similar reunions next year, perhaps to celebrate Eric's graduation and Wilton's 85^th birthday (and the other June & July birthdays). Then there's a 60^th wedding anniversary coming up in 2008.

Here's a safety tip from Anna & Wilton Atkinson

Proper Use of Cruise Control - When you should NOT use
       I wonder how many people know about this? A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car. A resident of Kilgore, Texas, she was traveling between Gladewater and Kilgore. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began to hydroplane and literally flew through the air. She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!
       When she explained to the highway patrolman what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - never drive in the rain, or on roads with standing water, snow or ice, with your cruise control on. She had thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain.
       But the highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on and your car begins to hydroplane, when your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed and you take off like an airplane. She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.
       The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visor - never use the cruise control when the pavement is wet or icy, along with the airbag warning. We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed - but we don't tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.
       The only person the accident victim found who knew this (besides the patrolman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car, and sustained severe injuries.

If you have comments or suggestions, or just want to chat,