Vernon Kennel: 1918 - 2007

"The boundary lines have fallen for us in pleasant places; surely we have a delightful inheritance. We will praise the Lord . . . " (Psalm 16:6-7, adapted)

Today, O God, as we reflect on the life of Vernon Kennel, our husband, father and grandfather, we give thanks for a lifetime of memories.

-He was a faithful husband.


-He loved his family--children and grandchildren--and enjoyed spending time with them. We remember skinning squirrels, fishing and learning to clean the fish we caught, wrestling on the floor, getting "ear meat," the jeep rides with Uncle Earl.

-He was a participator in games of all kinds. We remember him playing volleyball, softball, hockey ("grandpa on the ice") and golf, as well as hunting and fishing.

-He enjoyed singing. We remember his voice as we sang together at home and at church.

-He loved God, the church and God's word. We remember his faithfulness in church attendance and his support of the church's programs. We remember hearing him quote scripture he had memorized.


-He had a gentle and quiet spirit. He was steady and consistent. We remember his unconditional love and acceptance, that he was easy to be with and we were comfortable in his presence.

-He was generous, sharing his time and his money when needed. We remember his help in our home improvement projects.

-He was well-respected. He lived his faith.

Thank you, God, for his presence in our lives, for his love and his example. May our lives reflect the good things we have learned. May the heritage of love for God and for one another continue from generation to generation. Amen.

Derailed

Okay, so my long and flowery recitation of events in California got derailed by other things. And my picture journal ended abruptly when my digital camera jumped off my lap into the dirt, causing the lens to freeze. Sigh.

Suffice it to say, the remaining days were filled with fun things . . .


We rode along 17 Mile Drive which wanders through Del Monte Forest and along Pebble Beach. We stopped at various lookout points along the coast. The water, waves, sand and rocks provided beautiful scenes. We saw little hermit crabs along the shoreline, birds and seals, giant kelp and the Lone Cypress. We wound our way through Del Monte Forest. Seeing how very dry the forest was gave us an appreciation for the danger of forest and wild fires. There were also many homes, from the simple ranch style to breathtaking mansions. We saw several new homes under construction.
At Pebble Beach we browsed through the shops, then sat on the patio of the Lodge and had a drink overlooking the golf course, playground of the rich and famous.

Back at the Hyatt, we showered and prepared for an evening of dining and entertainment on the beach. Three or four buses carried the group to the party location. A cash bar provided drinks throughout the evening. There were three fire rings surrounded by beach chairs and numerous tables available.
Dinner was served buffet style. We were offered barbecued chicken, roast beef, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, tossed salad. Dessert was peach cobbler and fixin's for s'mores. There was an oldies band who weren't too bad when they were actually singing, but they also tried to be humorous, with less success. At one point the leader of the band made his way through the crowd tapping people for a hula-hoop contest. Again, high on hype, short on entertainment. I did make an effort, but wasn't too successful at anything but being a good sport. Later in the evening there was a limbo stick, but most of the participants were kids.


On Thursday afternoon there was a tour of three local wineries. At the first two we simply heard a bit of the history and hype of their wines.
At Chateau Julien, however, we received an informative tour of the process of wine-making. And it was a lovely property as well. The Chateau Julian Cabernet savignon is worth a try.



Thursday evening was the annual banquet. Larry was surprised by being awarded the President's Award for his work as president in the year following reorganization and the reorienting of a new management company.

Friday several of us went to Carmel-by-the-Sea. We browsed through innumerable shops and boutiques, enjoying lunch at the popular Hog's Breath restaurant.

On Saturday we returned to Cannery Row. I enjoyed walking out on the pier which was occupied by a working fishing business with its stained and weather boats, smells of fish, local folks cleaning and selling the day's catch. Many seals were inhabiting the water under the pier and we heard their raucous barking. We had lunch in a small restaurant located out on the pier, but down the steps and looking out at water level. In the evening, a large group of us returned to that area for dinner and our final evening together.

Sunday everyone was up early and headed for the airport and home. In spite of hearing various horror stories of air travel experience this summer, we were grateful to return home, on schedule, with no problems.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Wednesday, I was awake by 6:30, so showered and went along with Larry to the exhibit hall for the complementary continental style breakfast . . . fresh fruit and various breads and pastries, coffee and juice. The exhibit hall is one of the ball rooms and there are at least two aisles lined with booths. Several are familiar suppliers of ET products. This years meeting was held with the Society for Theriogenology so there were other exhibitors as well.

Midmorning the four of us who mostly hang together headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Actually Larry and another veterinarian joined us, also. (The annual AETA golf tournament was planned for the same time, but Larry seldom joins that event. This year the tournament was held at Del Monte Golf Course, which borders the hotel grounds.)

The aquarium is in the area of Cannery Row, just a few miles from our hotel. We arrived at 10:30, just when the Sea Otters were to be fed, so we made our way to that area. Of course there was a big crowd already assembled, so we didn't get very close while the actual narrated event was happening. Still we watched the otters for a few minutes as they played in the water on the other side of the glass. The otter exhibit is new and features freshwater otters from Africa and Asia along with other aquatic creatures which share their habitat.


Leaving the otters, we decided to split, the men went one way and we went another. We saw lots of colorful creatures. The exhibits were arranged by location in relation to the ocean. "Ocean's Edge" shows the creatures of the coastal habitats. There is a tide pool, a three-story kelp forest, a walk-through wave crash tunnel, and an old wharf on the other side of the glass with crustaceans and starfish, and the beautiful creatures that cling to the surfaces of wood and stone. There are penguins and touch pools with sea stars, decorator crabs and bat rays . . . sea cucumbers, anemones and kelp. We saw shimmering schools of sardines. It was fascinating to watch them swim, weaving this way and that in perfect synchrony, looking almost as a single entity.





The "Outer Bay" area includes a million gallon tank of large deep sea critters . . . sea turtles, tuna, shark and barracuda. There was a large display of exquisite jellies, drifting and pulsing through the water.


There was also an exhibit area devoted to the history of cannery row, "Hovden Cannery". There was actual equipment on display, and large panels with black and white photos showing the workers, telling the stories of the long hours and tough conditions under which these folks worked in the development of mass production of canned sardines.

I was most impressed with the care given to educational features. There were many volunteers, especially at the touch pools, not only to protect, but also able to tell about all the creatures. Nearly every window of every display had a recorded feature. There were a lot of hands on opportunities. The brochure lists their mission: to inspire conservation of the oceans. They've done a great job. There was a small display where folks were given opportunity to write to the governor on issues of conservation, there was a "cafe" in which the chef gave information about endangered food fish . . . along with a little trifold card that listed menu items to enjoy and those to avoid, in the interests of conservation.

Oh, and of course there were the requisite gift shops, which we actually avoided altogether. At about 1:00, we left the aquarium with lunch as our goal. Larry and Dr. Carmichael had caught a cab and headed back to the hotel for the afternoon events scheduled there.

Hyatt - first impressions

The Hyatt Regency at Monterey is a complex of several buildings that run along side the Del Monte Golf Course. There is a conference center, a Grand Ballroom, large reception area bordered by a bar and restaurant which includes patio seating overlooking one of the greens and fairways of the golf course. There is also a sports bar, "Knuckles." The landscaping and exterior approach are beautifully maintained. The hotel buildings are three stories. Our building is at one end of the complex, so we've done some walking . . . a good thing.

We have not, however, been impressed with the facilities. The rooms are nice, nothing extraordinary. The Hyatt is obviously old, and the carpets and furnishings are a bit worn. The elevator for our building is out of order, so we had to tote our oversized luggage up three flights of stairs to our room, and of course, continue to do a good bit of stair stepping. The stairways aren't impressive either, they look like the stairs in a parking garage. Nothing here is complimentary. Nothing. In addition to our pricey room fee, there is a daily service fee for bottled water and the use of guest services. Wireless internet is available for $9.99 a day.

Now to the food. Upon arrival we were hungry. While walking by the restaurant, we greeted one of the drug company reps . . . Larry knows a great number of these folks, as they see one another year after year. She was eating a Cobb salad which looked pretty good, so we sat down with her and ordered the same. I think it was priced around $12.95. Beverages are a bit pricey, $3.50 for a soda.

More and more of Larry's peers were arriving, so it became reunion time. Lots of laughter, hugs . . . like a big family. This spring I made a digital photo album of Larry's AETA 2004 China trip. We bought copies for the other two vets who were on the trip with him and Larry had great fun presenting them with these books. There are about 300 people here for this event, Larry knows many of them, but there are about eight or ten that we hang with, and we ended up in the sports bar for a dinner that lasted into the evening. I haven't laughed so hard for ages. What a fun loving group, with a history of crazy stories. Actually, this is the group who were on the Board together when the management embezzlement crisis occurred. Lots to laugh about now. It wasn't funny then--and it cost them, too, not only emotionally, but all of them put in some major bucks to keep things going. Enough of that.

We didn't go back to our room until about 11:00 p.m.-- 2:00 a.m. EDT -- a long day.

California, here we come

Tuesday was travel day. We got up at 4:30 a.m. for our 6:30 flight out of Harrisburg. We were a bit late leaving, so rather than park in the remote parking, we chose the short term lot, and presumed upon our daughters to retrieve the car later in the day.

We found at check-in that Larry's large suitcase exceeded the weight limit by 8 lbs. leading to a $50 surcharge. So much for packing together to save space. There was a modest line waiting at the security check, but it quickly filled up behind us. There were no surprises there, however, just the routine 3-1-1 reminders (all liquids in the carry on must be 3 oz or less, fit in one 1-qt size Ziploc bag), computer out, shoes off, and all that.

We boarded and left Harrisburg in a timely manner with a short flight to Dulles. We took a shuttle to our departing gate and again, boarded and left Dulles on time with no problems. We did get a phone call from our daughter, Fran, who said that as she drove in the lane to sleep at our place after working overnight, she met heifers coming out. It never fails, it seems. Larry goes away and something happens with the animals. We called the farmer who rents the pasture, and he was soon on his way to get them back in the pasture.

The flight to San Francisco was scheduled to be just over 5 hours. The plane was full. We were served a beverage and tiny little package of two biscuits. Breakfast trays, snack paks and alcohol were available for $5 each. Gone are the days when the airlines provided food to economy class!

There were two movies during the flight, Spiderman III and Shrek something or other. I didn't listen to either, couldn't help but see some of it.

When we got off the plane in San Francisco we learned that the temperature was in the 60's, quite a difference from the mid-90's in PA. I noted with interest that there was a Rosetta Stone kiosk in our concourse. Rosetta also had the back cover ad on the flight magazine from SF to Monterey.

The flight from SF to Monterey was delayed by about an hour. Evidently the morning fog had delayed flights for the rest of the day. The flight was fine, very short. Our checked luggage arrived on the conveyor in good shape. We caught a cab to the Hyatt Regency and checked in. It was about 1 p.m. local time -- 4 p.m. at home and we'd eaten nothing but a couple biscuits and a handful of almonds. Time to find something to eat!