Dan and Brien go train-hunting

Dan and Brien spent a day indulging their inner railfans, checking out active trains and museum pieces at three sites in northern New Jersey.

They started at the Hoboken Terminal, built in 1907 by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad and now a bustling hub for NJ Transit.

In the 1950s, Dan and Brien's father passed through the terminal frequently when he rode in on the Lackawanna from Scranton, where he was in graduate school, transferred to a ferry to Manhattan, then rode subway, el and streetcar to Yonkers to visit his bride-to-be. More recently, Dan used the PATH station under the terminal when commuting to his job in Hoboken.

The next stop was the Whippany Railway Museum, home to a large collection of rolling stock from regional lines like the Morristown & Erie, Central of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna and New York Central.

There were also specimens from farther afield, like this dining car from the Atcheson, Topeka & Santa Fe (reminiscent of Dan's old Lionel model trains).

The big find of the day came a few miles away in Boonton, where the United Railroad Historical Society of NJ has a rail yard and restoration facility. Although it wasn't officially open, a couple of locomotives were accessible, including one of Brien's all-time favorites: #4877, one of the Pennsylvania Railroad's fleet of GG1 streamlined electric locomotives. Built in 1939, it finished its decades of service in the early 1980s on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line.

For Brien, it was like meeting an old friend. He had posed for a picture with the same engine during another train-scouting trip 39 years ago in South Amboy, N.J.

Dolores teaches, judges at national needlework assembly

Dolores traveled to Troy, Mich., to take part in the National Academy of Needlearts Assembly for Embroiderers - an annual event that was canceled the past two years due to Covid.

Her daughter Julie accompanied her on the trip. It was Dolores' first chance in three years to meet her numerous friends in NAN.

During the March 18-22 event, Dolores taught a workshop on the use of color in needlework design (photo above) and took part in various NAN board and committee meetings.

The assembly included the Exemplary, a judged exhibition of 140+ works. Dolores chose the winner of a special ribbon, named for herself, awarded for creative use of color and design.

Climbing the walls: Christine, Jamie enjoy bouldering

Christine and Jamie have found their new favorite way of getting exercise: Bouldering. 

The two have been trying out the rock walls at a few gyms in the Los Angeles/Santa Monica area, enjoying the combination of physical workout and problem-solving. The color-coded hand- and foot-holds are arranged to create "problems" that must be "solved" to reach the top of the wall. 

Once at the top, the climber can use any route down - or simply drop to the padded mats on the floor. As Christine noted, one of the first things to learn about bouldering is how to fall correctly. 

CJ, Vivien, Charlie and Austin moving to London

Vivien, CJ and their two sons are setting off this week for London, where they expect to spend the next two years. CJ, a senior vice president at Brookfield Asset Management, is taking on a new assignment helping to expand the company's multi-family housing business in Europe.

Kensington Palace

The family will be settling into a flat in London's Kensington neighborhood (less than a mile from the palace shown here). Charlie, now 3 1/2, will soon start pre-school at a Montessori academy a short walk from home. He will turn 4 in September, and Austin will have his second birthday the same month.

CJ, who has been with Brookfield in New York for over four years, will be based in London but will also be traveling around the European Union. The company has been ramping up its investments in European apartment properties, largely by buying existing firms. He has already visited Brookfield's operations in several cities as he prepared for the new job.