Jeannie Lucas and Seth Medlin Family Christmas Home Page for 2003

Jeannie Lucas, Seth Medlin, & Graham's Christmas Letter Page

Christmas 2003

Visit the Lucas & Medlin (non-Christmas) Home Page (It is never up to date)

Click Santa for the non-Christmas Home Page (it is never up to date) 2003 has been a year of extremes and new experiences. January brought over a foot of snow to our Pine Knoll Shores beach. Yes, snow on the pelican is very rare.

This made us long for a Death Valley Vacation. Havent you always wanted to visit Death Valley in the spring? There was no chance those sand dunes would be covered with snow. Death Valley was more interesting than I expected. The trip log is posted at http://www.BeachDoctor.com/sethmedlin/Family Travel Death Valley April 2003.htm We learned after the Christmas letters were printed that Graham's picture of the sand fences in the snow has been selected to appear in the Tar Heel Images section of the February issue of Our State North Carolina Magazine. The lowest point of Death Valley is the lowest point in North America and is called Bad Water. As seen to the left, the valley floor is covered in salt crystals and the mountains on the west side of the valley still have a snow cover.

(Just click on any of the pictures to see a larger image. Then use the browser's back button to return to this page.)

In January Reilly suffered kidney failure. We now pump the cat up with IV fluids under his skin 3 times a week and he is hanging in there. Reilly will be 19 this spring.

We want to salute and thank Lcpl. Scott Medlin, USMC, for serving our country in Iraq this year. We also want to recognize Lcpl. Ross Medlin, USMC, on completing basic training with honors. Where we live we see, and hear, the Marines at Camp LeJeune almost every day; they are firing the big guns today. Signs like this one with the tank are common as you enter Camp LeJeune from the port. We are extremely proud of the Medlin Marines.

In June Graham spent 3 weeks at the Duke Marine Lab Camp on Pivers Island. He studied with students from all over the country, but he was the only local student at camp. The landlubbers at camp were shocked they could actually see the Cape Lookout lighthouse from the marine lab. At West Carteret High School Graham continues to rank near the top of his class. He is also running on the cross country & track teams again this year. Graham even lettered this year in cross country.

Jeannies medical practice continues to be very busy. We expect 2004 to be a big year as Jeannie becomes a full shareholder in her group and all her employee blues will dissolve away.

In July Jeannie & Seth went to Kauai. Graham said he had seen Hawaii and opted for camp at his grandparents house. This trip we never even took my 35mm out of the case; all pictures

were digital. Seth reserved a RED Jeep to explore the red dirt of Kauai; he was crushed to get a maroon Jeep! The Polynesians brought chickens when they settled Hawaii. Kauai is the only island where the mongoose was never introduced so wild chickens are everywhere and beg for food like pigeons. When you stop at scenic sites frequented by tourist, the chickens follow people begging for handouts. We snorkeled in that bay in the distance and got washed onto that reef like 2 seals that couldnt swim. This Christmas letter is on time this year because we are off again to the big island of Hawaii December 23 in search of flowing lava and a RED Jeep. Even Graham is looking forward to seeing the lava and palm trees with Christmas lights.

September brought the inevitable hurricane to our island. Evacuation was suddenly not something only other people did. We were very lucky and had almost no damage from Isabel. (The only damage was caused by Seth putting up and taking down the storm shutters.) We will be better prepared for the next hurricane.

In late October we were shocked to see the aurora borealis (northern lights) from the beach. We later read it was the largest display of the aurora in decades.

In November Graham & Seth accompanied Jeannie to Orlando for a medical meeting. The boys toured the Kennedy Space Center and took this picture of a new top secret moon rocket they spotted at the cape. The moon is visible in the lower left of the picture.