Norie and Pen Baldwin enjoy travels with family


Norie and Gardner (“Pen”) Baldwin had a whirlwind 2010 as they sailed to far ports and enjoyed many other travel adventures. Most importantly, they made these opportunities to come together as family, and, in that quality time, made memories that will last a lifetime. As Norie wrote, “...we tried to think of things we could do to rejoice and reunite with our children and grandchildren. The logistics were challenging as our grands range from 16 years to 16 months and live in 3 different states.” They did a wonderful job of it! Norie sent a lovely 2010 Christmas card that showed in collaged photos the many fun adventures that she and Pen had shared with family this past year. It was obvious that the family enjoyed exciting, happy times together, but who was who and what was what? Where had they gone on these “excellent adventures?” Norie answered these questions in a follow-up newsletter in the New Year of 2011. That letter is reprinted here along with the wonderful Christmas card photos.

Norie (Leonora Kerr Baldwin) is the former wife of the late Luke Johnson, Jr., son of Luke and Shirley Irene Roach Johnson (Uncle Luke and Aunt Shirley) and mother of Luke (“Tracy”) Johnson, III, and Thomas Peter Lee Johnson.

Thank you, Norie, for sharing your family adventures with us. We should all follow Norie and Pen’s example whether it’s sailing around the world or enjoying a barbecue in the backyard. Let’s make the most of the precious time we have with our loved ones!

February 1, 2011

To our family and friends,

Around New Year's Day 2011, my sister Randa called to chat. She said she loved our Christmas card, but she wished she could have seen it without a magnifying glass and asked who was who. After some thought, I decided to try again. 2010 had been an especially meaningful year for our family and so now we send you a New Year's card which may help interpret the Christmas card and also give you a better glimpse into the lives of your gypsy friends!

Since Pen's surgery in November 2007 and his battle to overcome the staph infection it seems to me we have been in the process of healing, and healing and are still healing from the life saving bypass surgery and then the life threatening staph infection. It is a process - healing of both the body and the spirit and God willing we will be healing together for a long, long time.

The year 2008 was dedicated to getting Pen back on his feet. Our dear friends had sailed The Marjorie from icy Maine where she was launched on October 27, 2007 to a safe harbor in the Carolinas. We will always be grateful for the gift of knowing our little ship was safe and well loved for us. After 5 surgeries and 6 months of IV antibiotics, in July we began to turn our hearts and minds away from illness and towards the sea and The Marjorie. As the weeks passed, Pen gained strength. And with much help and a few unexpected visits to land, we sailed up the Atlantic coast back to Maine.

As 2009 approached, we felt if we could get to the warm waters of the Caribbean, we would find that living life instead of waiting to feel well enough to live it might help. We sailed the boat with a captain and a loving crew from Newport to Bermuda and then on to St. John in the Virgin Islands. We moored right off of Caneel Bay resort. 2009 brought fun, adventure, and gratitude for renewed strength. We had several great friends who joined us and helped sail the boat from island to island. And in April we competed in the Antigua Classic Boat Regatta taking 3rd place in our class and 1st in the Concourse d'Elegance for the Spirit of Tradition Class. Wow!

Summer beckoned The Marjorie back to Maine and in October to a much anticipated post reunion with Pen's section mates from Harvard Business School. Being in community with friends really helped give us joy and energy. We met in Nantucket for fun, food, cocktails, clams, sailing, and lots of stories.

Our friends who sailed with us and our children and close friends in Houston helped keep us on track to wellness. As the year came to a close, we felt extremely blessed by the arrival of 2 new grandsons (now we have 3 in Houston) and a beautiful extended family Christmas feast at our home. Pen cooked the turkey and Tracy assisted - it was fabulous.

On New Year's Eve 2009 we reflected upon the past, present, and future and we felt so very blessed by all the love we had experienced, but there was also a sense of loss because we realized that the energy devoted to Pen's recovery had robbed us of precious time with our family, especially those who live in Colorado and California. So we tried to think of things we could do to rejoice and reunite with our children and grandchildren. The logistics were challenging as our grands range from 16 years to 16 months and live in 3 different states.

Having just watched the ball drop in Time Square and hearing "New York, New York", I thought it would be great fun to take the younger Baldwin grands to the Big Apple. After Pen agreed, I raced to the computer! On January 1, 2010 emails were flying back and forth and before long Laurie and Gina found a mutually agreeable weekend in June and created a fun-filled itinerary.

Our year began by sailing the boat from Savannah to Marsh Harbor, Abaco to spend the winter in the Bahamas. During our stay there, we really enjoyed Green Turtle Cay and Hope Town. In April, Pete Baldwin was able to join us on board The Marjorie for a week of fishing, snorkeling, and fun in the Exumas. Pete and Pen caught bone fish. I went diving instead.

Our New York trip with Gina. Kaitlin, and Henry and Laurie, Chloe, and Sophie soon followed. We enjoyed time sharing the best of New York - Broadway, The Russian Tea Room, the museums, the parks, great restaurants, FAO Schwartz, Barneys, American Girl Doll, Eloise at the Plaza, and horse drawn carriage rides at night. Plus the zoo, playgrounds and pillow fights in Mimi and Grumpa's room. It was magnificent!

On July 4th we gathered on Galveston Bay at the Dissen's bay home which had been a tradition since I was a child. There was lots of food, fun, fireworks, family, friends, and a pool full of baby boys!

Mid July found us racing The Marjorie in the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta in Maine. With Pen at the helm of this four day regatta, we took third in our division. Duff and Gina had not yet seen the boat and we really missed them. We scheduled a reunion with their precious family in Nantucket in early August. We sailed, walked, the kids rode bikes, and shopped at Murray's Toggery. We had ice cream, gourmet dinners, beaches, dinghy rides, and an especially fun barbeque on the boat. All of the kids sail and everyone had a magical time.

We are so lucky to have two of our children here in Houston - Luke and Peter Johnson. We are able to see them and their families for casual dinners and help one another celebrate birthdays and holidays. We love to barbeque together and Pen and I get lots of hugs from Thomas, Wyatt and William. You should see them in action! Zoom!

Luke and Jenny bought a home in Briargrove and completely restored it. Wow! They now host family dinners and special events in their home. Their son William is 1-1/2 and really loves his new neighbors and his backyard. Tracy enjoys salt water fly fishing and bird hunting.

Erika was finally able to break away from full time work at Memorial Hermann. You should see her with their two boys Thomas (3) and Wyatt (1). Zoom Zoom! Peter accepted a new position at Mobilease and seems to be thriving with his new responsibilities. He also finds some time for golf and is keeping the faith with our Houston Texans. Yea!

In October Pen and I spent two weeks at Canyon Ranch Tucson in the Life Enhancement Program. Neither of us had ever visited a health spa!! We were encouraged to go by Gary and Patty Johnson. We are grateful to them, but wished we had started this 20 years ago. Ouch! We were out of our comfort zone, but adjusted quickly and Pen wanted to stay the 2nd week. We hope to return this year to prevent a total relapse!

And last but not least, I finally made the pilgrimage to Machu Picchu in Peru two weeks before Christmas. It was astounding, awesome and I am so thrilled to have checked that one off the list. I was amazed to be able to climb with hiking sticks. What a thrill!

Our sisters and our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins are a wonderful gift to us and we hope- to plan an extended family reunion soon……. Our dreams for the future include going through the Panama Canal on The Marjorie and then on to Hawaii, Alaska, and finally sailing her under that magnificent Golden Gate Bridge and into her West Coast home, San Francisco Bay. We will see which way the wind blows…


XO,



Norrie and Pen
Noriebaldwin(at)AOL(dot)com
713-416-4777

PS: We want to especially thank our daughter-in-law, Dana Baldwin and son-in-law, Allan Brants for their gift of making it possible for Pete and Laurie to make the trips with us. We missed you and look forward to sharing with you in the future.

GRATITUDE

To our
Friends who have become Family
and our
Family who have become Friends -
May you be blessed with the same
Love and care you've given us.

Mary Maude Daniels