Oh, the places you went! Oh, the places you went! (December 30, 2005)

:A look back on our readers' adventures as they 'took us along'

It's been quite a year for Pleasanton Weekly readers if the number of photos we've received for our "Take Us Along" section is any indication. Readers lounged on exotic beaches, explored the relics of ancient civilizations, visited famous world locales, climbed peaks, crossed valleys, had fun, and through it all, they made sure to bring the Weekly with them.

Since starting the "Take Us Along" section in 2000, the Weekly has published more than 650 photos, and there is a list of 100 more waiting to run. We can thank Pleasanton Police Chief Tim Neal for kicking off the trend when his wife took a photo of him reading the Weekly in New York City and he sent it in. The Weekly ran the photo July 19, 2000, and the rest is history. Now, our readers have been to 72 countries--Nancy Michelle took us to the United Arab Emirates this year, our first time traveling to that country--and 49 states. Norman Chu was kind enough to take us to Mississippi, among other places, during a motorcycle trip cross-country, giving us one of the two states missing from our archives. The last one we're waiting for is North Dakota. We know it's cold, but we're hoping at least one of our readers will be compelled to go there in 2006.

As 2005 is coming to a close, we hope you enjoy this look back on this past year's adventures, and wish our readers many more in the year ahead. -Pleasanton Weekly staff
:Minnie and Weekly

Cameron and Lauren Casby won over the ever-fickle Minnie Mouse when they showed her the Weekly. The two visited The Magic Kingdom with their parents, Bill and Julie Casby, during a family vacation last year. Julie reports that Minnie was so interested in the Weekly they had to wrestle it away from her their way out of town.
:Dreams come true in Mexico

Mark and Shamera Kane read the Weekly at the ruins of an ancient Mayan city, Chichen Itza, on the Yucatan Penisula in Mexico. It was Shamera's dream to visit this site ever since her first junior high school class in ancient civilizations. Now, she's also fulfilled another dream: having her photo in the Weekly.
The Great Wall meets a great paper

Paul Thomas took time to read the Weekly while visiting the Great Wall of China. He was in China for a week to attend the Intel Capital CEO Summit.
Oktoberfest in Luxembourg

Tom Edumunds reads the Weekly while in front of the National Opera House in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. He was in Luxembourg to celebrate Oktoberfest and the first harvest of the Riesling grapes in the Moselle River Valley.
Frosty the reader

Rich and Ann Blach read the Weekly with their new friend Frosty at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite.
Where are the wooden shoes?

Susan Stansbury reads the Weekly while visiting Amsterdam. She says she was there for business, but really, how much work can get done in Amsterdam?
Living history

Katie Lai, 9, reads the Weekly while visiting the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall, a section of the Wall that is maintained as an exhibit and serves as a reminder of what the Wall stood for. She must have impressed her fourth grade class at Vintage Hills Elementary School when she returned with so much new knowledge about history. She and her parents, Virginia and Sinclair Lai, also took time to visit family members who live in Berlin.
Battle of Pleasanton?

Danielle Granlund, a ninth grade student at Foothill High School, took time to learn about the Battle of Hastings right at its actual site while also keeping up on local news. She was in England with her parents visiting family members who live there.
Skiing and reading

Kaiji Mitchell, a student at Vintage Hills Elementary School, and Savannah Williams, a student at Valley View, enjoy skiing and reading the Weekly during their family's trip to Snow Basin, Utah.
Indian adventure

Sara Bowers reads the Weekly in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India while her friend Jenny Mack of Pleasanton takes the picture. The two traveled in India for two weeks, going through Rajastan via camel safari, rickshaw and train to visit a close friend living in Kabul.
Sydney sighting

Ann and Paul Hill read the Weekly as they pass the famous Sydney Opera House during their trip to Australia in February.

Mariachi music Teresa Manchado reads the Weekly while a Mariachi band plays at the Mexican Folkloric Fiesta in Ensenada, Baja Mexico. As a student at Amador Valley High School, Teresa must have learned that reading is important. But her parents, Abel and Ann, and sister, Sarah, should have told her that it's okay to put down the paper and listen to the music.
All terrain fun

Cindy and Kevin Lawrence, Catherine and Paul de Dood and Sue and Bill Platt escape tax day by reading the Weekly after riding All Terrain Vehicles in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Touring the palace

Marilyn and Jim Kane finish their tour of Catherine's Palace outside of St. Petersburg, Russia by reading the Weekly on the palace grounds.
Riverboat Marilyn

Marilyn Cheney reads the Weekly next to the Stern Wheeler Empress of the North, a riverboat that took her down the Columbia River.
Mother's Day in the Magic Kingdom

Pleasanton moms Colleen Botelho, Kathy Huntze, Rosemary Hosterman and Lena Rhodes couldn't pry the Weekly away from Snow White during their visit to Disneyland. The group traveled to the "Magic Kingdom" on Mother's Day to enjoy the 50th anniversary celebration.
Tahitian sunset

Mariella Aquilar and Ronald Walsworth read the Weekly while surrounded by the beautiful sites of Moorea, Tahiti.
Dubai adventure

Nancy Michelle and her boyfriend Reginald Roundtree ride a camel and read the Weekly during their trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Take that Washington Post!

Ian Toy showed The Washington Post its competition when he brought the Weekly to its offices during his trip to Washington, D.C.
Hallo zum Pleasantonwochentich

Jim and Penny Nurse and Sue and Gary Grube made sure to bring the Weekly with them when vacationing in Germany and Portugal this past summer. Here they are in Ludinghausen, Germany.
London bridges

Anthony and Connor Ottati read the Weekly near the Tower Bridge during a family vacation to London. The two boys are in the dual immersion program at Valley View Elementary School.
It didn't stay in Las Vegas

Pamela Hendrickson plays the slots and reads the Weekly during the International Red Hat Convention at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. The Red Hat Society is a group of women, ages 50 and older, who meet all over the country and have fun, proving there is life after 50. More than 5,000 women from all over the world attended the Las Vegas convention.
That's one big ranch

Bud and Chilli Barlow were so excited to read the Weekly, they had to pull over at King Ranch in South Texas while on their way to a family reunion in Brownsville, Texas. King Ranch is an interesting place on its own. This cattle ranch founded in 1853 is 825,000 acres--meaning if it was to become its own country and join the United Nations, it would be larger than 23 countries.
London calling

As Senior Director of Pupil Services for the school district, Rich Puppione has a tough time leaving Pleasanton behind, which is why he made sure to bring the Weekly with him during his trip to England. Here he reads the Weekly while waiting for a boat in Bowness on Windemere in the Lake District.
Old and new

Doris George enjoys combining the old with the new, as she reads current events in the Weekly during her trip to Petra Jordan. The city was carved out of pink sandstone by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area in 800 B.C.E.
El Weekly

Neil and Andrea Hodge brought the Weekly on their trip to Medellin, Colombia to give to Andrea's aunt, Gaby Ochoa. Here the three read the Weekly together in the Plaza Botero next to the sculpture "El Gato."
The Weekly in Iraq

Brain Weser reads the Weekly during his leisure time at Camp Taji, Iraq. He has been there since January 2005 and hopes to back in Pleasanton in the coming weeks.

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