Wakerly Family Photos

2025 March John and Gina in Switzerland and Austria

With planning started almost a year before as a Switzerland trip with Edwin, this trip evolved into a round-the-world trip including China, and after a few more changes it became a quick trip by John and Gina that started in Zurich and featured several days in Innsbruck visiting Gina’s “host family” from her sophomore year in college there.

All Pics

2024 June Switzerland with John, Edwin, and the Riches

John and Edwin rendezvoused with Gina, Kevin, Julia, and Lily for part of their summer vacation in Switzerland.

Basel

Bern

Zermatt

Edwin’s

2024 April Mallorca and Lisbon with John, Joanne, and Edwin

Our travelers spent four nights in Mallorca followed by four nights in Lisbon, bookended by a night on the plane on the way out, and a night in an airport hotel on the return.

Mallorca

Lisbon

2023 October Justin Hayward concert

John found a great single seat stage-right for the Justin Hayward concert at Chicago’s City Winery, similar to what he and Joanne enjoyed in 2021.  Justin sounded great, as usual.

All Pics

2023 Sep-Oct Quebec Canada

John and Joanne visited Quebec, Canada, staying in Montreal for the first two nights and then spending the next four days in Quebec City.

Montreal

Quebec City

2023 June Vienna

John rendezvoused with Gina, Kevin, Julia, and Lily for four days in Vienna at the start of their longer European vacation.

All Pics

2023 May Concerts

John visited Gina’s family in the Milwaukee area and attended two concerts at the Riverside Theater downtown.

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons

Brit Floyd

2023 April Zurich with Edwin

Edwin and John took their first post-pandemic trip to Switzerland, probably their favorite country for sightseeing.

Zurich part 1

Lugano

Bern

Zermatt

Zurich part 2

Edwin’s Pics

2023 March Spain with John, Joanne, and Edwin

John, Joanne, and Edwin went to Spain, visiting some new places around Barcelona.

Sitges and Tarragona

Girona and Costa Brava

Barcelona

Edwin’s Pics

2022 April John and Edwin in New York

John and Edwin went to New York, both the city and the Hudson Valley, for sightseeing and eating.  As of 2024, John was still trying to take off the five pounds he gained.

All Pics

2020 October John and Joanne in New York

Defying the pandemic, Joanne and John made a quick trip to New York, to visit Mike and Soph in Brooklyn, and Allison at her recently acquired home in Hyde park, in the Hudson Valley.

All Pics

2020 March South Africa with John, Joanne and Edwin

At the invitation of our mutual friend Danielle B., John, Joanne and her sister Peggy, and Edwin joined her on a visit to her sister's place near Cape Town.  John, Joanne, and Edwin also used the opportunity to go on a 3-night "safari" at the Kruger National Park.

Faces and Eyes

SFO to CPT

Cape Town Day 1

Cape Town Day 2

Kruger Day 1

Kruger Day 2

Kruger Day 3

Kruger Day 4

Black Pearl

Cape Town End Days

Edwin’s Pics

2020 February John and Edwin in Barcelona

John and Edwin visit Barcelona and environs.

Barcelona City

Girona

Figueres

Sitges

Edwin’s Pics

2019 December Germany and Austria with the Riches

John and Joanne joined the Riches for sightseeing in Gina's old stomping ground  prior to a short course hosted by the University of Marburg for Kevin's Marquette accounting students between semesters. We started in Munich and continued in Salzburg, Innsbruck, Ulm, Marburg, and the Rhine (Cologne) before leaving from Frankfurt.

Munich

Salzburg

Innsbruck

Ulm

Marburg

Koln

2019 December DeMonte Christmas Party

An excellent family party at the LaGrange Park District Recreation Center, with food catered by Maggiano’s, a professional Santa, and lots of fun for all the kids, young and old.

All Pics

2019 June UK with the Riches

John and Joanne join Gina, Kevin, Julia, and Lily for sightseeing in Edinburgh and London.

Edinburgh

London

2019 April John and Joanne in France

John and Joanne flew to Paris, visited for a couple days, and then took a TGV train south to Bordeaux and the Dordogne, and worked their way north by car to the Loire Valley and Chartres, finishing up in Paris again.

Paris Part 1

Bordeaux and Dordogne

Loire Valley

Chartres

Paris Part 2

2019 March John and Edwin in Andalusia

John and Edwin southern Spain, hitting most of the spots that John and Joanne visited in 2014.  John likes to revisit known-good destinations :) .

Malaga

Seville

Cordoba

Ronda

Granada

Edwins

2018 October John, Joanne, and Edwin in South America

John, Joanne, and Edwin visited Buenos Aires and Santiago, with a 4-night cruise through Patagonia and Cape Horn in between.

Buenos Aires

Patagonia

Santiago

Edwins

2018 August Justin Hayward concert

John and Joanne went to a Justin Hayward solo concert at a relatively small venue in Milwaukee.  He sounded great!

All Pics

2018 May John and Joanne in Catalonia and Switzerland

John and Joanne visited the very reliable destination of Barcelona, branching out to a couple of other interesting towns in the Catalonia region, and then flew to Geneva and finished the trip in Switzerland.

Barcelona

Girona and Figueres

Montreux and Gruyeres

Zurich

2018 March John and Edwin in Switzerland and Italy

John and Edwin took a short junket to Switzerland and Italy, flying to Zurich and then Naples and on to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast, and then doubling back to Zurich via Florence and Lugano.

Zurich, Zermatt, and Bern

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast

Florence and Venice

Lugano, Zurich, and Basel

2017 October John and Edwin go to New Zealand

John and Edwin visited the north island, in and around Auckland, and Queenstown on the south island.

Auckland, Part 1

Queenstown

Auckland, Part 2

2017 July-August John and Joanne visit England and Wales

Joanne decided we should see some interesting "killing" sites, based on some favorite TV series, including Oxford (Morse, Lewis and Endeavor), Shrewsbury (Br. Cadfael), and York (Vikings). We also visited Liverpool and saw some Beatles and other stuff, and visited a few other spots along the way.

London and Oxford

Shrewsbury

Wales

Liverpool

York

2017 February John and Edwin Dublin, Berlin, and Zurich

John and Edwin took a short winter junket to Switzerland and Italy, spending a few days each in the three cities, and flying between them using really cheap European fares. Dublin was nice, Berlin had awful weather, and Zurich was glorious.

Dublin

Berlin

Zurich

Edwin’s

2016 October Moody Blues concert in Las Vegas

John and Joanne went to a Moody Blues concert at the Venetian in Las Vegas.  Given the almost once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Justin, Graeme, and John to have their pictures taken with John and Joanne, we let them do it.

All Pics

2016 March John and Edwin’s Winter Junket

John was inspired to visit the mountains in winter, while Joanne wanted to avoid the "cold" weather. So, John and Edwin had a nice guys-only trip to NYC, Zurich, Kitzbuhel, Vienna, Slovakia, and Munich.

Kitzbuhel

Vienna

Bratislava

Munich and Ulm

Zurich

Edwins

2016 February Brazil

John and Joanne went to Brazil, spending two nights at Iguassu Falls. four nights in Rio de Janiero, and short visits with Allison in NYC on the way there and back.

Iguassu Falls

Rio de Janiero

2016 January John, Joanne, Peggy, and Danny visit Australia and New Zealand

John, Joanne, sister Peggy, and old friend Danny took a Stanford Travel tour of New Zealand, preceded by a few days in Sydney on the way there.

Sydney

Auckland

Rotorua and Wellington

Blenheim and Marborough

Queenstown and Arrowtown

Milford Sound

Walter Peak and touring Queenstown

Franz Josef

Christchurch

2015 DeMonte Family Christmas Party

Guess who played Santa!

All Pics

2015 June Glenn’s Memorial Luncheon

We had a happy memorial luncheon for Glenn at the Wildfire Restaurant in Glenview. It was a happy occasion, just as Glenn would have liked it, after making it to the age of 96.

All Pics

2015 May JJJ in Finland, Russia, and Estonia

John and Joanne finally got to St. Petersburg, after being thwarted by the complicated and intimidating Russian visa process a few years before. Russia was still a dump, but Helsinki and Tallinn were nice.

Helsinki Days 1 and 2

Helsinki Day 3

St. Petersburg Day 1

St. Petersburg Day 2

St. Petersburg Day 3

Tallin

Helsinki last day

2015 March John and Joanne in Japan for cherry blossom time

John and Joanne were lucky to have the perfect timing for seeing cherry blossoms in Japan, working their way north to south from Tokyo to Osaka.

Tokyo Day 1

Kamakura

Tokyo on the tour

Mt. Fuji

Kyoto

Nara to Hiroshima

In and around Hiroshima

Shikoku to San Francisco

2015 February Barcelona

John and Edwin decided to visit someplace warm in Europe this winter. But it was 5-10 degrees cooler than expected -- 35-50 F most of the time.

Arrival and first full day

Second full day

Third full day

Fourth full day and departure

2014 December John and Edwin go to Switzerland

John and Edwin took a guys-only trip to Switzerland.  Actually, Joanne was invited but wimped out because of the "cold" weather.  It was actually never colder than about 20 degrees (at 12,000 ft.), and more typically 45-55 during the day.

Bern

Chamonix

Zermatt

Interlaken

Jungfrau

Titlis, Luzern, and Zurich

2014 DeMonte Family Christmas Party

Another year, another party at Maggiano's!  This year's DeMonte Family Christmas Party featured a special Santa, on his way from California to Switzerland.

All Pics

2014 December John and Joanne in Ecuador and Galapagos

John and Joanne visited the city of Quito, the rain forest in Mashpi, and several islands of Galapagos.

Quito

Mashpi

Quito to Galapagos

Galapagos 2

Galapagos 3

Galapagos 4

2014 John and Joanne in Andalusia (southern Spain)

John and Joanne visit Malaga, Gibraltar, Ronda, Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada.

Malaga

Gibraltar

Ronda

Cordoba

Seville

Granada

2013 December Northern lights tour in Iceland

Joanne, John, Edwin, Jan, and Ken went to Iceland for five days, to see the Northern Lights and other sights. Well, Joanne and John got there a day late, but that's another story.

All Pics

2013 October Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons

Fantastic performance for this 79-year-old legend. Hunky Seasons, too bad Joanne missed it. Great seats in the "pit".

All Pics

2013 March Moody Blues Cruise

Cruising with the Moodies and 10 other bands.  John and Joanne and Jan and Ken went on a 5-night Caribbean cruise with live shows by the Moody Blues and about 10 other bands. As one band member described it, it was an entertainment orgy.

Days 1 and 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

2012 May Norway

John and Joanne took a sightseeing trip in Norway, including Oslo, Bergen, fjords, and mountains.

Oslo, part 1

Trondheim and Hurtigruten cruise

Bergen for two sunny day

Flam

Oslo, part 2

2012 April Taiwan

John, Joanne, and Edwin went to Taiwan for 9 days.  The original motivation for the trip was to try flying first class on Cathay Pacific, but they did a ton of sightseeing too.

Taipei Days 0-2

Taipei Days 3-4

Sun Moon Lake

Kaosiung and Love River

Taroko National Park and gorge

Jhihben Hot Springs

Taipei Day 5

2012 January Hawaii

We visited Dick and Bonnie at their house on the Big Island in January.  We also visited John’s work friend Joe Vitorino and his wife Kelly at their horse ranch.

All Pics

2011 Christmas with the Riches

John flew to Baltimore on Christmas Eve, and spent a few days with Gina, Kevin, Julia, and Lily.

All Pics

2011 DeMonte Family Christmas Party

This year's party was at The Grotto in Oak Brook.

All Pics

2011 Thanksgiving with the Riches

John and Joanne spend Thanksgiving in Baltimore with Gina and Kevin and the girls.

All Pics

2011 October Fort Myers

John went to Ft. Myers to visit Uncle Glenn and Aunt Mary.

All Pics

2011 October Steve and Lauren’s wedding

Lauren and Steve's wedding in Chicago.

All Pics

2011 October MU Engineering Hall

Opening event for Marquette University's new Engineering Hall.

All Pics

2011 Fall trip to New England

John and Joanne flew to Boston and visited Maine and New Hampshire.  They flew to Boston, picked up Susie and Seth, and visited Seth's parents in northernmost Maine. After that, they visited Jan and Ken in Middleton, MA, and Auntie Danny on her farm in Candia, New Hampshire.

Northern Maine

Jan+Ken and Auntie Danny

2011 September Mars

John goes back to Mars.

All Pics

2011 July Baltimore

Visiting the Riches in Baltimore.

All Pics

2011 May Italy

John and Joanne went to Italy.  They visited Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Positano, Florence, San Gimignano, Siena, Cinque Terre, Venice, Como, and drove through Switzerland to Zurich for their flight home.

Napoli and Pompei

Sorrento, Capri, and Positano

Firenze, Siena, and San Gimignano

Cinque Terre

Venezia (aka Venice)

Como

Switzerland

2011 March Lillian Nicole Rich

Lily was born on March 30, 2011.

All Pics

2011 January Switzerland

John took a whirlwind 1-week trip with Fran, Edwin, with 6 nights in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. They visited 11 cities and towns and rode 18 trains, 4 cable cars, 2 gondolas, and various buses and trams.

First day, Munich

Two days in Salzburg and Innsbruck

Zurich and thereabouts

Edwin’s pics

Fran’s pics

 

 

Last updated May 22, 2025