Dr. Jones and the Spitting Camel - Link to Alaska Cruise TR 9/18

[eandesmom]

Wow! That is just fantastic! How wonderful that you were able to pull it off too! I hope the boys take it well - being it's more for family and not truly a vacation. You gotta take lots of pics - even if you just do a picture only mini-TR. I hope the meet with Magdalene works out somehow! And just a quirky fact - my parents spent their first year of married life living in Bad Windsheim - he was stationed there for Vietnam.

I hope the meet works out too, it's pathetic as he's been over there for years and I've not visited him once! He's actually retired military (now working for the government so he can stay), married to a Polish native that he met there. He decided long ago he wanted to stay, been an expat too long....he loves it there!

Haven't told the boys yet, may wait till after Christmas, we will see. It's been nutty with their stuff between huge school projects, church play, report cards and Evan's 2nd degree black belt test on sat. So busy I've not made one cookie this year!

Hi Cynthia! Your Germany news is so exciting! It will be really hard not to by everything pink or princess you can get your hands on for your new niece! I have a hard time with DGD.

LOL Tammie! I think they'd rather see her in a Manchester, Arsenal or Sounders FC kit!

In fact I think she has all 3.

I do need to think what to take. Right now I have to focus on the paperwork they need, was able to get a copy of my first communion certificate but need my baptism and somehow proof that I've never been kicked out of the Catholic church. They don't care I'm not practicing apparently (well I am a member, just not in the Catholic church) but need proof I've not been ostracized. So that's been interesting!

No problem with being spontaneous! I will send you my phone number by PM, so you can get in touch!

Perfect! And I will as well.

Your parents are really lucky flying into Nuremberg - I guess they will get a connecting flight in Munich or Frankfurt? Nuremberg is a very small airport and the flight from Munich makes actually no sense at all, its about 25 minutes or so... But it is great as a connecting flight. Munich airport is a wonderful airport for connections, it has the shortest connection time in Germany. I once managed to go from landing to the gate of my connecting flight (including passport control for leaving Germany) within 15 minutes! But Munich is a bit of a hassle if you want to go into Munich, it is a 45 min train ride from the city. So in order to go from there to Nuremberg, you first take the train into the city (45 min) and then the high speed train to Nuremberg (1 hour). So you would have 2 hours travel time as well... The high speed train is fun, it goes alongside the highway and you are passing all these cars on the high way because the train travels at 300 km/h.

They connect in Frankfurt. I also connect in Frankfurt, but to Munich. When I priced it Nuremburg was more ($50-100) but their tickets are only 20 more than mine so it's kind of a bummer. However, they think they have a rather long layover in Frankfurt so I will still likely beat them there. Doesn't' sound like the train, versus my brother picking me up, will save much on time so I'll probably leave it alone. He said it's a 2 hour drive to their house from either Frankfurt or Munich. I am sure we will go into Nuremberg though, hopefully I can time it for the day you are back!

Someday it will be my turn to visit!

You can visit me!

Actually, I am LONG overdue for a NYC visit. It's been since 08 and I need a fix! I don't see one happening mind you but oh, I want one!

Cynthia, I'm still here. I wrapped up my TR so now I can concentrate on everyone else's.

First, congratulations on the new niece, and for being able to go to Germany...even if just a short trip.

you've wrapped it up and I missed a good half of it. WAH! So so sad. She'll be about 10 months old I think, they are actually baptizing all of my SIL's kids (which I just found out, my mom has been adding everyone's names to the gown which obviously won't fit her boys (3 and 8 I think?)) so it should be VERY interesting, some drama with her ex's. I can't wait to meet the boys though, they sound adorable and I adore my SIL.

 

[eandesmom]

That's fantastic! I don't know why I thought you were going there for work?

Thankfully my work doesn't require international travel. I do cover AK and HI (to a lesser extent) and will probably be branching into Canada (BC) but that's about it. We've done some work in China but that's about it outside of Canada.

Not that I mind the travel, it's the kid logistics part that gives me heartburn. I can't keep them on track and work full time here! Case in point, Eric still working on homework as I type!

Such and exciting thing to get to actually go!!! YAYAYAYAY! And for a really cool and special event too!! I really do hope you can meet up with Magdalene!!

I am SO excited! Thankfully I don't need much to just go, other than a converter kit and tracking down all that darn church paperwork. My childhood parish has been outstanding, the baptismal one on the other hand...ugh. I have a feeling that will require a live visit. Maybe the childhood parish can provide the proof that I've never been kicked out of the church.

 

[eandesmom]

One of us will get around to posting this on the Garden TR but I thought I'd announce here that our intrepid 6th is joining us for our East West (which is now East/West/South lol) and is ready to come out of the closet. So stay tuned for a pretty new ticker and welcome...


JENJOLT!

​

4.5 months. I am SO ready!

 

[Flossbolna]

I know that you need proof that you are a member of the church here in Germany in order to be allowed to be a god-parent. But I am surprised that if you have proof your first communion that you would then still need proof of your baptism. I thought in order to go to first communion you would have to been baptised.

Have you (or your brother) spoken to the priest who will baptise your godchild in person or just with the church office? I think the church office might not be used to have foreigners as godparents, the priest himself might be more flexible in order what kind of proof you require. Here in Germany it is quite easy to determine wether you are still a member of the church because we pay a "church tax" - as long as you pay that you are still a member...

 

[brookelizabeth]

for JenJolt going on the Garden trip!!!!!! That is fantastic!! You ladies are going to have such a great time!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Wow about the Germany trip!! Sounds like a crazy, but fun, adventure!!

And yay for JenJolt joining your girls trip!!

I haven't had too much time to DIS lately either... just finding some time to play catch up tonight!

 

[englishrose47]

Great GOOD NEWS!!!!

 

[eandesmom]

I know that you need proof that you are a member of the church here in Germany in order to be allowed to be a god-parent. But I am surprised that if you have proof your first communion that you would then still need proof of your baptism. I thought in order to go to first communion you would have to been baptised.

Have you (or your brother) spoken to the priest who will baptise your godchild in person or just with the church office? I think the church office might not be used to have foreigners as godparents, the priest himself might be more flexible in order what kind of proof you require. Here in Germany it is quite easy to determine wether you are still a member of the church because we pay a "church tax" - as long as you pay that you are still a member...

He did speak to him and it sounds like we'll work it all out But you make a good point, you'd have to have that proof of baptism to have received 1st communion!

for JenJolt going on the Garden trip!!!!!! That is fantastic!! You ladies are going to have such a great time!

I can't wait!!

Wow about the Germany trip!! Sounds like a crazy, but fun, adventure!!

And yay for JenJolt joining your girls trip!!

I haven't had too much time to DIS lately either... just finding some time to play catch up tonight!

It's frightening isn't it! I've not made one cookie!

Great GOOD NEWS!!!!

I'm so excited Jen is coming!!!

I am here!! Need to go back and read!

I'll try to get caught up, really really I will! I'm very behind but there are handy dandy links!

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Cynthia! I'm so behind but I wanted to pop in and say Hi!

But also to Congratulate you on your new niece and your trip to Germany!! That's so exciting!!

 

[vamassey1]

Wow wonderful news! I'm sure you will have a great time visiting and celebrating with your family. It's really great that your parents are going to surprise your brother.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Hey Cynthia!

Getting caught up on my DIS'ing. Had several updates to read through and am finally current again. Sorry to hear about the LMA cancellation. Nifty photos though!

 

[eandesmom]

Hi Cynthia! I'm so behind but I wanted to pop in and say Hi!

But also to Congratulate you on your new niece and your trip to Germany!! That's so exciting!!

Hi Angie!!!!!!!

thanks for stopping by I'm so behind everywhere I need to at least do drive by hello's tomorrow if I can. Crazy!

I am very excited!

Wow wonderful news! I'm sure you will have a great time visiting and celebrating with your family. It's really great that your parents are going to surprise your brother.

It is, I have to call the airline, we've decided we are all going to try to skip our last leg if they will let us as it will make the surprise work better!

Not sure if they will let us though without is messing up the returns...

Hey Cynthia!

Getting caught up on my DIS'ing. Had several updates to read through and am finally current again. Sorry to hear about the LMA cancellation. Nifty photos though!

Hey GB! Glad you are caught up, I have a lot of that to do myself all over the place! I've missed TR's actually being completed.

 

[eandesmom]

My goodness, where we we?

Oh right, we were at LMA, and rained out. I apologize for the delay in our regularly scheduled program and this is the start of my new years resolution to get back on track with our tale!

Striking out, literally, at LMA had left us with one thing on our mind.

Ok, maybe 2.

1. Get out of the rain.
2. Food

Not necessarily in that order.

Now I don’t know about you guys but well, DHS just isn’t a cornucopia of great CS options…in my book. My plans (in my mind, the ones I didn’t really share with Jeff) really had us leaving DHS around now and eating back at the Boardwalk or at BC/YC. However, when the stomach talks…it roars. And it was roaring loudly times 5, right at me. As in INSIDE, FOOD, NOW!

Or at least that’s what it sounded like to me. When I do think of CS at DHS, it isn’t at an inside location! Fairfax Fare was an option but…it wasn’t inside, out of the rain. All of a sudden I was forced to look at un researched, in fact avoided, alternatives. Not to mention the other mandate was…INSIDE, FOOD, NOW, CLOSE!. As we headed out, we sprinted to the closest covered area. And I mean SPRINTED. It was pouring, pouring pouring. Studio Catering company is not all that far away but we were drenched. And laughing. Like maniacs!



But…after the mad dash we decided we were not at all thrilled with the menu so sprinted on to….The ABC Commissary.

In an million years I didn’t expect to eat here. And yet, we did. And found it…surprisingly enjoyable!

Perhaps it was the fact that we were soaked and just happy to be inside.

Perhaps it was the Yuengling (that I had to wait forever for while they changed the keg).

Perhaps it was my Chicken Bleu sandwich that was surprisingly good.

Who knows. It worked. Big time. I was soaked and hungry and, as a result, no pictures were taken. I don’t even know what any one else really got though I suspect there were a lot of burgers.

At any rate we enjoyed our meal and then decided it was time to head back and hopefully get some pool time. As we strolled out we found ourselves smack in the middle of some action. Some serious partying to be exact. A block party bash!

I love this non parade parade. It’s the perfect combination if you ask me. You get the feel of a parade but you aren’t actually stuck if you want to keep moving. My clan is rather parade avoidant by nature so this works well for us. We kept moving but did slow down, just a bit and because it wasn’t moving, we actually got to enjoy it!

I love these guys, they just seemed like they were having a blast!

He looks so sweet but… we all know better don’t we!

We just watched the neatest little documentary on Pixar (The Pixar Story) and it was fascinating to learn the challenges they had with this guy…and fur

The entire pixar story was fascinating, one highlight was this guy, Jeff’s favorite pixar character!

Closing out the bash was another partying soldier, we got a kick out of him too!

After about 20 minutes of the bash we were ready and headed out to wait for our bus. I’m thinking we waited a bit. Clearly K&T were looking for something to do in line. Their phones perhaps? It was drying out though which boded well for some pool time.

It seems to me the ride took a bit. Arriving back we all changed and headed down to the pool. Just in time for…..

It to be closed.

The dreaded lightening was back. Along with some drizzle. We decided to stroll. Heck, we were already wet and Jeff and I had managed to get our refillable mugs ready and then topped off with coke so why not head to the beach in the rain?

Because they will yell at you and tell you that you can’t be out there due to the lightning. Yeah, we knew that, we did it anyways. I mean really, it was sheet lightening as far as we could tell and far away at that point. Besides, now we could say we sat in a lounge chair on the beach at Wilderness Lodge. Which wasn’t all that exciting. As we strolled back from the beach, thwarted, it began to pour. Again. HARD!

We grabbed the first umbrella we could find. Which just happened to be behind the pool bar. Which just happened to actually be the smoking section. No one was there when we first huddled under the umbrella but soon…you can imagine what happened.

UGH! (my apologies to anyone who smokes, no offense intended)
If you want to feel trapped get stuck under an umbrella in the pouring rain with a smoker at the table next to you. Our fault of course for sitting there but we weren’t “so” offended that we wanted to run. Most of us had books with us and just tried to read them as we sat. Jeff braved the rain once…to refill our drinks.

At a certain point though, it became clear that the pool would not reopen, or at least not in time for us to make our dinner reservation. We’d held out hoping against hope that it would change but alas, no pool for us. We walked back to the room to begin the process of slowly getting 6 people ready. I decided it was the perfect time to enjoy some leftovers. Namely my chai cream from the first night at Sanaa. None of us had eaten our desserts that night and while some had disappeared already, mine was intact. If you ask me, it was a pretty great wait to wait out a rainstorm.

Jeff seemed to agree as well.

Chai cream pudding, a rum and coke, a good book and a balcony in the rain storm with a pretty fun view. It may have been unplanned but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable!

Up next! A VERY charming Prince!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I am so thrilled to hear you liked ABC Commissary! We used to eat there all the time when I was a kid, but in recent years, due to the overwhelmingly bad reviews I have read, I have shied away from it. There is a lot to be said for someplace inside.

Love the impromptu balcony relaxing! So enjoyable!

 

[MEK]

An update! As Tracy would say, at least I didn't get too far behind while I was MIA for the last 3 weeks!

That chicken blue sandwich sounds good and now I know if we have to eat lunch there in May, there will be something I like. I was really tired of the old menu.

Sorry your pool time was preempted due to rain and lightening. That is the one thing I dislike about Florida weather, especially in the summer time. Oh well, a rum and coke and chai pudding sounds pretty good to me.

Speaking of chai - I just discovered these wonderful chai K-cups. So good. Ok, I digress.

Loved the Christmas card - wonderful pictures.

Glad you like the chopped salad boy!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

 

[rentayenta]

I haven't been on here in ages and am glad I check in.

 

[Native NYer]

A book and a drink on the balcony sounds perfect right about now

 

[MRYPPNS]

 

[tinacaplan]

Great update...you sure manage to make a balcony sound very appealing. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

 

[Flossbolna]

Cynthia, Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

It seems like we had a similar rainy experience at DHS! How interesting that you enjoyed the ABC Commisary. I just think it is so ugly inside - looks even worse than the canteen at work. But perhaps I should have a look at the menu again before my next trip.