Friday, April 29, 2011

Back to reality

Life has been crazy since we re-entered reality. Our vacation was REALLY nice! Mom was especially happy to see us as were the kids :o). We got right back into the swing of things, but had a nice treat on Friday night. We got a babysitter and went to the Children’s Museum donor dinner for Ryan’s work. It was a nice presentation and Kristi Yamaguchi was there accepting her award for her work with children. Steve Wozniak made a surprise visit and they did a little Q&A which was entertaining. The food and wine were fabulous and mom and dad were happy to go home with a signed book and wine openers that they “stole”. Gotta watch those two……


They had just told me about their loot:


Sat. we checked out green almonds at our neighbors prompting. We weren’t quite sure how to eat them, so we googled it and found out you are supposed to eat the whole thing. It was interesting, but I’m not sure you’ll find us on Almond Ave. anytime soon. Reggie had a baseball game that afternoon and we almost fell asleep. The kids pitch, so things don’t move all that quick. Thankfully, Reggie hasn’t gotten beaned yet.

Gma and Gpa left early Sunday morning and we had 3 days to get organized and back into our routine before the Rinehardt’s came! We miss Grandma and Grandpa….for us it seemed like a quick trip….for them, probably not! Way too much excitement.

Reggie eating with chopsticks at Uncle U's and finally feeling better:
Grandpa taking it easy after working so hard on our yard. It is a bit overwhelming for us and we are very glad to have some help!

The kids having a snack at the Bass Pro Shop in a tent....pretty sure that is against the rules:

Hanging out at the hotel in Monterey-thank goodness grandma brought a bunch of Scooby Doo DVD's because there was a lot of t.v. watched:

Aquarium visit-Reggie in his wheelchair:

Ainsley and grandma having a little fun in the hot tub...trying to stay sane:




Sunday, April 10, 2011

Rome



Well, after wandering around a bit, we finally found our hotel. In the process, we learned quickly that Rome is very different than the other European countries we have visited. It is very busy and overcrowded and not so clean (very hard to find a garbage can). However, it was sunny and 75 degrees and is very rich in history which we really enjoyed. We took an open tour yesterday and visited the 10 most popular places to see in Rome. We saw lots of really old buildings with amazing detail and sculptures, Trevi Fountain, the Vatican, Spanish steps, the Capital and Roman Forum, but our favorite, far and away, was the Coliseum and ancient Roman ruins. We must have walked for 6-7 hours today and Ryan is snoring as I type. He doesn’t hold up so well with a lot of walking. We probably spent 4 hours at the Roman ruins and Coliseum. It was amazing to see such a huge structure that was built 2000 years ago, around 72AD! It was used until 570 AD and then it wasn’t as cool to watch Gladiators killing each other or animals killing each other or people! 50,000 people would attend these events. An earthquake destroyed the top layer on the one side and all the marble and travertine were taken off and used in other building projects in Rome, so it isn’t as preserved as it could be. It would have been neat to see what it was like back then. The ruins were also very interesting…much of it was covered by dirt and they have been excavating for many years and will continue for many more. We were very impressed by the size and detail of many of these structures and wonder how they got to the top without cranes! Here’s just a few pics….there are too many to post: Looking down into the Coliseum. The bottom is a series of rooms and tunnels that were originally under a wood floor. They had trap doors where exotic animals popped up out of during events. The bottom of the picture is a floor they added later to show what it looked like. Romans ruins

Listening to our audo tour on the second floor of the bus:Saint Peter Basilica:



View looking down from the Spanish steps-not too many people out and about on a Sat.:

Trevi Fountain Longest building I've ever seen. Not sure what it is, but it was several blocks long:



Dirty feet:

Yum, Yum

We’ve had some pizza, which is different (very thin crust), but really good and absolutely huge, which made us both happy :o). We also had their famous gilatto and that is some good stuff too, kinda like sorbet. We are very happy to have made it through our tourist day….we were lucky not to get run over, pick pocketed or taken. They have street vendors selling all kinds of things. While I was getting some gilatto, a local struck up a conversation with Ryan and when I turned around, he was putting a bracelet on him and wanted over $8 for a piece of string. I told him no way, we would give him 1 euro (about $1.50) which it wasn’t even worth. He said no and I told him to cut it off, which he did, but he told Ryan to get a new one and pointed to me! We both had a good laugh. Our hotels have been very nice, but none have had screens on the windows. We had a huge bug issue in Germany, but not since. The fresh air is a must, but it is kinda noisy-lots of sirens that remind us of the movies. Our hotel here in Rome has a Bidet and curiosity got the best of me and I had to try. Was interesting, but not sure I’d go out and get one! TV has been lacking. Only Norway had English speaking channels. Ryan was just flipping through the channels here in Rome and came across Scooby Doo….Reggie would be happy here, but not able to understand anything! We are having a bit of a lazy day today, heading to Milan later. We found a local market which was interesting to see the lack of choices, but we were happy to get some fruit and veggies :o). On the home front, Reggie is still improving, but will probably be awhile until he has fully recovered. Mom had a little more excitement with dad as they went to the ER last night because dad couldn’t pee. Turns out his prostate is so enlarged that he can’t go to the bathroom, so now he has a catheter for who knows how long. Good thing we’ll be home in a few days…..not sure how much more grandma can take!

From Rome, we flew to Milan. Milan is a very big city and we were on the edge and since Ryan had to work, we didn't explore at all. We stayed at Hotel For You and it was very modern, so much so that we couldn't figure out how to get the lights on and off. I had a very nice, relaxing day, exercising, reading my bible and finding a local grocery store while Ryan worked. That night we went to a real Italian restaurant. It didn't even open until 7:30! There was much more of a language barrier there, but we managed with the help of some nice locals. That was a treat to see. The funny thing was that no one ordered pizza! They were all eating piles of meat, bread and cooked mozzarella. Our pizza's were delicious :o).

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Norway

Reggie is finally fever free….after 7 long days! Thank you for your prayers….God is faithful :o). I can tell mom is feeling much better. She had her hands full with my hypochondriac father who had to go to the dr. for a sore throat (which is a big deal when you are out of state and on medicare) and Reggie who was actually very sick. They went to Monterey for a couple days and Reggie was too sick to do much, but they ventured to the Aquarium where he got pushed around in a wheelchair! Ainsley has been great and keeping grandma entertained and somewhat sane. The morning they were heading home, Reggie woke up with another fever over 103 and grandma had had it. They called the dr. and made an appt., but surprise, surprise, they got lost on the way back. Dad isn’t very calming in these situations (to say the least) and then the gas light came on in the car. They were going to be late for Reggie’s appt., so Dad was speeding (he used to drive soooo fast, but when he retired, he slowed down and mom was making him speed on the way to California). Anyway, long story short, he got pulled over and the cop was very nice, but still gave them a ticket! I’m not sure Grandma and Grandpa will ever want to come and babysit again!!!!

We arrived in Norway in the late evening on Tuesday and were very happy to finally find our hotel and even happier to find a McDonald’s. It is surprising how expensive it is over here…$30 later we were out of McDonad’s. That meal would have cost about $10 in the US! The next day Ryan wanted a Blizzard, so we went back and I spotted the carrots from the kids meal and that was my dessert. When he got the receipt, I took a look and the carrots were 25 Krones which is about $5 and I only got 4 baby carrots!!!!

The next day Ryan had his meetings, so I went to the gym. I took a lifting class the Tuesday before we left and my body wasn’t happy about that and I knew I needed to loosen things up. It worked like a charm and my pains are much better. Then I walked around the city for a couple hours and met Ryan and his work friends for dinner. They were a very nice group and we learned a lot about Norway and their way of life :o). We asked them how they managed with everything being so expensive and it sounds like they just don’t eat out, except maybe once a month. Even so, we still don’t know how they afford clothes/housing/taxes and all the things we are used to buying. It gave me a bit of appreciation for how little things cost in the states. They also do dinner a bit different. We go out to eat for the FOOD and they go for the experience and company. 3 hours later, I was ready to head back, but we went for a short walk and then had a nightcap! Thank goodness they were fun to talk to!!! Ryan was almost head bobbing by the end of it (we weren’t sleeping all that well because our room was very warm, so we opened the windows and heard all the commotion outside…loud people, trains, etc. They don’t have top sheets either, so it was sleep with nothing or have a heavy comforter). I had taken a nap that day, so was feeling pretty good :o).

We slept very well that night and went sight-seeing the next day. We stopped at Viggeland Park which is a park full of fun naked statues. It was very impressive. From there, we went to the ski jump and that was amazing. It was windy, which added to the experience and made me a little nervous. I’m not sure you can really get a feel from the pictures, but it was so high. From there, we took the train, got on a public ferry and went to the Kon-Tiki Museum and learned about Thor Heyerdahl who built a raft out of wood and reeds to show how early migrants settled islands in the middle of the Ocean. We also visited the Viking Ship Museum and saw some amazing boats that were excavated out of farmland. Apparently the ships became coffins for important people and they were buried in the hull with all kinds of supplies and gold. I’m not sure how they made it so far on the open ocean, but they ruled the seas in the late 1800’s. The last place we visited right before closing, so we motored through Polar Ship Fram. It was a cruise ship from the early 1900’s and was pretty awesome in size. We probably know more about Norweigan history than the US! I have to say that Norway was a great place to visit, neat things to see, nice people and an awesome train system! Viggeland Park Ski Jump
View from the top of the ski jump!
Viking Ship
Kon-Tiki raft

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Hei from Norway

The last couple days haven't been so good, worrying and thinking about Reggie. He went to the doctor on Tues. and has Pneumonia. We were all hoping he'd wake up ready to go on Wed., but no luck. The doctor wanted to give the antibiotics a couple days to work, but they aren't working, so he will go back today. He is doing okay, but very quiet and slow moving and even in his voice I can hear he isn't feeling well. I just wish I could give him a big hug :o(. Please pray that he will get better quickly, so we can all enjoy ourselves (poor grandma is stressed out)!!! Even more to brighten your day.....Dachau was disturbing to say the least. It makes me wonder what goes on in people's minds to think that treating people like that is o.k. Many were skin and bones and tried to kill themselves to end their misery. I won't go on too much because there isn't anything good to say., except the US and another country saved the day and shut this place down. Here's just one of the several graphic pictures:

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Hallo from Germany

Well, our trip was a bit touch and go because of our sick children. Thursday morning Reggie woke up with a stomach ache and wasn’t his usual self. I kept him home, but thought I might be able to take him late. No such luck…he then got a fever and cough. Mom and dad made good time driving from Washington and were at our house by 5:30. The kids were super excited!!! Reggie was doing pretty good at that point, but Friday afternoon, he really took a dive and had a fever over 103. Sat. morning was even worse. He couldn’t even walk to the bathroom and had no energy to even move and his temp. was closer to 104. That was the night we were supposed to leave. We made all kinds of calls to see if we could change our flight around or we considered having me stay back for a couple days, but Ainsley woke up with a fever that morning and if I stayed until she was better, there was no point in going. We decided to take Reggie to the doctor, just to rule out an ear infection, strep or pneumonia and found out that there was a 5 day fever virus going around that seemed to peak on the 3rd day, so Reggie should have been through the worst. This made us feel a little better and we just decided to trust that it would all work out. And thankfully, we did because when we called to check on them, both were doing much better…..God is good!!!

Dad got right to work mowing the lawn, cleaning driveway cracks, etc. The yard should be looking great when we get back in 9 days. Mom got right to playing with the kids and they have been having fun since. I wonder when they’ll notice we’re gone????


Everything has gone pretty smooth for us so far. Our flight was long and super hot. At one point I thought I might throw up because it was so warm, but I walked to the back of the plane and enjoyed the cool air. They also had a standing area/bathroom downstairs, but it was packed. We watched a couple movies and enjoyed some teriyaki chicken and rice :o). We slept a good amount and when we arrived in Munich, it was 5 ish, so we walked around the Am Tucherpark and went to a beer garden. It was about 75 degrees and one of the first nice days, so EVERYONE was out and about, like 500 people! They had live music and it was a very nice atmosphere, but we didn’t have EUROS, so we went back to the hotel for dinner. It was late by then and time for bed. We slept pretty well considering the time change and were up bright and early to head toward the 2 castles. Our GPS was trying to take us on a bike trail, so we decided change the address to the 2nd castle and see where it took us. I’m glad we did because we were not going in the right direction. We finally arrived to a very rainy and cold (41 degrees) Linderhof Castle. This was King Ludwig’s castle and it was quite decorative (unfortunately, they don’t let you take pictures), massive wall paintings on silk, real gold accents and a table that went from the bottom floor up to his eating area (apparently, when he got older, he got a little fat and only had 4 teeth, so he didn’t want anyone watching him eat and didn’t really even want anyone seeing him. He slept during the day and was awake at night to avoid contact with people). He sounded a bit crazy and was taken out of office for mental reasons and was found dead the next day. He even made a manmade cave with a lake and boat in the cave. It was pretty amazing to see the structures they build in the 1870’s! From there we headed to the Neuschwanstein Caslte that the Disneyland castle was molded after. These castles are out in the mountains and the roads were windy with no sign of anything….not the best feeling, but we finally made it. Neuschwanstein was huge in comparison, but not nearly as detailed. The view was amazing, along with its location on a steep hillside! Not sure how it was constructed, but it was impressive.


The drive back to Munich was about 2 hours and we were sooo tired and a little goofy. We’ve been laughing a lot and it feels good :o). I had forgotten how funny we are! One of the funnier things is the word “exit”. It is all over the freeways, Ausfarht! Maybe this is where the American term “fart” comes from :o). We also were a bit surprised by the stick shift in the rental car. That has given us a few laughs when Ryan has forgotten to put the clutch in!


This is not our rental car :o(. Ryan is trying to figure out a way to work in Europe so he can drive a BMW, Mercedes or Audi....he is drooling:



We are going to the concentration camp, Dachau, today and then heading to Norway this afternoon.