The day of the wedding went OK. Tracie went to help with wedding decorations and I headed to a place called Pipes Cafe in Cardiff to meet my college friends Ben and Kelley. The place was a cool surf shack joint with a really good espresso bar outside.
It was great to hang out with Ben and Kelley and meet their kids. We had a fun time catching up over Pipes' ridiculously huge burritos. After lunch, I wanted to hang out with them until later in the day, but the wedding decorating had been pretty busy and I needed to bring lunch to some relatives.
Three hours before the wedding, I was asked to shoot video of the ceremony and reception speeches, since there was no videographer. Being the cool relative I am, I agreed. Tracie and I got ourselves ready and headed over to the wedding site, which was outdoors on a nice overlook in La Jolla.
The wedding went well and wasn't too hot, despite the full afternoon sun. The ceremony was done by Tracie's Uncle Dan, who is a Baptist minister. After the wedding, we headed to the reception at the bride's parent's house. It was a great party and the catered food was pretty good too. Everyone had a lot of fun, as far as I could tell. Tracie and I didn't stay that late, since we had to drive back the next day.
Our drive home was fairly uneventful. Only six hours, including stops in Yuma and Gila Bend! It's good to be home, but damn, it is hot in Phoenix.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Huevos rancheros and coffee
We had a fun day today, mostly hanging out with family. We started the day by finding Old Town Mexican Cafe in old town San Diego. Tracie's mom and uncle swore it was a great place and we needed to have breakfast there. We all headed out and found the restaurant without much trouble.
The huevos rancheros were pretty damn good and so was the coffee. An odd combo, I know, but I really wanted some coffee. After breakfast, I went on a fun adventure with Tracie's uncle and cousin to stock up on alcohol for the reception. We hit Costco and they filled up two carts (not flatbeds, regular carts) with liquor, beer and soda. After that, we headed for the bride's family's house, where the reception will be held. We dropped off the drinks and headed back to the hotel.
Since Tracie and I and her mom didn't have much to in the afternoon, we headed off to check out a coffeehouse on the Coast Highway called Pannikin Coffee & Tea. It was in a building which used to be the Encinitas train depot and it looked authentic. Much of the floors and other wooden parts seemed like they were original.
Pannikin roasts their own coffee and they make a mean latte. My milk was steamed to perfection. We had a fun afternoon playing cards, enjoying the great weather and watching the birds fly into the building through the open doors.
After coffee, we changed for the rehearsal dinner. The dinner was at Leucadia Pizzeria, so we had a good time hanging out there while the wedding party rehearsed at the beach. I enjoyed a local Yellowtail Pale Ale and a Stone IPA. Both were tasty, but I really liked the Yellowtail. It was a pale ale, but it wasn't too hoppy. It had a nice malty smoothness to it and it was quite drinkable.
Tomorrow, I'm meeting Ben and Kelley (friends from college) for breakfast and in the evening, the wedding will finally happen!
The huevos rancheros were pretty damn good and so was the coffee. An odd combo, I know, but I really wanted some coffee. After breakfast, I went on a fun adventure with Tracie's uncle and cousin to stock up on alcohol for the reception. We hit Costco and they filled up two carts (not flatbeds, regular carts) with liquor, beer and soda. After that, we headed for the bride's family's house, where the reception will be held. We dropped off the drinks and headed back to the hotel.
Since Tracie and I and her mom didn't have much to in the afternoon, we headed off to check out a coffeehouse on the Coast Highway called Pannikin Coffee & Tea. It was in a building which used to be the Encinitas train depot and it looked authentic. Much of the floors and other wooden parts seemed like they were original.
Pannikin roasts their own coffee and they make a mean latte. My milk was steamed to perfection. We had a fun afternoon playing cards, enjoying the great weather and watching the birds fly into the building through the open doors.
After coffee, we changed for the rehearsal dinner. The dinner was at Leucadia Pizzeria, so we had a good time hanging out there while the wedding party rehearsed at the beach. I enjoyed a local Yellowtail Pale Ale and a Stone IPA. Both were tasty, but I really liked the Yellowtail. It was a pale ale, but it wasn't too hoppy. It had a nice malty smoothness to it and it was quite drinkable.
Tomorrow, I'm meeting Ben and Kelley (friends from college) for breakfast and in the evening, the wedding will finally happen!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sea World and sunburn
Today we went to Sea World! Tracie and I went with Casey and the three Fros, and Aunt Deb to the park for a day of fun and excitement. We also met up with Casey's friend Lisa, her husband Chad and their three kids. So we wound up with a herd of six kids and six adults to watch them all.
It's really quite amazing how much activity six kids under the age of seven can generate. With all of them running around and playing with each other, it seemed like a swarm of bumblebees going in every direction. They were however very well behaved and everyone got along well.
We had a lot of fun and we covered a lot of the attractions at the park, but we could have easily spent another day there and not repeated anything. We saw the sea lion show, the dolphin show, the dog, cat and other pets show, the Cirque show and my favorite, the Sesame Street 3D show. I love Grover and Bert & Ernie!
All of the animal shows were quite entertaining and I was impressed with the skills the animals can be trained to perform, and with the way the trainers all interacted with the animals. You really can tell that the trainers love their jobs and the animals they work with.
By the end of the day, we were happy and tired, and more than a little sunburnt. We'd put on sunscreen earlier in the day, but reapplication never happened, so we all wound up a little bit fried. Despite the sunburn, it was a wonderful day. I really enjoyed it because I took charge of nothing. Casey and Lisa made all of the decisions about what to see and when. I didn't even look at a map...I just followed the ladies around and made sure all six kids were accounted for. Not having any responsibility for making decisions made the visit incredibly relaxing!
Once we got back to the hotel, Tracie and I decided we wanted breakfast for dinner. So, we consulted Yelp and found a good local diner called The Encinitas Cafe which served breakfast. We headed over there, had a tasty breakfast/dinner and came back to the hotel.
Tomorrow, breakfast with the family and rehearsal dinner!
It's really quite amazing how much activity six kids under the age of seven can generate. With all of them running around and playing with each other, it seemed like a swarm of bumblebees going in every direction. They were however very well behaved and everyone got along well.
We had a lot of fun and we covered a lot of the attractions at the park, but we could have easily spent another day there and not repeated anything. We saw the sea lion show, the dolphin show, the dog, cat and other pets show, the Cirque show and my favorite, the Sesame Street 3D show. I love Grover and Bert & Ernie!
All of the animal shows were quite entertaining and I was impressed with the skills the animals can be trained to perform, and with the way the trainers all interacted with the animals. You really can tell that the trainers love their jobs and the animals they work with.
By the end of the day, we were happy and tired, and more than a little sunburnt. We'd put on sunscreen earlier in the day, but reapplication never happened, so we all wound up a little bit fried. Despite the sunburn, it was a wonderful day. I really enjoyed it because I took charge of nothing. Casey and Lisa made all of the decisions about what to see and when. I didn't even look at a map...I just followed the ladies around and made sure all six kids were accounted for. Not having any responsibility for making decisions made the visit incredibly relaxing!
Once we got back to the hotel, Tracie and I decided we wanted breakfast for dinner. So, we consulted Yelp and found a good local diner called The Encinitas Cafe which served breakfast. We headed over there, had a tasty breakfast/dinner and came back to the hotel.
Tomorrow, breakfast with the family and rehearsal dinner!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Going to California
No, not the Led Zeppelin song, cool though it may be. We headed to San Diego for Tracie's cousin's wedding this weekend. Since we'll be there for four nights, we decided that renting a car would be more expensive than driving our own, so we hit the road in our RAV4 at lunchtime today. We stopped at Costco for gas and a cheap hot dog lunch, then headed out of town. It was a fairly uneventful drive, with stops for restrooms and refreshments in Gila Bend and Yuma.
We listened to an audio book most of the way, which really made the 7 hour drive fly by. We made it to the hotel at about 7:00 and quickly left again in search of dinner. By random chance, we came to a Mexican restaurant called La Especial Norte on the Coast Highway. It was a fairly hole-in-the-wall place, but the food was fantastic! It was definitely one of the best Mexican dinners we've had in a while.
Tomorrow, Sea World with the Fromily!
We listened to an audio book most of the way, which really made the 7 hour drive fly by. We made it to the hotel at about 7:00 and quickly left again in search of dinner. By random chance, we came to a Mexican restaurant called La Especial Norte on the Coast Highway. It was a fairly hole-in-the-wall place, but the food was fantastic! It was definitely one of the best Mexican dinners we've had in a while.
Tomorrow, Sea World with the Fromily!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Random thoughts on our trip
- It's better to keep 1 euro and 2 euro coins in a separate pocket than coins worth less than 1 euro. It's a lot easier to pay for stuff that costs between 1 euro and 5 euro if you don't have to sort through a gigantic pile of coins in your pocket to find a 1 or 2 euro coin. I think that as an American, I'm used to just throwing all of my change in my pocket. But that doesn't work as well when you have 1 and 2 euro coins, instead of bills.
- The French aren't really rude, but they don't cater to non-French speakers, either.
- The Germans really keep their country looking good. In large towns and small, Germany feels clean. There's not a lot of rubbish in the streets, and not as much graffiti as you see other places. Although it's a very cool city, Paris definitely had a lot of graffiti and just had a little bit of a dirtier feel.
Vacation wrap-up
We have successfully returned from Europe! Our travel home on Saturday was happily uneventful. We got up early and after a mildly tearful farewell to Casey and the three Fros, Rick drove us in to the the airport in Frankfurt. After we checked our bags, we made our way to the gate, which took a little bit of searching. The airport is currently undergoing major modifications which has some gates in temporary spaces, making the maps very unhelpful in finding them.
We finally made it to the gate with time to spare and we found that changing our plans and flying to Charlotte instead of Philadelphia paid off. As boarding started, we were assigned seats next to each other in first class! Elated, we headed to the plane. Due to the temporary gate, the plane could only be reached by taking a shuttle bus from the gate area to the location where the plane was parked out on the tarmac, so we boarded the bus and got a great view of some Boeing 747s and Airbus A330 and A340s as we drove past. It was fun to board the plane via stairs, as you really got a sense of the huge size of plane.
After finding our seats, Tracie and I quickly found that first class is THE way to go. The cabin was only half filled as well, so there was plenty of overhead bin space. As soon as we took off, the flight attendants started bringing drinks, followed by a fruit and cheese plate, appetizer, lunch, dessert and all with as much wine as you wanted. The seats reclined almost all the way, so after lunch we watched movies on the in-flight entertainment and napped for most of the remained of the flight.
After we arrived in Charlotte, we went through one of the fastest customs process ever and grabbed a bite to eat before boarding our flight to Phoenix. Unfortunately, this flight was full and we had to return to the riff-raff in coach. Despite the hardship of being crammed into seats barely big enough for an adult ass, we made it to Phoenix, took a SuperShuttle van to get home and finally arrived home at 10:00pm, almost exactly 24 hours after leaving Pickliessem.
We finally made it to the gate with time to spare and we found that changing our plans and flying to Charlotte instead of Philadelphia paid off. As boarding started, we were assigned seats next to each other in first class! Elated, we headed to the plane. Due to the temporary gate, the plane could only be reached by taking a shuttle bus from the gate area to the location where the plane was parked out on the tarmac, so we boarded the bus and got a great view of some Boeing 747s and Airbus A330 and A340s as we drove past. It was fun to board the plane via stairs, as you really got a sense of the huge size of plane.
After finding our seats, Tracie and I quickly found that first class is THE way to go. The cabin was only half filled as well, so there was plenty of overhead bin space. As soon as we took off, the flight attendants started bringing drinks, followed by a fruit and cheese plate, appetizer, lunch, dessert and all with as much wine as you wanted. The seats reclined almost all the way, so after lunch we watched movies on the in-flight entertainment and napped for most of the remained of the flight.
After we arrived in Charlotte, we went through one of the fastest customs process ever and grabbed a bite to eat before boarding our flight to Phoenix. Unfortunately, this flight was full and we had to return to the riff-raff in coach. Despite the hardship of being crammed into seats barely big enough for an adult ass, we made it to Phoenix, took a SuperShuttle van to get home and finally arrived home at 10:00pm, almost exactly 24 hours after leaving Pickliessem.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Once again, hoping for first class
We're headed home tomorrow and we've changed our flight plans so that we're taking a flight from Frankfurt to Charlotte, instead of going to Philadelphia. There's more open first class seats on the Charlotte flight, and more open in coach too, so we're hoping this increases our chances of getting first class, or at least an open coach seat between us. We'll see how it goes!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
New pics!
I finally got pics posted from Versailles and I added some more pics of the Fros being cute. Now available at http://picasaweb.google.com/mattpetro!
Back in Pickliessem
After a pleasant drive, we made it back to Germany from Paris yesterday. Since then, we've taken it easy and relaxed for the most part. Peighton had t-ball practice yesterday and Rick is one of the coaches, so after we got back, they left for that.
Also, Peighton had to go and get cavities, or "sugar bugs" as the dentist calls them, fixed this morning, so she headed off with Casey in the morning, leaving Tracie and I to play with, er, watch Conner and Rheagan. We had a ton of fun just getting to spend time with them.
Peighton was very good at the dentist's office and came home feeling OK. We spent the rest of the day getting laundry done, helping Casey clean around the house and just having a great time playing with all three kids. After dinner was done and the kids had gone to bed, we finished off the evening with a several head-to-head competitions in Guitar Hero on the Wii. We're all rock stars, I'm sure of it!
Also, Peighton had to go and get cavities, or "sugar bugs" as the dentist calls them, fixed this morning, so she headed off with Casey in the morning, leaving Tracie and I to play with, er, watch Conner and Rheagan. We had a ton of fun just getting to spend time with them.
Peighton was very good at the dentist's office and came home feeling OK. We spent the rest of the day getting laundry done, helping Casey clean around the house and just having a great time playing with all three kids. After dinner was done and the kids had gone to bed, we finished off the evening with a several head-to-head competitions in Guitar Hero on the Wii. We're all rock stars, I'm sure of it!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Interesting things I noticed in Paris
- Almost all of the buildings are a shade of white, and most of them are still have the classic Mansard roof. I noticed this when we were looking out at the city from the Eiffel Tower.
- Most of the store clerks and restaurant wait staff speak to women first, not men. Unfortunately, this leaves Tracie attempting to figure out what they're saying in French.
- Most restaurants have espresso, and all of the espresso machines are the real kind, not the automatic ones Starbucks uses.
Notre Dame and The Eiffel Tower
It's hard to beleive we hit only two landmarks on a day that was so full.
We started the day with pastries and Pellegrino from the little bakery down the street. I'm pretty sure I'll never have another croissant back home. I would just be disappointed. The croissant from this bakery is probably the best thing I've ever put in my mouth.
After waiting for rush hour to clear, we met the Fromily and began our public transit adventure at about 9 a.m. I have to say we did a really great job of navigating the system today, although the credit really has to go to the other 3 adults...I pretty much just walked along and let them tell me where to go.
We began our day at Notre Dame. Not sure I can count how many times we collectively said "WOW!". It was absolutely amazing! I know our pictures will not do it justice, but I also know it is a sight our mind's eye will never forget. There is soooooo much detail in everything. Walking up to the cathedral, it looks elaborate, but you have absolutely NO idea how intricate the carvings are until you get up close...and the stained glass, oh my! As it is Holy Week, every crucifix was shrouded in purple cloth; it was truly moving. You would think with three small children that touring a holy place where you are asked to remain quiet would be difficult, but not with Cricket, Sprout and Boo. They were phenomenal the entire time!
Upon leaving Notre Dame we grabbed some lunch and headed back to the RER to our second destination, Tour de Eiffel. We decided to walk through the park on our way to the tower. The park was beautiful and the kids got a special treat, ducklings. There were about six ducks and two dozen ducklings in the pond. It was so neat to just stand and watch them...the girls were mesmerized.
Soon we left the ducks and headed to the line to go up the Eiffel Tower...and boy was it a line. We took TONS of pictures before we even went up. The Eiffel Tower is so much more impressive in person, Matt was in engineer heaven! After about 2 hours we made it to the second level, a spectacular view of Paris. We had originally intended to go all the way to the top, but after realizing it would be at least another hour in line, we opted for a snack and a trip on the "miracle round" for the kids (that's a merry-go-round for those of you who don't speak 3 and 5- year-old).
Next, we headed back for another seemless transit adventure. That night Matt and I decided to try the creperie near the hotel and the Fromily opted for pizza. Our food was fantastic, although we admittedly had no idea what we were ordering. I have learned that moving your hands parallel to the table while keeping a big smile on your face is the universal sign for, "our food is wonderful, but we don't need anything else, thank you."
After dinner, the women and children gave in to exhaustion and the men headed down to a nearby pub for a beer. All in all a fantastic day!
We started the day with pastries and Pellegrino from the little bakery down the street. I'm pretty sure I'll never have another croissant back home. I would just be disappointed. The croissant from this bakery is probably the best thing I've ever put in my mouth.
After waiting for rush hour to clear, we met the Fromily and began our public transit adventure at about 9 a.m. I have to say we did a really great job of navigating the system today, although the credit really has to go to the other 3 adults...I pretty much just walked along and let them tell me where to go.
We began our day at Notre Dame. Not sure I can count how many times we collectively said "WOW!". It was absolutely amazing! I know our pictures will not do it justice, but I also know it is a sight our mind's eye will never forget. There is soooooo much detail in everything. Walking up to the cathedral, it looks elaborate, but you have absolutely NO idea how intricate the carvings are until you get up close...and the stained glass, oh my! As it is Holy Week, every crucifix was shrouded in purple cloth; it was truly moving. You would think with three small children that touring a holy place where you are asked to remain quiet would be difficult, but not with Cricket, Sprout and Boo. They were phenomenal the entire time!
Upon leaving Notre Dame we grabbed some lunch and headed back to the RER to our second destination, Tour de Eiffel. We decided to walk through the park on our way to the tower. The park was beautiful and the kids got a special treat, ducklings. There were about six ducks and two dozen ducklings in the pond. It was so neat to just stand and watch them...the girls were mesmerized.
Soon we left the ducks and headed to the line to go up the Eiffel Tower...and boy was it a line. We took TONS of pictures before we even went up. The Eiffel Tower is so much more impressive in person, Matt was in engineer heaven! After about 2 hours we made it to the second level, a spectacular view of Paris. We had originally intended to go all the way to the top, but after realizing it would be at least another hour in line, we opted for a snack and a trip on the "miracle round" for the kids (that's a merry-go-round for those of you who don't speak 3 and 5- year-old).
Next, we headed back for another seemless transit adventure. That night Matt and I decided to try the creperie near the hotel and the Fromily opted for pizza. Our food was fantastic, although we admittedly had no idea what we were ordering. I have learned that moving your hands parallel to the table while keeping a big smile on your face is the universal sign for, "our food is wonderful, but we don't need anything else, thank you."
After dinner, the women and children gave in to exhaustion and the men headed down to a nearby pub for a beer. All in all a fantastic day!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Versailles, with a side of public transit adventures
Today was our first full day in Paris! Our plan was to head to Versailles to see the chateau and gardens. Tracie and I got up at a reasonable hour for us (7:00am) and realized that not many restaurants are open before 9:00am here. Even the McDonald's across the street doesn't open until 10:00am! All that we could really find was a bakery serving quiches and pastries. It seemed that it was pastries or the hotel's 12 euro (zoinks!) buffet. So, we got our first lesson in French culture and went to the bakery.
After the breakfast adventure, Tracie and I met up with Casey, Rick and the 3 kids (collectively known as the Fromily) and started our journey to Versailles with a 15 minute walk to the RER station. The RER is the commuter rail portion of the Paris public transit system which reaches into the middle and outer suburbs. After spending several minutes trying to get the ticket vending machine to take a credit card, we went to the ticket window, managed to buy the correct fares from the nice lady and get to the train.
We successfully navigated two train transfers under the streets of Paris, but as we neared Versailles, we discovered that we were on a train which was the correct line, but took a slightly different route, leaving us a couple of kilometers from where we wanted to be. It then took us 45 minutes, 2 more stations and a lot of puzzling over a map and train arrival info board to deduce how to get to our intended destination. Note that most of the puzzling was due to the fact that everything was in French. The French aren't really big on providing information in other languages. But, we were successful in finding the correct route and finally arriving in the heart of Versailles.
By this point, we were all quite hungry, so we stopped at a pizza place for lunch, then walked to the Chateau de Versailles. It really takes the meaning of the word "chateau" to a whole different level...the place is huge, plain and simple. Casey wanted to see the gardens, so we didn't see the inside of the chateau, but the weather was fabulous and the gardens are amazing in their own right. You could easily spend a couple of days wandering through the gardens and still not see everything. There's ponds, fountains, statues, topiaries, lawns and trees that go on and on...they're truly amazing.
Once we'd spent the afternoon in the gardens (and gotten slightly sunburnt in the process), we headed back to the RER station. Getting back to the hotel was much faster, as we managed to travel detour-free this time. The trains were fairly crowded at this time of day, but even so, they all ran on time.
Tracie's back was pretty tired by the time we arrived at the hotel, so we decided to find take-out. French culture lesson #2: there's not much take out in France. Fortunately, we had McDonald's across the street. OK, I'm sure some people are saying, "You went to Paris and got dinner from McDonald's? How lame!" Yeah, sure, maybe, but we each had a Royale with Cheese, so next time we see Pulp Fiction, we can say we've had one.
On the itinerary for tomorrow: Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and (hopefully) some tasty coffee at a Paris cafe!
After the breakfast adventure, Tracie and I met up with Casey, Rick and the 3 kids (collectively known as the Fromily) and started our journey to Versailles with a 15 minute walk to the RER station. The RER is the commuter rail portion of the Paris public transit system which reaches into the middle and outer suburbs. After spending several minutes trying to get the ticket vending machine to take a credit card, we went to the ticket window, managed to buy the correct fares from the nice lady and get to the train.
We successfully navigated two train transfers under the streets of Paris, but as we neared Versailles, we discovered that we were on a train which was the correct line, but took a slightly different route, leaving us a couple of kilometers from where we wanted to be. It then took us 45 minutes, 2 more stations and a lot of puzzling over a map and train arrival info board to deduce how to get to our intended destination. Note that most of the puzzling was due to the fact that everything was in French. The French aren't really big on providing information in other languages. But, we were successful in finding the correct route and finally arriving in the heart of Versailles.
By this point, we were all quite hungry, so we stopped at a pizza place for lunch, then walked to the Chateau de Versailles. It really takes the meaning of the word "chateau" to a whole different level...the place is huge, plain and simple. Casey wanted to see the gardens, so we didn't see the inside of the chateau, but the weather was fabulous and the gardens are amazing in their own right. You could easily spend a couple of days wandering through the gardens and still not see everything. There's ponds, fountains, statues, topiaries, lawns and trees that go on and on...they're truly amazing.
Once we'd spent the afternoon in the gardens (and gotten slightly sunburnt in the process), we headed back to the RER station. Getting back to the hotel was much faster, as we managed to travel detour-free this time. The trains were fairly crowded at this time of day, but even so, they all ran on time.
Tracie's back was pretty tired by the time we arrived at the hotel, so we decided to find take-out. French culture lesson #2: there's not much take out in France. Fortunately, we had McDonald's across the street. OK, I'm sure some people are saying, "You went to Paris and got dinner from McDonald's? How lame!" Yeah, sure, maybe, but we each had a Royale with Cheese, so next time we see Pulp Fiction, we can say we've had one.
On the itinerary for tomorrow: Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and (hopefully) some tasty coffee at a Paris cafe!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
New pics!
I've uploaded all of the pics from our first few days to Picasa! Highlights of the recent photos: playing in the park with the Fros and visiting Trier. Tomorrow we're heading to Versailles, so many more to come! The hotel's Internet access is slow, but hopefully I can upload overnight.
Check out the Picasa pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/mattpetro
Check out the Picasa pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/mattpetro
Traveling to Paris
Today, Sunday, we planned to have a leisurely morning and head to Paris in the afternoon. We were amazed with how quickly we all got ready, and had the car packed up and ready to go by noon.
As soon as we were all loaded up and had the house locked up tight we hear, "Rick, please tell me you have the keys." The answer came and you guessed it, "Nope." That's right we were all in the car, but the keys were in the house.
So, we decided to use anything we could find to stick through the mail slot to open the door. For future reference, you probably won't find Lock-Picker Barbie on the shelves next Christmas. After a while Rick realized that one of the doors had not been locked and he was able to go in and grab the keys.
We were off, only 20 minutes behind our original plan with Casey behind the wheel. The rest of our trip was pretty uneventful and we arrived safely in Paris. I know we will see some wonderful sights and have a great time...I'm really looking forward to it. But, if you ask me it's these stories that make adventures with your family and friends all the more worthwhile!
As soon as we were all loaded up and had the house locked up tight we hear, "Rick, please tell me you have the keys." The answer came and you guessed it, "Nope." That's right we were all in the car, but the keys were in the house.
So, we decided to use anything we could find to stick through the mail slot to open the door. For future reference, you probably won't find Lock-Picker Barbie on the shelves next Christmas. After a while Rick realized that one of the doors had not been locked and he was able to go in and grab the keys.
We were off, only 20 minutes behind our original plan with Casey behind the wheel. The rest of our trip was pretty uneventful and we arrived safely in Paris. I know we will see some wonderful sights and have a great time...I'm really looking forward to it. But, if you ask me it's these stories that make adventures with your family and friends all the more worthwhile!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Trier
We had a GREAT time on our journey to Trier, a nice German town about 20 minutes outside of Pickliessem.
We walked around downtown stopping in a few shops and visiting Porta Nigra, a gate built in the second century that is now hailed as the "largest and best preserved city gate of the ancientworld". Our next stop was a wonderful pasta shop for lunch...YUM!
After lunch began the big adventure of the day. PEIGHTON GOT HER EARS PIERCED!!! She was so stoic. After the first ear was done she merely sat up straight, swallowed and said she was ready for the next one. She didn't shed a single tear.
Tomorrow we are off to Paris...
We walked around downtown stopping in a few shops and visiting Porta Nigra, a gate built in the second century that is now hailed as the "largest and best preserved city gate of the ancientworld". Our next stop was a wonderful pasta shop for lunch...YUM!
After lunch began the big adventure of the day. PEIGHTON GOT HER EARS PIERCED!!! She was so stoic. After the first ear was done she merely sat up straight, swallowed and said she was ready for the next one. She didn't shed a single tear.
Tomorrow we are off to Paris...
Friday, April 3, 2009
Over the jetlag and having fun!
It's Saturday morning here in Germany and Tracie and I have finally adjusted to the local time. We got lots of sleep on Thursday night and woke up reasonably sure that our internal clocks had synced up with the local time. Yesterday was lots of fun, primarily due to a three-hour visit to the local park with Casey, Rick and their three kids: Peighton (5), Rheagan (3) and Conner (1.5). The kids very nearly wore out the adults, but we managed to make it back home while still conscious.
In the evening, Casey and Tracie went to play bunco with Casey's friends, who were very nice and invited Tracie to join in. They had fun while Rick and I watched the kids at home. Fortunately, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and the Wii provided a lot of help in entertaining all three kids, while brown-bottle Heineken entertained Rick and I. Heinekin produced and sold in Holland is bottled in brown bottles, and is actually better than the green-bottle Heineken we get in the States.
Once the ladies were home and the kids were in bed, the Wii fun continued with Guitar Hero. Since I'm not a Wii owner, this was actually the first time I'd played Guitar Hero (quit laughing now!). I did all right on the easy level, but I didn't try getting past that.
Today we're going to head to Trier, a nearby town that's fun to visit for fun and shopping. The weather is overcast now, so we're not sure if we're going to get rain or not. We've had good weather so far, so we're going to hope it stays that way.
In the evening, Casey and Tracie went to play bunco with Casey's friends, who were very nice and invited Tracie to join in. They had fun while Rick and I watched the kids at home. Fortunately, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and the Wii provided a lot of help in entertaining all three kids, while brown-bottle Heineken entertained Rick and I. Heinekin produced and sold in Holland is bottled in brown bottles, and is actually better than the green-bottle Heineken we get in the States.
Once the ladies were home and the kids were in bed, the Wii fun continued with Guitar Hero. Since I'm not a Wii owner, this was actually the first time I'd played Guitar Hero (quit laughing now!). I did all right on the easy level, but I didn't try getting past that.
Today we're going to head to Trier, a nearby town that's fun to visit for fun and shopping. The weather is overcast now, so we're not sure if we're going to get rain or not. We've had good weather so far, so we're going to hope it stays that way.
We Made It!
We made it on the flight. It took a little while to get off the ground because someone had to be removed from the flight, but after about 30 minutes we were in the air. Matt got a little sleep on the plane, but I was pretty much awake the whole time. I was able to watch a couple of movies, though, so that was nice.
When we arrived, Casey met us right outside of customs and we headed back to the Gellings home in Pickliessem. It was so great to chat and catch up with Casey on the two-hour drive! Matt must have found our lovely voices incredibly soothing, because he slept the majority of the ride ;)
The day was spent playing with the kids and chatting with Casey. I gave in at about 3 p.m. and took a two-hour nap, and Matt went down for four hours that afternoon as well.
When we arrived, Casey met us right outside of customs and we headed back to the Gellings home in Pickliessem. It was so great to chat and catch up with Casey on the two-hour drive! Matt must have found our lovely voices incredibly soothing, because he slept the majority of the ride ;)
The day was spent playing with the kids and chatting with Casey. I gave in at about 3 p.m. and took a two-hour nap, and Matt went down for four hours that afternoon as well.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Waiting for flight, first class seats dwindling
We made it to Philly! It's a gray and rainy afternoon, but the airport is very nice. Unfortunately, we arrived at a gate a mile away from the gate we needed to go to. All right, maybe it wasn't really a mile, but it felt like it. We walked past gates, food courts, shops, more shops, kiosks, more food courts and more gates.
When we finally got to our departure gate, we were delighted to find a little bistro right next to it, so we sat down there for lunch. Now we're waiting at the gate, hoping for first class. At the moment, there's still 2 seats left in first and 14 in coach. If no one else decides first class is worth the price, we'll be all good!
When we finally got to our departure gate, we were delighted to find a little bistro right next to it, so we sat down there for lunch. Now we're waiting at the gate, hoping for first class. At the moment, there's still 2 seats left in first and 14 in coach. If no one else decides first class is worth the price, we'll be all good!
Hotel power issues
Our morning has been quite eventful at the hotel. I went downstairs to have some breakfast while Tracie was up in the room getting ready. Just as my eggs, bacon and potatoes arrived, the electricity flickered, then went totally off in the entire building. Fortunately, I was able to still see what I was eating, thanks to open windows and emergency lighting, while Tracie had to contend with a very dark bathroom.
The power outage only lasted about 40 minutes, so we were able to finish getting ready without being too late. We're about to head back to the airport to catch our flight to Philadelphia and we should make it in time. But, if we totally miss it, there's another one an hour later.
On the positive side, the flight to Frankfurt is back to having 5 open seats in first class and another 5 in coach, so that trend is looking good for us!
The power outage only lasted about 40 minutes, so we were able to finish getting ready without being too late. We're about to head back to the airport to catch our flight to Philadelphia and we should make it in time. But, if we totally miss it, there's another one an hour later.
On the positive side, the flight to Frankfurt is back to having 5 open seats in first class and another 5 in coach, so that trend is looking good for us!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Late-night Chinese in Boston
We've made it to Boston and now we're having late-night Chinese delivery food for dinner. The Chinese place was the only restaurant that delivered, so there really wasn't a choice in the matter. Fortunately, it was pretty good Chinese, so we're not complaining.
The entrees were accompanied by the hottest spicy mustard we've ever had. Tracie put a reasonably-sized dollop of it on her egg roll without tasting first. The bite she took was immediately followed by tearful clearing of her sinuses. I admit to wishing I had a video of this, because it was quite funny, if you weren't her.
Tomorrow's flight from Philadelphia to Frankfurt is continuing to slowly fill up. Right now, there's only 4 seats in first class and 2 in coach. Obviously, we're really hoping the numbers don't change much between now and tomorrow.
Off to bed to get some sleep before more travel adventures tomorrow!
The entrees were accompanied by the hottest spicy mustard we've ever had. Tracie put a reasonably-sized dollop of it on her egg roll without tasting first. The bite she took was immediately followed by tearful clearing of her sinuses. I admit to wishing I had a video of this, because it was quite funny, if you weren't her.
Tomorrow's flight from Philadelphia to Frankfurt is continuing to slowly fill up. Right now, there's only 4 seats in first class and 2 in coach. Obviously, we're really hoping the numbers don't change much between now and tomorrow.
Off to bed to get some sleep before more travel adventures tomorrow!
Boston, here we come
Tracie and her mom will be picking me up from work and taking us to the airport soon. Tomorrow's flight to Frankfurt is filling up...only 9 seats left on the entire plane! I really hope there's 2 seats left for us, but we really can't do anything other than hope. If it fills up, we'll find another way!
The day is here
It's early on Tuesday morning and our flights are looking good. None of them are close to being full, except for the flight from Philly to Frankfurt. 16 seats are still open on that flight, so I hope that doesn't change today and tomorrow!
I'm checking us in and printing boarding passes now, then I'm off to work until it's time to head to the airport for our Boston flight.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Off to Germany this week!
This week, Tracie and I are headed to Germany for our second visit! Why? To visit Tracie's cousin Casey, her husband Rick (who's in the Air Force) and their three kids. We went last year and had a great time, so we're going back. Also, we've really missed them since they've been stationed overseas.
The big difference with our trip this year is that I work for an airline and we'll be traveling using employee flight benefits. That means that it's really cheap for us to fly, but we have to travel standby; this is known as non-revenue travel, or non-rev. Last year, we didn't have those benefits, so we paid a bunch of money for the privilege of being crammed into little seats on a plane for many hours.
Flying standby means that taking the most direct route is often not the best idea. Instead of just going from Phoenix to Frankfurt via Philadelphia, our journey is going to span two days and involved an overnight stay in Boston before going to Philly and then Frankfurt. At least, that's the plan. If flights get full, we may change our plans again! You have to be flexible and often quite patient when you non-rev.
While we're in Germany, we'll probably spend most of our time with the family at their house, but we're planning to take a few days for all of us to drive over to Paris. I've never been to Paris, so I'm happy to see anything there, but if I had to pick one landmark, it would have to be the Eiffel Tower.
We're nearly all packed, so it's time to finish last minute stuff. Look for pics and blog posts to come!
The big difference with our trip this year is that I work for an airline and we'll be traveling using employee flight benefits. That means that it's really cheap for us to fly, but we have to travel standby; this is known as non-revenue travel, or non-rev. Last year, we didn't have those benefits, so we paid a bunch of money for the privilege of being crammed into little seats on a plane for many hours.
Flying standby means that taking the most direct route is often not the best idea. Instead of just going from Phoenix to Frankfurt via Philadelphia, our journey is going to span two days and involved an overnight stay in Boston before going to Philly and then Frankfurt. At least, that's the plan. If flights get full, we may change our plans again! You have to be flexible and often quite patient when you non-rev.
While we're in Germany, we'll probably spend most of our time with the family at their house, but we're planning to take a few days for all of us to drive over to Paris. I've never been to Paris, so I'm happy to see anything there, but if I had to pick one landmark, it would have to be the Eiffel Tower.
We're nearly all packed, so it's time to finish last minute stuff. Look for pics and blog posts to come!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Orlando, Day 5: Amazing flight luck!
No, I'm not talking about landing in the Hudson ... we had some excellent luck getting on overbooked flights on our way home. While that's not quite as incredible as flight 1549, we were pretty happy to get home on overbooked flights we thought we'd never get on.
The non-stop flight from Orlando to Phoenix was way too full, so we decided to try going through Charlotte instead. The first flight we tried was overbooked too, but we took the long shot and actually got on! We stopped in Charlotte, had lunch and watched part of the inauguration, then tried another overbooked flight to Phoenix. Even though this one looked even more full, we managed to get on and get seats next to each other. Truly amazing!
Thanks to the Eggert family for a fantastic time!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Orlando: Magic Kingdom, Take 2
Since we found ourselves in Orlando for another day, Tracie convinced me that we should take advantage of the opportunity and go back to Disney World for another visit. So, back we went! The weather was warmer than it was on Friday, so we were able to leave our jackets behind.
We went on all of our favorites again...Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Haunted Mansion and three more rides on Pirates of the Caribbean. Splash Mountain was open again, so we did that twice and got thoroughly soaked each time!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Orlando, day 4: we're still here!
We were scheduled to leave Orlando on Monday morning. However, Monday was MLK Day and flights filled up. After looking at all possible flight options, we decided that there was very little chance we'd get home. So, we did what any sane people would do when stuck in Orlando for a day ... we extended our hotel room by another night and headed back to Disney World! That's right, we did it again.
Tracie was so excited about going back, she was actually giddy. "Giddy" isn't a word you acutally use often, but this was one time it definitely applied. We had a fabulous time once again, going on all of our favorite rides as much as possible. We went on Pirates of the Caribbean another three times, for a total of six rides in two visits to the park. We even headed over to Fantasyland for a ride on the most classic of Disney rides, It's A Small World. Surprisingly, the repetition of the song didn't annoy us as much as soothed us to sleep. I never realized how much a slow ride through there can knock you out.
We finished off our second Disney adventure with more pineapple soft serve in Adventureland. Seriously, that stuff is yummy!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Orlando, Day 3: Game Day
On Sunday, we all decided to take it easy in the morning, but get together in the afternoon at the Eggerts to watch the Cardinals take on the Eagles in the NFC Championship. Tracie and I spent part of the morning at a coffee shop we found in a nice little shopping district which wasn't all that far from our hotel. We did what we usually do when relaxing over coffee...we played cards. It was a nice morning, but the most interesting part of the day was yet to come.
Matthias had promised to make us his amazing grilled salmon, despite knowing that Tracie does not like fish at all. The salmon was marinated in a mixture consisting of, among other things, brown sugar and horseradish. It sounds crazy, but the salmon was absolutely amazing! Tracie actually liked it. Had the Cardinals not won the game, this would have been the most shocking part of the evening.
After dinner, we finished watching the football game. Despite the heart-stopping moments in the second half, we kept watching and were rewarded with the greatest Cardinals moment since they arrived in the Valley. Last year we had the Super Bowl, this year our team is IN the Super Bowl?! If you'd told this to anyone 10 years ago, they would have thought you were completely out of your mind.
After the game and more fun playing with baby S, we all decided it was time to call it an evening. Since we thought we were going to be flying home in the morning, we said our goodbyes to the Eggert family and headed back to the hotel. I checked on the flights and found that there was really no way we were going to get home. Since Monday was MLK Day, all of the flights were completely full and we figured that our chances of getting anywhere were slim. Fortunately, I'd already planned to take Tuesday off. Instead of giving up our hotel room and making a futile attempt to get home, we decided to just stay another day and treat ourselves to another day at the Magic Kingdom!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Orlando...Park Day
Like the title would imply, we visited parks today. We slept in a little this morning and on Niki's urging, we grabbed some breakfast before we headed out for "breakfast with them". I know, sounds a little odd, but trust me, it was a great choice.
We headed to De Leon Springs, which is a state park with a natural spring and a fantastic restaurant in an old sugar mill. The restaurant has do-it-yourself pancakes that you cook on griddles built into each table. It's like mixing The Melting Pot with breakfast in a rustic old building. This is a seriously happenin' park ... the wait for breakfast was 2+ hours! We had a good time enjoying the natural beauty of the area while killing time. We took a walk around a nature trail and watched baby S playing in the park.
The pancakes really were worth the wait! Each table gets two pitchers of pancake batter; one with white flour batter and one with a mix of 5 whole grains. You also can order any of several toppings to add to your pancakes ... we chose peanut butter and chocolate chips. After making several different combinations of batters and toppings, Tracie found her new favorite: peanut butter with honey instead of maple syrup!
After finishing a VERY filling breakfast, we headed to Blue Spring State Park, which has another natural spring and is the winter home of many manatees. If you've never seen a manatee, they're difficult to describe, but Floridians call them sea cows. They're quite large animals, but enjoy the shallow, warm water that flows out of the springs and into the St. Johns River. It's a great place for them to go to calve. Another thing that we found amazing was that the manatees stayed under water for 8 minutes, and then popped up for merely a split second for a breath...then it's down again.
After some fun observation and picture time, we headed back to our respective "homes" for a little rest. We met back at Casa de Eggert that evening for dinner. They have an absolutely beautiful home that, looks out on to a lake...for you Phoenicians, it's an honest-to-goodness lake, with water, and not man-made....I know, we were shocked too!
We had a great night...pizza, beer and lots of laughter!
Orlando Day 2
Niki and Matthias picked us up at 8 a.m. and we headed to breakfast at the "world famous" Panera. There was no way we could miss this grand opportunity, since everyone we know who lives anywhere near a Panera is completely enamored by its charms. Breakfast was great and we got to enjoy some time with baby S.
After dropping S off at school we headed to Walt Disney World...by far "the happiest place on earth"....this isn't just an advertising scheme people, it is physically IMPOSSIBLE to frown at this place, even if it's seriously cold!
We began our Disney adventure on Space Mountain. I was a little nervous, but the back made it through... hip Hip HOORAY!!!!!! We made it around the park and hit pretty much every ride we loved, including three runs on Pirates of the Caribbean...yup, it was a favorite for all. Splash Mountain was closed, but we were all so cold that we didn't really care. We also introduced the Eggert clan to the super-yummy pineapple whip that Matt and I never miss when at a Disney park. If you have never had it, it's in Adventureland and is the greatest treat...pineapple whip is one of those things that you can only get at Disney, so please give it a try if you have the opportunity....you owe it to yourself.
We stayed until after the fireworks...didn't watch them, but got in some great rides and dinner, hopped on the monorail and back to the car. We were all completely exhausted, but incredibly happy!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
On the Road Again
We headed out this morning in the hopes of getting on a flight sometime today to Orlando...as luck would have it, we got the only two available seats on the very first flight we tried...YIPPEE! It was really uneventful which was almost surprising given that we had the entire UA pomline on the flight...is it really possible to be THAT peppy all the time?
Anyway, we arrived in Orlando at about 4 p.m., picked up the rental car and headed out in search of food. We ended up at Denny's because it was close and we were starving ;)
The true adventures begin tomorrow...we're meeting Niki and Matthias bright and early and headed out for a day of fun at Walt Disney World.
Anyway, we arrived in Orlando at about 4 p.m., picked up the rental car and headed out in search of food. We ended up at Denny's because it was close and we were starving ;)
The true adventures begin tomorrow...we're meeting Niki and Matthias bright and early and headed out for a day of fun at Walt Disney World.
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