Saturday, May 31, 2014

GER Day 4

Today's trip included one more family member than usual, Dodo! We made the trek to Rothenburg ob der Tauber to see the Medieval Crime Museum.

It was really interesting, seeing the old methods of torture, and learning what were considered crimes.

The town was super cute, too.

I feel like I could've walked around that town for hours! But, we had only paid for three hours of parking, and Dodo was anxious to get back on the road. On the way, we stopped at Burger King, where I had an "X-tra Long Chili Cheese" burger. It was yummy! I hope they have them in the states when I get back!

Friday, May 30, 2014

GER Day 3

Today, we attempted to do two things, but only got around to one. After arriving in Passau, we learned that there was a festival in town, so parking was hard to find. Eventually, we found a place, and walked to the Glass Museum. I enjoyed the walk, there were so many beautiful things to see.

The Glass Museum itself was huge, and had many interesting and beautiful items on display.

On the way back to the car, we stopped at a little bakery on Ludwigstrasse and got a couple of sandwiches. Then, Mom wanted to get a frozen yogurt, which was delicious (it was mandarin orange flavored). It was late, so we decided to leave the visit to Walhalla for another day.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

GER Day 2

Today started out uneventful, with a breakfast of scrambled eggs and emergency trip, by Wanda and Dad, to Vilseck, to bring Clark his uniform jacket. We decided to go visit the Pilgrim's Church of the Holy Trinity near Waldsassen. Well, we never found it. Instead, we visited the Basilica in the town, which was beautiful. We ended up giving up the search for the Holy Trinity Church and heading home.

After a lunch of cheese and crackers and watching "Frozen," we took a walk to the local cemetery. It was very interesting to see how the graves are here. It looks like they are family graves, with several people buried in the same plot.

The rest of the time was spent watching "Monsters University," and deciding what to do tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

GER Day 1

Today was pretty uneventful. I spent the majority of it with Mom and Dad, since Clark had to work, Wanda had a doctor's appointment, and the kids were in school. After breakfast, we walked up the road to Dehner's (a gardening center) and Norma (a small grocery store).

Along the way, we popped into a bakery. I spent the rest of the day reading, crocheting, napping, and watching DVD's - "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Germany Travel Day

I left yesterday and arrived today for a two-week vacation in Germany. The flights went well and were on-time, so I didn't have to rush to get anywhere.

The Baltimore to Atlanta flight on Delta was pretty standard, but once in Atlanta, things got new. I departed from the F terminal (International), and changed carriers to KLM.

The trans-Atlantic flight was really impressive. There were monitors in the headrests of the seats in front of us, with individual remote controls at each seat. We had the choice of watching movies, television, children's programming, and even learning a language. I checked out the German numbers learning part, watched "Catching Fire" again, and spent the rest of the time checking out the flight information. I slept for three of the seven hours of the flight. What was also pretty impressive was the food.

For dinner there was a salad with cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes, feta cheese and kalamata olives, an entree with peppered beef and white rice, and a dessert of a carrot crumb cake. A roll with butter, cheese and crackers, as well as a bottle of water were also provided. Breakfast was a cheese omelette with hash browns and turkey sausage, fresh fruit, and yogurt, with a roll and water. Once in Amsterdam, I had to maneuver a whole new airport, and go through Customs.

Then it was on to Munich, where I slept the whole flight, so there's not much to report about that. I arrived safely, claimed my baggage, and found Dad right outside the baggage claim area. Clark joined us shortly afterwards, and we headed to Weiden. It was raining and there was construction, so the autobahn wasn't moving as quickly as I was expecting. I slept in the car part of the way, and when we arrived, Mom had dinner ready (pho). Aside from the inevitable disagreements, I'm excited about this trip!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Von Paris Graduation Party

Tonight, we had a pretty unique Pep Band gig. The son of a Von Paris (the official movers for the Baltimore Ravens) graduated from the Naval Academy, and we played at the graduation party. The Pep Band played some patriotic tunes for about 15 minutes, then we were allowed to enjoy some dinner.

The farm was gorgeous, and they were very gracious and generous hosts.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Lisdoonvarna Shawl

I finally finished this shawl, which I've been working on since March.

I found the pattern in Crochet! magazine, and I think I can honestly say that it is the largest project I've completed to date. I used the wrong weight of yarn (on purpose, because it's what I could find at Wal-Mart), so it's kind of heavy, so I don't think I'll be able to wear it in the spring or fall. Tom thinks it's beautiful, too.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Naming Rights Press Conference

There was a pep band gig today, where M&T Bank announced that they were extending their naming rights and partnership with the Baltimore Ravens up through 2027. You can learn more here. We played outside of the stadium while the press arrived, and then went inside and played the Fight Song before and after the press conference. In the picture, I'm in the front row, second from the left, right in front of the sousaphone player.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

The Year of Fog

Tonight, I finished reading "The Year of Fog," by Michelle Richmond.

It's taken a while, I've read a few other books and listened to a few audiobooks since I've started this one. It was quite sad. I really felt for the character, and am quite disappointed by the turn of events. But, human nature being what it is, it all makes sense.

Draft Day Party 2014

The first Pep Band gig of the season was tonight! We performed at the Ravens Draft Day Party. It was a big function at the stadium, complete with players, cheerleaders, Poe (the mascot), Rise and Conquer (the ravens) and us! We played for about an hour, and okay, it wasn't our very best performance, since our first trumpet usually plays trombone and our snare drum player usually plays quints and was sight-reading, but we did well enough.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Chelsi and Victor's Wedding

Chelsi and Victor, a couple who met, dated, and got engaged at the Tidewater, got married today.

After work that afternoon, I went to Mel's for the reception. It was in Mel's back yard, with Chy's dad and a friend playing music. It started to rain, so the reception moved inside the house, where we continued to eat, drink and dance the night away. I had a lot of fun dancing with the kids, and enjoyed myself way too much.