It's raining, it's pouring. April showers bring May flowers. (But what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims.) Anyway, it's just a rainy day. Actually slept in today, my body usually wakes right up in the morning but didn't wake up until 10 a.m. Sleep is very restorative! Must be that there's nothing BIG upcoming on the calendar that I need to be planning for. I have my Friday caching all planned out, I'm taking a friend for her first caching experience (ok her second but I took her a year and a half ago for the first so it's like starting out again.) Looking forward to it, hoping the rain stops by then.
Lots of worry about this new flu strain going around. Mostly in Mexico but in the U.S. and other countries as well. Hope my mom and aunt get home ok. They are almost to Paris and the end of their trip. I'm looking forward to re-living Paris through their eyes and ears!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Back to Gilwell
Time once again for a trip back to Gilwell...the Wood Badge Breakfast was this morning. (Actually yesterday morning as it is now after midnight...time to get to bed!) I thought that, with volunteering Lowell to be the host site, that I would get to sleep in a bit longer...but nooo, still had to get up early!
Got to the church and got all my registration items set up. Then looked down and realized I'd forgotten to put on my beads, woggle, and necker. Now that doesn't seem all that important but it is to a Wood Badger. So, thankfully I was close enough to home and had enough time to go home and get them. Then back to the church and the camraderie started.
A good time was had by all. Geo, Sandy, and all the other Bear mascots all earned THEIR beads today and were presented with them by Sonia, our patrol leader. I was re-elected treasurer of the association. Actually unaminously - by default as nobody else volunteered for the job. At least I'm now term-limited, two years from now I can't run for re-election.
We ended, as usual, with 10 verses of "Back to Gilwell." I get to sing three verses - for Bobwhite, Bear, and Staffer. Always love singing that song, brings back so many good Wood Badge memories!
Had planned to possibly take some Bears out to play in the woods, caching-style, but it just didn't work out due to other commitments on their part and the rain that started about the time the breakfast ended. And I had cleaned the house for possible company, too....oh well.
Spent a quiet afternoon, some of it with Eric. We played a very competitive game of Monopoly. I won even though Eric had declared he was going to beat me. He forgot who taught him everything he knows about Monopoly!
Steve called tonight from Auburn, Indiana. Headed for home since he'd heard about the coming rain. It wasn't raining there and he wanted me to look at the radar to see if he could beat it home. He could not, we deduced, and I persuaded him to stay the night in Auburn. If he's gonna get wet anyway, better to get wet in the daylight than at night. So looks like he'll be home tomorrow instead of Tuesday. Seems like he's had a good time though.
Got to the church and got all my registration items set up. Then looked down and realized I'd forgotten to put on my beads, woggle, and necker. Now that doesn't seem all that important but it is to a Wood Badger. So, thankfully I was close enough to home and had enough time to go home and get them. Then back to the church and the camraderie started.
A good time was had by all. Geo, Sandy, and all the other Bear mascots all earned THEIR beads today and were presented with them by Sonia, our patrol leader. I was re-elected treasurer of the association. Actually unaminously - by default as nobody else volunteered for the job. At least I'm now term-limited, two years from now I can't run for re-election.
We ended, as usual, with 10 verses of "Back to Gilwell." I get to sing three verses - for Bobwhite, Bear, and Staffer. Always love singing that song, brings back so many good Wood Badge memories!
Had planned to possibly take some Bears out to play in the woods, caching-style, but it just didn't work out due to other commitments on their part and the rain that started about the time the breakfast ended. And I had cleaned the house for possible company, too....oh well.
Spent a quiet afternoon, some of it with Eric. We played a very competitive game of Monopoly. I won even though Eric had declared he was going to beat me. He forgot who taught him everything he knows about Monopoly!
Steve called tonight from Auburn, Indiana. Headed for home since he'd heard about the coming rain. It wasn't raining there and he wanted me to look at the radar to see if he could beat it home. He could not, we deduced, and I persuaded him to stay the night in Auburn. If he's gonna get wet anyway, better to get wet in the daylight than at night. So looks like he'll be home tomorrow instead of Tuesday. Seems like he's had a good time though.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
In the zone. The geocaching zone.
Yesterday I was in the zone. Geocaching that is. Knew the weather was going to be fine, I had the afternoon free since it was my half day of work, and Steve is out of town so I didn't have to worry about getting home to fix dinner. Go west, Mary. Go west. So towards the Lakeshore I went. Destination Pigeon Creek Park in Ottawa County, home to 10 caches.
Decided to make the most of my trip and pick up a few challenge caches that weren't too far away, and a few caches near those caches. First of the challenge caches was one called Century Challenge - Traditional. For those who have found at least a hundred caches total. I qualified fifteen times over... a challenge because it was hidden "somewhere" in this huge fallen tree. Finally found it. Went back to the car and there was a road commission crew taking out a stump not 10 feet from my car. Of all the places on a rural road to be working, they had to pick that spot at that time. No damage but I decided to get out of there before there was damage. So on to a few more caches (as well as a few before the century challenge) then to a challenge cache called Headstone Milestone. You needed to find 31 cemetery caches in order to qualify for this one, and create a bookmark list. I had met that requirement and created the list last fall and finally got to the cache today. Then on to the main objective, Pigeon Creek Park.
I looked over the possible routes and decided to hit the caches in roughly a clockwise direction. The first was an old cache, Pigeon View. Found a nice little salamander there, took its picture and let it go. On to Fishing's revenge, then had to do a little bushwhacking and hill climbing but made it to Pidge Overlook. Had to go just a bit downhill past the overlook to get to the cache. Had just sat down with the container when who should appear but my caching friend Macho Homemaker! Joe saw me coming from the opposite direction, heading to the same cache he was. We had a nice visit and traded some coordinates. He gave me coords to a puzzle cache in the park that I hadn't been planning to get because I hadn't solved the puzzle. We went off in different directions and I headed for the puzzle cache that he'd given me coords for.
Found that, then went on to "The Hills" which was tucked away in the far corner of the park. I had been debating whether or not to walk out that far, but since the puzzle cache was on the way, decided to go for it. After that, picked up two more caches, for a total of 7 in the park. Of the three left, one is high up in a tree. No way. Another is currently disabled because of a dove building its nest very close to it. The third is the bonus cache for the Pidge series which I can't get until I have all the codes by finding the other caches in the series. Actually Macho left me a note on my car with the other codes but since I didn't have a printout of the bonus cache, it didn't help. Gave me an excuse to come back someday though. Two and a half hours and two miles later, had made the complete circuit and back to the car.
Did three caches along the way home (a total of 19 for the day) and was home just before 7, in time to get to talk to Steve. He had a great day riding in the Smokies, and was in Knoxville, Tennessee for the night.
Decided to make the most of my trip and pick up a few challenge caches that weren't too far away, and a few caches near those caches. First of the challenge caches was one called Century Challenge - Traditional. For those who have found at least a hundred caches total. I qualified fifteen times over... a challenge because it was hidden "somewhere" in this huge fallen tree. Finally found it. Went back to the car and there was a road commission crew taking out a stump not 10 feet from my car. Of all the places on a rural road to be working, they had to pick that spot at that time. No damage but I decided to get out of there before there was damage. So on to a few more caches (as well as a few before the century challenge) then to a challenge cache called Headstone Milestone. You needed to find 31 cemetery caches in order to qualify for this one, and create a bookmark list. I had met that requirement and created the list last fall and finally got to the cache today. Then on to the main objective, Pigeon Creek Park.
I looked over the possible routes and decided to hit the caches in roughly a clockwise direction. The first was an old cache, Pigeon View. Found a nice little salamander there, took its picture and let it go. On to Fishing's revenge, then had to do a little bushwhacking and hill climbing but made it to Pidge Overlook. Had to go just a bit downhill past the overlook to get to the cache. Had just sat down with the container when who should appear but my caching friend Macho Homemaker! Joe saw me coming from the opposite direction, heading to the same cache he was. We had a nice visit and traded some coordinates. He gave me coords to a puzzle cache in the park that I hadn't been planning to get because I hadn't solved the puzzle. We went off in different directions and I headed for the puzzle cache that he'd given me coords for.
Found that, then went on to "The Hills" which was tucked away in the far corner of the park. I had been debating whether or not to walk out that far, but since the puzzle cache was on the way, decided to go for it. After that, picked up two more caches, for a total of 7 in the park. Of the three left, one is high up in a tree. No way. Another is currently disabled because of a dove building its nest very close to it. The third is the bonus cache for the Pidge series which I can't get until I have all the codes by finding the other caches in the series. Actually Macho left me a note on my car with the other codes but since I didn't have a printout of the bonus cache, it didn't help. Gave me an excuse to come back someday though. Two and a half hours and two miles later, had made the complete circuit and back to the car.
Did three caches along the way home (a total of 19 for the day) and was home just before 7, in time to get to talk to Steve. He had a great day riding in the Smokies, and was in Knoxville, Tennessee for the night.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
An exercise in frustration
Steve left me today. Ok, only for a week. He's taking a well-deserved vacation from work, and took off today on the Gold Wing, headed south. It would have been nice to go with him, but I've pretty much used up MY vacation quota for a while!
Anyway, he has his cell phone and has promised to check in every night. So about 9:45 p.m. he called. I was online on dialup, so callwave picked up the message. Unfortunately, something is wrong with the sound card so I couldn't HEAR the message. I got offline and decided to go fire up the big laptop which also has callwave so I could hear the message. Before I went online I tried calling his cell phone back. Went to voice mail. (aka he turned off the cell phone to "preserve power.") And you guessed it, just as soon as I was back online he called back.
So I stayed offline for over a half hour. Tried to call him a few times but got voice mail every time. He never called back. Figured I was safe so went back online. Yep, not five minutes later he called back again. Got offline and yep, the phone was gone to voice mail. Waited a little bit, then tried again and, lo and behold it rang...finally connected over an hour after he first tried to call.
I hope that he will keep the phone on for 5-10 minutes after he tries this again (if he gets callwave that is.) After we talked that part of the problem through we had a good talk about how his day went. He is in Berea, Kentucky and headed for the Smokies. Hope he has a great time, he deserves it.
Anyway, he has his cell phone and has promised to check in every night. So about 9:45 p.m. he called. I was online on dialup, so callwave picked up the message. Unfortunately, something is wrong with the sound card so I couldn't HEAR the message. I got offline and decided to go fire up the big laptop which also has callwave so I could hear the message. Before I went online I tried calling his cell phone back. Went to voice mail. (aka he turned off the cell phone to "preserve power.") And you guessed it, just as soon as I was back online he called back.
So I stayed offline for over a half hour. Tried to call him a few times but got voice mail every time. He never called back. Figured I was safe so went back online. Yep, not five minutes later he called back again. Got offline and yep, the phone was gone to voice mail. Waited a little bit, then tried again and, lo and behold it rang...finally connected over an hour after he first tried to call.
I hope that he will keep the phone on for 5-10 minutes after he tries this again (if he gets callwave that is.) After we talked that part of the problem through we had a good talk about how his day went. He is in Berea, Kentucky and headed for the Smokies. Hope he has a great time, he deserves it.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Outdoor Leader Training
Outdoor leader training (boy scouts) was last weekend, and as usual it was a great time!
Started up to Camp Gerber on Friday afternoon. Did some caching along the way (of course) and found five caches though I wish it would have been more. Arrived at Gerber about 3 p.m. First place I went was the dining hall area. Much of the wreckage has been cleared though there is insulation everywhere in the immediate area. I knew it was gone but it was still weird to see it with my own eyes.
Then to Chaffee bunkhouse to unload non-perishables and my own gear. When Ted arrived, we did some last minute details, then went to the pavilion and checked in participants as they arrived. Friday night we had flags at Evans dining hall (the cub side) then our evening session at Earle Johnson Lodge, also on the cub side. Very cozy but it was the best we could do. One less big building sure did make a difference!
Saturday morning it was very cool but we still got started with breakfast with the patrols, then morning flags and a group session on site selection. After, we went into our full round robin rotation schedule. Sessions were on plant and animal ID (including a hike around camp); knots & lashings; woods tools with Webelos breakout; map & compass; leave no trace; stoves & fires. Time out for lunch and then back into the rotation. At the end of the day, all patrols came together for a dutch oven (and other cooking methods) feast that they prepared. Yummy!
After the feast we had closing flags then a campfire. During the campfire, I was called up in front of everyone and chided for being out of uniform. Clueless I was as I thought I was in full uniform. Then one of my good scouting mentors, Bob (who had been my troop guide when I took Wood Badge back in 2002) walked in with a beautifully handcarved Bobwhite hiking stick. He has said for several years that he just couldn't get a bobwhite to look right so it was really a surprise to me! I am thankful for such good scouting friends as Bob!
Cracker barrel followed the campfire, then several of us walked down to the waterfront and hung out for a while. Quiet reflections on a beautiful day. And it was beautiful weather wise as well - got into the 70s.
Sunday morning was a different story weather wise. Colder and rainy. I ate breakfast with a different patrol. This patrol was mostly from the same troop, and had a communion service after breakfast. That was a first for me for this course. Flags after breakfast, then instruction and a scouts own service. Then we adjourned to Johnson Lodge again and had instruction on packing, hiking, and equipment. Highlights of this included the "Fitz & Jess" fashion show - Fitz was dressed correctly and Jess incorrectly for a variety of activities. Fitz kept telling Jess she was "gonna die" the way she was dressed. I think Fitz was gonna die for continuing to tell Jess that! (Just kidding.) Also was "treated" to the sight of Rich in a biohazard suit sharing techniques for cleanup.
Mike Sulgrove, our council exec, came and talked with the group about risk management and other camp/scouting issues. Great talk with lots of info. We moved it from Friday night and it really worked out much better on Sunday. After Mike's talk we adjourned for closing flags and training cards.
Ted and I had to go and inspect sites to release each patrol to go home, then we went back to Chaffee and wrapped things up with a staff meeting. Some changes for the next course - they all should be good ones.
Headed for home in a drizzle, but still stopped for two short caches. Looking for the second one, and Sonia pulls up next to my car and joins the search. She found it before I did. Then home to Steve and Eric. We went out to eat for Steve's birthday (it was Saturday, he was very understanding to not have me home on the actual day....thanks dear!) and then spent a quiet evening at home.
Started up to Camp Gerber on Friday afternoon. Did some caching along the way (of course) and found five caches though I wish it would have been more. Arrived at Gerber about 3 p.m. First place I went was the dining hall area. Much of the wreckage has been cleared though there is insulation everywhere in the immediate area. I knew it was gone but it was still weird to see it with my own eyes.
Then to Chaffee bunkhouse to unload non-perishables and my own gear. When Ted arrived, we did some last minute details, then went to the pavilion and checked in participants as they arrived. Friday night we had flags at Evans dining hall (the cub side) then our evening session at Earle Johnson Lodge, also on the cub side. Very cozy but it was the best we could do. One less big building sure did make a difference!
Saturday morning it was very cool but we still got started with breakfast with the patrols, then morning flags and a group session on site selection. After, we went into our full round robin rotation schedule. Sessions were on plant and animal ID (including a hike around camp); knots & lashings; woods tools with Webelos breakout; map & compass; leave no trace; stoves & fires. Time out for lunch and then back into the rotation. At the end of the day, all patrols came together for a dutch oven (and other cooking methods) feast that they prepared. Yummy!
After the feast we had closing flags then a campfire. During the campfire, I was called up in front of everyone and chided for being out of uniform. Clueless I was as I thought I was in full uniform. Then one of my good scouting mentors, Bob (who had been my troop guide when I took Wood Badge back in 2002) walked in with a beautifully handcarved Bobwhite hiking stick. He has said for several years that he just couldn't get a bobwhite to look right so it was really a surprise to me! I am thankful for such good scouting friends as Bob!
Cracker barrel followed the campfire, then several of us walked down to the waterfront and hung out for a while. Quiet reflections on a beautiful day. And it was beautiful weather wise as well - got into the 70s.
Sunday morning was a different story weather wise. Colder and rainy. I ate breakfast with a different patrol. This patrol was mostly from the same troop, and had a communion service after breakfast. That was a first for me for this course. Flags after breakfast, then instruction and a scouts own service. Then we adjourned to Johnson Lodge again and had instruction on packing, hiking, and equipment. Highlights of this included the "Fitz & Jess" fashion show - Fitz was dressed correctly and Jess incorrectly for a variety of activities. Fitz kept telling Jess she was "gonna die" the way she was dressed. I think Fitz was gonna die for continuing to tell Jess that! (Just kidding.) Also was "treated" to the sight of Rich in a biohazard suit sharing techniques for cleanup.
Mike Sulgrove, our council exec, came and talked with the group about risk management and other camp/scouting issues. Great talk with lots of info. We moved it from Friday night and it really worked out much better on Sunday. After Mike's talk we adjourned for closing flags and training cards.
Ted and I had to go and inspect sites to release each patrol to go home, then we went back to Chaffee and wrapped things up with a staff meeting. Some changes for the next course - they all should be good ones.
Headed for home in a drizzle, but still stopped for two short caches. Looking for the second one, and Sonia pulls up next to my car and joins the search. She found it before I did. Then home to Steve and Eric. We went out to eat for Steve's birthday (it was Saturday, he was very understanding to not have me home on the actual day....thanks dear!) and then spent a quiet evening at home.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter and taxes
It was a mostly glorious Easter yesterday. The only thing that would have made it better was to have had Steve celebrating it with me. His choice. Went to church for an Easter breakfast before services. Yummy! Then the service - one of those mornings when I was moved to tears at many points. Songs, readings, drama - all served to remind me that Jesus Christ had made the sacrifice of his own earthly life so that our sins might be forgiven. Our God is an Awesome God!
I returned from church and got to boiling. Eggs that is. Steve's dad requested "Eggs a la Goldenrod" for Easter dinner. This is basically hard boiled egg whites in a cream sauce, served over toast with the yolks sprinkled over the top. Steve's mom used to make it at Easter. As Steve's dad's appetite isn't what it used to be, it was just right and certainly a lot less work for me than a full Easter dinner! I gathered all my ingredients and, when Eric got home from his church, we went to dad's.
I brought him some Euros and pounds from my trip, as well as pictures to share. We had a good visit, highlighted by Scott's call to all of us wishing us a Happy Easter. He went skiing in Switzerland after I left, so it was nice to hear about his trip as well.
Home again for a quiet evening. The big task was to get the taxes done. Steve sat down with me so that "two heads" could possibly find any other ways to reduce our tax bill. Alas, none other than an IRA contribution - and even with the maximum contribution to my IRA, we would have still had a four figure tax bill. So opted not to make a contribution this year. We think our bill was so high because of Steve's overtime last year and my not having enough taken out of my paychecks. Needless to say, I'm filling out new tax forms at work today! Oh well, it's done now and electronically filed.
I returned from church and got to boiling. Eggs that is. Steve's dad requested "Eggs a la Goldenrod" for Easter dinner. This is basically hard boiled egg whites in a cream sauce, served over toast with the yolks sprinkled over the top. Steve's mom used to make it at Easter. As Steve's dad's appetite isn't what it used to be, it was just right and certainly a lot less work for me than a full Easter dinner! I gathered all my ingredients and, when Eric got home from his church, we went to dad's.
I brought him some Euros and pounds from my trip, as well as pictures to share. We had a good visit, highlighted by Scott's call to all of us wishing us a Happy Easter. He went skiing in Switzerland after I left, so it was nice to hear about his trip as well.
Home again for a quiet evening. The big task was to get the taxes done. Steve sat down with me so that "two heads" could possibly find any other ways to reduce our tax bill. Alas, none other than an IRA contribution - and even with the maximum contribution to my IRA, we would have still had a four figure tax bill. So opted not to make a contribution this year. We think our bill was so high because of Steve's overtime last year and my not having enough taken out of my paychecks. Needless to say, I'm filling out new tax forms at work today! Oh well, it's done now and electronically filed.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
A blessedly normal week...
It's been a blessedly normal week for the most part. The snow called for missed Grand Rapids - and now spring is back in the air which thrills me to no end!
Thursday night was roundtable. Carolyn and others did a great job taking over the cub RT so that I could go to the boy scout RT and present a session on geocaching. It went well, and had a nice turnout.
Friday was my typical half day at work. After work, I had a dental appointment (the regular twice a year one) then dropped off some library books, then ready for caching! Nice to get back to caching in my own area, fun though it was to cache in other countries. Since I was already on the SE side of town, I decided to go for two caches in Paris Park, at 60th & East Paris. I'm glad I decided to wear my boots as the first cache involved walking through some very muddy territory. The cache was high and dry, though, and I found it without too much trouble. Went for the second cache, about 3/10 of a mile away. As I walked towards it, there were wet areas to my left, and I could hear many frogs trilling, it was pretty neat. As I got closer I realized that the coords were leading me towards the wet areas. Got as close as I could to the wet area without going in, still about 50 feet off. Looked to my right and saw the cache. It was sitting atop a tree trunk which looked to be about 15 feet out into the wet area. You've gotta be kidding! was my comment-to-nobody. Decided to go around and closer to see what was what and found a log that -almost- reached the trunk. The water was maybe 2 inches high so I walked the log, waded through the water, and retrieved the cache. More of an adventure than I thought it would be!
Cache 3 was along a walking trail. Had quite a bit of trouble with it and almost gave up but finally spotted it. Cache 4 was along an electrical right-of-way next to a subdivision. Very easy find.
After this, it was about time to head for home. But one more stop - needed to do a little last-minute Easter shopping at Meijer. Lots of people had the same idea. Headed home after that for a quiet evening at home with Steve and Eric.
Today, Steve and I went to a Gold Wing Riders group meeting. First time I'd been to one since they are usually on Sunday mornings. This time it was moved to Saturday because of Easter. Too cold to ride (26 degrees this morning) so we took the car. Nice to talk with others but it's hard to tell how involved Steve wants to be so therefore how involved I can be. Rest of today has been spent catching up on regular tasks.
Tomorrow is Easter - Eric & I will go to church, then we are going over to Steve's dad's for a visit.
Thursday night was roundtable. Carolyn and others did a great job taking over the cub RT so that I could go to the boy scout RT and present a session on geocaching. It went well, and had a nice turnout.
Friday was my typical half day at work. After work, I had a dental appointment (the regular twice a year one) then dropped off some library books, then ready for caching! Nice to get back to caching in my own area, fun though it was to cache in other countries. Since I was already on the SE side of town, I decided to go for two caches in Paris Park, at 60th & East Paris. I'm glad I decided to wear my boots as the first cache involved walking through some very muddy territory. The cache was high and dry, though, and I found it without too much trouble. Went for the second cache, about 3/10 of a mile away. As I walked towards it, there were wet areas to my left, and I could hear many frogs trilling, it was pretty neat. As I got closer I realized that the coords were leading me towards the wet areas. Got as close as I could to the wet area without going in, still about 50 feet off. Looked to my right and saw the cache. It was sitting atop a tree trunk which looked to be about 15 feet out into the wet area. You've gotta be kidding! was my comment-to-nobody. Decided to go around and closer to see what was what and found a log that -almost- reached the trunk. The water was maybe 2 inches high so I walked the log, waded through the water, and retrieved the cache. More of an adventure than I thought it would be!
Cache 3 was along a walking trail. Had quite a bit of trouble with it and almost gave up but finally spotted it. Cache 4 was along an electrical right-of-way next to a subdivision. Very easy find.
After this, it was about time to head for home. But one more stop - needed to do a little last-minute Easter shopping at Meijer. Lots of people had the same idea. Headed home after that for a quiet evening at home with Steve and Eric.
Today, Steve and I went to a Gold Wing Riders group meeting. First time I'd been to one since they are usually on Sunday mornings. This time it was moved to Saturday because of Easter. Too cold to ride (26 degrees this morning) so we took the car. Nice to talk with others but it's hard to tell how involved Steve wants to be so therefore how involved I can be. Rest of today has been spent catching up on regular tasks.
Tomorrow is Easter - Eric & I will go to church, then we are going over to Steve's dad's for a visit.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Life is headed back towards normal...
Life is definitely headed back towards normal - if there is such a thing! Went back to work today. I had anticipated some changes in my future work schedule and did find out my hours will be cut in about half by June. Not the good way to start off after a vacation but what can you do?
It's spring break week around our area - so that means many of my weekly calendar-fillers are not going on this week. No scouts - no Awana. But it is roundtable week so I'm finishing up my prep for that. It won't be my usual Cub Scout prep, though - I am doing a session on Geocaching at the Boy Scout RT.
Also working on final plans for the spring outdoor leader training course coming up in a few weeks. Ted (my co-chair) and I talked tonight and things seem as well under control as they can be. We have some facility changes because of the dining hall collapse last winter but the details seem to be working out.
Jet lag is still there but not as bad as the last few days. Hope it's about finished!
Heard about an earthquake in Italy this morning - right in the general area where my mom and aunt are at... but they didn't feel anything as they were traveling TO Rome at the time. They're ok, nonetheless. Apparently I wasn't the only one to contact them, concerned, as they both sent out e-mails tonight assuring everyone that they are ok.
It's spring break week around our area - so that means many of my weekly calendar-fillers are not going on this week. No scouts - no Awana. But it is roundtable week so I'm finishing up my prep for that. It won't be my usual Cub Scout prep, though - I am doing a session on Geocaching at the Boy Scout RT.
Also working on final plans for the spring outdoor leader training course coming up in a few weeks. Ted (my co-chair) and I talked tonight and things seem as well under control as they can be. We have some facility changes because of the dining hall collapse last winter but the details seem to be working out.
Jet lag is still there but not as bad as the last few days. Hope it's about finished!
Heard about an earthquake in Italy this morning - right in the general area where my mom and aunt are at... but they didn't feel anything as they were traveling TO Rome at the time. They're ok, nonetheless. Apparently I wasn't the only one to contact them, concerned, as they both sent out e-mails tonight assuring everyone that they are ok.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Jet lag
Went out to the curbside pickup to wait for my ride home from the airport. An outback pulled right up in front of me. The right color for Eric's car. Glanced in the driver's seat, saw a tall man w/a mustache. Ok, jet lag is starting to set in already but I was sure it was Steve....opened the back door and started to put in my luggage while greeting Steve. The guy said, "sorry, I'm here to pick up someone else. Took a good look at that point and it was NOT Steve. Yep, that was embarrassing!
Eric came about 10 minutes later. He had to come from Alto to pick me up, Steve called him as "there weren't any other working cars." Eric wouldn't tell me what was going on with the Montana (I knew Steve was working on the TranSport.)
We got home and only one car. Steve starts in on this story about having been in a wreck, and the Montana was at the junkyard. The other guy wasn't insured so the insurance might never have been settled. Clue one - Michigan has no fault insurance, it shouldn't have mattered if the other guy didn't have any. Clue two - he had just the slightest hint of that funny look he gets when he's trying to pull one over. Clue three - he said all my stuff was still in it. Steve Cooper does not leave stuff in cars when he has to leave them somewhere. Some of this should have clicked. But as I said, jet lag had already set in.
To make a long story (and late April Fools joke) short, they had hidden the Montana around the back of the house and concocted the whole story. Cruel to do to someone as tired as I was, eh?
I still stayed up until about 11 p.m. home time. Then I woke up about 6 a.m. home time. I was ok most of the day, spent time unpacking, and sorting through things. Hit a wall about 4 p.m. where I just wanted to sleep but forced myself to stay awake. Going to bed after posting. Hope not to be so sleepy tomorrow.
We are supposed to get 2-4 inches of SNOW tomorrow night into Monday morning. What happened to Spring? I even have crocuses coming up here at home.
Eric came about 10 minutes later. He had to come from Alto to pick me up, Steve called him as "there weren't any other working cars." Eric wouldn't tell me what was going on with the Montana (I knew Steve was working on the TranSport.)
We got home and only one car. Steve starts in on this story about having been in a wreck, and the Montana was at the junkyard. The other guy wasn't insured so the insurance might never have been settled. Clue one - Michigan has no fault insurance, it shouldn't have mattered if the other guy didn't have any. Clue two - he had just the slightest hint of that funny look he gets when he's trying to pull one over. Clue three - he said all my stuff was still in it. Steve Cooper does not leave stuff in cars when he has to leave them somewhere. Some of this should have clicked. But as I said, jet lag had already set in.
To make a long story (and late April Fools joke) short, they had hidden the Montana around the back of the house and concocted the whole story. Cruel to do to someone as tired as I was, eh?
I still stayed up until about 11 p.m. home time. Then I woke up about 6 a.m. home time. I was ok most of the day, spent time unpacking, and sorting through things. Hit a wall about 4 p.m. where I just wanted to sleep but forced myself to stay awake. Going to bed after posting. Hope not to be so sleepy tomorrow.
We are supposed to get 2-4 inches of SNOW tomorrow night into Monday morning. What happened to Spring? I even have crocuses coming up here at home.
Friday, April 3, 2009
A WistfulReturn to Paris
Thursday, April 2, 2009
For the last time on the trip, I woke up in Germany in Scott’s dorm room this morning. I tried to get online with his internet without success, also tried to transfer some files he’d downloaded from the internet for me and that didn’t work well either. He woke up at 9 a.m., with our planned departure no later than 10 a.m. for Trier and the train station. We soon found out the file transfer would take longer than I’d thought, plus I needed to mail another package (my dirty clothes) and I started to get nervous about making the transfer in Lux. City. (Remember I’d been switched to a different train to Trier and it took longer.) I was scheduled for a less-than 20 minute transfer in Lux. City and was concerned about making it. I looked online (by this time I was able to) and found an earlier train from Trier. As I had an open ticket for that leg, Scott and I went ahead and left for Trier. He’s going to mail my flash drive and the clothes later today (hope he did!) One last thrill ride on the Autobahn.
I had tears as we parted. Hard to think of not seeing him again for who knows how long, and knowing he’s going down range (their term for deployment) in May makes it even harder. He just found out (while I was there) that deployment is a go again for the beginning of May. I hope he realizes just how much I love him and am proud of him. Thanks for putting up with your mom for a few days, Scott, and sharing some of your part of the world with me.
I had a nice train ride to Lux. City. This was a nicer coach, even had an electrical outlet, and not nearly as many stops as the other direction had. I am really glad that I took the earlier train, too, as I made the TGV to Paris easily and actually didn’t see the 12:45 train come in before we left at 1:02. The Lux City – Paris ticket was non-refundable and I’m not sure I could have taken a later train. All’s well that ends well in this case, though it cut out a little bit of my Scott time.
The TGV was a nice ride, too. Again, I had electricity so spent most of the trip working on picture editing. I only have (I think) one more day of my own pictures, then will look over Deb & Judy’s and start picking out the best ones of all.
I titled this blog “A wistful return to Paris” as that captured my frame of mind as we approached the Gare D’Est. I realized that I really couldn’t spend any extra time in the city other than just walking around as I had my suitcase, even though this would be my last night in Paris. I’d done quite a bit of walking so opted to go ahead up to the airport area.
I’m glad I did that. There was some issue with the original gate for the RER to the airport, and we were shuffled around. Took longer than it should have but we finally got up to the airport area. My one and only “thing to do” before hitting the hotel was to hit another “hotel,” the CDG Airport Travel Bug Hotel. Get off the metro, get on the CDG airport shuttle, get off at the first parking lot, then about .15 of a mile. Disappointed to only find one TB in the cache. I usually wouldn’t have taken the only TB in a TB hotel but I figured I’d dropped 17 TBs during the trip and only picked up one so far. Went back to the terminal and (after quite a while of trying to find the right pick up point and waiting once I did) picked up the shuttle to my hotel, the Formule One near the airport. For 35 euros, I get a double bed, a bunk bed above it, a TV in the corner, a sink in the other corner, and the toilet and shower are down the hall. Modern and nice & clean though. Went to dinner at the restaurant next door, then spent the evening watching French TV and editing pictures again. Going to get up bright and early and catch the shuttle back to the airport so as to leave plenty of time to get through security and check in (I’ve heard to allow 3 hours and my flight leaves at noon.)
I’ll be pretty jet-lagged on Saturday, most likely. I have a nine hour flight to Chicago, then a six hour layover, then the short flight to Grand Rapids. I get home about 10:30 p.m. My body clock will think it’s 4:30 a.m. though!
Some last thoughts:
Best: being with Scott
Best in London: Walking out of the underground station Sunday afternoon and seeing Big Ben for the first time.
Best in Paris: Walking out of the metro Wednesday evening and seeing the Arc de Triomphe, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Best in Germany (other than Scott): Burg Eltz Castle
Good local eating: Escargot; Confit de Canard; Lamb and Stilton Pie; Schnitzel
What I wish I’d have left home: the sleep sack (didn’t use it) and the noise cancelling headphones (I didn’t feel they helped that much.)
What worked well: my clothing choices. The hiking socks helped keep the feet comfy and I got good wear out of the shirts and pants (though they were definitely ready for a wash in Spangdahlem!) The vest was amazing as far as keeping the things I needed close at hand. It did get a bit heavy to wear sometimes, but I was never concerned about pickpockets since I could zip it up (or my jacket over it) in potentially risky situations such as the metro/underground which made the pockets unavailable.
What I was most surprised about: that so much of my French came back to me, after 30 years plus. I couldn’t follow or carry on a conversation, but managed to communicate when I needed to. Also, “Parlez-vous Anglais?” works pretty well. I had trouble transitioning to German from French, even tried to speak French in Germany more than once. That works in Luxembourg but not really in Germany. I always thought I remembered about the same amount of French and German but the trip clearly proved I know more French than German. I was also surprised at how quickly I mastered the underground and metro. I wish the buses in both cities would have been as easy to use (or at least have more details available about schedules.)
And…the final geocache count: 19. I am now at 1512 finds. Also moved 17 trackables plus 3 of my own that stayed with me. My Mama Bear trackable is now on to new adventures in Paris. I picked up two trackables along the way that are coming home with me. Not as many caches as I’d prepared for but considering I spent much of the trip with muggles, not bad.
My next blog probably won’t be until I am HOME. Actually this one may not get posted until then as well. Depends on high speed, of course. For those who’ve kept up with my travels, thanks!
Friday, April 3, 2009
I’m on the plane from Paris to Chicago and I have just a little bit of battery power left – I’ve gone over five hours! My pictures are (for the most part) edited and I’ve pulled out the best of them. When I’m on electricity in Chicago, I’m going to run slide show on those files and work on them.
Woke up earlier than I’d intended to this morning. The tour groups of young people staying on the same floor got an EARLY start so since I was awake I got packed and going. Got on the shuttle back to the airport at 7:15 a.m. Went straight to check in and through security, made it through in about 15 minutes total. The only downfall was that the good restaurants were BEFORE security, not after as most other airports I’ve been at. Ate breakfast at a self-serve place, then was glad after all that I’d already gone through security as the lines were getting really long. Killed time in the airport by watching a movie on my computer, then a bit of shopping and lots of people watching.
When we were allowed to check in, I thought we were going straight to the plane, but we ended up on a bus that took us out to the plane parked out on the tarmac. That was different. This is a bit smaller plane than the trip to London – no seatback TVs, and only 3 abreast in the middle instead of 5. We had a good lunch, and I’ve spent most of the time reading or working on the pictures. We have about 2 hours or so left as I’m writing this. If I have a place to send this in Chicago (which I doubt) I’ll send it but probably not until I’m home. I have a 6 hour layover – I could drive to Grand Rapids quicker!
I am posting from the Grand Rapids airport - caught an earlier flight. Logged on to use the free call to a landline that I remembered I had on Skype - and Judy skyped me. She called home for me and Steve is on his way....
Thursday, April 2, 2009
For the last time on the trip, I woke up in Germany in Scott’s dorm room this morning. I tried to get online with his internet without success, also tried to transfer some files he’d downloaded from the internet for me and that didn’t work well either. He woke up at 9 a.m., with our planned departure no later than 10 a.m. for Trier and the train station. We soon found out the file transfer would take longer than I’d thought, plus I needed to mail another package (my dirty clothes) and I started to get nervous about making the transfer in Lux. City. (Remember I’d been switched to a different train to Trier and it took longer.) I was scheduled for a less-than 20 minute transfer in Lux. City and was concerned about making it. I looked online (by this time I was able to) and found an earlier train from Trier. As I had an open ticket for that leg, Scott and I went ahead and left for Trier. He’s going to mail my flash drive and the clothes later today (hope he did!) One last thrill ride on the Autobahn.
I had tears as we parted. Hard to think of not seeing him again for who knows how long, and knowing he’s going down range (their term for deployment) in May makes it even harder. He just found out (while I was there) that deployment is a go again for the beginning of May. I hope he realizes just how much I love him and am proud of him. Thanks for putting up with your mom for a few days, Scott, and sharing some of your part of the world with me.
I had a nice train ride to Lux. City. This was a nicer coach, even had an electrical outlet, and not nearly as many stops as the other direction had. I am really glad that I took the earlier train, too, as I made the TGV to Paris easily and actually didn’t see the 12:45 train come in before we left at 1:02. The Lux City – Paris ticket was non-refundable and I’m not sure I could have taken a later train. All’s well that ends well in this case, though it cut out a little bit of my Scott time.
The TGV was a nice ride, too. Again, I had electricity so spent most of the trip working on picture editing. I only have (I think) one more day of my own pictures, then will look over Deb & Judy’s and start picking out the best ones of all.
I titled this blog “A wistful return to Paris” as that captured my frame of mind as we approached the Gare D’Est. I realized that I really couldn’t spend any extra time in the city other than just walking around as I had my suitcase, even though this would be my last night in Paris. I’d done quite a bit of walking so opted to go ahead up to the airport area.
I’m glad I did that. There was some issue with the original gate for the RER to the airport, and we were shuffled around. Took longer than it should have but we finally got up to the airport area. My one and only “thing to do” before hitting the hotel was to hit another “hotel,” the CDG Airport Travel Bug Hotel. Get off the metro, get on the CDG airport shuttle, get off at the first parking lot, then about .15 of a mile. Disappointed to only find one TB in the cache. I usually wouldn’t have taken the only TB in a TB hotel but I figured I’d dropped 17 TBs during the trip and only picked up one so far. Went back to the terminal and (after quite a while of trying to find the right pick up point and waiting once I did) picked up the shuttle to my hotel, the Formule One near the airport. For 35 euros, I get a double bed, a bunk bed above it, a TV in the corner, a sink in the other corner, and the toilet and shower are down the hall. Modern and nice & clean though. Went to dinner at the restaurant next door, then spent the evening watching French TV and editing pictures again. Going to get up bright and early and catch the shuttle back to the airport so as to leave plenty of time to get through security and check in (I’ve heard to allow 3 hours and my flight leaves at noon.)
I’ll be pretty jet-lagged on Saturday, most likely. I have a nine hour flight to Chicago, then a six hour layover, then the short flight to Grand Rapids. I get home about 10:30 p.m. My body clock will think it’s 4:30 a.m. though!
Some last thoughts:
Best: being with Scott
Best in London: Walking out of the underground station Sunday afternoon and seeing Big Ben for the first time.
Best in Paris: Walking out of the metro Wednesday evening and seeing the Arc de Triomphe, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Best in Germany (other than Scott): Burg Eltz Castle
Good local eating: Escargot; Confit de Canard; Lamb and Stilton Pie; Schnitzel
What I wish I’d have left home: the sleep sack (didn’t use it) and the noise cancelling headphones (I didn’t feel they helped that much.)
What worked well: my clothing choices. The hiking socks helped keep the feet comfy and I got good wear out of the shirts and pants (though they were definitely ready for a wash in Spangdahlem!) The vest was amazing as far as keeping the things I needed close at hand. It did get a bit heavy to wear sometimes, but I was never concerned about pickpockets since I could zip it up (or my jacket over it) in potentially risky situations such as the metro/underground which made the pockets unavailable.
What I was most surprised about: that so much of my French came back to me, after 30 years plus. I couldn’t follow or carry on a conversation, but managed to communicate when I needed to. Also, “Parlez-vous Anglais?” works pretty well. I had trouble transitioning to German from French, even tried to speak French in Germany more than once. That works in Luxembourg but not really in Germany. I always thought I remembered about the same amount of French and German but the trip clearly proved I know more French than German. I was also surprised at how quickly I mastered the underground and metro. I wish the buses in both cities would have been as easy to use (or at least have more details available about schedules.)
And…the final geocache count: 19. I am now at 1512 finds. Also moved 17 trackables plus 3 of my own that stayed with me. My Mama Bear trackable is now on to new adventures in Paris. I picked up two trackables along the way that are coming home with me. Not as many caches as I’d prepared for but considering I spent much of the trip with muggles, not bad.
My next blog probably won’t be until I am HOME. Actually this one may not get posted until then as well. Depends on high speed, of course. For those who’ve kept up with my travels, thanks!
Friday, April 3, 2009
I’m on the plane from Paris to Chicago and I have just a little bit of battery power left – I’ve gone over five hours! My pictures are (for the most part) edited and I’ve pulled out the best of them. When I’m on electricity in Chicago, I’m going to run slide show on those files and work on them.
Woke up earlier than I’d intended to this morning. The tour groups of young people staying on the same floor got an EARLY start so since I was awake I got packed and going. Got on the shuttle back to the airport at 7:15 a.m. Went straight to check in and through security, made it through in about 15 minutes total. The only downfall was that the good restaurants were BEFORE security, not after as most other airports I’ve been at. Ate breakfast at a self-serve place, then was glad after all that I’d already gone through security as the lines were getting really long. Killed time in the airport by watching a movie on my computer, then a bit of shopping and lots of people watching.
When we were allowed to check in, I thought we were going straight to the plane, but we ended up on a bus that took us out to the plane parked out on the tarmac. That was different. This is a bit smaller plane than the trip to London – no seatback TVs, and only 3 abreast in the middle instead of 5. We had a good lunch, and I’ve spent most of the time reading or working on the pictures. We have about 2 hours or so left as I’m writing this. If I have a place to send this in Chicago (which I doubt) I’ll send it but probably not until I’m home. I have a 6 hour layover – I could drive to Grand Rapids quicker!
I am posting from the Grand Rapids airport - caught an earlier flight. Logged on to use the free call to a landline that I remembered I had on Skype - and Judy skyped me. She called home for me and Steve is on his way....
Thursday, April 2, 2009
One last day in Germany
Yesterday was another great day spent with my son. We got going in the morning but ran some errands on the base first. Among our errands was a stop at the post office (package #1 home - mostly guidebooks and heavy stuff. Am sending a 2nd package home this morning after (trying) to get it all in my suitcase. Then we stopped at the gas station. Had a lot of trouble paying, seemed that someone else paid on our pump instead (no pay at the pump)so it wouldn't accept Scott's authorization card. Finally got it straightened out and we were on our way.
Our destination was Burg Eltz, an 800 year old castle set in a valley in the Mosel region. It has never been damaged or destroyed by warfare in all that time. Reached the area, parked, then had a bit of a hike downhill to the castle. We had to wait about a half hour for enough English speaking people so we could have a tour in English (they don't allow you to just wander around.) Mostly military from the area plus other families of military. Very neat to see. We ate lunch there (I had schnitzel) and did the requisite souvenir shopping, then we went on to find the nearby geocache. I decided to drop my remaining five travelers in the same cache as I wasn't sure how many more we would find. Good thing as we didn't find any others! One has already been picked up, I'm sure the other four will follow soon.
From the cache, we faced a steep uphill hike to get back to the car. There was a shuttle, 1,50 euros, but I didn't wanna be a wimp so we both made the hike. Then on towards Cochem and a view of the castle there as it was getting too late to tour it. From Cochem we drove along the Mosel, lots of vineyards along the way. We went to Bern Kastel, which was had a typically German square. We were in search of German chocolate for my many requests. Found some and it is coming home (that's what kicked my dirty clothes out of the suitcase and into a priority mail box...)
Then to Bitberg and the base annex there, Scott wanted to look for a shelf for his room. They were out of stock, unfortunately. We ate at a restaurant there, then headed back to Spangdahlem. We stopped along the way for two caching attempts, neither of which were successful. Getting too close to dark, I guess. Spent the evening on the internet and watching movies, then to bed (early for us) at midnight. This morning, Scott is still asleep and I'm catching up on what I forgot to do last night (namely write this blog.) My mom just tried to call me on Skype but since the room is still dark I didn't answer. Sorry, Mom!
The alarm is set for 9 a.m. and we'll get up and get going down to Trier for me to catch the train to Lux. City, then back to Paris. I'll be staying near the airport tonight and take off tomorrow morning for home. I'll hate to go but look forward to being home again.
There haven't been many pictures posted yet, I know. One of my plans for the train/motel tonight/plane/layover will be to edit pictures and pick out some of the best.
Our destination was Burg Eltz, an 800 year old castle set in a valley in the Mosel region. It has never been damaged or destroyed by warfare in all that time. Reached the area, parked, then had a bit of a hike downhill to the castle. We had to wait about a half hour for enough English speaking people so we could have a tour in English (they don't allow you to just wander around.) Mostly military from the area plus other families of military. Very neat to see. We ate lunch there (I had schnitzel) and did the requisite souvenir shopping, then we went on to find the nearby geocache. I decided to drop my remaining five travelers in the same cache as I wasn't sure how many more we would find. Good thing as we didn't find any others! One has already been picked up, I'm sure the other four will follow soon.
From the cache, we faced a steep uphill hike to get back to the car. There was a shuttle, 1,50 euros, but I didn't wanna be a wimp so we both made the hike. Then on towards Cochem and a view of the castle there as it was getting too late to tour it. From Cochem we drove along the Mosel, lots of vineyards along the way. We went to Bern Kastel, which was had a typically German square. We were in search of German chocolate for my many requests. Found some and it is coming home (that's what kicked my dirty clothes out of the suitcase and into a priority mail box...)
Then to Bitberg and the base annex there, Scott wanted to look for a shelf for his room. They were out of stock, unfortunately. We ate at a restaurant there, then headed back to Spangdahlem. We stopped along the way for two caching attempts, neither of which were successful. Getting too close to dark, I guess. Spent the evening on the internet and watching movies, then to bed (early for us) at midnight. This morning, Scott is still asleep and I'm catching up on what I forgot to do last night (namely write this blog.) My mom just tried to call me on Skype but since the room is still dark I didn't answer. Sorry, Mom!
The alarm is set for 9 a.m. and we'll get up and get going down to Trier for me to catch the train to Lux. City, then back to Paris. I'll be staying near the airport tonight and take off tomorrow morning for home. I'll hate to go but look forward to being home again.
There haven't been many pictures posted yet, I know. One of my plans for the train/motel tonight/plane/layover will be to edit pictures and pick out some of the best.
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