Eastern European Vacation

June 28-July 8, 2009. Took a trip to Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Visted my friend Petr in Prague, went to Poland on the night train on my own and then onto another night train to Bratislava. It was an awesome trip and I was so happy to spend time with my friends. I flew into Prague on the afternoon of the 29th. Petr - who is from Prague but I met in Iraq - picked me up from the metro stop I took from the airport and then I freshened up at his place and then he got me on the night train to Krakow around 1030pm. I love the sleeper cars - as long as you have your own room, it is awesome. I can always sleep on the train. Petr was so great and talked the guy on the train into giving me my own room (there is a possibility to have three to a room total) and I arrived at Krakow around 0900. I missed my connection in Katowice and had to wait an hour for the next train, but that's the good thing about not being on a schedule.

In Krakow I found an apartment for around $80 a night - it was probably more than I should have paid, but it was right in the city center near the square and it wasn't a hostel or an american chain, so that was good. It was 5 flights up without a lift and I was really regretting my failed attempt at packing light, cuz my bag weighed about 45lbs. I explored the city on the first day and took in a performance in the cathedral of the Krakow Orchestra playing Valvaldi. The second day I took a tour of Auschwitz. I also boutght a book while I was there and became totally absorbed in the history of the Holocaust. It is just incredible. The last day in Poland I took a tour of the castle and a tour of the city. There are many churches there and a huge castle as Krakow was the first capitol city in Poland until it was moved to Warsaw. Another interesting thing was that the city tours are given in golf carts of all sizes - I thought it a great way to save emissions, they are much quieter and they don't take up as much room on the road. I loved Krakow a beautiful city, nice people and a great 3 day trip.

Next onto Bratislava on the sleeper car where again I got lucky and had no roommates. This train was much more modern, very clean and nice. I met two American couples on their way to Budapest, one from San Francisco and one from Cincinatti. Very nice!

I arrived very early into Bratislava and the plan was to stay with my friend Livia (who's wedding I was going to attend) and her family, but she did not recieve my text that I was coming in so early, so I splurged on an American hotel (Marriott $250) which I thought very overpriced. That evening about 8 girls met up for a little bachelorette party for Livia. It was a very nice evening out and fun to meet all her friends. The next morning we departed early for the Chataeu Bella - about 1.5hours drive from Bratislava in the city of Sturvo near the Hungary border. It was a beautful setting for a wedding and Livia made an exquisite bride. I helped out with some of the wedding preparations and at the end of the day it all worked out beautiful. Andrew (her husband) is Scottish and he and his family are extremely nice. He had many friends there from Scotland and Ireland AFter the wedding I planned on returning to Prague to spend time with my friend Petr, but it all went wrong when his schedule changed. Livia's parents are the most generous people I know and I was able to stay out at their country house near Bratislava. But Livia and Andrew were very late picking my up the following day, so I was unable to get to Prague until about 1030pm. I was planning on spending the day with Petr since his scheduled had changed, it was the only day we would have to hang out. It was very disappointing, but he still went out of his way to pick me up from the bus, give me a quick driving tour of Prague, take me to my hotel and then met me for lunch the next day. It was so great to spend time with him even if it was a short period as he is so thoughtful and fun to hang out with. I am continually blessed with amazing friends. My last night in Prague I went for dinner at a nearby restaurant and met a guy from DC. In Europe they often have you share tables and he was on his own and I was on my own, so it worked out that he spoke English and was traveling on his own as well. It really made the evening enjoyable and was a great way to end the trip.

Overall, an awesome vacation - great weather, amazing friends, beautiful landscapes, good food.

San Antonio

May 26-30, 2009 - Got to go to a work conference in San Antonio, TX. It is a beautiful city. I had been there one time before, but only for one night and I didn't really remember it. This time I was there for the week and got to stay right on the Riverwalk. Got to see the Alamo and eat a ton of YUMMY Mexican food. I would highly recommend a trip to San Antonio if you ever get the chance. Highlight of the trip though was when Tom Osborne spoke at our conference. I got to speak to him and get his autograph on the new book that he has out. What an amazing man!

St Louis

May 1-3, 2009. Went to St Louis to visit my good friends Rebecca and Tracy. It was Rebecca's birthday and she is also getting ready to move back to San Diego, so it was a great time to see her while she is still located 1/2 way across the country and not the whole way. We had a great time just hanging out. Went to dinner in St Louis at a blues place that was really good, got pedicures, watched their kids play soccer. It was a great weekend.

Rita's Visit

I haven't posted in a while and not sure anyone is reading, but I like reading the past entries, so I am going to make some notes about the past few months.

Starting with the visit my mom made to visit me April 7-17, 2009. We figured up that she has only visited me about 4-5 times in my adult life, Pax River (1986), Pensacola (1992), San Diego (1995) and England (1999) - and she has never been to my condo since I've moved to the area in 2005. So....it was so great to have her visit. She is having a hard time breathing from the COPD, so we got a scooter so she was able to get around and be a tourist if necessary. It came in very handy. We went on a tour of the Capitol and rode around a bit on the mall. We took a autotour of the monuments since she was here once before when she visited Pax River, and they still look the same. :-)

I introduced my mom to a few of my friends. We spent Easter with Jack and Jeanette - it was a very nice day. And we spent a night over at Noureddine and Catherines where my mom was very at home as she could smoke on the porch. I have great friends that's for sure. We also did a bit of clothes shopping at some different stores that they don't have in Nebraska and we saw a show at the Imrov.

We drove up to New York City for a couple days to see a Broadway show called The Jersey Boys about Franki Valli. It was an awesome show and our hotel was in a perfect location only a couple blocks away. The scooter worked out well as they had a lift to get in and out of the theater. It was raining when we came out of the theater, so we took a quick ride down to Time's Square. The next day we took a bus tour around the city and it was great to see all the sites. I love NYC, and I think mom had a great time too.

The visit was awesome and I was so happy to have my mom here. I hope she will come again soon to visit.

Happy New Year

New Year's Eve was a quiet one this year. Was in DC, returned from Nebr on the 29th of DC. Went to a movie with a friend and then to a bar and had drinks and then home to toast to the New Year on Time's Square. 2009 in going to be a year of changes, chances and challenges. Here we go!!!

Christmas

I returned from Morocco on the 16th of December and departed for Nebraska on the 18th. It was snowy and windy when I got there. I had a great time - the first time I was truely able to just relax since I've been back from Iraq. I spent time with my nieces and nephew and my brothers and of course my mom and her husband. My mom was recovering from back surgery and is doing well. My brothers had time off work, so it was nice to spend time with them and their families. I gave coin sorters to the boys and Mary Kay to the girls. We contributed to a beef for my mom and her husband and the kids got gift certificates and college contributions from me. A great Christmas!

Morocco

I left December 4th, 2008, to join my good friend Noureddine in Morocco to meet his family and spend time there. A great opportunity to be exposed to a different country from the perspective of the locals. I could not believe the hospitality - everyone was so nice. We had amazing food - they eat from the communal plate in the middle of the table and no silverware. We stayed at his mom's home in Rabat and traveled to many cities including Fez, Khenifra in the Atlas Mountains and Marrakech. Noureddine has three brothers and one sister, including a niece (4yrs) and a nephew (7mos). It was a bit cold, so I am planning on going back in the summer for a different experience. There is no central heat in any of the homes and it was very cold. Basically people just wear layers of clothes, coats and blankets. Anyone who knows me also knows that I am always cold, so you can imagine how difficult it was for me. I know in the summer Morocco will be even more beautiful. I am looking forward to returning in when it is warm and to spending time with Noureddine's brother Hamid. I returned back to DC on the 16th.