Holidays in Deutschland

It has been a rough three weeks, but in FOUR days I'm heading back to the US!  I can't wait to go home for Christmas to see my family and friends, especially the ones who are looking forward to seeing me; it's nice to have some people contact me and try to make plans for when I'll be around!

I've been extremely busy with basketball, grad school, and teaching.  I realize that I'm just as busy here in Germany as I was in the US.  Not much as changed except I can't communicate as well.  I'm still living in a hotel; it's a nice hotel, and they've put me up in one of their apartments, so I have a little kitchen and a couch.  It has decent internet, but I have to say, Germany's internet is not that great.  I don't know what we've done in the US, but we have the patent on quick internet and access to quick internet.  I thought my iPad would be able to get online some more places here, but unless I'm in a hotel or the library, there aren't a lot of place with Wifi here.  It's kind of interesting, but it makes me appreciate home.

[caption id="attachment_166" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nuremberg"][/caption]

Basketball is a bit disappointing.  We haven't won a game yet, and I just can't believe how little experience these kids have.  I thought it couldn't get worse after our first loss, but guess what?  I. was. wrong.  Way wrong.  It got way worse!  I just can't believe it.  I have no ballhandlers.  As soon as I find one, she will never come off the court!

[caption id="attachment_167" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Kathy, me and Sara with our Starbucks (the closest one to Schweinfurt)"][/caption]

I went with Jordan, Sara, and Kathy to the Nuremberg Christmas Market.  It's a nice town; I wish our post was there.  I had fun being in a city again.  Schweinfurt is pretty small.  The Christmas markets here are cool.  I'm a little uncomfortable with the one in Schweinfurt because sometimes I could see students walking around with bottles of gluhwein (hot, mulled wine) getting drunk.  I don't think that's cool, so I avoid ours as much as possible.

[caption id="attachment_173" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Kathy and I enjoying our gluhwein (I'm not really a fan!)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_172" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Kathy, Sara, and I at the Nuremberg castle"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_171" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Church at the market"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_170" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Entrance to the market"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_168" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The cathedral in Nuremberg"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_169" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Me and Jordan at the entrance to the Christmas market"][/caption]

Thanksgiving

I'm so excited that tomorrow is the last day of school for four glorious days.  Why?  Because I'm heading to Spain for the holiday AND for my birthday.  I hope it will be a good start to my next year of life...beginning in Espana!  Our German thanksgiving dinner was absolutely wonderful.

[caption id="attachment_162" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="German family plus some others!"][/caption]

My friend Kathy hosted, so it was the German family; Sara, Jordan, Zack, Laura, Amy, and Kathy, plus Hana (our culinary teacher) and Woody (her husband), and Kathy's German neighbors.  Food was wonderful, and the company was even better.  We had such a good time, eating and being merry.  All it missed was some football on the television in the background!  I love the holidays so much...I'm really looking forward to heading home for Christmas.

My basketball team is looking better.  I have a good core of girls, so I'm excited to have our first game next week.  I know North has started the Marist tourney and I was trying to find out how the varsity did, but I couldn't find it in any papers online.  I got teary-eyed when I saw the score finally, just because I miss those girls and the kids at North very much.  There are days I wish it weren't such a part of me, but it is, so I just have to deal with it.  I miss US basketball, and the ease of everything.  However, I realize that if I were in the US I wouldn't be going to Spain over Thanksgiving or to Chicago for two weeks, and STILL get to coach basketball.  This is a whole new world here, especially in the realm of high school sports.  My girls will be okay, but their skills are nowhere near where they should be.  They don't have all the basketball sense that I'd like, but I'm doing my best to give it to them.

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving on this side of the pond.

[caption id="attachment_161" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Zack showing Annalena (German neighbor) how to eat Cool Whip"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_160" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Me, Laura, Amy, and Kathy"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_159" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Mmmm...looks good!"][/caption]

Although Columbus may have "discovered" America, it is widely known that others before him had gotten there first.  However, I am grateful that he "discovered" America because it gave me a day off from school, and the opportunity to go, for the first time, into Poland!

Ah, Poland...the motherland.  Where the people look like me!  Haha...and eat Polish food! (Not all of which I like.)

The long weekend enabled me, Diane, Darlene, Linda, Laura, Zack, and Kathy to have the opportunity to go into Poland.  At first, I was hesitant because I knew we were heading to Auschwicz and since I'd already been to the Dachau concentration camp, I wasn't really keen on seeing another one.  But I caved because I really wanted to go to Poland and see what it was like, and Diane, Darlene, and Linda had all been there before, so it was good to go with people who knew what they were doing.

We drove, and left as soon as we could on Friday (it was an institute day) and stopped for the night in Bautzen, which is still in Germany.  Our experienced travelers had a whole plan so we could stay in Germany as long as possible and use our gas cards, our VAT forms, etc.  (These are all to help us save money!)  Bautzen was a beautiful medieval town; at least what we saw of it was.  It was dark when we arrived and it would be dark when we left, so we had to make do as much as possible.  We went to dinner at a cute place where everyone was dressed in medieval fare; long brown robes for the men and wench costumes for the women.  The food was amazing...it's a place where monks used to brew beer.  The rooms were very low and the archways were very tiny, but it had a certain charm to it.  After dinner, Diane and Linda went back to the hotel to head to bed, but Kathy, Zack, Laura, and I wanted to explore what we could of this town.  It was soooo adorable!  THIS was the kind of German town I thought I'd be moving to; alas, I'm in Schweinfurt!

The next morning we headed into Poland and to the town of Boleslewicz (I'm sure I've butchered that).  There, we were exposed to the world of Polish pottery...what a site.  It was beautiful and SPOILER ALERT, most people will be getting Polish pottery for Christmas!  :)  However, after about 5 stores, it wasn't so beautiful anymore.  The colors and patterns started running together, and it was getting a bit absurd.  Our experienced travelers were all about the pottery, so I bought my few things and then went along for the ride.  I didn't know that Poland wasn't yet on the Euro, and it's one of the few places where the dollar is strong, so everything was pretty cheap.  We went strong all day, then met up with a Polish friend, Barbara.  She was married to a military man, but he passed away, and now she lives in Lodz (I think...could be totally wrong on that.)  She joined our little group and it was fun hanging out with her.

[caption id="attachment_126" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Zack, Kathy, Pawel (works at the hotel), Darlene, Me, Diane"][/caption]

When we were finally done with Polish pottery, we went to the little B & B where we'd be staying for the next two nights.  It was called the Blue Beetroot, and it was adorable.  It's owned by a British couple; the wife has Polish/Lithuanian roots...she told us an amazing story of her family and how they left right before WW2 because they recognized the signs from WW1.  They headed to England and that was where they remained!  Crazy.  This hotel has a very high American tourist population...in fact, we met some other Americans traveling there who were also teachers from Germany.  It's a very small place over here!

Sunday, we went to Auschwicz.  It's totally different from Dachau, so I'm grateful I went.  It was a terrible time in history and it needs to be shown how bad it was.  I think a lot of us don't fully grasp the gruesomeness of the situation until you see the incinerators and witness how people were burned and killed just because of their background.  Tragic!  I'm posting some photos from there, and you'll see how people were treated as dogs instead of humans.  It should be a lesson to all of us.

Sunday night we went to dinner at a local Polish place.  I had pierogis...yum.  I learned I know a lot of Polish words on this trip!  Way more than German!  Thank you, St. Andrew!  I knew how to say hello, and thank you, and, of course, cheers!  And I could read a menu because of the Polish foods!  I felt all special.  More than I know in German.

Monday, before heading back to Schweinfurt, we went Polish pottery shopping AGAIN!  I am Polish pottery-ed out!  And the sad thing is, I bought gifts for everyone, and only one tiny little thing for myself!  Our ride back was great, and I am definitely lucky for the people I've met thus far on the trip...(No, Mom, I haven't met any eligible men...and Aunt Lu, definitely, no German men!)  Haha.

[caption id="attachment_122" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Leaving school for Poland!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_123" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rated R: In the ladies' bathroom!!!"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_124" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Bautzen, Germany"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_125" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The beginning of our Polish pottery excursion"][/caption]

























[caption id="attachment_128" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Look, it's everywhere!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_127" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Help! Too much pottery!"][/caption]























[caption id="attachment_129" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Headed to Auschwicz (this is it in Polish!)"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_130" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Entrance to Auschwicz: "Work will set you free""][/caption]

















[caption id="attachment_131" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Main street in Auschwicz 1. It's actually very pretty."][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_132" align="alignright" width="300" caption="People were sent from all over to Auschwicz."][/caption]

















[caption id="attachment_134" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="All the shoes taken from prisoners"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_135" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Where people had to sleep...usually four or five per level!"][/caption]

















[caption id="attachment_136" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Germans tried to destroy the ovens when they heard the Russians were coming"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_137" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Kathy, me, Laura, and Zack at our last Polish dinner."][/caption]

My first big trip out of Schweinfurt was yesterday to Oktoberfest in Munich. I didn't know much about it, except that it was a big beer party! I wasn't too far off. We boarded a train at 6:45 in the morning, and the train was packed already! It was about a 5 hour train ride to get to Munich; I had no idea it was that far away, but we had to change trains and make a lot of stops, so that makes sense. People were already drinking on the train at 7am! I can't drink beer that early! Some folks were also drinking wine! Crazy. Poor Sara got sick on the train; pretty sure it was motion sickness. She and Richard almost had to get off the train it was so bad, but that wouldn't really have been a solution because she would have had to get on another train to get back home.
We all made it to Munich, and the train was packed by the time we arrived. The station was crowded, too, and Kathy, Darlene, and I ended up leaving Sara and Richard at the station while we headed to the fest. There were a lot of people heading toward the fairgrounds. I learned that Oktoberfest is the equivalent of a state fair, just with a lot more beer. There were rides and games, and a lot of beer tents. I had a huge pretzel; after all, we're in Bavaria, so I wanted a Bavarian pretzel. It was delicious!

[caption id="attachment_91" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Me and my pretzel"][/caption]

My first big trip out of Schweinfurt was yesterday to Oktoberfest in Munich. I didn't know much about it, except that it was a big beer party! I wasn't too far off. We boarded a train at 6:45 in the morning, and the train was packed already! It was about a 5 hour train ride to get to Munich; I had no idea it was that far away, but we had to change trains and make a lot of stops, so that makes sense. People were already drinking on the train at 7am! I can't drink beer that early! Some folks were also drinking wine! Crazy. Poor Sara got sick on the train; pretty sure it was motion sickness. She and Richard almost had to get off the train it was so bad, but that wouldn't really have been a solution because she would have had to get on another train to get back home.
We all made it to Munich, and the train was packed by the time we arrived. The station was crowded, too, and Kathy, Darlene, and I ended up leaving Sara and Richard at the station while we headed to the fest. There were a lot of people heading toward the fairgrounds. I learned that Oktoberfest is the equivalent of a state fair, just with a lot more beer. There were rides and games, and a lot of beer tents. I had a huge pretzel; after all, we're in Bavaria, so I wanted a Bavarian pretzel. It was delicious!

[caption id="attachment_91" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Me and my pretzel"][/caption]

We walked around, looking at the various rides and booths, and then we headed to the area with the beer tents. Pauliner, Augustiner, Hofbrauhaus; they all had huge buildings, which were full! It was only noon. We even tried to get into the beer gardens which were associated with the different breweries, but every place was full. The reason they were all full was because you couldn't buy beer unless you were in a beer tent or garden and were seated! So all picnic tables were packed! They wouldn't sell beer to you if you were standing up. Crazy; I had no idea. We kept walking around, and saw where the parade they have every year was held, and we witnessed lots of guys were lederhosen, and lots of girls wearing drendls (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong!). Darlene got a bratwurst, and as we were walking by the Lowenbrau biergarten, we noticed that there was no line and we could walk in! I was so happy because I was going to be very angry if I made it to Oktoberfest, and did not get to have a liter of beer! But I got one!

[caption id="attachment_92" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Look at the size!"][/caption]

After attempting to get into the Lowenbrau house (we were unsuccessful) and watching some people just be total morons...shouting, chanting, pounding on tables...we finished our beers as best we could and headed out. One liter of beer can make you a little tipsy, so we headed to get some food in our bellies. There were bakeries and food vendors everywhere, so we stopped and got this apple jelly dumpling thing! OMG, it was delicious. It had this hot vanilla sauce on it, and boy, was it good! I think Darlene (she was our resident expert because she'd been to Oktoberfest for, like, 7 years running) said these are only available during Oktoberfest. The place we bought it from also had some kind of liquor called "Julia." I felt so special.

[caption id="attachment_93" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Named for me...it's sweet! :)"][/caption]

Once we'd had enough of Oktoberfest, we headed to the Marienplatz, which is the downtown area of Munich. It brought back memories of when I got separated from the teacher group there a few years ago, and thought they'd left me, so I'd resigned myself that I'd be spending the day alone in Munich because they'd ditched me. I even saw the place where I was reunited with Susie and Coultas, and it made me happy because they didn't actually ditch me. They just went ahead and I couldn't find them. I think that's one of the reasons I always want to know where we're going so if there is a separation I can still get there.

Anyway, we wandered over to see Hofbrauhaus because Kathy had never seen it, but it was just as packed as the Hofbrauhaus at Oktoberfest with a line outside and everything. We walked around a bit, but then headed to a little cafe to get some lunch/dinner, and I had this cucumber soup which was amazing! It wasn't cold outside, but if you weren't in the sun, there was a definite bite in the air. We ate outside, and I was reminded of how much I love a big city, with people bustling around all the time. I miss Chicago at times like this.

We walked back to the train station to catch our train, stopping, of course, for some gelato for the ride. We wanted to be there early to ensure we got seats and wouldn't have to stand for two and a half hours. We also wanted to see how Sara and Richard were doing. Fortunately, Sara was much better...she had gotten some motion sickness meds from a local store (probably stronger than the stuff she could get in the US) and it helped immensely. When our train arrived, we had to throw some elbows, but we all got seats. There was one stop where the German police cleared an entire car of people because there was a rowdy group from some soccer game, and they wanted them all in one place. All these drunk people got into the car, followed by about 10 cops who rode along with them!

We had the best ride back. I feel so fortunate to meet these people and have them in my life. It's so much fun meeting new people and we have a great group at the high school. I look forward to taking more trips with them. They're my German family!

I've spent the entirety of today working on grad school stuff!

Photos from Oktoberfest!

Lowenbrau beer garden

[caption id="attachment_97" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Crowded!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_95" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Traditionalists!"][/caption]

Oktoberfest 2011

My first big trip out of Schweinfurt was yesterday to Oktoberfest in Munich. I didn't know much about it, except that it was a big beer party! I wasn't too far off. We boarded a train at 6:45 in the morning, and the train was packed already! It was about a 5 hour train ride to get to Munich; I had no idea it was that far away, but we had to change trains and make a lot of stops, so that makes sense. People were already drinking on the train at 7am! I can't drink beer that early! Some folks were also drinking wine! Crazy. Poor Sara got sick on the train; pretty sure it was motion sickness. She and Richard almost had to get off the train it was so bad, but that wouldn't really have been a solution because she would have had to get on another train to get back home.
We all made it to Munich, and the train was packed by the time we arrived. The station was crowded, too, and Kathy, Darlene, and I ended up leaving Sara and Richard at the station while we headed to the fest. There were a lot of people heading toward the fairgrounds. I learned that Oktoberfest is the equivalent of a state fair, just with a lot more beer. There were rides and games, and a lot of beer tents. I had a huge pretzel; after all, we're in Bavaria, so I wanted a Bavarian pretzel. It was delicious!

We walked around, looking at the various rides and booths, and then we headed to the area with the beer tents. Pauliner, Augustiner, Hofbrauhaus; they all had huge buildings, which were full! It was only noon. We even tried to get into the beer gardens which were associated with the different breweries, but every place was full. The reason they were all full was because you couldn't buy beer unless you were in a beer tent or garden and were seated! So all picnic tables were packed! They wouldn't sell beer to you if you were standing up. Crazy; I had no idea. We kept walking around, and saw where the parade they have every year was held, and we witnessed lots of guys were lederhosen, and lots of girls wearing drendls (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong!). Darlene got a bratwurst, and as we were walking by the Lowenbrau biergarten, we noticed that there was no line and we could walk in! I was so happy because I was going to be very angry if I made it to Oktoberfest, and did not get to have a liter of beer! But I got one! Look at the size of that thing!
After attempting to get into the Lowenbrau house (we were unsuccessful) and watching some people just be total morons...shouting, chanting, pounding on tables...we finished our beers as best we could and headed out. One liter of beer can make you a little tipsy, so we headed to get some food in our bellies. There were bakeries and food vendors everywhere, so we stopped and got this apple jelly dumpling thing! OMG, it was delicious. It had this hot vanilla sauce on it, and boy, was it good! I think Darlene (she was our resident expert because she'd been to Oktoberfest for, like, 7 years running) said these are only available during Oktoberfest. The place we bought it from also had some kind of liquor called "Julia." I felt so special.

Once we'd had enough of Oktoberfest, we headed to the Marienplatz, which is the downtown area of Munich. It brought back memories of when I got separated from the teacher group there a few years ago, and thought they'd left me, so I'd resigned myself that I'd be spending the day alone in Munich because they'd ditched me. I even saw the place where I was reunited with Susie and Coultas, and it made me happy because they didn't actually ditch me. They just went ahead and I couldn't find them. I think that's one of the reasons I always want to know where we're going so if there is a separation I can still get there.

Anyway, we wandered over to see Hofbrauhaus because Kathy had never seen it, but it was just as packed as the Hofbrauhaus at Oktoberfest with a line outside and everything. We walked around a bit, but then headed to a little cafe to get some lunch/dinner, and I had this cucumber soup which was amazing! It wasn't cold outside, but if you weren't in the sun, there was a definite bite in the air. We ate outside, and I was reminded of how much I love a big city, with people bustling around all the time. I miss Chicago at times like this.

We walked back to the train station to catch our train, stopping, of course, for some gelato for the ride. We wanted to be there early to ensure we got seats and wouldn't have to stand for two and a half hours. We also wanted to see how Sara and Richard were doing. Fortunately, Sara was much better...she had gotten some motion sickness meds from a local store (probably stronger than the stuff she could get in the US) and it helped immensely. When our train arrived, we had to throw some elbows, but we all got seats. There was one stop where the German police cleared an entire car of people because there was a rowdy group from some soccer game, and they wanted them all in one place. All these drunk people got into the car, followed by about 10 cops who rode along with them!

We had the best ride back. I feel so fortunate to meet these people and have them in my life. It's so much fun meeting new people and we have a great group at the high school. I look forward to taking more trips with them. They're my German family!

It was a good start to the weekend because I found out I got paid for the first time!  It was the wrong amount, but at least I got some money.  One of my colleagues was moving into her place today, so last night a bunch of us had a last 'hurrah' at the Olive, a restaurant in town, to celebrate her leaving the hotel!  It was a great dinner to give Kathy a sending off.

[caption id="attachment_64" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Me, Kathy, Richard, Sarah, Zach, Larra, and Amy"][/caption]

We were discussing doing a "flash mob" dance for Homecoming in two weeks.  It'll be the first Razorback homecoming in history and we're all a part of it, so we want it to be good.

Today, Kathy, Amy and I went to the mall to try to get cell phones for Kathy and I.  It was a disappointing day because it turns out I can't get a phone unless I have a German bank account.  Actually, they'll accept a German routing number, so it looks as though I'm going to have to open an account here.  I was so mad because I was going to do that this morning, but my laundry took too long so I missed the bus to get there by the time the bank closed.  I guess I'll have to go this week.  I also found out for sure that using credit cards here is not going to work.  Amy tried to use her Visa to buy a GPS, but the guy at the store told her that we wouldn't be able to use those credit cards here.  That's why I want to open a German bank account and get one of those cards with the chip in them that they use in Europe.   If I don't, I'll be buying everything from Amazon and shipping it over.  I never carry cash.  It makes me too nervous.  I need to investigate it a bit.

The other thing that I've discovered is that I am probably going to have to get a car.  I am not excited about this, but I think it's going to have to happen.  The buses here do not run often enough to get me where I need to go in a timely manner.  If I get a place in town, which is what I'm hoping, I may have to suck it up and get a car.  Gas is not cheap over here.

It was disappointing because I really wanted to get a cell phone today and feel like I was starting to get a semblance of normal again.  I have a list of things that need to get done, so it's still a bit overwhelming.  But, again, it's nice because I'm not the only one feeling this way.

I found out yesterday that I'll be coaching basketball.  I'm so excited about it, but nervous at the same time.  It's going to be a great way to see the other bases in the area when we go to play them.

I'm going to need to rent out my place.  If anyone knows of any prospects for a great place in Bridgeport, let me know!

Well, grading calls!

Boston 4th of July Spectacular!

What a few days! Boston is THE place to spend the 4th of July!

Our journey began late Saturday night; for some reason, we decided that driving all night was a good thing. Our trip to Boston would take about 16 hours, and since Julie had never been there, we wanted to get there a little early to see things like Cheers, Fenway Park, etc. The hardest part of driving overnight is staying awake when you should be awake, and sleeping when you should sleep. My mom was wonderful enough to allow us to take her car, and her car is more high tech than mine. What does that mean? Basically, it means that her car tells you how many more miles you can go on the amount of gas that is left in the tank. Well, I'm famous for pushing a car to its limit, and this trip was unlike no other. Although I didn't run out of gas (the display said we could've gone 9 more miles), there was a scare since it was about 1:30 in the morning and when we pulled into the rest area, it looked like the gas station was closed!!! I was in a teeny bit of panic mode. Fortunately, it was open, and we were able to get gas, and continue the journey. Crisis averted.

Julie brought with her GPS, which was fondly nicknamed Lola, but Lola must have been confused as to where we were going because she sent us the wrong way for a bit. You know, my mom offered me a road map before we left, and me, in all my infinite wisdom, said we didn't need it. It's very strange; we have phones with GPS, an actual GPS thing, and all we wanted about halfway through the trip was an actual paper atlas, so we could check our progress! I'm sure my mom will never let me live that one down!

Fortunately we made it to Boston by about 2 in the afternoon! (By the way, the first rest stop on I90 in New York is the prettiest rest stop ever! However, I bow to my sister Mary and say she is correct that the cleanest and best rest areas are in Ohio.) Boston is such a great town, but it's confusing as hell to navigate in. Lola did earn some respect from us since she got us to the hotel relatively easily.

We headed to Cheers to eat...what better Boston haunt than Cheers. All of us were starving, and food of any kind was welcome. We walked by the Public Garden, and then went to get some things for the big day tomorrow. And of course, we had to walk around Fenway Park. All three of us are baseball fans, so something as iconic as Fenway had to be seen.

The next morning we woke up and headed over to the Esplanade to settle in for the day to see the BOSTON POPS 4TH OF JULY SPECTACULAR! Can you tell I was excited? I've watched the Pops' fourth of July show for as long as I can remember on the 4th of July, so to see it firsthand was so exciting. They're amazing. We were in line to get in, and what a line it was! Katie and I compared it to Wimbledon, but it was nowhere near as well run (sorry, Bostonians). We finally got it, but not after they searched everything we had, and when I say everything, I mean everything! They took EVERYTHING out of our cooler (which had ice and stuff in it) to check, and then we had to get rid of our aerosol sunscreen and bug spray! That was not on the list of forbidden objects on the website, but at that point it was of little consequence. We went and claimed our patch of the oval...it was much smaller than I had imagined, but people were crammed in already. Many had brought tents for the day, and if we had known we could have brought one, we probably would have to protect us from the sun. It was a hot day, but my excitement kept it from bothering me too badly.

Once we were settled, Julie and Katie went exploring. Many people dropped their blankets and chairs and then left until later that night. I guess we didn't realize you could do that, and I was too paranoid to leave our stuff just laying there while we walked around, so I stayed while they left. Words can't describe how I felt seeing all these people coming together to celebrate our great nation. It was as though we all had a common vision for the day...weird, but good-weird. The rest of the day was spent playing cards, reading, going to get lunch, and trying to stay cool. Throughout the day, they tested the cannons that would be used for the 1812 Overture, and that was pretty cool. We saw the National Guard from all posts of the military which was awesome. Once the sun went away, the evening was pleasant, and people were filling in the oval. There were people around us from all over; mostly New England.

When 8 o'clock finally arrived, we had been in the oval for about 12 hours! They began their broadcast in Boston and the Pops came out and starting performing. It was amazing. They'd play a couple of songs, then go to commercial for the broadcast; during this time, the Pops would play a song just for the crowd that was there. They played Sweet Caroline, ET, and some others. It was great being with all these people who were there for a common purpose of celebrating our great nation. We did a sing-a-long with all patriotic songs...it's funny how those are so engrained in you after all those years of singing them as a child. When was the last time I sang, "This land is your land?" So it was fantastic. Of course this was all a buildup to the 1812 Overture. I forgot how long the song actually is until you get to the part which is shown on TV in Chicago. It was overwhelming to be there, with the Pops playing and the cannons being shot in the background. Wow!!

After the overture, many people started to head to the banks of the Charles River to see the fireworks, but there was no way I was leaving until I heard "Stars and Stripes Forever." I think Katie said it best that we could see fireworks anywhere, but how often would we see the Pops? If I had my way, I'd be there every year, but I suppose that won't be able to happen. There was another sing-a-long, and then came the grand finale with Sousa. All in all, a great time to celebrate our great nation!

Boston here we come

Travel has been sparse over the last few months, but I plan to make it up this month. Sunday, I'm heading to Boston with Julie and Katie for an old fashioned road trip. The kind we used to take to South Dakota and Georgia! Headed to Boston to see the Pops spectacular! I can't wait.