It was just not meant to be

Rather than travel to visit N & B on Christmas Day, we waited til Dec 27th (Thursday) for several reasons--Pike family gathering in Granbury on Saturday, going to movies w/ N on Fri and possibly picking up my new van which we ordered at Thanksgiving.

The trip began with our accidentally backing into a pipe barrier in the car we planned to "trade in" on the new car. Our trip was about 10 minutes old when this happened to the car that had been scrubbed and emptied and kept clean for days before the trip, so we could receive optimum trade in for it.

We phoned the dealership on the way to Arlington and were assured that the new van was on the truck that was last heard from delivering in Mesquite (not far from Arlington). It should be at the dealership on Friday, we were told.

We really wanted to see two movies that haven't come (and may not come) to Bwd SWEENY TODD, an "artsy" musical and JUNO. N's favorite theatre has both of these movies playing, so we plan to see S.T. first at 11:20 and then see Juno after. All the while we are monitoring my cell phone for messages from the dealership.

We get tickets and go into the theatre and watch 20 minutes of beginning stuff and 10 minutes of commercials. We sit and wait and we wait and we wait. A manager comes in and says because of a mechanical problem, the movie will not be shown at this time. He hands each person 2 free passes for later use and tells us we can go see any other movie in the place (there are more than 20 screens). Juno isn't showing right now, so we find something that is showing. Alvin and the Chipmunks We figure we can sit thru about an hour of Alvin and then leave to go see Juno. At the appropriate time, we slip out of Alvin to check out Juno. We are walking toward Juno's theatre and the same manager is coming out explaining to the patrons that they can go see any other movie. Technical difficulties are here too. We go back to Alvin and see the rest of it. It was cute, not as screechy and gaggy sweet as we thought it might be. When Alvin is over we leave the theatre complex and head to Red Robin for lunch. Pretty good fast food, very busy, but efficient. We finish w/ lunch in plenty of time to get into the complex to see the next showing of Sweeny Todd. As we enter, we show the ticket taker guy our free passes the manager gave us and he won't take them---says just go on in and save those for some other time. We find the theatre for Sweeney Todd. We sit thru the same 20 minutes of beginning stuff and 10 minutes of commercials and we sit and wait and wait and wait. Then a different manager comes in to say that they have techinical difficulties and this movie won't be showing on Friday at all. He also tells us that Juno is having the same problems. He suggests that we can get our money back. Some really nervey patrons ask the manager person if they can get their money back for their half eaten popcorn and he says YES. I think they would have done anything to keep folks from being angry. It was beginning to be funny. We saw Alvin, got 6 free passes between us and N got her money back for the tickets to get in. Not a bad investment of time, But we still have not seen Sweeney Todd and Juno IT WAS JUST NOT MEANT TO BE. (today at least)

We headed for N's house--- stopped by Sam's to get snacks for the Granbury family gathering--and then headed home. We called the car dealership to check on the car. No one has heard anything from the transport truck since yesterday. As far as they know, it is still in Mesquite (My guess is that the driver of the truck is from Mesquite and he is taking the weekend off and has parked the transport somewhere in Mesquite to complete his route either Monday or Wednesday--just my guess)
On Friday night we open Christmas gifts and N wins the creativity award for gifts when she presents her dad with " Nick's Cats--the calendar that should have been" Included are 12 pictures of Nick's beloved deceased cat Calvin, our current cat Kitty Hawk and N's cat Annie. Those in Bwd who are aware of the Bulletin's Pet Idol contest will understand the uniqueness of this gift. (In a nutshell- the newspaper held a fundraiser for the local animal shelter by publishing pictures of pets and allowing 25 cent votes to be donated to the shelter. The 12 pets with the most votes would be featured in a calendar---do I need to mention that Nick paid for a large number of votes, but did not win---) So now he has his very own NICK'S CATS calendar. A very clever gift. B and Nick also received remote control helicopters for "in the house" flying. Everyone needs a toy for Christmas. We had lots of dive bombing that evening.

We got up early Saturday morning, called the dealership. They say they'll call us back w/ information---which they eventually did about noon as we were heading into Granbury. Oh well, it was just not meant to be--this weekend.

Hope everyone out there had as exciting a week between Christmas and New Year's Day as we have had.
This extra time will enable Nick to replace the tail light on his little Mercury for trade in. And we will "take our time" getting back to Arlington to pick up the new van--if and when it ever gets there. No hurry- after all when we originally ordered it the day after Thanksgiving, we were told that it might take 3 months to be delivered. And this may be the truth. And who knows SWEENY TODD and JUNO just may be showing in Bwd next week. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Mission Accomplished- sort of

THE ROAD OUT OF ALPINE

Last night we ate at the "World Famous" Reata in Alpine. It is "related" to the restaurant of the same name in Fort Worth. The Alpine one began in 95, according to the menu and the Ft Worth Reata began in 99 by the same people. The menu is truly ecclectic. N had barbecued shrimp enchiladas (sounds gross to me, altho' he seemed to enjoy it) Quail was on the menu as well as pork chops in pear sauce, and the biscuits had pecan pieces in them. Several other unusual entrees were available. Steak was advertised as $2.10 per ounce with a minimum order of 18 oz (I am hoping this is a family meal) BUT THE SALAD HAD REAL ROMAINE LETTUCE--NO WEEDS. The tortilla soup was exceptional--almost as good as I make. Now I have never been to the Ft. Worth version, but N has and he says the Alpine one compares favorably and is less expensive. Must be the atmosphere. The Alpine one is in an old house that belonged to a Mrs. Sidenstricker.

After our really good meal, we felt the need to use the hot tub at the hotel. I understand liability issues in connection w/ public use hot tubs, but this was more of a tepid tub. When we use our home hot tub, we set the temperature about 102 and it is good for us. This one was probably set about 95. When Grandpa would join us in the hot tub, we had to keep the temp down some because people w/ heart problems should not stay in hot tubs over 99 degrees. I am sure that is a concern for a "public use" tub like this.

--------Wed morning's plan was to go to the tax office to pay taxes on the land we'd like to dispose of, take pictures of the land, go get some raisin bread at a main street bakery, get snacks at Alco and hit the road.

Taxes got paid
Pictures were taken

AVENUE J, JUST STOPS--SHOULD GO BY MY LOTS


NOT PRETTY- SOLID ROCK-- OUR LOTS GO TO THE TOP OF THE HILL

Bread wasn't ready, so we left without it,
Snacks were gathered and we left about 9:45

Very uneventful trip--- I finished Christmas cards- ready to mail. We listened to a story on tape named THE FIRST LAW--We shopped at the Sam's in San Angelo-- a few items turned into a basketful, nothing unusual there.
We got back to Brownwood at 3:30
Unloaded the car and settled in.
It's good to be home and we'll enjoy sleeping in our own beds.
See everyone on Thursday. E

"Frou-Frou" Salad

We've spent some of today driving around Alpine looking at things. The dress shop where my Mom worked as a fill-in saleslady and bookkeeper is now a Christian School. Several service station looking buildings are banks, flower shops and art galleries. And I counted at least 6 banks. Why does a town the size of Alpine need so many banks? Must be more money here now than there used to be. Visiting the Court house (where my Grand Dad used to have offices) was a sort of walk-thru activity. Most of the offices are in the "add-on" in the back. I mentioned that the post office is no longer the post office, it is now the tax office. For those Alpinians reading, the front part of the post office looks as it did when my Granny was postmistress. It was like walking back in time. But go around the corner and where all the boxes were is now a large office area where the workers have desks. No one seems to be able to find a deed to the property I am trying to sell. County Clerk's office says to go to the tax office to find what book it is recorded in and then bring that info back and they'll get the book for me. The tax office has no on-line records for the deed which we think was filed in the early 40's. So we go back to the County Clerk's office. As it turns out I have STILL to see a deed of any sort for the property. We drive to where we think the property is --we have a sort of 1940's plat that is hard to read and the roads marked on it begin, but stop before they get near our lots. Roads that are supposed to go beside it would have to go thru a house to get there. ANYWAY with the assistance of an old friend real estate broker, we sorta figured out where the land is. Not quite as vertical as I originally thought and facing a completely different direction. Bottom line is--- no road, no access, only 2 and a piece lots---no one wants to even try to sell it. Would cost more than it is worth.
We're regrouping to survey our options. Wonder if we could give it away? But even to do that we have to clear up the title, which is another story altogether.

Last night we ate at a familiar restaurant we had visited years before. I'm thinking it has changed hands. It looks the same but the food is different. The baked potato I had- tasted like it had been cooked 3 days ago. And the salad at this predominantly steak and barbecue place was what we, in our family, call "weed salad" or "Frou-frou" salad. Not a recognizable piece of lettuce in the bowl. A little disappointing.

Today at lunch we ate a a "cute" sandwich place and wouldn't you know it, The sandwiches had frou-frou salad on them.
They tasted really good- moist and filling, but no recognizable lettuce.

I'm beginning to think Alpine is being taken over by Frou-Frou salad. I'll know tonite when we eat our last Alpine meal out.

We're staying at a nice hotel/motel with an excellent hot breakfast available. This nice lady cooks eggs and bacon or sausage whatever you want and there are "cook-it-yourself" waffles IN THE SHAPE OF TEXAS. Now how cool is that?

More later--Maybe I should go for a swim. E

Isn't 80 mph enough?

It's December 17th and N and I are in Alpine, Texas. We're here to do some Real Estate business--more about that later. It's Monday and we began our day by delivering bikes, groceries and WalMart cards to our "secret Santa family" living near Bwd lake. After delivering and returning home to pack for the trip, we were on the road by 9:30. A second stop at sister-in-law's work to leave a bag of gifts for her sons and families. As N drove, I began addressing Christmas cards--might as well do something for the 6 hours the trip will probably take.

We stopped in Ballinger at an Allsups to get N some coffee and snacks. And we discovered a NEW (to us,) Dr. Pepper. Who out there has tried Chocolate Cherry Dr Pepper? It is definitely for those who have a thing for chocolate covered cherries which we see everywhere during the Christmas season. If you aren't a fan of choc. covered cherries, don't try one, you won't like it. Did I like it? Yes, as a special treat, but it is not an everyday thing.

Who out there has been thru Rowena?

Or seen cotton growing in December?

In San Angelo a crucial turn we needed to make to get onto the road we needed was just off the edge of our map. Do I need to say more? We got a scenic tour of part of San Angelo, trying to find our way back to the road to Mertzen. We did notice the cost of gas there was considerably less expensive there @ $2.779. Not cheap by any stretch, but better than where we actually filled up later @$3.059.

We saw lots of wind farms between Big Lake and McCamey--I am hoping there are some in Alpine, so someone will want my mountain lots. (But no such luck)

When we pulled onto the freeway ( I-10) we noticed that speed limits are 80 mph. Wouldn't you think that would be fast enough? We saw two different cars pulled over by highway patrol on this stretch of road--not knowing why, but guessing that it was for speeding. YIKES!

Fort Stockton's Burger King and gas stop had its own charm. Food was okay- gas expensive--but the entertainment was exceptional. As we were getting back to the car after noshing, we noticed a man in a "uniform" looking under our car. Then he went over and looked under another car. Finally someone on the other side of the other vehicle made noises and out ran a rooster. The uniform guy went off across the parking lot chasing the chicken. Not sure what was going on w/ the roundup, but we left it to him.

Alpine has changed- buildings I remember from when I was a kid ---and then back to work on my masters--- may still be there, but their function has changed, they have different names, have had face lifts (or need them). We drove by my folks house that was a medium sized white adobe one story and is now a large bright blue trimmed two story. My grandmother's house has a really pretty red metal roof now and a huge car/boat/r v shed beside it--but her tiny antique metal garage where she kept her old car was still there. We looked for specific places and found some of them. The post office is no longer the post office, but offices for some agency. We'll do more looking around tomorrow, we found the court house and that is our first stop for tomorrow.

I'm out of Jail

Christmas parties at the TYC (Texas Youth Commission) otherwise known in Brownwood as "the state school" are hosted by various churches. This was our first time to host a party. We received a list of rules and instructions beforehand. For example, we must cover all our tattoos and must not dress provacatively --especially no open toed shoes. We must not bring in any cell phones, or pagers or tobacco items or car keys.

We must not touch the inmates or ask them any personal questions.As one of the church folks who went along to serve, said---very much like a Jr. High dance--them on one side of the room and us on the other. Any refreshments we brought in must be in plastic containers--no canned drinks. Many, many more rules. And I am sure there is a very good reason for each and every rule.

Getting into the facility is a major project. Walk thru a gate-get "wanded" and leave your driver's license and keys there and walk to the appropriate dorm. I had permission to take my car in to haul the goodies. This was a special undertaking. Drive thru one gate, let someone look thru the car, drive thru another gate, give the guy my cell phone, which I had planned to leave in the car, but that was not allowed. Then I followed a guy in a golf cart to the appropriate dorm. We unloaded the stuff and I had to take my car back out the way I came in. Got the cell phone back , parked and then went thru the gate thing. I sorta expected the guards to be gruff and hard nosed. But they were kind and very helpful. Chaplains were also helping the party hosts get in and out in an organized manner. I got a ride on one of the golf carts back to the dorm and when I got there the folks from our church had things all set up for serving.

We had 14 pizzas, potato chips, cookies, brownies, cake, choc candy and candy canes. We had several kinds of sodas. The girls (aged 13-18) came into the room where we were set up to serve them but only 2 at a time. They weren't allowed to touch the food--we served them. They could tell us what they wanted and we put it on their plate. We had lots and offered them seconds. They were only allowed to go back for more when all were ready for seconds. And again, only two at a time and we served. We played Christmas music, but they seemed oblivious to it. Didn't hum or move to the music or sing. That would be hard for me to do.

We were told originally that we could not leave any left overs there, but must take it all w/ us. Well, not completely true. The folks on the staff took a great deal of our left overs off our hands. We really didn't want to bring that much back w/ us, so we were thrilled they could use it. But the girls couldn't have any of it.

The girls seemed to truly appreciate the homemade cookies and goodies. Two of them thanked us after we offered a prayer for them. As we were packing up to leave, one of the staff told us that this was a "hard core" dorm--armed robbery, murder, etc.

My prayer for them is to believe that God loves them and is watching over them each and every day.

My sincerest appreciation to those who supported us by providing cookies, cakes and other goodies. And especially to those who helped out by attending the party. Thanks to James, Judy, Margaret, Don, Jameson and Samantha.


What a Christmas experience!

(Notes to myself- next year a serenade would be nice, fewer choices of goodies would streamline things some, no "punch" just sodas, manage keys better, perhaps ask for same dorm- more helpers would NOT be an asset- we were slightly crowded as it was)

Fried Everything on a Stick

It's been a really long weekend. I left Bwd on Thursday with a group of ladies to attend a church meeting in Floydada.





We talked in groups, answered questions and "envisioned". A very congenial group, we stayed in the same room with 9 beds. At the end of the meeting (Saturday noon) I drove by myself to Arlington, Tx .

I rode through several little towns with only a gas station/store and a post office and some larger towns. It was all new territory for me. At one point, I was stopped on the road by a police car which was assisting a man on a 4-wheeler to round-up a bull that had escaped from the fence. It was interesting to watch these two "cowboys" on wheels convince the large animal to go back into the fence. Only once was I uneasy during this exhibition, when the bull headed straight for my van. The 4-wheeler guy headed him off, much to my relief. About 5 minutes later, I was cleared to go on my way. I'm sorry that I didn't whip out my Kodak and record the rodeo. Six hours or so later, I got to Arlington and had supper with N and B. It was a dish he had made up and it was delicious.



N. and I decided to go to the State Fair early Sunday morning before attending our 1:30 pm performance of THE LION KING at Fair Park Theatre. The last time I attended the State Fair was in 1991 when the Katherine the Great exhibit was there. I was a little disappointed with that exhibit which, as I remember, was made up of replicas rather than the actual articles from Katherine the Great.
We saw the CardStacker,



who is a young man who stacks cards to look like skylines of cities. He uses thousands and thousands of cards




We saw ethnic dancers (Folklorico, Celtic, Balkan)



and heard the Marine Band.

We ate fried chocolate chip cookie dough (pretty gaggy), altho' we passed on fried PB &J ( peanut butter and jelly), fried cheesecake, and fried oreos. We visited exhibits of prize winning quilts, prize winning pickles (and all sorts of pickled and canned goods). We saw the end of the "Eagle Brand Milk Cook-Off" and received some recipes. We did see the butter sculpture of animals in a hot air balloon basket and we saw Elsie the Cow in the flesh, along w/ her baby Beauregard.

Who is the matador and who is the "bull"?

In one of the buildings, we talked to ladies who encouraged us to visit Alpine, Texas and Big Bend Natn'l Park. They were impressed that both N and I had been there more than the ladies themselves (they were from Ft. Stockton). They were confused about which one of their pictures was of Boquilla canyon. I helped them out.

Then we went to the play.






OH MY GOODNESS!! We were on the edge of our seats-A Visually amazing production-It was absolutely wonderful. The costumes and set were unique. I'd love to see it again, but when we checked for tickets for two weekends from now, none were available.

Monday morning we got up early to get N's driver's license renewed. DPS opens at 7:30 am and when we arrived at 7:45, the parking lot was FULL. N got in line and received #67--I wonder if they began w/ #1 - at 7:30. She was finished in an hour and 5 minutes. Then to Target and Sam's.

All in all a very full weekend with lots to feel, taste, see, smell, and experience.

Scotland and Ireland in April

Nick and I have signed up for the bank's latest offering --a 13 day excursion to Northern Ireland and Scotland leaving Brownwood March 29th, 08. Anyone out there who'd like to join us, let me know and I'll send you a brochure. I'm particularly looking forward to having a meal at Stirling Castle home of Mary Queen of Scots (I guess I didn't get enough of castles in Scandinavia) Other items of interest are St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin (not Texas), Loch Lomand, Edinburgh Castle (another of Mary Q of Scots' residences) and a visit to Bellerk Pottery-internationally known for its china. Even though Haggis is a native dish of Scotland, I hope no one offers me any to eat--it sounds really gross--something about sheep's stomachs. Since I'm completing reading a series of books dealing w/ the Celtic beginnings of English history, this trip should be fascinating. AND I WILL BE ABLE TO READ STREET SIGNS! That always makes me feel more comfortable. E

More entertainers

Brownwood group



Our morning meeting was informative, but not the most exciting time I've ever spent. A woman from McAllen Texas talked to us about how they have "sold out" their season for several years. She told us what they do and how they operate. With over a million people living in that area, they have a much wider base from which to draw.

Today we saw a handbell ensemble (like nothing you've seen in church), several singers of various types (one reminded me of Amy Underwood) Several string chamber trios /quartets. A classical violinist, and a piano/violin ensemble that did modern music.
I only fell asleep once. Needless to say, I won't recommend that "act" to our board. More than one group had trouble getting to the conference because of storms and crowded conditions. One group's flight from NYC was canceled and they drove 15 hrs to get here to perform for 15 minutes. I think they really wanted to be here to perform. The Live On Stage organization considered over 700 entertainment acts and chose 40 to preview for us. Of those 40, some could not be here, so we saw/heard about 23.




I left the morning's meeting early so I could experience "DEVINE" This is a performer here at the hotel who "becomes foliage" She is on stilts--the only way I know this is that she seems to be about 10 feet tall. She has extensions on her hands that are viney, she wears leaves and vines. Her make-up is green and she has leaves and vines all over her head. I know this sounds really strange, but I do have pictures which I'll insert HERE. She sort of becomes a part of the lush vegitation for awhile, then she moves on. Very interesting "show".






We had a "sit-down" dinner tonite and were pleased to be joined at our table by a Canadian sister singing act that we all really enjoyed. They have interesting touring stories to tell about northern Canada. They were honored to be invited to the preview showcase. Delightful young women--and very talented.


The Mantini Sisters



We're getting up really early in the morning--our flight is at 9:20. It had to be that early, so I could attend one of my Christmas gift shows--from the Dallas Summer Musical series. Nikki and I are seeing Sweet Charity tomorrow at 2. Nick'll probably take a nap.

It's been fun. E

Music and 3-D

Nick and I spent several hours on Thursday and Friday walking through the hotel/resort and marveling at the flowers and the decor. It is truly a unique place.









Friday's activities at the conference were enlightening. As "first timers" at this conference, we're kinda' figuring it out as we go along. As mentioned before, the purpose of this gathering is to preview acts for the "community concert" 08-09 season. Each act comes with a price either predicated on the number of performers or their "desirability". Brownwood's funding at this point is solely based on memberships and on grants from businesses and individuals, so we can't afford to have the 5 most expensive acts come to our town. We must recommend the best we can that can be paid for with what we have after we rent our facility (a new expense this year because the college auditorium is being renovated- it needs it, but that doesn't help our budget)
Anyway, we experienced pianists, country/bluegrass groups, gymnast/comedy group, Mediterranean music, a marimba artist and a Christmas show. That is one half of what we will see this weekend and of course, some of the groups could not be here for this preview. At the end of seeing all these talented folks, we-the group of 7- will take recommendations back to the entire board to decide on the artists for the 08-09 season (a daunting task)

After the afternoon's session was over Nick and I walked to the Mall (again) this time to do supper and go to the I-MAX theatre presentation of Harry Potter #5 WITH 30 MINUTES OF 3-D.
The first 3-D movie I remember, back before dirt, was Vincent Price in the House of Wax. OOOOhhhhh, it was cool. I'm sure I've experienced other versions, but they weren't very memorable.

THIS WAS! Voledmort almost in my lap, Harry and Dumbeldore's Army breaking thousands of prophecies in the Ministry. Glass was flying. Really well done and effective. Altho we had seen the "2-D" version of this movie, this one was BIG and in our face. A fun evening.

Olefactory Overload

Have you noticed that certain Malls have distinct smells? I remember a small mall in El Paso that had a wonderful chili and onion smell. Opry Mills across the street from our hotel/conference center smells like food. The first aroma that I noticed was wafting from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I went in, breathing deeply, to gather it all in---I may have gained a couple of pounds on smells alone. The lady behind the counter asked if she could help me and I told her I came in to smell--she said "Well, that's free". Shortly after overdosing on chocolate smells, we walked by the German Roasted Nuts kiosk---MMMMMM. My third smell adventure was in the Yankee Candle Company--although the food wasn't there, the smells were everywhere---vanilla, cherry, peach, chocolate, almond, etc. Again, the smells were wonderful. And at those establishments I didn't buy a thing.

I didn't come away from the Mall empty handed, tho'. I found a store w/ 80% off various items and I stocked up on stationary, shirts, do-dads.


I thought it might be fun to have a pic. w/ GWB

We found a "caps rack" that holds 36 caps which will free up a shelf in Nick's closet.

Nick really enjoyed the Bass Pro Shop---not as large as the one at Grapevine Mills, but large enough. Why anyone would need 3 and a half complete aisles of fishing hooks, is beyond me. And yes, I counted. And listened to a t.v. presentation explaining why we needed to buy a "parasite hook"---and no, they weren't trying to hook parasites.

Another of Nick's favorites was Workshop Tools--every imaginable tool a person would want, except what he was looking for. a diamond tipped carbide bit. They had one that was really big, but Nick wanted a small one. Lots of interesting junk in there along w/ the tools----like little clamps for twenty five cents each.


Nick's choice

Interestingly a person could go into one area of the mall to pet Sting rays. I wasn't sure that I wanted to pet one, so we skipped that. Directly beside the Sting Ray Reef, was a unique restaurant. The Aquarium Restaurant was built as if you were surrounded by an aquarium (Yep, B, you'd love this)


Nick has trouble not stopping at each of the kiosks with pushy salespeople and listening to their patter. He has less "mall-experience" than I have. He learned after awhile to be a little deaf when they try to lure you to their bargain.

This mall has all the expected shops and some that I am guessing are unique to Tennessee. The food court was ordinary with the exception of the working Carousel in the center.



All in all an interesting day filled with interesting sights and lovely smells. The conference begins tomorrow.

This is Memphis, I'm supposed to be in Nashville

A wonderful opportunity came up this summer, to be one of a group of folks from Brownwood to attend a conference in Nashville to help select the concerts for the Brownwood Area Live On Stage concert series for 08-09--community concert series. Not only do we get 2 and a half days of entertainment, but we get to stay in the Opryland Gaylord hotel. WOW! what a place.
The plane ride from DFW was fairly uneventful---Nikki got us to the airport w/ plenty of time, I read some in my new Harry Potter book, boarding was smooth w/ the "home printed" boarding passes. We were about 30 minutes away from landing when the pilot came on to tell us that there was some sort of "freak" storm over Nashville and we would just wait it out. A little while later, he said that the Nashville airport was closed for awhile and we were running out of fuel, so we'd head to Memphis. My knowledge of geography stinks, and I really have no concept if that is a long way or just a short distance--perhaps I should study up on where I'm heading before I get on a plane.
Anyway---we land in Memphis and the pilot tells us that we'll wait here til he is allowed to take us back to Nashville. And we wait and we wait and we wait (in the plane). Folks all around us are letting their friends and relatives know what is happening via cell phones. I read some more. About 2 hrs later, the pilot says that things are better at Nashville, and we have more fuel now, so we're going back. We were supposed to land at 10 minutes til 3 and we arrived just after 6. It is good that we were a day early and in no hurry.

The hotel/resort/convention is amazingly beautiful. It is very commericial -shops everywhere among the greenery and flowers--and COLD.



We finally ate supper about 7:30 at a lovely steak place which, as was expected, was VERY VERY EXPENSIVE. After that we walked around for about an hour and came back to the room. The hotel is so large that each section is designated with an area name--ours is Magnolia. So you can't find your room until you can find the area, then you find the correct elevator,and then the correct floor.




More later---today we're going to the Opryland Mall-- E

TROLLS

Nick and Troll



E and Troll



Two very jolly trolls

I found the following story in a pamphlet advertising hundreds of troll figurines and also advertising the Troll International Collectors' Club, and troll magazines, which are published in English, German, or Italian. Not in Norwegan, altho' their mailing address is in Norway. The listed date of origin of this company is 1868. So, believe me when I say Trolls are big business in Scandinavia. (I brought Nikki one to stand by her computer and hold memos). Note that is was probably not written by a native English speaker.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Far to the North, where the winter storms from the Arctic Ocean lash the unsheltered coasts, lies a long and narrow country. In our time, the country is covered with snow and ice only during the winter, but long, long ago a heavy thousand year old glacier towered over the country. As the climate slowly changed and the glacier receded northwards, people who lived south of the glacier followed it. they took the country for their own and called it Norway. The people were called Norwegians. They saw that the country was very beautiful and thought that they were the first inhabitants, but it was not long, before they discovered that the country was already occupied by a lot of strange creatures who lived in the most peculiar places.

In the mountains, of which there were many, lived the trolls. The chief of them all was Dovregubben. Some of the trolls were extremely large, while others could be really small, and they were all very old. They were only to be seen at night , or at dusk, because such creatures, of course, did not tolerate the light of day. If they did not get into the mountains before the sun shone, they cracked or turned to stone. The trolls were like people, but had only four fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot. Otherwise they all had long noses (troll wives often used their noses to stir the cooking pot when they made soup or porridge), they were shaggy and rough-haired, and every one of them had a tail which resembled a cow’s rump.
Even though they were frightening, they were often good-natured and gullible, and sometimes smart farm boys could fool them. Among their many supernatural abilities was that they could re-shape themselves. Sometimes the troll girls became unbelievably beautiful young women. They were called wood nymphs, and they lured many a hunter and unsuspecting farmer’s son with them into the mountains. Therefore, it was better to try and see them from behind, because they could not hide the cow’s rump. Sometimes, too, the trolls spellbound and took beautiful alpine farm girls and dairymaids into the mountains and not many of them got out again.
The troll children, of course, got up to the most unbelievable tricks, and the troll husbands could get extremely angry. It was therefore best to keep in with the trolls and the subterranean people. One tried to avoid irritating them, because they could wreak revenge by bringing disease and death to the livestock. On the other hand, if one had a good relationship with them, the livestock could yield much milk and get fat and sleek. That was why a well filled bowl of porridge was put into the barn for them every Christmas Eve, and the porridge was always eaten up.
Then as now, some people say they can glimpse the trolls when walking in the forest and fields, so it is prudent to be extra careful when one walks in nature, especially when it starts to get dark. You never know what is out there or what you may meet. Remember that the trolls can see you.

Castles

castle

Summer Cottage

Elsinore

This is being posted in the internet section of the Copenhagen airport about 2:30 pm (about 7:30 Bwd time) It's not free but as we keep saying, "It's only money". I'll try to add pictures also--pictures are all castles w/ the last one being Elsinore, here goes------------

Castles

Did you know that Shakespear never saw Elsinore Castle? They think he heard about it from a group of actors who had been there and he thought, from how they described it, that it would make a good story. There was a real Hamlet who was Danish and the bare bones of the story was written by a Danish historian. Like many of his other plays, Shakespeare took a bare bones story and made a dramatic narrative of it.

We went in the courtyard of Elsinore (also known as Kronborg Castle--King’s crown castle) and got pictures, but didn’t go in. We did have lunch nearby.

We went into Frederiksborg Slot (Castle) All of their kings have either been named Frederick or Christian and this castle was used by some of the Frederiks. It was elegant and ornate and I can’t prove it cuz altho they let us take pictures, we were forbidden to use the flash. And your average castle is pretty dark. The pictures we took may not turn out very well. Outside shots will be fine. These folks were very paranoid that we might touch something and kept hovering around us. I guess we looked untrustworthy. They tried to take large purses away saying they would watch them, but our folks from Texas weren’t buying it.

The third castle was just a picture stop from down the street of the princess’s summer cottage---a HUGE cottage.

We drove along what our guide called the Danish Rivera.with $ 2-7 Million (dollar not Kroner) houses facing the sea.

We got back to the hotel about 3:30 and had some time to nap and get ready for our “Farewell Dinner” at Tivoli Garden. It is not a garden, but a really old amusement park. It was said that Walt Disney loved visiting Tivoli garden and designed Disneyland like it. We had an elegant dinner (unlike Disneyland) and then had an hour to look around. I could tell Nick was itching to try some of the games--mechanical games and baseball pitching kinds of games, but the language was a barrier. We couldn’t read any signs. We walked around and "people watched", listened to really good “American style” jazz and watched a mime show.
All in all a really good last day. We’re flying out Tuesday afternoon, so we still have some time tomorrow morning. Maybe a museum that is close. No more internet--we paid for 12 hrs and that is gone, so this’ll be posted when I get home sometime Wed. See ya then. E

Fish Market pictures

Too much shrimp--this is only one of many booths.

They are ready for everyone.

Fish Market entertainment--they were quite good.

It's as if the penguins were posing for me.

Lovely tulips outside the hotel in Bergen, Norway- I have a thing for close up flowers.

From Norway to Denmark

We flew today with all the accompanying airport hassles- checking baggage, passports, security checks, customs, etc . Some of our folks on the really SMALL plane were seated up front in "extra economy" class. We, peons, in the back were offered drinks to BUY --but nothing free, no, not even a cup of water or a pretzel. The folks in front were GIVEN sandwiches, drinks, hot towels, all the finer things for free. It was not a long flight.

Our hotel is a renovated grainery which from the outside looks a great deal like a gray stone prison. It is fine inside, but rather forboding outside.

We went on a quick bus tour of Copenhagen this aft. So much to see in such a small amount of time. We saw the royal yacht, the statue of "the little mermaid", lots and lots of statues and really large imposing buildings. We went into a church, which seemed really wrong. Folks should not be going into a church snapping pic tures while people are sitting in pews waiting for a worship service to begin. (about 5 or so in the aft--Pentecost Sunday) Several folks stayed and took pictures, I left- having taken only one picture discretely from the back.

X

Supper tonite was on the waterfront- Nick had a yen for pasta, so he had something w/ shrimp and I had meat lasagna. Then we had ice cream from a little shop. The man behind the counter wanted to talk Danish politics (in English) He told us he makes the best ice cream in Denmark (it was good) but people wouldn't buy from him because he was not Danish. Then they sent their children to buy ice cream because his was so good. He would have talked for an hour.

The previous customer in this hotel room had some time left on his internet purchase and we've been using it. It ran out just before I began this, so this is on our dime--uh-- Kroner.

Nick is going to download pictures from the last two days and then I will include some with this post. This may be the last one from Denmark--not sure, but I will finish it up after I get home. I have several things to talk about that I haven't mentioned. Like the fact that English is compulsory in Scandinavian schools- we're missing the boat here, folks.

So for now this is all. See ya' soon. E

Bergen Fish Market, etc

Knute Rockne is from Voss where our train left us .
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Well, Nick’s dream has come true. He has experienced the Bergen Fish Market. Every imaginable kind of local fish is available here. And he has tasted/sampled his way through most of it. Along w/ fish, other local oddities (meats) are available- vacucmn packed and ready to be thrown in the suitcase. We got a couple of things. Union Presbyterian choir (and JK, & MB) you have a taste treat in store--mystery meat.

It has been raining since we got out about 9:45, but thanks to the trusty raincoats, we’re dry if not warm. Nick has been checking the Bwd weather and you guys have received much more rain that we have here. At least in volume. Not sure how much you had or how long it rained, but if the radar is to be believed, you got lots.

I found a great bakery, so for an almost lunch snack, we had sweet rolls and coffee/hot choc. Yummmm! My sweet roll was frosted w/ caramel. I suppose today is a day for grazing w/ no specific meals.

We got out of the rain earlier by going into the Hanseatic Museum. All about German businessmen in the 1200-1500’s who ran the commerce coming in and going out of this harbor They had dorms for their employees (single men) and they must have been really short, cuz the beds we saw built into walls were my size. A regular sized man today would have had to curl up to sleep there. Interesting--- however only about half of the exhibits were translated into English. so I'm sure we missed out on lots of good info.

We’re considering going to the aquarium this aft, if we can figure out how to get there. Bus, boat, walk. It is supposed to be about a 20 min walk, and it's raining but.......

I looked at a lovely pewer goblet (I’m a sucker for stemware- just ask Nikki) but I couldn’t see paying $50 American for a cup. I’ve looked at sweaters, but I would probably wear it once every 3 years when it snows on Easter in Bwd. So, no sweaters. Just mystery meat.

Several buildings in Bergen have the name Rosenkrantz on them. Those of you who are Shakespeare fans--Remember Rosencrantz and Gildenstern, Hamlet’s “friends”. I’m guessing that is not an uncommon name here.

Nick is napping and I’m going to read. Talk to you later. (I’ve finished 5 books and have two more available w/ only 3 days to go)

About 2:30 we headed to the aquarium via ferry boat in the rain. I’ve seen better- it was interesting. On the way back at 4:30 we had the ferry to ourselves and we took pictures. Got some good ones--also some really good penguin pics from the aquarium. It’s as if they were posing for me. It was great weather for Penguins here, not like the poor critters we saw at the Ft Worth zoo who had to be in the air conditioning.. Cold and rainy is perfect for them.

Nick “saved” Barbara Denhart’s pictures when she got a “reformat” message on her card w/ all her pictures on it. He downloaded the photos from the card and saved them to a disk and then cleaned her card. Should work well now. Not sure why it did that.

We have an early morning tomorrow (Sunday)--bags out at 7 and onto the bus by 7:30 to drive to the airport to fly to Denmark. Our castle tour is Monday and I’m psyched.

I’m getting tired of drizzly rain and cold. But I suppose you Brownwood and Arlington folks are equally tired of rain.
See you soon E

Friday, May 25th-cruise and railroad

We had a "late" morning which means we didn't have to have our bags out really early. We were on the road by 10:30 this morning headed down the incredibly high mountain that our hotel was on. Our driver can do things with his bus that I wouldn't even consider w/ my van. He backs down steep roads, he turns around, completely, in front of a hotel in Stockholm,( a very narrow street), he is a "master". Some of these tunnels are narrow and he must stop and "pull over" to let something really big pass. Enough about Knut
Throughout Scandinavia in large chain and small family owned hotels, there has been one unusual consistency. NO TOP SHEETS on the beds. There is a down blanket/duvet thing, but no top sheet. Some have bedspreads and others do not and I'm wondering if this is for all rooms or for "tour groups". I may ask folks who have traveled more than I. Another interesting hotel difference is heated bathroom floors. I noticed from the beginning that the bathroom floors were higher than the rest of the room--would have broken a toe on one, if I'd taken my shoes off before entering. It has dawned on me this morning, 9 days into this trip that all the floors have been toasty.

Yesterday we did another Fjord cruise and the weather was better, but if you've seen 200 amazing waterfalls, you've seen enough. The boat was filled with other folks this time and the Orientals are really PUSHY.
After the cruise, we had an hour to eat or shop, we went to the grocery store and got bananas, coke zero, trail mix and shoestring potatoes. An interesting lunch. The railroad went up another mountain w/ more waterfalls and generally really pretty scenery. The train stopped at one point and there was music and two people ( there is discussion if they were male or female) came out way up on the hill and danced to music. They danced in an icy waterfall and Nick got pictures which I'm sure will be posted later. The Tour guide (Molly) says they do this about 6 times a day. Weird.

We met the bus after changing trains once and drove an hour and a half to Bergen. The bus driver, Knut, gave us a fairly thorough introduction to the downtown and wharf area of Bergen. Knut lives here and at one point took another road when he came up on serious Friday afternoon traffic.

Nick and I have the day to do whatever we want here, we opted OUT of the side trip to learn all about Edvard Grieg. Should be an interesting day of museums, looking around, shrimp sandwiches (Nick is excited about the wharf venders, me--not so much, altho I may try reindeer sausage) Today no one tells us where to be, when to be there, and breakfast is at the hotel from 7-11, so we have many options.

That's all I have to write this morning--it is Saturday 7:30 am

The German bunker at Stahlheim

plus a picture of my dad's butt. -Nikki

Waterfall















Brikstal Glacier, up close




















900 Year old Church

Glacier and Waterfalls

This is from Thursday night--We're in Berrgen and I'll write about today--later--it's 10:30 pm (3:30 pm Texas time)
I tried to upload 4 pictures and they turned into computer cuss words, so I'll send em to Nikki and she can add them for me (Thanks N or B).

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No internet tonite, so I’m writing in another place to be dumped into the blog or e-mail when we get to Bergen Friday night.
We experienced the Brikstel Glacier today, hiked up to it and stood in the rain to enjoy its beauty. Lots of pictures. After the hike, we could both tell that it’s been a week since we’ve been to the gym.

We drove past snow fields with accumulated depths of 4-8 feet in various places. No point taking pictures, it was all WHITE---ALL WHITE EVERYWHERE. Every now and then a rock was sticking up ab ove the snow.

When we finally arrived at our hotel (the primitive one- no outside phone, no t.v., of course, no internet) we heard its story. There has been a building of various uses for hundreds of years. This is a seriously remote place (mountain top- wait til you see the pictures) that was a “pony express stop” in early years and has had several incarnations, the darkest of which was during WWII. The Nazi High Command used this place it was a hotel by then as their headquarters for Norway. (We’ve heard lots about the differences the coming of the Nazis made to this country This was a reward R & R place for valued soldiers who were to be rewarded. There is still a German bunker on the grounds where they could watch for whoever was coming. We went down in it and it was not much to see. Anyway the current hotel was built in the 50’s and is nice, but not elegant.

Tomorrow we’ll take a railroad up a mountain and go on yet another Fjord cruise. Our bus ferried across a Fjord today to get to the hotel. Our destination for tomorrow is Bergen.

Lots of shopping opportunities today--folks from our group bought dishes, Santas at a Christmas shop, other Christmas items, shirts, books, and reindeer hides. We haven’t bought much yet, Except for rain jackets because my Mickey Mouse jacket was sopping wet from all the rain at the glacier and other places today. The rain jackets will be nice even in Brownwood--they do say NORWAY on them. I take that back, the first day we were in Stockholm, Nick’s old camera died, so he found a camera store and bought a new Kodak. It works great. That’s all for tonite--I’ll post this tomorrow with pictures. E

More Pictures