Long overdue December update

I had a TDY in December that I told NO ONE about.  Why?  It was to Virginia.  Initially I was planning on sneaking into the states to see the folks or spend time with family for Thanksgiving.  BUT I found out you can't take leave at the FRONT of a TDY - well, not unless you want to pay your OWN flight to the states... the government will gladly pay the price to take you from your vacation location to the TDY location.  That's great if you can afford the trip to the states.  SO, I went on my TDY on the 1st of December to Virginia.

So.  I was getting on the plane and who did I run into by a person we PCSd in with - I would have never recognized Craig - he has a full beard for the winter and for hunting.

It was nice to catch up with him.  I did find out he golfs, so I'll set Butch up with him to golf and we'll have to get together for dinners on occasions.  I have been a slacker person in inviting folks over for dinner and visiting.  This year I'll try to do better.  It won't be a resolution, it will simply be a goal.

So after a lovely 15 hours of flying and waiting in airports I finally arrived in Virginia... there was quite a bit of fog while we were landing which was fun to see in the night with the lights peeking out on occasions..

I forced myself to stay awake because I was getting in at 10pm and figured I would be better able to get onto the correct time zones.  I was right.. I passed out and was ready to jump right in on Monday - the issue?  I wasn't due to start my TDY until Tuesday, but I could seek out the building, get signed in and get ready to go first thing.
So - what did I do my whole TDY since there was no one there that was a) my age b) civilian rather than military?  I went shopping.  I went to thrift stores galore... I went to WalMart to load up on things I have simply failed to buy for whatever reason while in Germany.  I also went to Dollar Tree for things that I don't want to spend a bunch on but really DO need in my life on a pretty much daily basis.  I went to Target... and believe it or not I found NOTHING to buy.  seriously - found nothing.  I wanted to get some clothing, tall brown pants in particular, but I didn't find anything I wanted to buy.  Seriously made me sad.  I had hoped to find something... but then again my suitcase was full enough as it was, so, meh, could have been worse.  I got some necessities.  Good enough.

My TDY was through Friday.... Friday noon.  I managed to find a super cheap flight ($80 with luggage) to Utah on the 7th (Saturday night) so I took advantage of the extra time and set up a get together with Aunt Karen, Uncle Mike, Keith, his wife Eve and their two kids.  It was super nice to get to visit with them for a few hours.

I have chatted with Eve for quite a number of months so it was awesome to see her in person and get to chat with her and meet the girls.  Hopefully when we get back to Georgia we'll see them a bit more as they are moving to northern Atlanta in the spring.

So what else does one do when they are in the land of plenty?  Well, we try to find some good Mexican food because that is the ONE thing I really miss in Germany... and it was a huge fail!

BUT first Waffle House... 

Ihad to have at lease ONE breakfast from Waffle House.

Not going to tell you it was actually lunch!

 Yes, I was a happy girl and had no need for dinner that night for sure!!

On to Mexican food.  First experiment was after a failed attempt to get some pants in a nearby mall that had Lane Bryant and another big and tall place

 The green salsa was great.  The HOT was better and the chips were thin and delicious...

 The food didn't deserve to be called food!! I ordered a Chili Relleno and it was covered in nacho cheese... good lord!!  the meat was delicious the rest?  NOPE!!


Attempt number 2 was a different location after thrifting (and finding nothing that I would want to ship home)

 OK, started out good.. but what is that white stuff?  I had to ask... the waiter was so excited that it was white salsa and home made (said with glee) and it was HORRIBLE  What is White Salsa?

• 6 Cloves Garlic
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp Oregano, Dried
• 4 dashes Hot sauce
• 18 Pimento stuffed olives
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Garlic salt
• 1/2 tbsp Red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 cup Sour cream
• 30 oz Miracle whip jar
• 1 tbsp Olive juice from jar

OK, you lost me at the miracle whip... yes, its sweet and GROSS!!!  Trust me.

 At first glance this looks great... the chili rellenos were super tasty... but look at that rice:

 OMG that rice is stir fry rice without any seasoning... yep... it's white rice in a mexican restaurant!! 
The good news is that was the ONLY faiy they had on the meal itself. 

And I finished up with a very disappointing fried ice cream.  I don't know why I continue to order this only to be disappointed because it's stale tasting.

Happy Thanksgiving - German style

Colorful chips in tan and green. The dips are clockwise: guacamole, creamy chipotle dip, salsa, sour cream (but with one thing else in it, I think). Always tasty. But the difference between Germany and America is you pay for the chips. I’m OK with that.  And, last but not least a margarita!

Dinner was three street tacos for me. They were the chipotle pulled pork ones. They were tasty however they “soft fried” the corn shells and they became chewy. But the flavor made up for it 😁

Butch had the fajitas. He had shrimp, chicken, steak. It was quite good. I tried the meats. They’re always tender and tasty. It’s still funny that they give you pickled red cabbage (aka sauerkraut) for a topping as well as cucumbers long with the typical stuff. 

The only downside yo our trip in was that I wanted to take the train. Butch wanted to drive. I drove because he can’t see well in the dark anymore (getting old sucks). It was raining. There were huge traffic jams and we didn’t leave in enough time so he pushed back our reservation. We got there, found the parking I had chosen. I chose wrong. It closed early. Like 8:30. So we got there at 7:00. Dinner doesn’t go fast in Europe. BUT we made it back to the car in time to get the car. Sooooo next time we find a better parking that is open later. 

Rotterdam for Veterans Day weekend.

I got a wild hair a few weeks before Veterans day and thought "enough is enough, we have been in country for 10 months and we have NOT been to see Wendy and Qamar!"  So I sent a text and basically invited myself.  I DID say we would stay in a hotel, but they would have none of that :)  I did ask Butch if he would be comfortable with that idea and he was fine with it.  So we packed our bags and headed to Rotterdam for the weekend!!

I love that these are the people I can go stay with once every 10 years and it's like no time has passed between each visit.  We catch up and visit and have a good time.

 so Qamar said "I don't smile in pictures... am I smiling?"

 so we got the giggles... and I was taking pictures the whole time.

Here is a good diagram of what is on the inside of what they have going on...

 So there were to sets of stairs and two ladders to get to the windmill part where you could go to the place where you can walk around - not that it was open where we could GO outside, but we could look through the door... and take pictures out there...

 Here is the flyer they gave us to read about the mills:

Some interesting history, eh?

 Looking down from the top ladder.  I think this was the lesser of the evils as the other one was in the middle of the room with hand rails on both sides.  What is it about having a wall next to you - even if there is ZERO area to grip, that makes you feel better about an accent/decent?  I was laughed at as I went back down backwards.  Some would try to go down like stairs.  NOPE!  NOT me.  And now having enough control over my toes.  I swear I tripped over my own two fee way too much this trip.  I don't know if it's cold or just distractions, but I could NOT walk well!

 He makes it look so easy!!

Stock photo of the outside from the other side of the canal.  There are 5 total...

AND you can see all five in this shot - we're in number 1, then you can count them from the left going round towards the wheel.  You can see all five of them.  Only one is still milling grain in the local area.

It was a fun sightseeing day.  We also went to downtown Rotterdam to the local outdoor market and looked around as well as through the local shops there then out to an AWESOME Lebanese dinner.  I had been there in the past and it was just as good as I remember it!

Sunday we visited and went shopping for some local cheese to bring back.  I just loved the hand baskets because they had the option to roll as well - Wendy agreed to be my model to show how they work.  Why hasn't America caught onto these???

 Handy Dandy little carts to grab just a few things without having to lug them through the isles.

 While shopping I got a giggle out of the Anti-Snurk spray... hahahaha - I'm easily amused!!

And with that our fun weekend was over!  :(   Makes me sad and I hope it's not another 7 - 10 years until we see each other again.  We have talked about getting together for a shared vacation in Berlin - Here's hoping we carry through with that!

After our farewell, Butch and I jumped a train headed to the airport, put our luggage into storage then headed to Amsterdam to poke around...

 The train station is quite impressive!

 I took this picture for Wendy Brown as this is one of the places we went while we were there... I had an ashtray from here for AGES!!

 Butch checking out the red light district and yes, there were girls in those windows at all hours .. they were looking mighty bored by the way - same as they look at night - ha!

 Not sure what is up with that look on my face - maybe it's paralyzed from cold?  ha! Looking down the canals and fighting the cold wind!!

 Just a funny hat I saw on a mannequin.  I was laughing so hard and back tracked!!


And PANCAKES.

 NOT your momma's pancakes, although they DID have american style ones too - this is one of the dutch ones... the texture and taste was more of a potato pancake with cheese, bacon, leeks and mushrooms for me.  I don't remember what kind he had but he added the egg.

AND we stopped at a tulip place... LOVE the blubs and flowers on display.  YES, I bought some.  I got 10 bulbs.  One mixed and one pinks - all typical tulips with large bowls.  They are officially in the ground as of last night as well :)  Just in time for super cold rain today - burrrr.

while looking across the street I saw this window...

 can't see it?  Let me zoom in for you!

 I can see THAT being Elizabeths home with ALL the books crammed in there!!!!

 AND while innocently walking along I glance down in a shop window and see these two stuffed mice having a nice dance... I giggled, stopped and took a picture.  Butch still thinks I'm nuts, but they made me happy!


And this was my greatest disappointments.  I wanted Butch to see Anne Frank's house.  I had NO idea they had changed it so much and you can't get tickets there on sight any longer.  You have to get tickets on line months in advance.  So... that didn't happen BUT we did get to go into a cheese "museum" and a tulip place across the street so I wasn't super sad.

 which house is it that they hid out in?  It's the one with the black doors at the bottom.  The little arch your can see on the roof is the small "alcove" attic space that they had as well.  It's surprising that the attic wasn't hidden at all - the whole top floor was theirs... which is larger than what you would think it would be based on reading the books.  I'm sure after living in that situation with two families and a few extras that things would be more cramped and having to be quite all day, nerves on high alert.  It's also shocking that it is SO close to the train station - just a few blocks - easy walk - right smack in the middle of town.

 So, right there... and yet hidden from the world.

 Alien face on the bridge...not sure what he's supposed to be, but he's odd to say the least!

 The building to the right - the hotel - look closely at the carvings on it...

 Panthers and other large creatures on the top, alligators on the edge....

 and a rooster on the other side.... what a building that one was!!!

 Shopping district all decked out for Christmas...they don't have to contend with Thanksgiving, so they just jump right in :)

 Some funny "coffee shops" - uh, they don't generally sell coffee either... if you get my drift.  this one cracked me up.

 One of the side halls - not sure what I'm laughing about.  I think it had to do with the three girls in front of us that we essentially photo bombed and took our shot behind them - i'm sure we were NOT appreciated - hee hee hee.. but the side alleys between the main drag to Dam Square and the shopping walk way were very pretty!

AND they had a fish that wold squirt water... I had told Butch to stick his head in it - ha!

I DO love the cobble stone walk ways (well, when my feet behave and they are not dippy ones) and the cute triangle buildings... this was a super cute cheese shop.  I'm so glad Wendy took me to her local store for cheese before we headed out as the cheeses downtown were pricey!!

We'll have a nice cheese try for our Thanksgiving celebration at work :)