Bacharack - back to town -- river trip

Bacharach - river trip - key-disaster!!. Taxi back down to Bacharach, found Zimmer frei Orth as mentioned in Rick Steves, left bags there to take KD boat up river & back. Nice trip, nice boat, lots to see & photograph.

Got off in St.Goar.... where B & I went up the Lorelei cliff and to see the statue. €25 taxi + Bill’s €25 tip.

When we got back to the Zimmer, the key they had given us was GONE. I had it (bad news). And it’s a super security key -- landlady said it costs €500 to replace. After much discussion we decided it must have fallen out of my jacket pocket on the boat. Manfred asked the KD ticket lady to help find it - she called the boat, they will look for it during clean-up.

Boat will be back tomorrow @ noon. If it’s there, we might still have time to got to our reserved rooms in Heidelberg. Otherwise, we have to skip Heidelberg and do something else about the key. Had a very early, very nice dinner (pizza & spaghetti) and “went to bed” b4 10.

On our way

We finally flew to Frankfurt, then to Trier. Now we are in Bacharack, staying in this castle - Borg Stahleck. Not much internet time... I'll write more later.

boat + train to Bacharach.

Getting from boat to train was pretty hairy. We wanted to take boat from Koblenz, but missed it so had to take another train. Bill left his new hat on the boat. They had no room for us at the castle, so we stayed in a B&B seen in Rick Steve’s book. Nice lady, 3 long stair flights, bad spring bed, beautiful frühstück (breakfast).

Trier, still

Trier. Bill & I went up the porto nigra, took lots of photos, but they are all on his camera, not mine. M stayed in the square. I never did get to see the other historic sights of Trier. Bill bought a nice hat, which he promptly lost.

Trier, still

Trier. Bill & I went up the porto nigra, took lots of photos. M stayed in the square. I never did get to see the other historic sights of Trier. Bill bought a nice hat.

In Germany, at last --Trier

Trier. Lots of historical buildings, dating from the 2nd Century onward. Bill wanted an umbrella. Manfred wanted to get a piece of the computer power supply that he had left behind. Bill took a tour of the town, G & M went to stores, looking for the part. I bought an umbrella for Bill, but Manfred took it.

Bill’s power supply has the same part, but he didn’t bring an adapter to plug into German outlets. So Manfred has the adapter, Bill has the part, they have to share.
NOTE: most important part of packing and repacking: All charging equipment, including adaptors, must be present & accounted for at all times, & have back-ups.

Flying -- lots of flying.

Sept 28 We drove from Port Angeles to SeaTac in a rental car, returned the car and took the hotel shuttle to the Best Western Executel. It’s a very nice place w/indoor pool & exercise room & free WiFi. Had a swim & dinner there and slept, Sept 29 Returned to the airport to catch our 4 p.m. flight to Frankfurt. There was a brief stop in Rekjavic to change planes (Iceland Air). Arrived Frankfurt in the afternoon, went to the bahnhof in the airport to get the train to Trier. The train ride was nice, but we were tired. Went to the youth hostel by taxi, arriving 7:30 p.m., just after they finished serving dinner. Went out for Manfred’s birthday dinner. Dinner was good, but was not his best b’day -- too long, or too short, depending on how you look at it.

Eve of departure.

We are leaving tomorrow, Monday, Sept 26, for Seattle. We'll stay overnight there and fly out to Frankfurt on Tuesday, Sept 27, arriving the next day. We will immediately get on a train to Trier, where we have a reservation.

Needless to say, the house did not close on Aug 16, or any of the other dates suggested. But it finally was finalized on Monday, Sept 13! Our bid for the house was accepted before the end of April, so it has taken 4.5 months to do the paperwork.

Trip plans are coming together

We have been online day & night, planning our trip to Europe. The dates are fixed now:
Leave Sept 28 -- fly to Frankfurt. Return Nov 14 -- ship to NYC
We will spend

• 2 weeks in Germany & Austria
• 2 weeks in Portugal & Spain
• 2 weeks on the ship.

The new date for the "closing" of the house is Aug 16... we'll see.

4 Photos

These are photos of the house we are buying, and a hummingbird on our feeder.

Still waiting...

We are still waiting on HUD to get around to processing our house purchase. And the lenders are waiting, and the insurance people. Soon, I hope. And I still don't have photos, don't know why. I thought they were here, but they're not.

Buying a house

We are buying a fixer-upper house nearer to Seattle, to fix up and sell. See our previous efforts at http://housereno.wetpaint.com It has taken a lot of time, looking, deciding, then doing all the dance required to buy property, including getting a loan with no credit history, not liking loan company and starting over with a different one. The house is a repo belonging to HUD, the government branch that holds and sells repossessed houses, so they march slowly, as governments do. .

Victoria visit

We went to Victoria to visit a friend, Anna Rubinsky, to bring the Mazda back to its home country and to attend a Mac club meeting. I ended up staying 4 days, visiting Rosemary Denniston as well. Manfred returned sooner, after arranging to leave the car with more Mac-friends, Sarah & Christian Coll.

At least for a time, we will have the car to use when we visit there, which looks like it will be more often than I expected, since both Anna & Rosemary have jobs I want to help them with. .

Not going to GA

My Mom's funeral is tomorrow, and I won't be there :( Because of the Easter holiday, the air fares are more than double the usual price, and it's just too much.

The visit I made recently was better anyway, because she was still alive, and could communicate a little, but with great difficulty.

Since the move, I have not been able to find the cable for the scanner. I have some good photos, but can't get them on the computer until I can hook up the scanner. .

My Mom has gone on

My Mom, Ruth Gilman died this morning in Jonesboro, GA. She was at home, in her own bed, with her daughter, my sister Janet, by her side. It was a peaceful end of this phase of her ongoing life.

Luckily, I got to visit her recently, it was a nice "goodbye."

She had been in a coma for the last 3 days, and was unable to swallow. She had given order to have no intravenous feeding of any kind, because she wanted to move on, which she did with grace and dignity.

We'll look forward to seeing her again in the real life we call "after life."

These photos were taken with me and Ruth's grandaughter, Tina, when we were fixing up a house in Georgia, in 2005. .

Heading for Victoria

Dealing with teeth is not easy, or fun. It will be a long process.

In the meantime, we are going to Victoria to help Bill Jones move. He is giving up his house in Vic and moving back to Port Renfrew.

He just bought a MacBook on eBay which was shipped to us, so we'll take it to him. And our 6-yr-old iBook is finally repaired (after almost 1 year), so we'll take it to Rosemary. She wants to try a cheap Mac before buying a new one.

We are planning a trip in May, with Chuck & Diane, to spend some time in Leavenworth and look at properties for sale E of Seattle. Then they'll come and see our place.

Back in WA

I got back to Port Angeles on Feb 18 and have been spending most of my time dealing with teeth. First, finding a "good" dentist, then preliminary session, then work started. That was a terrible time -- 6 extractions and 3 were very difficult. I'm having to rethink what I want done. I thought all those teeth were loose and wanted to come out, but obviously not.

At least now my front teeth are straight, but it's a temporary fix.

I was sick all weekend from the trauma. Bill Jones came to visit, so that helped keep me from feeling too sorry for myself. Manfred has been following the Winter Olympics and he and Bill totally enjoyed the final hockey game.

Visiting Mom in Georgia

I've been in Jonesboro GA, near Atlanta, since Feb 3, visiting my Mom (who will be 94 next month) and my niece's family. It was a big thrill for everybody here when the Saints won the SuperBowl.

I was offline until now, due to a faulty router, but am back at it again. The phone number here is 770-472-3346.

I'll be back in WA on Feb 18. Manfred stayed in Port Angeles to continue unpacking and getting the new apartment arranged properly.

Bill's visit

Bill Jones was our first visitor in the new apartment. He got to try out our new blow-up bed -- he said "It's like sleeping on air." It was a rushed visit to make it before the ferry stops running. He returned this morning on the last trip the boat makes before its yearly maintenance hiatus.

We saw 2 movies with Bill: Up in the Air and Avatar. The former is a very well-done social situation flick. George Clooney shows he can really act. The only thing I can say about Avatar is, "WOW!" We were seeing it for the 2nd time, and it was just as awesome as the first time.

Now, back to unpacking and re-arranging... but 1st there is the NFL games.

Unpacking

We still haven't finished unpacking -- mainly because the carpet guy has not showed up to re-stretch the carpet. (We hatess carpeting!) So we can't set up our bookcases and stereo and all that.

We bought a "new" dining room set, but are still using the old furniture for the rest. Also, installed a chandelier in the dining rm to replace a fan that didn't work.

Next month, I will be going to GA for a couple of weeks to visit my mom near Atlanta. It will be so nice to see her and the Persons family again.

The new address is
1405 W Hwy 101 #4
Port Angeles, WA 98363
.