Caribbean Countdown

Although the app on my phone has been counting down to my first cruise, I wasn't going to say anything until it was official.

As in this baby arrived today so I officially CAN go and CAN leave the country! For the record, a passport renewal takes 7+ weeks right now. It's kind of nerve-wracking because you have to mail your old passport in and you just pray they get it. And then pray your new one comes safely in the mail.

Good thing I've got nothing else to pray about. Ha.

Anyway, the exciting part is that I'm going with my oldest sister Rayna. I'm just tagging along really. This is her cruise to do as a way to commemorate the memory of her husband Paul, who she traveled the world with (and every corner of the U.S. as well). I wasn't her first choice as a plus-one, but I was first on the waiting list. Not kidding. In the end, all the matters is I am going to go and be a supportive sister.

And just force myself to enjoy traveling from San Juan to five other Caribbean islands – including Aruba and St. Lucia (she the Scandinavian goddess of light, you know). It's going to be tough. I'll be strong so we'll both get through it. 

I have never been on a cruise or to any island except a brief stay in the Bahamas. Excited about that. A little nervous about how my body handles cruises (I mean I can kayak, so I can deal with a little rocking motion.) 

But mostly, just grateful and blessed to be a part of this new memory with my sister while she recalls many of hers sailing the high seas with her hubby, best friend, and adventure partner!

#TakeTheTrip

P is for Plenty

 

We're more than halfway there! Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter P which means I have Plenty of blessings to be thanks for.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force

Pigging Out: I never said that every blessing that brings me joy is good for me. By sheer coincidence, I have been Pigging Out this week on pizza (Monday night dinner) and popcorn (today's lunch AND dinner) not to mention Pumpkin Spice coffee. And, next week, here comes Pumpkin Pie! Perfect! 

Passport: I will never take for granted my ability to travel "wherever I want" thanks to my passport. Because, what good is a passport 2020? No place to go abroad and nobody wants us. That's why I'm so grateful I got two trips to Europe stamped on my passport – Norway, Sweden, Denmark two summers ago, and Germany and France 18 months ago. So amazing to expand our horizons! It has opened my window to the world. Cannot wait until this global pandemic is replaced by global travel! 

Phone: I do panic a bit when I leave the house and realize I forgot my phone. It's not like there's that many people besides telemarketers that actually call. But I get plenty of texts. And yeah, I what if a photo op comes up and I don't have my phone (aka small camera)? Guess I just picture it in my mind, right? (Unless I'm traveling somewhere a passport's required. I need share that image somehow!) I am grateful that smart phones especially have made it much easier to stay in pretty constant contact with my siblings and, uhm, parentally persistent contact with the boys.

Hey, it all pleases me today. 

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

The Road Ends Here

I'm sure the NCAA trademarked that phrase somewhere, but I think we all know The Road Ends Here – on Blue Jay Drive. It's good to be home safely and without too many headaches. I actually pulled into the driveway about 10:30 p.m., which was quite literally 24 hours after my alarm went off "this morning."

Since Carter and I said our goodbyes last night, I was packed up and headed to the bus station by 6:30 a.m. This pretty blue place is the train station. I took a short cut through there to get to the bus –  because I knew how! Figures I just get to know my way around the town and I'm gone.

My farewell! It was a culture shock getting to America and being able to read all the signs! I'll admit it was pretty challenging navigating through the Frankfurt Airport (again), but I made it. I slept a huge chunk of the 8 hours to New York City. Still, I was not prepared for re-entering the country. My country.

Nothing can quite describe the sea of humanity that is customs. Way in back you see the yellow/blue signs for each line. In total, there are 60 of them. Not joking. Hundreds if not thousands of people waiting to enter America. Slightly more organized than herding cats, I'd say.

Of course, right away they confuse you when one line is for "US Citizens" and another is for "Permanent Residents." I mean, what if I'm both? A permanent resident in the U.S as a legal citizen? I should have looked that up ahead of time. Oh well, I found another clueless woman and we bonded over our confusion and need to get to our connecting flights. Took an hour and thankfully I had a two-hour layover this time.

Felt good about the last leg of the trip since we had the Dalai Lama or his doppleganger riding with us. It was a bit turbulent but we made it the Minneapolis 20 minutes ahead of schedule! Which several Virginia fans were happy about. They were anxious to get to the stadium!

Me too! Just kidding. This is my niece's view. My sister and brother-in-law picked me up at MSP and I hopped in my car at their house in Hudson and hit the road.

Made a few stops for caffeine and a half-dozens brake-slamming honks for the many, many deer out tonight. Got home in time to see the end of the hoops game. Now I want to shower and hit the sack. But those darn Red Bulls have kicked in.

I told you traveling ain't for sissies. But it is oh so worth it! My heart is full.

Gute Nacht!

Sisters in Scandi-hoovia :: Day 12

There's more than 1.2 million people living in Stockholm. It's a big city. We were assured it's pretty safe -- but to also be aware (like traveling anywhere) of pick-pockets. There are also warning signs like the one above to take your belongings out of the your car and lock it. So we knew to be careful.

Just didn't think we had to worry about it in our hotel lobby. 

This morning while we were enjoying breakfast down there, Raylene left her purse with our sister Rayna and her friend in the lobby. It was sitting between them, not 3 inches from their feet. And somehow, a thief managed to walk behind their chairs and steal it without being seen.

What a shock. Even our tour guides can't believe someone tried that in the lobby where there are security cameras. Unfortunately, the cameras were most likely facing the wrong way. 

Fortunately, one of our tour guides is a police officer in Sweden and could help with the procedures. While she helped Raylene go to the station, file a report, and get pictures taken for a new passport. It was a stressful morning and day for her as she tried to get paperwork together from across the planet. 

Meanwhile, I hit the streets, hoping the perpetrator just grabbed cash and ditched the purse somewhere in the bushes or garbage. I searched high and low, saw plenty of homeless "accommodations," and even prayed at a church I passed by. But all I got was 10,000 steps and a chance to meet a Swedish rat in person. They are as big as cats here. No lie. You may have heard me screaming about 3 a.m. Central Time.

I did take a few photos while I was on the search because, well, I wasn't sure we'd get a chance to explore the city...

Turns out, we had done all we could do by about 1 p.m. our time here. So we headed out to see the two tourist attractions we had on our "Stockholm free day" list.

First stop...

Yes!

Mamma Mia! I'm at the ABBA Museum!

One of the attractions was a sound booth where you could basically sing karaoke while recording your performance... somewhere in cyber space. Not sure I wanna hear it! But we had fun singing Dancing Queen and Does Your Mother Know.

Also plenty of photo ops. We obviously forgot to pack our sequins and platform shoes!

It was a fun distraction for all of us!

Not so fun I felt the need to buy anything in the gift shop. But fun!

From there, we headed the Vasa Museum, which features the only preserved 17th-century ship in the world. The warship Vasa sank on its maiden voyage in the middle of Stockholm in 1628 and was salvaged 333 years later in 1961. It took another half-century to restore it and it's 95 percent original. When you see the hundreds of carvings and sculptures that are "built in" to the ship, you can't help but be awestruck.

Plus, it's huge! Couldn't quite get it all in, but here are a few shots...

Took a lot more photos. Guess I'll have to share all those at some point on my return. There has been so much squeezed into each day -- even with rats on steroids thrown in -- that I have just wanted to give you a taste of our adventures.

Not that they're over. We still have two more days!

And we had our evening. It took awhile to get back to the hotel from the museums because our Uber driver got lost due to road construction. We were so tired emotionally and physically at that point, that all we could do is giggle!

Tonight -- as everyone on this side of the pond knows -- was soccer! Sweden vs Germany with large-screen TVs set up in all kinds of venues for viewing. A bunch of us from our tour group went up to the hotel's roof-top bar to watch, eat, and enjoy the view. Glad we Americans aren't as invested emotionally in the event. We're the ones who won't be sad tomorrow.

But I think we'll all be tired!

Much Ado, er, To Do

I had quite the checklist of things to do for my last day (for now) in America.

1. Give them an honest 8 at the office. OK. I tried. Thankfully I had projects to work on. I mean I was super busy and then suddenly it's 1:58 p.m. and my mind left the building. With, of course, another 2 1/2 hours to go. At least I got my work done and made a nice out-of-office sign that I forgot to take a photo of... picture viking ship with flag icons for the 4 countries I'm visiting (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway). After my boss couldn't put up with me and my obvious over-excitement any longer, he sent me out of there early!

2. Spend more money. Naturally, I had last-minute Mom things to do like pick up Carter's new contacts. There goes my cash. Good thing Sweden is a cash-free country. No, not everything is free. But plastic can buy anything.

3. Legalize my passport. Had to squeeze in a visit with my hair artist so I could look somewhat like my passport photo. Hey, that was taken 5 years ago. I'm sure I as featuring the same magic that day, too. Ha. It's like I'm a spy. What is my real hair color? Torture me. I'll never tell.

4. Cover my bases. In the off chance they won't let me back in the country, I had to make one more trip to...

You guessed it. King Cone. C'mon. Better safe than sorry.

5. Get my steps. OK. I definitely failed on this one. Was too busy doing sitting things to get 10,000 steps today. Or even 5,000. Probably not good when I'll be sitting in the car 3 hours tomorrow. Then another 13 in an airplane. I will have to get up early and walk! I hear sleep deprivation is the best plan anyway so I am so tired I will have to sleep on the plane. But stay awake for the drive to Minnesota first, of course.

6. Finish packing. Since I packed my suitcase (mostly) last night, I just had to work on my carry-on tonight. I still have a few minor things to get in order in the morning – like organizing my purse and cashing in the change in my swear jar – but I'm sitting pretty good for my pre-noon departure from home.

7. Test drive everything. I checked my camera to be sure I have the battery pack, charger, memory cards. Checked my tablet to be sure I can log in to my blog (if I have time for at least a "picture of the day" or something). Have all kinds of chargers. And adapters. Should be good. Unless I'm missing something??

8. Say goodbyes. I'm sure I'll get up before hubby leaves for a golf outing in the morning. (Not even waiting til I leave town to have fun!). Got my hugs from Working Man tonight. He said, "Have fun saying 'Uff Da' in your native land." Ha. Yup. I've pretty much used my quota on this side of the Pond!

OK. Off to bed to dream up more lists. So long. I can't wait to be in touch.

Countdown to Launch

After today, we can officially transition Carter's countdown to Germany in days, not months. One month from today he's off to see his "Bavarian brother," our "overseas son." We are jealous, of course, but so excited.

Lots to do on our end to get ready for the Flag Day launch.

Could have been and should have been making lists for the past 12 months, but why rush things? Until you have to, that is.

Now we'll have to figure out his clothing (for variety of weather) and shoes and, most importantly, gifts for the family – Lukas, his parents, his brother and his grandparents (since I have kept in touch with his grandma the most, thanks to Facebook). We have things in mind. It's just a matter of taking the time to GET THEM!

All the while keeping in mind his suitcase will have a weight limit. I think 50 pounds but I better double check that.

Thank goodness Carter's German teacher kept us on task with the rest, so we have his passport, traveler's insurance card, ATM card and 100 euros to get his spending started. The more I type the more I get excited and want to go!

Probably better get at that list so we can cross things off as we count things down!

It is going to be wunderbar!

Born Identity

The irony of foreign travel is that typically you are so excited to reach the destination, you can't help but smile. Yet our passport photos make us look like we are angry at the world. (Or maybe a serious secret spy like Jason Bourne in the movies?)

Carter got to experience this process this week.

We got his passport pictures taken Thursday, filled out the passport application Sunday and dropped it off at the courthouse today, swearing on oath that everything about his "born identity" was true. Oh, and that his photo (smiling or no) was an accurate likeness of him. He swore it was.

And my fellow parents of teenagers will tell you that yep, that's a face we all can identify now and then! In fact, I wonder if the picture-takers tell them to "think of your mom and dad." Hmm...

Either way, the application is done and on its way, and Carter is one step closer to going to Germany!  Wunderbar!!

While his trip to Germany to see Lukas and experience HIS world is some 278 days (but who's counting), the Assumption group going over there is getting this passport business taken care of this fall. Carter, however, is applying earlier because there is an outside chance he may be going sooner. Don't want to jinx it with details, but please pray or at least cross your fingers that he will be chosen for this golden opportunity. More to come.

Either way, he is traveling to Germany before he is 18 years old ... and Dad and I just got our first passports 2 years ago!!

That should make him smile.  :)

 
 

Border Hopping

Dateline NORTH TROY, VERMONT... One teeny mile from Canada!

We were lucky to get our vacation going on time. For some reason we had a power outage in our neighborhood during the night. It blinked off once and turned back on and we set backup alarms on our cell phones. Good thing as power went out again for a few hours.

So we got up on time, to the airport in Madison on time and our flight to Chicago was short. I was so tired (hard to sleep when you worry about the alarm) that I slept the whole flight from Chicago to Burlington, Vt. I never sleep on airplanes! So I was pretty tired.

Upon landing, got our rental car and headed north. Got to see so much beauty on the short 90-minute drive to Jim's distant cousins Don & Sally Austin. Saw mountains (closest I've ever been to them), pretty rivers and wildlife. We are too early for true fall colors but I am going to get over that.

After we arrived at the Austins, another cousin and his mom came over and took us into Canada where Jim's great-great-great-great grandfather and great-great-great grandfather are buried. Found some related tombstones, too, so that was good.  Plus more in another cemetery nearby.Took pictures of those and a nearby covered bridge that used to serve as the border crossing between the U.S. and Canada. Probably just 2 hours in Canada but worth the passport for Jim's "finds".

When we got back, we rejoined Don & Sally and took them out to eat in Jay, Vt., down the road. Tomorrow we will spend the day with them seeing some sights.

Tonight we are snuggling up at the North Troy Inn Bed & Breakfast, where evening temps may fall into the 20s!

This is not shorts weather! Glad I bought those new anti-mom jeans!

Prep Work

My mission today was to get a lot of our prep work out of the way for the next 10 days. I can almost say "mission accomplished." We're getting close.

I started out behind schedule -- not because I went to church or anything important, but because I spent 12 hours in bed! Not kidding. I was so physically exhausted when I went to bed last night. I think way too many early mornings, late nights, work, stress and running around. I guess it caught up with me.

After I woke up enough, I went for a 3-mile run to get that out of the way. Then hubby brought up the suitcase and I started making piles of clothes and other "stuff" (like our passports!) to take on our trip. I have it easy since Jim is the one who planned everything and has to organize his family tree materials, determining what he must bring along.

After a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get some necessities -- red licorice and an extra memory card for the camera -- I stole a few minutes of sunshine out on the deck. Didn't stay out too long. Wanted to see the Vikings' great almost-comeback. Dang. We should have had that game!

Later, we got into some live football action. This is Homecoming Week at Assumption, so this evening was the Powder Puff game between the Junior and Senior girls. We stood on the Juniors' side since my "adopted daughter" was the QB. She did outstanding, of course, and the Juniors won 12-6.

Carter worked the "chain gang" the first half, then hung around the girls and other friends, I think, for the second half.

Got home in time to get some of my Wild Women's Weekend "prep work" done, too. This is good. I even had to get some help from Carter and he didn't mind at all. Now I have one more thing to do for that top secret stuff, and I'll be pretty set for that.

The only sad thing is that you do all this prep work and really, once you get home after all is said and done, you are no further ahead. But if it prevents me/us from forgetting something, it's well worth it.

Time to make another list...

Have Passport, Will Travel

Our Passports are here! Our Passports are here!

Look out world, Jim and Robyn Austin have their first passports. Ever.

Where are we going? First hint -- not the Olympics!

If you recall 4 years ago at this time, hubby was gone on a 9-day excursion out east, searching for family tree clues in northern Vermont and upstate New York. He came back with some new information, a few "new" cousins and gorgeous, gorgeous photos of the Green Mountains, Adirondack Mountains and covered bridges. I said, "Next time, you're taking me with you!"

Fast forward 4 years to Next Time.

One of the challenges last time was that Jim was only a mile from Canada, where his great-grandfather is buried, but he couldn't go there without a passport. A month ago, we decided we'd celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary with this trip. So we spent Friday, July 6, getting our ducks in a row -- photo taken, forms filled out, check written, oath sworn (seriously), etc. They probably got it filed Monday, July 9, and now just 3 short weeks later our passports are here!!

Good thing they "approved" us since we already booked our flights and rental car!

We'll be going in late September for a week, hopefully when fall colors are peaking on the mountain ranges and maybe reflecting on Lake Champlain when we cross it on a ferry, says the photographer. Even if we don't find out anything new for hubby's family tree, it will be a pretty second honeymoon!

Of course, now that we have the passports, there really is nothing to stop us from going anywhere in the future.

Well, except for the money part.