Christy and Vegar’s Wedding! & the whole US Trip

After writing posts about all of the countries and cities we’ve visited, it feels funny to write about a trip to the US as a “vacation.” It’s our home. But, being the big country that it is, there are always an endless number of places to visit. We definitely made the most of our trip this time, being back for almost 3 weeks, driving 2000 miles in 5 states, and seeing a ton of friends and family.

We flew in the week before Christy and Vegar’s wedding, so that Chad could drive down to Vegas with the guys for the Bachelor party. Christy also had her Bachelorette party that Friday in SLC with the girls. Both were a blast, of course. That Sunday, the guys drove up from Vegas to southern Utah, and Christy and I drove down to meet them in Zion National Park. We camped for 2 nights there around Zion, Bryce, and Calf Creek.

Zion National Park and Calf Creek

The first day we went on a hike in Zion called “The Narrows,” which follows the creek/river that winds up the middle of the canyon. Most of the time you are actually walking in the water, which can get as deep as your waist. On either side of you are steep, sheer sandstone cliffs that are the tallest of their kind in the world. It was a really beautiful and impressive area. I had no idea that there were places like this in the US.

It was incredibly hot this day, and temperatures reached around 110 degrees F. After our hike, and lunch, we put on our bathing suits and hoped in the creek at a swimming area that had a little waterfall and swimming hole. It was very refreshing.

The drive between Zion and Bryce was also a site to see. Part of the road (called “Hell’s Backbone”) was a narrow two lane road on top of a mountain that had steep drop offs on both sides. In the distance all around are gorgeous rock formations and mountains of all shapes and colors. Bryce characteristically has the red rocks that look like pillars made of stacked pebbles. We saw many of these mountains on the drive.

Instead of going into Bryce to hike, Vegar & Christy took us to Calf Creek. Here we hiked out 3 miles in the canyon, and came to a breathtaking waterfall. It reminds me of the lagoon in the movie The Beach. It was isolated, beautiful, and peaceful. The tall waterfall drops off of a stone wall into a clear blue pool of water. The pool is surrounded by a tiny beach area with sand and trees. It feels like a hidden, private beach. It was incredibly hot on the walk out to the falls, & we were going through a lot of drinking water. So it was a good thing that it started to rain a bit, because the clouds and rain cooled everything off.

On Wednesday, Chad and I drove all over Salt Lake City. It was fun having a car again and being able to go wherever you want. We did some shopping, went to a coffee shop, and went to the gym. It was pretty normal stuff, but it has been so long since we’ve had a day like that, that it was really fun for us.

A Great Wedding

On Friday, before the wedding, there was a cookout in the park for all friends and family who were in town. We had great food and played soccer and volleyball. Then Saturday was the big day. My mom and Christy and I got “mani’s and pedi’s” in the morning. And, we went to get our hair done, where they gave us sparkling water & wine! Fun. We headed up to the lodge to finish getting ready and hang out in the bridal room.

The wedding was really beautiful, with the mountains as the backdrop, and the sun shining. The service, and their vows, were very meaningful. After a delicious dinner and desert, we danced the night away.

Sunday was a difficult day. We had to eat a delicious brunch and then sit by the pool all day. I don’t know how we managed. On Monday, it was off to the races again. Chad and I headed up to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks with Gisle and Simona, both friends of Vegar’s from Norway. The trip up was quite an adventure, and included a stop at the Beef Jerky stand on the side of the road, and a café in Paris Idaho which did not serve coffee. But, mostly because we drove through a storm equivalent to The Nothing, in The Never Ending Story.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

The Grand Tetons are a beautiful row of mountain peaks jutting out of the planes. Parts were still snow capped, even in August, and you could see the glaciers in many of the canyons. We saw a moose by the side of the road as we were searching for a camp site. It was dark by the time we had to set up our tents, and raining a bit. Luckily the rain stopped by the time we went to bed, but it made lighting a fire near impossible.

Chad and I were a bit anxious about camping in bear country. There were signs everywhere reminding campers to be 'Bear Aware,' store all food in a bear box or locked car, and to keep absolutely nothing (not even toothpaste or a water bottle) in your tents, because the scent attracts the bears. Thankfully there were no incidents, however I did have a dream the second night that bears were running around our tents. Just as they got to the tent and started sniffing around, I woke up like a lighting bold, heart racing. To make matters worse, just as I was about to fall back asleep I hear a pack of while dogs or wolves howling off in the distance. They don’t call it wilderness for nothing.

The next day, we decided to do the touristy thing and we drove out to see Old Faithful. It is not the largest geyser, but, as the name suggests, it is the one that erupts the most predictably and most often. The entire thermal area was really interesting. It felt like we were exploring the surface of the moon. Some were just hot pools of water with several bright colors. Others were constantly bubbling, steaming and spitting. And others were large geysers that erupted anywhere from every 3-4 hours to once or twice a year.

Later in the day, Chad rested in the car for a bit while Simona, Gisle, and I hiked out to a waterfall called Mystic Falls. It’s probably called this because all around the area are more thermal springs which create a steamy fog over everything. We even saw people sitting near the base of the waterfall in a hot spring. We passed one of the little streams of hot water running into the creek, and we touched it to see how hot it was. It was very hot, as if you run your tap water on high until it gets as hot as it can get. Strange.

On our last morning, we hiked out to Riddle Lake. We were the only ones at the small rocky beach beside the lake, so it was nice and quiet and peaceful. We did not see any wildlife on this hike, as we would have hoped, but on our trip we did see buffalo, elk, and a 4 year old Grizzly from the car (which is as close as I want to get!).

Houston, we have a reunion

The last four days of our US trip were spent in Houston, visiting with the Chafins, the Taylors, McCormick, Bridget, Cooper and Krista. As usual when this group of guys get together, shenanigans ensued. It was a lot of fun to see all of our old friends. I was even able to sneak out one afternoon to visit with my Grandmother for a couple hours, which was great. She is doing really well, and is so much like my mom that it’s scary. ;)

Gelareh and Raymond took us to eat at Freebirds, a great Mexican place, and Goode Company, the best BBQ in the state. We also ate a delicious cupcake at Sugarbabies, and had some wonderful homemade Italian cream cake and almond pound cakes baked by Gelareh herself. We spent some fun time by the pool, and had the opportunity to go to the WVU alumni event for the local Houston Chapter. The highlight of this night came afterwards in the parking lot when a drunk girl chugged Petron in front of her headlights while flicking us off. We were also introduced to a hilarious game called Apples to Apples. We played until the wee hours of the morning.

The highlight of the entire weekend had to be the Pulp Fiction style hose down of the boys in the back yard. After getting drunk at an earlier than normal hour, the boys were being defiant and not willing to shower after a long day at the pool. Very long story short, the girls were not pleased with the dirtiness (and smelliness) of the situation, so we handed them a bar of soap and shampoo, and gave them a prison style shower right there in the back lawn. The photos from this are priceless, and no doubt tales of this night will be recounted for the rest of our lives.

On Sunday, as Chad and I sat in the Houston airport, we were both feeling the pre-homesickness that comes with knowing that you are again leaving the familiar to go into the unfamiliar. I think because our trip was longer this time (almost 3 weeks), it was even harder to leave. We had such a good trip, and we did so much. At least we know for sure that when it is time to finally move back to the States, that we will be as happy as school girls on the playground (yes, even Chad).

-S

Pics from Zion & Calf Creek: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157621887675069/

Pics from the Wedding: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157622020856548/

Pics from Grand Tetons & Yellowstone: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157622021814280/

Pics from Houston: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157622029548748/

Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds in Amsterdam

July 7, 2009

For old time’s sake, we bought tickets to a Dave Matthews concert in Amsterdam, at the Heineken Music Hall. We took the train and the arena was just a few steps away. We were surprised at how small the venue was. We were happy to have tickets to stand on the floor, and we were able to get very close to the stage. We were also surprised, and pleased, to discover that Tim Reynolds was playing with the band that night. He mostly just accompanied the rest of the band, but he also had a couple guitar solos. It was a great concert, and it was nice to see them live. We also got a really cool poster/screen print of an Amsterdam building with smoking coming out of the window that spells DMB.

-S

A fallen King

June 25, 2009

My childhood would not have been the same without learning to do the Moonwalk in front of the TV to a Michael Jackson video. I was completely mesmerized by him. I remember sitting in front of the TV, silent, mouth open, watching him dance, listening to him sing, and watching his concerts with all of the screaming, fainting fans. I was silent, that is, if I wasn’t up dancing along with him. I would roll up on my tip toes, bite my bottom lip, scrunch my nose, grab my crotch and throw my hand in the air (and I'm sure I probably threw in a little "Aaow!").

I begged my parent's to let me go to see him in concert when the Bad tour came to Pittsburgh, but I wasn't allowed to go (OK, granted I was only 8, and I can understand their decision now). I wanted to be one of the girls in his music videos so he would sing to me, like in The Way You Make Me Feel. I tried to convince my mom to let me buy a red leather jacket with zippers and buckles that I saw in a department store, but she said that it was too expensive, and that I would never wear it (she was wrong here... I probably would have worn it every day). And, I cried for days when I dropped my Sony walkman into Cheat Lake… not because I lost the walkman, but because my MJ mixed tape was in it! He’s still down there somewhere singing at the bottom of that lake.

I had an MJ record that I would play over and over on my mini record player, dancing and singing by myself for hours. He even taught me geography, as I remember wondering why MJ liked a Librarian Girl so much (then I learned that LibERian was a nationality). So many of my memories of childhood are linked to Michael Jackson, that I think that’s one of the saddest things to me. It feels as if a piece of my childhood died along with him on June 25th.

A lot has been said about his eccentricities that past 10-15 years, and how his lack of a proper childhood really affected him. Even as he changed over the years, I still followed him, watched his interviews, awaited his new music videos, and weathered the storm of the tabloids. I heard the news, but I also know that they would take the smallest thing and blow it out of proportion, or even flat out make stuff up. I just always thought to myself, “yeah, but he’s still Michael,” and I still feel that he was genuinely a good person, with a good heart trying to “heal the world.” But, I do prefer to remember the MJ of the 80's & early 90’s, during his peak. That is what I picture in my head when I hear his songs.

There was an article on MTV news entitled "A World Without Michael Jackson Has A Lot Less Magic In It." The title pretty much sums it up. I agree/identify with almost everything in this article, such as "for the first time in nearly four decades, there will be kids who grow up without ever knowing what it's like to have Michael Jackson in their lives. Jackson's death has left a gaping, generation-sized hole in the entertainment world, one that a hundred Justins or Britneys or Jiggas or Kanyes will never fill. That's the reality of the situation. We've witnessed the end of something here; something we probably won't be able to comprehend anytime soon."

This does actually make me sad, that my children won't be able to see him in action. Then again, neither did I. That was my lifelong dream, and I was only a couple months away from fulfilling it, along with over a million other people that had tickets to his 50 sold out shows for the This Is It tour in London. I'm sure it would have been an awesome show. I hear they even have videos of the rehearsals that they might release as a movie, and a tribute show planned, and so on and so on, so we'll probably see glimpses of it.

So, I know for some people it may seem silly that I am including this post in our blog. However, his death is a major event, not just of the year, but of my entire lifetime, and not only for me, but for the world. He broke down all barriers to become the greatest, most influential entertainer in history. Period. If you grew up in the 80's, and imitated and idolized Michael the way I did, then this post won't seem strange at all to you. I am focusing on celebrating his life, and being thankful for the art that he has left us. The silver lining in all of this, of course, is that we will always have his videos and his music...

-S

Cinque Terre, June 2009

After 7 long years since I first laid eyes on this little paradise on earth, I again found myself in Cinque Terre, Italy. My sister and I first stumbled upon this little cluster of villages (Cinque Terre = 5 towns) while backpacking across Western Europe in 2002. We were planning on staying for 1 day, and ended up staying for 3. Even though our stay was extended, we were almost in tears as we left… watching the last glimpses of the beautiful shoreline flicker by as the train would pass another tiny window in the tunnel.

Chad and I had the pleasure of going to Paris for our first anniversary. Tres romantic! So, for our second anniversary, to follow up on PARIs, what better place than PARIdise. Ok, admittedly cheesy pun there. We stayed in the first town of Riomaggiore for 5 nights, then moved on to the last & largest town, Monterosso for the last 2 nights. Monterosso is where Christy and I stayed, and we loved it. But, I must admit, that I think Riomaggiore has now taken the lead as my new favorite of the 5 towns.

Riomaggiore has a quiet charm that makes the entire city feel like someone’s home, where each tiny sidewalk or building is a different hallway or room. It has the trademark pastel painted houses in pink, yellow and salmon. The one main road leads downhill through the center of the town and ends at the tiny marina, lined with colorful stacked canoes and small boats ready for the fisherman to take out. If you wander around the left side of the village, around the path by the tiny Cliffside pub, you come to a hidden rocky beach hugged on three sides by the vertical cliffs surrounding it.

It is a spectacular site, and a really beautiful place for a swim in the Mediterranean. The water is crystal clear, of course, and just the right temperature. We were smart enough to bring Teva’s to wear in the water, because the rocks can really cut up your feet, especially when you are battling the waves getting in and out. It was nice relaxing on this beach, with only a few other people around you. Far removed from the cramped, touristy beaches of most popular destinations.

The most beautiful part of the Cinque Terre is the nature itself. These five tiny towns are surrounded by mountains that are terraced with grape and olive vineyards. There are high and low trails through the mountains connecting each of the towns, so you can hike between them. The regional train also stops at each town, and is a nice way to get back to your own town at the end of the day.

We had a great time walking between the towns, exploring all of the different tiny streets, tasting every flavor of gelato that exists, and sampling the delicious local cuisine of seafood, pizza, pasta (including chocolate ravioli), and of course, wine. Manerola was the second town, beside Riomaggiore. We had a fabulous seafood dinner there one night at a seaside table with the view of the sunset, and delicious tiramisu.

The middle town, Corniglia, is a bit different than the other four, as it is the only one that is not down at sea level. Instead, it is perched on top of a cliff, accessible on either side be steep and plentiful stairs. But, apart from the spectacular 180 degree view from the tip of the town, Corniglia had another hidden treasure, it’s beach. The train station is on the right side of the city. After walking up about 400 stairs you arrive at the top of the city. You stroll down the streets and see signs for “del mare” (the sea) leading off to the left side with arrows pointing down. The last thing you want to do at this point is go all the way back down after having just walked up there. Perhaps that’s why there are so few people down there, and, perhaps that’s why it was such a special find for us… because we had to work for it.

For those determined enough to make the trek back down the left side of the city, you come to a tiny marina and rocky beach (even smaller than Riomaggiore). The coolest part, though, is that there is a cement pier that juts out into the middle of the roaring, turbulent waves. We stood on that pier forever, just watching the waves around us rise and fall 10-30 feet as the waves came in and out, each time crashing violently around the huge rocks. The water is really amazing to watch, and also quite relaxing. We would make a second trip to this beach, later in the week, and we actually convinced ourselves to take a dive in these extraordinary waters (that's actually Chad diving into the water in this picture).

As with most costal areas, the weather can sometimes change by the hour. We had beautiful weather for most of our entire trip, but on a couple of the days there was an hour of rain here or there, that would quickly pass. One day, just as we were going back to our beach in Riomaggiore, we heard thunder and saw some dark clouds rolling in. So, we decided, instead, to stop at the little pub on the path next to the beach and see if rain would follow the thunder. It’s a good thing we did, because for the next hour we watched a really intense thunderstorm from the covered deck of this pub. There was lightning over the ocean & over the villages, and it even started to hail. On another night, we watched a spectacular lighting show out over the ocean for several hours, which was really amazing.

One afternoon we decided to take a long hike on one of the high trails between Vernazza and Corniglia. It was a difficult, but fun hike. You get such an amazing view of the towns, the mountains and the ocean once you are high above them. It’s also nice to be completely surrounded by the silence of nature. Way up at the top of the trail was a sanctuary. It was a large church with adjoining building in the middle of the woods. It was locked up and appeared to be empty. Perhaps it is used for retreats or something. It was very peaceful, though with a running fountain and statues, gigantic trees and a beautiful view. The path we were following actually stopped existing after a while (but that’s a different story), so we ended up following the main car road back down to the town.

For the last two days, we moved to Monterosso, and stayed in Manuel’s Guest house (where Christy and I had stayed). It is up on the hill and offers the best view of the city and ocean. It is also a really neat house (only 5 rooms) with a large veranda with tap beer and wine. Nice! It is the biggest of the 5 towns, and the only one with a proper beach. We took advantage of that one hot afternoon.

From Monterosso, we decided to take the two toughest low trail hikes: Monterosso to Vernazza, and Vernazza to Cornignia. And, they were tough, indeed, but very rewarding. A ton of up and down, and back up again. Tiny stone stairs and narrow pathways that dropped of dramatically. It was after this long hike that we again made our way down to the beach beside Cornigia and jumped in for a swim. The rolling waves and cool water felt very rewarding.

We had a wonderful time in Cinque Terre. I think it was exactly what both of us needed. It was a true get-away, relaxing, romantic. When you are there, you really feel like you are fortunate to have places like this that (for the time being) are not too large, loud or touristy. I’m so glad we were able to go here. It made our second anniversary that much more special.

-S

PS: As a side note, to get to Cinque Terre, we flew in and out of Pisa, and took a train from there. So, the day we flew out, we decided to do the touristy thing and go and see the leaning tower. We appropriately donned our Fat Heads t-shirts, in hopes of making it on the wall of fame in Pittsburgh, and we leaned and held our arms up in the air with all of the other silly tourists. So, we can check this off of our list now. But, in all honestly, apart from the mobs of tourists and cheesy vendors, the tower, and the surrounding white marble buildings, are quite beautiful. If it weren't for the leaning tower, I doubt many people would go to see this area since Pisa is sort of a small city.

More pics from our trip are online: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157620734104968/

Conversation with the tax lady

June 12, 2009

I just got off the phone with the Dutch 'trash tax' department. It was a really really priceless conversation. After getting transferred around, I get to the department that I was 'supposed' to be talking with (this is the 3rd woman I have spoken with on the 1 call). She says that she must speak Dutch to me, by law. So, I say that I must have the wrong number, because was transferred to her in order to get a specific piece of information about my trash tax.

She says that she wants to help me--talks a bit in English--says that the people around her in her office are looking at her, and that her boss is coming to sit next to her. I ask to speak with her boss, & she had no idea what to do. There was a mixture of surprise and fear in her voice, and she says that 'isn't a good idea'. I say that I am just trying to pay my trash tax. She asks me to hold, and gets off the line for a min (supposedly talking with her boss) and then comes back and helps me quickly in English. She was a nice woman, just unsure of how to handle the situation.

In the end, I said that she had made my weekend. She said that I made hers.

-C

First trip home after one year in Holland

It is hard to believe that it has been an entire year since we were in the US. We didn't plan on it being that long, but it just worked out that way. Both of our parents were able to come out and visit us, and Chrsity/Vegar came out our way for Christmas, so we didn't go home. Needless to say, we were very excited to finally go back for a visit. We had a list in our heads of all of the places we wanted to go, people we wanted to see, & foods we wanted to eat. We looked forward to seeing signs in English, to understanding people when they talk to you, and to being around so many familiar things again.

One of the first things I noticed, even on the plain, was hearing all of the "American English." It was nice, just like when we visit the UK, to be able to understand background conversations. All transactions in shops and restaurants are very easy; no miscommunications, no repeating ourselves 3 times and still getting it wrong, no strange looks when we say something… it was a relief. I had a different perspective on the American conversations I heard. I can see how sometimes Americans can sound annoying and whiny to other people. We seem to just talk louder, and I heard a lot of people complaining. To be fair, though, it is very possible (and probable) that Dutch people are complaining all around me all the time, but I just don't understand what they are saying to know that it's a complaint. Haha!

Meagan and Trevor picked us up from the airport, and, after a quick trip to Chick Fil-A, we were pretty much useless that first night, so we went to bed early. Saturday morning Chad and I woke up like a lightning bolt around 4 AM, since it was already 10 AM Rotterdam time. We were able to make ourselves sleep a couple more hours, until about 6 or 7. Then we decided to get up and go for a jog down Grandview Avenue, just like old times. It was really nice to be up there again, looking at the quiet city in the morning. We also walked by our old apartment to take a look (looks the same of course). Hard to believe we spent almost 3 years there.

We went to the Strip District to eat breakfast at Pamela’s. The food was great, as usual, and it had been a while since we’d had a good American breakfast with pancakes, home fries, eggs/omelets, sausage, etc. It was funny, but as we walked around the Strip, everyone looked so "American" to me. People in their shorts and tennis shoes, ball caps, cups of to-go coffee, Penguins’ t-shirts (well, it is the playoffs), polo shirts, etc. Another observation was that we also saw a lot more overweight people than we’ve seen anywhere in our entire year in Europe. Now, granted, standing in front of Pamela's in the Strip is probably one of the places where you'll see this the most, but it was interesting to have a sort of third person perspective. The people look different here. When we lived there we were so used to it that we didn’t notice.

That afternoon, Chad's parents came up to Pittsburgh, and we had a wonderful afternoon in the hot sun, barbequing and playing corn hole. The Pens game was on that night, and I struggled to stay awake to even 10:00 to see the end. Sunday morning, we marked off a major item on our checklist and went to eat at Fat Heads and have some great American micro-brews. Chad and I split a burger topped with a pierogi, and the South Side Slopes (which, for those of you unfortunate enough not to know, is a huge sandwich with a split kielbasa, pierogi, grilled onions, and cheese). We ate as much as we could, but still had to take some home.

My dad came up to Pittsburgh and picked me up at Meagan's, and we went to pick up Christy, Laura, and Nikau (her son) at the airport. Chad went to Wheeling with his parents for a couple of days. It was nice to see Chris & Laura again, and Nikau was so adorable. At home, we were greeted by a cute little puppy, Riley, my mom's newest addition to the zoo. She is so tiny, only 4 pounds, and really fun to play with.

Monday, the four of us went to the lake to see Mike and Sue. It was nice to relax on the dock by the water & to sit in the middle of the mountains again. I miss them, because Holland is so flat. Christy and I rode the jet ski for a bit, which is always fun. Then we went to the movies and saw the new Star Trek, which was really well done and funny, too. We went to Chedder’s to eat dinner, a new restaurant in Morgantown. I took note of how polite the hostesses and waiters are. Imagine that, they actually Care about customer service. And, it was nice to have a big tall glass of ice water with no hassle, or accidentally ordering a bottle of sparkling Avian water.

Wednesday I went back up to Pittsburgh to have lunch with the Julies and Jen. Shrum wasn't working that day, so she brought Abby to lunch, who had gotten so big since I saw her when she was only a couple weeks old. It was nice to catch up with the girls, and hear how things at FedEx are going (mostly the same, of course). When I was telling them all of the places we had been, I realized how much we have done in just one year. It's amazing what you can do with 45 vacation days. ;) After lunch, I experienced a miracle… I got my PA drivers license renewed! I didn't have the exact form I needed, and I had a receipt of an online payment that I wasn't sure they'd take, etc. But with only minimal eye rolling on their part, and 1.5 hrs of waiting, I got it. Major mission accomplished (Chad was also able to renew his WV license in Morgantown, so we’re covered for the next 4 yrs).

It was a busy day. I met up with Chad and we went to H&R Block to sign the paperwork for our 2008 taxes, since they had helped us remotely. Then we went to the mall and had fun looking at all of the Penguins’ gear and the Super Bowl shirts in Dicks. Chad was mesmerized by the gigantic wall of American footballs and basketballs. I think I saw a tear in his eye. It was sort of surreal walking through the mall; all of the variety of shops, familiar signs, people wearing t-shirts of local sports teams, convenient little add-ons and options to everything, people eager to help you or answer your questions. Malls are really a snapshot of American culture (as is Costco, haha).

Thursday I met up with my ol’ girl Rose head. Fittingly, we met at the mall food court and had Chick Fil-A. Mmmm. It was nice to catch up with her. Chad then came down that night to stay in Motown the rest of the week. That night, my parents took all of us to an awesome new restaurant on Chestnut Street called Dragonfly. It was sort of an Asian fusion style, with really good seafood and sushi. It was incredible. Then, Christy and Chad and I met up with Laura, Sommer and Scotty, and hit up Gibbie’s and McClaugherty’s.

Friday we had a big cookout at my parent’s house, and all of Christy’s friends that were in town for the shower came over, along with a lot of other people. It was great to sit out on the deck again, smell the grill, drink good American beer, and catch up with people that we hadn’t seen in a year or more.

Saturday was Christy’s shower. It was really nice, and everyone had a great time. Her friends brought their kids, and it was amazing for me to see all of these girls in “mom-mode,” after seeing them all growing up & getting in trouble together. Sittee, Aunt Pat, and Nicole came up from Charleston, and it was really nice to see them again, too. The shower made me get really excited for the wedding. I think Christy was, too. Only two months to go!

With mixed emotions, we made our way back to the airport on Sunday. It was nice to be home for 10 days, because it was long enough to really be able to relax, and get a lot of things done at the same time. But, it was hard, again, to leave everything in our lives that is so familiar to us, and come back to Holland. Thankfully we are really settled in and having a great time in Rotterdam, so we don’t feel the anxiety we felt when we first moved. But, it’s still hard to leave our family and friends, and leave our lives on hold for another 2 years. I guess sometimes the really good things in life come with a sacrifice of some sort. You just always hope that the experiences gained are worth the sacrifice. I think in this case it is worth it.

-S

Pics from our trip home:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157619304600635/

Counting Crows concert at Ahoy

May 4, 2009

I was unaware that Holland gets some big-name concerts quite often. Most of the time they will play in Amsterdam, for the larger crowd, but Rotterdam also hosts quite a few bands at their Ahoy arena. So, Chad and I snagged a couple tickets to see the Counting Crows. As it turns out, my friend Dennis, who is now living in Oxford, UK, was coming in to town with his brothers that same day. So, they decided to buy tickets to the show, as well. The best part about Ahoy, is that it is extremely easy for us to get to. We only have to take the metro 4 stops, then it's a short 5 minutes walk to the arena! Really convenient.

The concert was good, and it was nice to hear some live music again. The arena itself, though, does not seem to have the best acoustics, but I think we were in one of the smaller stage areas. We were on the middle level of seating, and we walked over to the side of the stage, and the sound was much better. We also had easier access to beer and toilets (both necessities). It was a fun night, and good to catch up with Dennis. Looking forward to the next concert!

-S

Pics from the concert:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157617917753812/