Tag Archives: Full-time

Days 11 thru 14 in Deutschland – Recovery Time (Sindersdorf, GE)

Monday was day 11 in Deutschland and I helped Stilla’s brother Wolfgang pick up some old building materials at the edge of town.

There used to be a wood product business here.  It was called Widauer’s.  Wolfgang often made items in his work shop and sold them to Mr. Widauer.  They went out of business a while back and someone is now tearing down and recycling most of the building(s).

IMG_4527

I helped Wolfgang hook up the trailer (below) to the tractor so he could pick up some of the items.

IMG_4529

IMG_4530

Then we loaded up some re-useable lumber, glass windowpane sheets, and other assorted items.  It was a shame to see this place go out of business, I really liked the stuff they had here.  I guess the big stores like IKEA® and others are taking their toll on small businesses here in Germany too.

Here’s some old pics from 2005 of this place:

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (1)
2005 picture at Widauers.
2005 05 26 IMG_1193
2005 picture at Widauer.

I always thought this was a good idea for a patio… that is, if you have a lot of logs laying around that you didn’t know what to do with:

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (44)
2005 picture at Widauers.

How about a German log house?

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (39)
2005 picture at Widauers.

or a massive garden shed:

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (38)

There used to be lots of yard art, furniture, nic-nacs, etc., and other wood-related products for sale:

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (2)
2005 picture at Widauers. Our youngest daughter Joleen.
2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (4)
2005 picture at Widauers. Stilla and Joleen.

Here’s some of the furniture that you could get here back in the day:

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (6)
2005 picture at Widauers.
2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (8)
2005 picture at Widauers.
2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (9)
2005 picture at Widauers.

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (31)

I’m pretty sure that this table and chairs (below) is one that Stilla’s brother Wolfgang made at his workshop and then sold to Mr. Widauer for resale.

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (16)
2005 picture at Widauers.

Now, this ornamental birdhouse (or whatever you want to call it) was definitely made by Wolfgang.  He made us one of these for us that we took back to the States in 2005.  We had it set up in front of our house.  Some of you may remember me posting about moving this over to my Dad’s house in Colorado Springs when we sold our house.  (Link HERE)

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (18)
2005 picture at Widauers.

Here’s a recent pic (below) of what the one in the picture (above) looks like now.  Not sure if this is the same one, but it’s highly likely…

IMG_4524

You can still make out the price tag in the picture below; 1000 euros!  Wow… what a markup.  Wolfgang probably sold these to Widauer for 3 or 4 hundred back in the day.

IMG_4525

In the afternoon, we took Opa with us over to Martin & Maria’s house for dinner.  Maria is Stilla’s older sister.

IMG_4551
I had Bratwurst mit kraut and kartoffeln.
IMG_4552
Stilla had bludwurst, kraut, and kartoffeln. Not one of my favorites.

Festive wood candle arrangement on top of the well at Martin & Maria’s house.  Thanks for the awesome meal Maria!  We sure are eating good here 🙂

IMG_4550

In the evening, I helped William get his IKEA™ kitchen cabinets hung up on the wall.  Almost all together now.

IMG_4554

The next few days, I basically hung around the house here and recovered.  I apparently tore some muscle ligaments in my right shoulder while I was helping Wolfgang hook up the trailer, etc.,  We had trouble lining up the trailer to the tractor and I pushed on the trailer with my shoulder to get it in position.   Big mistake… I could hardly lift my right arm for a couple days.  So, that’s the excuse I’m going to use for being behind on the blog posts 🙂  Plus, we got pretty busy on Friday and have been on the go every day since then… I’ll catch you up in my next post(s).  Til then…

Day 10 in Deutschland – Castles & Chocolate (Eysölden, GE)

On Sunday we were invited over to Richard & Gertraud’s house for another fine home-cooked meal.  Richard is Stilla’s oldest brother.

IMG_4462

Another great meal 🙂  Thanks Richard & Gertraud!  And thanks also to their daughter Tanja for the awesome dessert too!

IMG_4465

In the afternoon, we convoyed in two cars over to the small town of Eysölden.

Screen Shot 2015-12-14 at 12.15.28 PM

There was a Christmas market and event at the old town’s Schloß (castle).  Click HERE for a link to learn more about this castle built in the early 1100’s.

IMG_4467

IMG_4470

IMG_4469

IMG_4497

IMG_4499

IMG_4496

Upstairs, after navigating the old narrow and creaky wooden stairs, we found a number of craft stands and booths with their wares on display:

IMG_4481

IMG_4477

IMG_4484

We met up with Wolfgang and Hildegard who were taking part in the craft market.  Hildegard had lots of sheeps-wool related items for sale.

IMG_4473

IMG_4474
Hildegard (Wolfgang in background) with woolen hand-made items on display.

Nice view through one of the castle tower windows of the town kirche (church) down the street.

IMG_4479

In the courtyard, children sang traditional christmas carols.  A couple stands sold food and drinks in the yard.

IMG_4486

IMG_4488

IMG_4490

The castle also has a small wirtschaft (restaurant/bar) but there was limited seating, so we drove back towards Sindersdorf and stopped at the autobahn rest-area.  Here we went into the Schocolat® confiserie (confectionery) and café for coffee and cake.  This place had just opened when we last visited in 2013… it seems to still be going strong and was really crowded.

IMG_4513

Everything in this place is made of chocolate.  They also have a large viewing window to watch the treats being made.

IMG_4507

Anyone have a sweet tooth?  You can sure spend some money here:

IMG_4503

IMG_4502

IMG_4501

IMG_4505

IMG_4506

IMG_4508

IMG_4510

Have you ever tried a chocolate pizza?  Me either… we just bought a few small items after we enjoyed some coffee and kuchen (cake) in the adjoining café.

IMG_4509

When we got back to the house, William & Jasmin had bought and decorated their Christmas tree.  Nice 🙂

IMG_4516

In other news – one of our daughters in Colorado Springs sent us a picture (below) of the weather there.  Brrrrr 🙁   At least our weather here in Germany has been free of snow and ice so far.  Its just been cold, gray, and damp so far… hopefully our luck holds out.

wIMG_4518

Stay tuned for more German adventure… Bis bald (until later)…

Days 6 thru 9 in Deutschland – Opa’s Big Party (Sindersdorf, GE)

Not a whole lot has been going on since my last post on Tuesday… that is, until this Saturday!  Guess I better report on the last few days and then get you updated on Opas big party that was held at the local gasthaus on Saturday.  Read on:


On Wednesday, I helped William finish putting his IKEA® kitchen cabinets together.  Now we just have to get them hung up on the wall.  His kitchen is almost all together now with the range and oven all hooked up.

IMG_4426

Also on Wednesday, or was it Thursday(?), we took a short drive over to the edge of town to watch the workers put another section on the latest windmill.  Lots of these are going up around here in the area:

IMG_4429

IMG_4430

IMG_4434

And, I think it was on Friday that we did a little shopping at a new mall in Neumarkt which is about 20 kilometers away (map below).

Screen Shot 2015-12-13 at 7.09.02 PM

IMG_4440

IMG_4444
Stilla and William shopping at the mall in Neumarkt i.d.OPf.

IMG_4445

I thought this conveyer belt for food was cool enough to take a picture of.  Can’t say I’ve seen this before.  This was at a sushi place.  The different sushi rolls or other dishes would pass by your table, maybe enticing you to eat more… I’ll never know because we…

IMG_4446

… shared a traditional german currywurst mit pommes frites at one of the other food establishments. 🙂

IMG_4447

Afterwards, we stopped by a local baumarkt (like Home Depot® or Lowe’s®) to get some things that our son William needed at the house.

IMG_4452

IMG_4451

I just had to snap a picture of this American flag toilet seat 🙂  Only €39.99.

IMG_4450

On Friday evening we put the finishing touches on a picture slideshow for Opa’s birthday party and did some pre-testing on audio/video equipment.

IMG_6421

IMG_6423
Stilla, Stefan, and Anneliese.

Finally, on Saturday – the family all gathered for a full-day and into-the-evening birthday celebration for Stilla’s dad who turned 85 last Tuesday.  Stilla’s uncle Rudy, is the owner/operator of a restaurant/hotel on the edge of town called Sinderdorfer Hof (←link) which is where we celebrated:

 

IMG_4455
Sindersdorfer Hof (front entrance)
IMG_6120
Sindersdorfer Hof (hotel section)

IMG_6119

IMG_6121
Stilla inside Sindersdorfer Hof.

The Dotzer family had the whole back room reserved for the day; over 50 people were in attendance!

IMG_6123

IMG_6057
Inside Sindersdorfer Hof.

Wolfgang said a few nice words to get things started:

IMG_6062

IMG_6456

Opa:

IMG_4456

Some of Stilla’s brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.,

IMG_6049

Aunts and Uncles, etc.,

IMG_6052

The younger generation:

IMG_6095

Yummm!  Schnitzel and Braten…

IMG_6076

IMG_6073

Kloß and Knödel…

IMG_6074

and lots of liquid refreshments:

IMG_6182

After our mid-day meal, then coffee, cakes, etc., we had some musical entertainment:

IMG_6101
Katrin.
IMG_6091
Katrin and Maria.
IMG_6108
Maria had a good story to share.
IMG_6460
Anneliese shared a nice christmas story as well.

We kept a slideshow going all day on a TV in the background with all the old pictures of Stilla’s dad with family throughout the years:

IMG_6125

IMG_6197

IMG_6195

IMG_6184

Near the end of the evening, we finally got everyone (Stilla’s brothers and sisters) together for a family photo with Opa.

IMG_6137
(L to R) Ludwig, Wolfgang, Stilla, Richard, Opa, Maria, Stefan, Anneliese.

Once again… Happy Birthday Opa! 🙂  🙂  🙂

IMG_6198


After everyone went home from the birthday party – Stilla and I weren’t ready to call it a night yet, so we walked over to Herbert’s house.  It also happened to be Herbert’s birthday on Saturday and he was celebrating at home with friends and family.

IMG_6203

Here’s a picture of Herbert and his wife Maria that I took of his ‘personalized calendar’ that he just got for the new year.  Notice his cool RV below their picture:

IMG_6210

Good bier from Munich was on tap at Herbert’s 🙂

IMG_6208

Also at Herbert’s birthday party were old friends Barni & Silvia!   They visited us in Colorado Springs several years ago and we took a whirlwind tour around the Grand Canyon area in our old Class-C RV.  It’s always great to see them 🙂

IMG_6206

Here’s an old picture (below) that I pulled from the archives.

IMG_1624
Somewhere near Monument Valley with Barni & Silvia. (circa 2010)

Thanks for the hospitality Herbert and Maria!  And a Happy Birthday to Herbert 🙂

Stay tuned for more fun and adventure from Schnitzeland…  “Bis bald!”

 

Day 5 in Deutschland – Opa’s 85th Birthday (Sindersdorf, GE)

Happy 85th Birthday Opa!

IMG_4361

Today, (Tuesday) was Stilla’s father’s 85th birthday and in accordance with German tradition – all the family, friends, and neighbors came by the house at some point during the day to congratulate him and pay their respects.

IMG_6391

Folks came and went throughout the morning and afternoon.

IMG_6395

Even the town mayor came by to wish him well.

IMG_6389

Stilla, along with a couple of her sisters, made sure coffee, cakes, drinks, etc., were made available throughout the day.  Later in the evening, there was even smoked bratwurst (geräucherte bratwurst) and other brotzeit (←link here) type items for all the guests.  Of course, there was also lots of champagne, sekt, wine, bier, and other refreshments on hand for everyone as well.

IMG_4332

In the evening as more and more folks got off work; the house filled up quickly.

IMG_4343

At one point during the evening, we counted over 25 people in the small kitchen at one time.

IMG_4337

IMG_6399

IMG_6406

It was a good day for Stilla’s father and we all wish him continued good health and many more birthdays!

IMG_4364
Nice birthday basket 🙂
IMG_4363
Birthday gifts that everyone brought throughout the day were stockpiled in the corner of the kitchen 🙂

There will be more birthday celebration this coming Saturday at a local restaurant (gasthaus).  All the family is invited.  Stay tuned…

Day 4 in Deutschland – Birthday Prep (Sindersdorf, GE)

Our 4th day in Germany (Monday) was spent getting prepared for Opa’s (Stilla’s Dad’s) 85th birthday here at the house.  Lots of folks are expected to come by the house on Tuesday (Dienstag) to congratulate him in typical German fashion.  Stilla tells me that even the town mayor is scheduled to stop by.  The ‘big party’ will take place on Saturday, but we had to get extra tables and chairs set up in the old kitchen/dining room for congratulatory guests throughout the day of his actual 85th birthday on Tuesday.  Happy Birthday Opa!

IMG_0086.JPG
Opa during trip to America in 2009. (Bryce or Zion area)
IMG_0092.JPG
Opa taking a ride in my old ’57 Chevy back in 2009 during one of his trips to America.

I forgot to mention in my last post that when we got back to the house Sunday evening, we were able to use Skype® on William’s television to video-chat with our grandson Kaan back in Colorado Springs and watch him open a couple of his presents.  Happy 9th birthday Kaan!

IMG_4301

At one point during the day (Monday), I went with Wolfgang to pick up a trailer-load of wood pellets that he uses in the heater/stove to heat the bed & breakfast portion of the house.

IMG_4310
Wolfgang’s Jeep.
IMG_4312
Wolfgang and a trailer full of wood-pellets.
IMG_4313
Wood pellets for the heating stove.
IMG_4309
Cool old wagon in one of the outbuildings.

Stilla and I went back over to Stefan & Annerose’s house at lunchtime to help with the leftovers from our Sunday dinner.  You just can’t get enough of Sauerbraten mit Kloß and Spaetzle 🙂

IMG_4322

We also went to the local store to pick up bier and refreshments for Opa’s birthday.

IMG_4326

Typical case of German bier:

IMG_4323

I know that the Germans have had these cases of bier for years and years, but I thought it was neat how they split into two-halves for easy transportation.  I still haven’t seen this type of case in the states yet.

IMG_4324

IMG_4325

That’s all for now… Bis Später 🙂

Day 3 in Deutschland – Stefan & Annerose Dinner; Weihnachtschiessen (Meckenhausen, GE)

We spent most of the day (Sunday) at Stefan & Annerose’s house in Meckenhausen which is the next town over from Stilla’s hometown of Sindersdorf.  Stefan is the youngest of Stilla’s four brothers.

IMG_4207

Annerose & Stefan outdid themselves (as usual) and we had lots of good food to eat.  It was almost like Thanksgiving all over again 🙂

IMG_4197

Salads…

IMG_4199

Sauerbraten mit Klöß… Yummm!

IMG_4200

IMG_4202
(L to R) Reinhardt, me, Stilla, Opa, Annerose.
IMG_4201
(L to R) Burschi, Annerose, Inge
IMG_4209
Opa and Stefan.

After dinner we had ice cream…

IMG_4214

and some had adult beverages…

IMG_4231

After dinner, we all went over to the local Schützenhaus.

IMG_4238

We took part in the annual air-rifle competition.  Every Christmas, the club holds a competition and gives out prizes according to how well you score.  The prizes are given out at a big Christmas party to be held later in the month.  Here’s the prices to take part in the competition (below).  We (Stilla & I) spent about $25 in our attempt to get a good score.

IMG_4241

Here’s the rules (regeln)…  Nobody needs a translation do they? 🙂

IMG_4243

And here’s the flyer (below) listing the dates and times to take part in the competition along with a sample of some of the major prizes which include money orders worth 200, 125, & 75 Euros along with an Android Tablet PC.  Everyone ends up winning something at the party which is scheduled for the 19th of December.  It’s always a good time as I recall from years past.

IMG_4244

We paid our entry fee(s) and got our targets:

IMG_4240

and we hit the indoor range:

IMG_4248

IMG_4246

IMG_4245
Neighbors from Sindersdorf (Rita & Xaver Bayer) were already working on their perfect score 🙂
IMG_4250
Stefan takes aim at the targets.
IMG_4251
Stilla.
IMG_4253
Our son WIlliam.

William’s almost perfect center shot (below).  I taught him everything he knows 🙂

IMG_4255

Stefan (below) had an almost perfect shot as well, but it didn’t count because he had too many shots on the target sheet 🙁   He accidentally put 11 shots in a 10 shot sheet which makes it invalid.

IMG_4256

Then it was my turn…

IMG_4257

IMG_4258

IMG_4260

Let’s just say we’ll have to wait until the 19th of December to see how well I scored 🙂

We hung out at the Schützenhaus for a bit before heading back to Stefan & Annerose’s house.

IMG_4264

Where there was more food to be consumed… Yummm dessert 🙂

IMG_4265

IMG_4267

IMG_4268

IMG_4273

Stilla got online using FaceTime® to wish our grandson Kaan a happy birthday.  He’s back in Colorado Springs.  Happy Birthday Kaan!

IMG_4280

Later in the evening, Annerose brought out the ‘brotzeit’.

IMG_4284

IMG_4290

Then we played a dice game called ‘5000’ which I believe the game called ‘Farkel’ is patterned after.

IMG_4292

Stefan had to show off and get a straße, which is rolling a 1 thru 6 on a single turn.  I think he did it twice… “what a show-off” (Angeber) 🙂

IMG_4293

IMG_4294

I won the first of three games… I don’t want to talk about the others 🙂

IMG_4296

Then we called it a night and headed back to the house in Sindersdorf.  What a great day, thanks Stefan & Annerose! Bis Später.

Day 2 in Deutschland – Gluhwein Fest (Sindersdorf, GE)

Authors Note: While in Germany – I’m going to try a NEW format for the blog: “short & sweet”   just a few words and maybe short captions to the pictures.  Why, you ask?  Well, recent feedback from (German) family and friends, indicates that (most, if not all) find it too difficult to take the time to read and translate… they just look at the pictures anyway.  And, since we’re here in Germany until the 11th of January with the content primarily focused on Stilla’s family and our friends here… I’ll try to tone down the blog and make it “short & sweet” starting today.  Here we go…

IMG_4139
Wolfgang and William in the wood shop.

IMG_4129

William’s new IKEA kitchen (below).  I helped William and Wolfgang install a few more pieces today.  We still need to put up cabinets and hook-up the dishwasher.

IMG_4120

IMG_4145
In the hof. Stilla just got back from the garden with Opa.
IMG_4149
Wolfgang made this cool candle out of a birch(?) tree branch.
IMG_4146
Wood stove in Wolfgang’s woodshop. It’s cold here in Germany 😐

View out upstairs window towards the Volunteer Fire Department (Freiwillige Feuerwehr) house across the street.  The Glühwein Christmas (Weihnachten) party is scheduled to be held there later tonight.

IMG_4121

In the evening, we went across the street to the Glühwein party at the Volunteer Fire Department House.  This is an annual event held by the town Maibaum Verein (Maypole Club).

IMG_4171

The townsfolk gathered around the fires and tables set up by the Maibaum Verein.  They sold Glühwein, bier, wiener & bretzen (pretzels).  Lots of free stollen (cake) was also on hand.

IMG_4179

IMG_4167

IMG_4161
Neighbors and friends; Herbert and Werner.
20151205_224228_LLS
More neighbors and friends. (L to R) Claudia, Me, Stilla, Gunter.

Lone-standing burning log put out some good heat 🙂

IMG_4169

IMG_4182
Family Friends; Silvia & Barni. They visited us in Colorado several years back. We did a RV tour together in our old Class-C through the south-west.
IMG_4186
Herbert, Xavier, and Stilla.
IMG_4187
(L to R) Claudia, Stilla, Gunter, Werner.  Claudia & Werner visited us in Colorado back in the early ’90s once.

We walked into the Maibaum Verein (Maypole Club) clubhouse.  No one was using it this evening because everyone was hanging around outside around the fires.

IMG_4193

IMG_4194

There were some old pictures on the wall of us getting the maypole and putting it up.   I think these pictures were from the late ’90s.  The second picture down on the left side is of my old tailgate table and umbrella that I used to put on the receiver hitch of my Dodge Dakota pickup.  I was surprised to see these old pictures… pretty cool 🙂  I’m also in a couple of the other pictures (below) along with family and neighbors.

IMG_4192

My old Jeep CJ-7 (upper left in picture below).  I think I was hauling a bunch of the tree branches from the recently harvested Maypole tree.  Mid or late ’80s.  The lower left pic has three of Stilla’s brothers in it (Stefan, Wolfgang, Richard), a brother-in-law (Martin), and good family friend (Barni).

IMG_4190

Stay tuned for Day 3 activities… we’re invited to Stefan & Annerose house for dinner today (Sunday).  Stefan is Stilla’s youngest brother.   I’m sure there will be lots of good food to be eaten 🙂

Travel to Schnitzel-Land (Munich, Germany)

We had to get up before 5 AM so we could check-in (2-hours prior) for our scheduled flight to Germany at 08:30.  Ugghh 🙁  My stepdad Jim and brother Steve drove us to the Phoenix Skyharbor International Airport.  Thanks Jimmy and Steve!

We said our goodbyes’ to Mom and little ‘Coach’ in the early morning before we left.  Coach didn’t look too worried that we were leaving… he probably thinks we’ll be right back as usual.  He’ll be just fine hanging out at the dirt farm.  Thanks for watching him Mom!  Hopefully, she gives him back to us when we return 🙂

IMG_4069
Cool WWI era bi-plane on display at Phoenix Skyharbor International Airport.

The check-in and subsequent flight out of Phoenix was relatively uneventful.  Our two bags were right at the allowed weight of 50-lbs each thanks to some pre-weighing and re-packing at the dirt farm .  Of course, the TSA agent patted me down after my artificial hip set off the metal detector alarm… that’s always fun 😐

Our connecting flight was in Atlanta, GA where we had a ~three hour layover.

IMG_4071

Stilla survived the flight(s) just fine.  We got into Munich around 8 AM on Friday.  Turbulence was minimal and the  take-off / landings were smooth.  If I calculated correctly, I think it took us about 17 hours to get here from the time we left Casa Grande.

Wolfgang (one of Stilla’s four brothers) was waiting for us in Munich after we got through passport control and had collected our luggage.  He picked us up in his RV (below) and drove us to the house.

IMG_4072
Wolfgang (Stilla’s brother) posed in front of his RV after we arrived at the house.

Screen Shot 2015-12-05 at 9.54.41 AM

And here we are in Sindersdorf, GE.  The Dotzer family house!  Stilla and I used to have the second-floor of the house when we lived here.  Maybe I’ll post more about that later with regard to dates and times…  Our son William lives here now.  Of course – Stilla’s dad, ‘Opa’ (which means Grandpa in German) still lives here too, along with Wolfgang and his girlfriend Hildegard.  Wolfgang has turned some of the rooms in the adjoining building (which used to be the barn) into a bed & breakfast.  He keeps moving his wood-working shop to different parts of the house.  We left here in 2005 when the Army sent me to Fort Carson, CO but we visited again for a few weeks back in 2013.

IMG_4077

Wolfgang put up the American flag on the pole in front of the house in honor of our arrival 🙂

IMG_4078

We fought off jet-lag and fatigue while we met with many of Stilla’s relatives and friends throughout the rest of the day until we finally got to bed.  Here’s some pictures (below).  Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of everyone that stopped by to greet us, but we’ll have plenty of time for that later.

IMG_4082
Hildegard (Wolfgang’s girlfriend) made us a nice traditional ‘brotzeit’ after we got in.
IMG_4104
Our son William and his girlfriend Jasmin.
IMG_4085
Stilla’s sister Maria and her husband Martin.
IMG_4089
Stilla’s dad ‘Opa’ and Stilla. Opas’ 85th birthday is on the 8th of December!
IMG_4101
A couple of Stilla’s nieces (Tanja and Nicole).
IMG_4109
Annerose & Stefan. Stefan is Stilla’s youngest brother.

As I mentioned before – we had many other friends and relatives greet us but I forgot to get pictures.  Our social agenda is filling quickly with parties and dinners being scheduled around other already scheduled events.  For instance, later today (Saturday) there’s a Christmas party with ‘Glühwein’ across the street here in our little town (dorf) that we’ll attend.  (flyer below)

IMG_4119

And here’s a picture of my favorite beer… or more-correctly; German ‘bier’ 🙂   Ahhh goood!

IMG_4106

Stay tuned for more travel adventures without the Urban Escape Vehicle… which is safely tucked away at the ‘dirt farm’ in Casa Grande, AZ.  Our return flight is scheduled for the 11th of January, which leaves us plenty of time to get to the Alpine Coach Rally in Quartzsite, AZ on or about the 19th.

 

A Dirt Farm Thanksgiving (Casa Grande, AZ)

Wow!  I can’t believe it’s been over a week since my last post.  We’ve been super busy enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday at the “dirt farm” and then prepping for our trip to Germany.

IMG_4052

It was your typical American Thanksgiving; We enjoyed lots of good food…

IMG_4024

IMG_4021

IMG_4020

IMG_4017

with lots of good people…

IMG_4030

All my relatives in the area came out to the “dirt farm”.  We even had some come in from far away places:  My Aunt Kathy came down from Sun City Grand (Phoenix) for a few days with her boyfriend from Canada;  My cousin’s daughter (Jules) came down from Denver with her boyfriend from Ireland.

IMG_4011

My cousin Kristine came down from Denver.  That was a special treat!  Haven’t seen her in years.  Here she is (below) looking through an old photo album.

IMG_3998

IMG_4016

Here’s me and my brother Steve.

IMG_0107

We even had family friends come down from Tempe.

IMG_4034

After an awesome dinner, we played some games.

IMG_4036

And just hung out.

IMG_4033

After all the holiday festivities and lots of leftovers… I spent some time cleaning the Harley to put it away while we’re gone.

IMG_4056

Then I got the ATV out to prep it for when we get back.  I keep it stored here at the dirt farm and we’ll want to take it with us to Quartzsite in January when we get back from our Germany trip.

IMG_3958

I even cleaned up the trailer that I keep here on the farm and took it up to Phoenix for an annual service.  I bought it a year ago and got a timely phone call from Trailers-Plus telling me that the one-time free service was due.

IMG_4059

Here’s little ‘Coach’ running around the farm.  We’ll leave him here with my Mom during our trip.  He’s turned into quite the farm dog and enjoys being off leash.

IMG_4060

I then got the oil changed on the Urban Escape Vehicle at a nearby Speedco (←link).  I also topped off the fuel tank at a nearby Pilot Flying-J and drained the tanks.  I then gave it a good washing in preparation for leaving it here in storage while we fly to Germany for Christmas and New Year.

IMG_4057

IMG_3957

Now, we just have to finish packing our suitcases 🙂

My next post will be from Germany.  We leave on the 3rd of December and will return on the 11th of January.  Follow along…

Back at the “Dirt Farm” (Casa Grande, AZ)

We made it!  We’re back at the “dirt farm” in Casa Grande, AZ where we’ll stay parked until we get back from our trip to Germany on the 11th of January.

Screen Shot 2015-11-23 at 8.09.08 AM

We made the circa. 290 mile trip from our overnight boondocking spot at the Red Earth Casino located next to the Salton Sea without incident.  We arrived at my brother Steven & Cheryl’s ~5 acre “dirt farm” in Casa Grande, AZ before dusk.  I wrote about why they call it the “dirt farm” in previous posts HERE and HERE.

IMG_3908
Driving across the border into Yuma, AZ.

IMG_3915

Stilla even took over driving duties for the last 100 miles or so 🙂

IMG_3943

IMG_3917
The long and straight Highway 8 (east bound).

IMG_3948

Here’s the Urban Escape Vehicle in front of Mom’s house.

IMG_3950

A few pictures around the “dirt farm”:

IMG_3951

IMG_3952
Opposite side of Mom’s house, looking at one of the chicken coops and the casita.
IMG_3954
My brother Steven & Cheryl’s house on the “dirt farm”.
IMG_3953
Steven & Chery’ls (new to them) Class-C RV parked by their house.
IMG_3955
View of the “back 40″… the horse corrals and sheds behind Steven & Cheryl’s house.

We’re expecting to have a bunch of relatives and friends here for Thanksgiving, so we’ll enjoy that while we get prepared to leave for Germany on the 3rd of December.

I was able to find a couple round-trip tickets for just under $1,200 so we’re all set to spend the Christmas and New Year holiday(s) with Stilla’s family.  And, more importantly her father’s 85th birthday on the 8th of December.

I’ll post again in a couple/few days… there’s lots to do before we leave: I’d like to get the oil changed in the Coach, plus we still need to top off the fuel tank and dump our tanks…  Check back soon 🙂