She Floats!

Major milestone occurred last week.  The Dr3am was floated back to her final resting place until she floats out.  Below is a picture I pulled from the ship yards webcam.  The front bow sections were attached and all the major blocks are in place.

I will be going to Europe in August but no plans to visit P@penburg until September.  It is going to be a busy Summer.

MS Bike ride 2010 'Team Peace"

Upon my return from Barcelona and Germany I rode in the MS 2010 Citrus tour bike ride. It was a great ride with Chance, Ed and I doing the Century. Team Peace's other participants Jeremy and Debra finished the 75 mile ride. Take note that Jeremy actually did close to 90 miles. The ride is for a great cause as all money donated by sponsors goes toward research for Multiple Sclerosis. As a Team we raised over $2300.00. Chance rode the 2009 Citrus tour solo which motivated Ed and I to start riding again. I am hoping that next year we will pull in other riders and grow Team Peace.

The ride is a great Florida ride which does include a few hills. Seems Chance did not remember them and described the route as flat. Two lessons were gleamed from this ride, do not get caught up in other riders feats and don't stop for a long lunch. Seems that the 100 mile route ran tandem with the 50 and 75 mile routes a couple of places. A large group would fly by and we would chase them going speeds we had previous discussed trying to avoid. Then when the Century route would break off we would realize we were chasing people doing a fraction of the mileage that we had signed up for. Lunch is a catered stop featuring a basic sandwich, chips and a drink. The lunch stop is situated at a location where all the routes converge so hundreds of riders pour in at the same time. We stood in line for 10 minutes then the rest of Team Peace arrived so we sat with them for awhile. Chance who had pulled in first was itching to get back out so I followed him. The pain of the next 14 miles trying to rid our bodies of lactic acid soaked muscles was not pleasant. We came upon Debra and I hung back with her thinking I would catch Chance at the next stop but he blew by it as he was picked up with a large group. In the end we all finished at different times. Next year I hope to not only accomplish the ride in under six hours but to also finish 12 pounds lighter.

A big thanks to those who sponsored me and Team Peace it meant the world to me.

LOST season finale

LOST was the only show that I watched with any passion.  It would seem that it was six year commitment, more on that later. The season finale was a disappointment for me. There are many reasons and while the end did not "do it for me" I am at peace with it being over.  I enjoy the science and religious debates which is what I thought we would have more of. I think it comes down to the different type of LOST viewers and who liked the ending.  I am one who does not get attached with a specific character(s).  The actors persona are extremely important because each character is the medium through which the story is told but the story and timeline is what I analyze.  If the viewer falls in love with the characters and emotionally connects they probably loved the ending because it brought peace to what happened to the most of their friends.  I wanted the answers to so many questions. 

I built up hope that every nuance in six seasons would be reviewed and that I could put the writers on a pedestal. For me I wanted the answers to be based on religious and science principles this expectation is what made my disappointment. 

I hope in a few years someone realizes the writers altered time.  I have read that the pilot episode started in 2004.  I can vividly remember having the first deep LOST discussion at breakfast with friends and pulling into the parking lot at work and sitting there pondering and starting my list of questions.  How six seasons went by is beyond me and I have to believe time was altered.

The blokes at O'Reillys speak my language -

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Das Rathaus und der Marktplatz

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Sally did me right

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

An evening in Dusseldorf

I am in Dusseldorf waiting for my early AM flight home.  Bob suggested I go to the river-front. I was getting no where with front desk trying to get them to suggest a restaurant.  So Sally Googled from thousands of miles away while I IMd her from my BlackBerry. I had streets and neighborhoods from a map the front desk offered.

I ended up at Zum Schiffehen on the Rheine. I am starting with a apple butter spread and bread then roasted salmon... I hope I read it right.

Zum Uerige Bergerstrasse 1Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Papenburg train station

At the train station waiting to board the train to Duiburg.  Got here a little early and it is 42F. 



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

View from Pascucci Inn

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Block mover

Baby to the shuttle mover this thing is driven via remote control and can move the blocks around the yard. Going into the baulock building to inspect the recent server room work.

Ship is going to float in less than two weeks !!!!



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Beer at the Pascucci Inn

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Grocery store

Beer bottles go into a recycling machine. You can send a crate into it or put them in one at a time. Bob snagged almost four euro in returns.  It is amazing how different the food can be, this is the third time I have walked around in a Grocery store and I am always finding something amazing.  .  American salad dressing??? It said orange..... what the heck is that?  Checkout is very fast and you must do 80% of the effort and of course  the Beer section is huge!


Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

No facebook for me

I was tricked into watching the backyardigans.  Drew said "hey does a disk fit in this slot?" Next thing I knew a disc was going in and the movie started.



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Bike MS ride 2010

It has been one year since Chance rode his first century on my road bike. Since that time he has his own road bike and has logged close to 2000 miles.  Many of those miles are with me trying to keep up with him. Our friend Ed has joined us and we ride all over central Florida.  We have teamed up with two other cyclists and formed Team Peace.  Please visit our Multiple Sclerosis Ride 2010 page and find out what it is all about. 

 

Team Peace without Debra

The ride is May 15th and starts at BOK gardens and ends at Caribe Royale Resort on World drive.

Delayed Luggage found

I received an email from the Ritz Carlton in Barcelona that my bag has been in their luggage room for a few days.  I was able to talk our port agent into picking it up for me.  Kevin from work has the next turn and will make sure the contents get to their right owners and my gear comes back to the states.

I have no clue how it made it to the Ritz???

My camera charger was  in that bag so the battery has died. I hope when I go to bob's I have a way to pull the pictures off.

P-berg Windmill

No I did not ride a bike to Holland. This is in one of the town squares and seems to be a museum.



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Wirsthaus

Only one place in town (so far) that you can find bavarian style food. That would be Wirsthaus.

I do my best eating sauerkraut.  It was served at the Wagner's house and at my grandparents.  When mixed with sausage it is tolerable.       I can remember what I think of as grandma's cabbage garden. Not sure if she made he own kraut or not.


 


Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Bumper cars

I was asked to ride with Drew, one of Scooch's boys.  He is seven.  The ride was crazy. They pumped smoke onto the floor and did not require seat belts. In fact the teenagers would routinely jump between cars during the "battle." Drew drove like a mad man he really did great. We never got stuck and he giggled non-stop for the complete 10 min ride. Yes, it had to be 10 min. We did two turns totaling 20 minutes and these cars seemed to go faster than 6 flags. There were a coulpe of hits that I came out of my seat.

Their fair was very typical to a US except the food the sold. Eels, whole fish sandwiches and a long candy called a lasso.  If you wanted to use the toileten you had to pay :) they had similar cheesy barker games that won you a plush.  The rides were not supervised except for the person selling tickets.  Really odd to see kids run under rides :}o



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Bike Adventure winding down

Well I have made it back to P@penburg. I went to Borger and back up. It looks like a perfect triangle on the map. I never back tracked.
This was the first real "gregg adventure" that I have done while on a foreign trip.  Normally it is lot of work, eating and nightcaps with the Cast and Crew. We then catch the next flight back.  This was a nice break to have a weekend where I can get out on my own.
 The P@penburg fair is going on so I am going to meet Bob and his family.
I stopped at a cafe which looked like more of a bakery. I pointed to the Espresso machine and the young waitress said Cafe?  said Danke and coffee I got. I really wanted an Espresso but oh well. I said English and she just shook her head.  I then pointed to a croissant and I had a mid-afternoon snack.

I might do another ride Sunday


Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Pook

Wish I could get a head butt when I uttered "Pookala"

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Field of flowers

This was a little disappointing as I found another field and the flower looked like a weed.

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Farm field

Still out on bike. Last sign I saw I was 25k away from Papenburg. This farm seems to have a large field of blooming flowers.

Across the street was a solar array on a large barn roof.



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Stumbled on Surworld park

The woods I entered led to a small amusement park. Kids playground, adult rope course, burlap bag slide, tobbogan run, putt putt and some sort of storyland.  I think it is called surworld.



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

A trail into the woods in the middle of nowhere

I think I just found an off road bike park? It is a trail into the woods in the middle of nowhere. The white signs had pictures of different bikes. My camera flash must have went off.



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

No clue where I am germany

I can't find the name of the town that I am in but I can see I am 19 KM away from P-berg.


Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Map of Where I Am on a rented bike

Trying to decide if I should bike back the way I came or go a different route?


http://maps.BlackBerry.com?lat=53.00440&lon=7.49499&z=6&label=Where+I+Am



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

House

The yards are really well kept. A lot of gardens.  I saw a few people tending them. They use hand tools and no mulch.

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Out for a long bike ride

Not sure where I am going or where I am but this fun!


Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Home sweet home for the weekend

Back at the Park inn


Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

GutenTag from p@penburg

Die regen gefolgt mir!

 

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Cafe car on Train from Dueseldorff tp P@penburg

Cafe car



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Lingen, germany

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

View from Train

Farm house



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Defekt Water Closet

Not what I wanted to see right now.



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

From the german country side.

Just left Munster, Germany


Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Map of Where I Am 05-06-2010 10AM

This is my current location.

http://maps.BlackBerry.com?lat=51.42979&lon=6.77711&z=5&label=Where+I+Am



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Train station

I am traveling from Dusseldorph to P@penburg via train.  From airport I took the skytrain which is a Star Wars looking transport that moves humans to their parking decks and Bahn train station.

I guess today will be a plane, train and automobile day.

Weather is 8C and raining.  The station is covered but escalators open up to drafty conditions.

My fleece was in the lost luggage.


Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Inside Skytrain

Skytrain



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

My plane to Germany

My carry-on barely fit on the MD88, how am I going to get it on this jet?

Seems like a full flight as well.  DCL arranged a driver for me but they got me to aeroporte over 2hours early and there is no free wi-fi. 

I need black jeans so I can kinda fit into europe look :)



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

What to pack??

I have one rolling carry-on and a medium-large back-pack for a 10 day trip.  Why would I not check-in luggage??
Bags get lost.

 Many people asked me to carry things to the ship. I packed 80 ipod earbuds, 100 RAM memory sticks, a 3 ring binder and other small things into a DCL duffel. I get to my carousel and the duffel does not.  Trying to communicate to the local lost luggage specialist and provide all my info was a 45 min challenge. 

Three days and still no bag. It had a luggage tag, delta tag and an itinerary and my business card.



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Priorities! Cafe con leche

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Pictures

Dinner at Divinus

 

 This machine would make some ladies very happy!

Now here is a bottle that MIGHT last more than two nights at our house

Tapas you never know what it is until you eat it.. well you still may never know

Warm Apple pie with cinnamon ice cream - Who knew?

Getting lost has benefits

Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Google maps on bb

I have been running between three hotels today. It looked easy on map but streets lack street signs. Google maps on bb make finding them and starbucks easy!

This is my lunch and I only need to stop for 10min so I went with a known commodity



Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.