When is the next cruise?

After our 2 week cruise I started work on August 2. That gave me less than a week to to do final preparations for TLW (our student director training) and less than 2 weeks to get ready for 4 days of training for club supervisors and officers.

Students started moving on campus this Thursday. Today was crazy... Parents were all trying to get as close to the residence hall as possible so they didn't melt in the 100 degree heat when trying to move their son/daughters things.

I am excited for students to be back. I miss the fun stories and craziness that they bring. However, the month of August is not fun. We work crazy hours until Labor Day. It is Friday night and I am thinking about how I have to work Saturday 8:30-5 and Sunday 7:45a-9:30p. When is the next cruise?

Tallinn, Estonia

It is 5:53pm (10:53am EST) and we are sitting in the port of Tallinn, Estonia getting ready to depart for our overnight cruise to St. Petersburg, Russia. The internet is free at the port.....

Just a picture for you as we depart.

Family Pics....Catching Up

On the way back from Asheville my parents stopped in Raleigh to spend a day with us. Like a typical NC summer day it was hot, somewhere in the upper 90's. Kyle suggested going to see an IMAX movie to stay cool. We decided to go to lunch downtown Raleigh and then see Shrek 3 in 3D at IMAX.

The night before Kyle was reading a newspaper article online that listed the top restaurants in NC. One in Raleigh was the Roast Grill. The Grill is a tiny hot dog restaurant that has been open since the 40's. I don't think they've changed anything since the 40's either. At the Grill they cook hotdogs on an open fire and slightly burn them, yummy. They serve 3 toppings, chili, mustard, and coleslaw. So we headed to the Roast Grill for lunch.

When we walked in it was small (the size of my closet) and packed with what looked like regulars. Mom and I looked at each other told Kyle our orders and decided to walk outside to wait. A few minutes later Dad and Kyle came out with lunch. The cokes were in the old school glass bottles. The hot dogs were amazing!

Mom and Dad after lunch at the weiners sign...isn't it spelled wiener?

Mom and Dad drinking out of their glass bottle cokes on the porch that we ate lunch on.

My mom really is addicted to coca-cola.

Last weekend my Dad had his second cardiac ablation. AfterI think a 7 hour surgery we finally got to see him at 9pm. Here are some pictures of Dad as soon as he came out of recovery. He doesn't remember me taking them. He is doing very well a week after surgery and as expected is sore and has bruising. Mom....we don't need anymore details.

Sorry the quality of the pics isn't the best. I took all of these with my iPhone.

Dad after surgery, his eyes are almost swollen from being taped shut and filled with goo.

Mom smiling after a long day of patiently waiting and being calm.

Green Thumb....Who Knew.

I took a break from cruise history to do some planting this weekend. I finally got around to putting the bricks around the back garden. Here are some new pictures of the back yard, patio, and garden.

page I submitted for a layout tag


flox in garden, with a bee doing some work


butterfly enjoying the cone flowers

picture of the backyard and patio


Nala smiling in the backyard

Day 1: Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen existed as a settlement over 6,000 years ago, its first written record did not come until 1043. In 1043 Copenhagen was called Havn (harbour), most people were fisherman. Copenhagen began to grow because of its en route position between the royal seat in Roskilde (west of Copenhagen) and the religious centre of the Cathedral of Lund in southern Sweden, an area that was also full of trading posts.

Copenhagen, the premier capital of Northern Europe, is Scandinavia's most fantastic city and the centre of the most dynamic region in Europe. The city is one of Europe's oldest capitals with a royal touch - the monarchy in Denmark is the oldest in the world. Always buzzing with activity and crammed with people, the city is only completely empty on Sundays, as very few people actually live here. (of course we'll be there on Sunday)

Copenhagen has repeatedly been recognized as one of the cities with the best quality of life. It is also considered one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities. The water in the inner harbor is so clean that it can be swum in. 36% of all citizens commute to work by bicycle, every day cycling a total of 1.1 million km.

Copenhagen is a green city with many big and small parks. King's Garden, the garden of Rosenborg Castle, is the oldest and most visited park in Copenhagen. Every year it sees more than 2,5 million visitors and in the summer months it is packed with sunbathers, picnickers and ballplayers. Characteristic of Copenhagen is that a number of cemeteries double as parks, though only for the more quiet activities such as sunbathing, reading and meditation. (this sounds like a spot for my sister...a park/cemetery)




Something Interesting....

The Little Mermaid statue is only a 10-minute walk from the cruise ship pier in Copenhagen. At less than five feet tall, the statue is much smaller than most people expect, and she sits on a rock near the shore, not in the middle of the harbor.

Hans Christian Andersen wrote "The Little Mermaid" fairy tale in 1837, and in 1909 the founder of Carlsberg Breweries, who was fascinated by the story, had the statue built.

The Little Mermaid statue has sat on her boulder since August 23, 1913, but has had a very turbulent life, with at least eight vandalism attacks. She has been dowsed in paint numerous times, had her right arm amputated, been decapitated three times, and even pushed from her rock in 2003. Fortunately, the sculptor made a mold, so the Little Mermaid's "parts" have been reattached from the original mold.

Destination - Baltic Sea

In a month Kyle and I are headed on a cruise of the Baltic Sea with his family, traveling on the Regent Seven Seas. We fly out on July 17 from DC and arrive in Copenhagen on July 18 at 9am. Here is our cruise itinerary.



Sunday, July 18 - Copenhagen, Denmark
Monday, July 19 - Berlin, Germany
Tuesday, July 20 - Gdansk, Poland
Wednesday, July 21 - Visby, Sweden
Thursday, July 22 - Riga, Latvia
Friday, July 23 - Tallinn, Estonia
Saturday, July 24 - St. Petersburg, Russia
Sunday, July 25 - St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia
Monday, July 26- St. Petersburg, Russia
Tuesday, July 27 - Helsinki, Finland
Wednesday, July 28 - Stockholm, Sweeden

As you probably know I am not really a history person. I have a horrible memory and seem to be great at forgetting history. So for the next few weeks I am going to blog about my cruise as I try to educate myself on our port destinations. I will also be making a passport scrapbook and include you on the design efforts. Thanks for the idea dad!

Stay tuned, I may start with Copenhagen today!

Memorial Day Weekend

Finally a mini vacation. Luckily I had Friday-Monday off, 4 days in a row was nice. Kyle and I rented kayaks for the weekend and took them out to Harris Lake on Friday afternoon and again today. On Friday we took Nala with us for the first time. She was a little hesitant around the boats at first but then was fine and exhausted herself trying to be in front the entire time. We didn't wear bathing suits and both got wet. Nala pulled Kyle into the water and just as we were pulling up to shore a huge boat wave came and poured water in my boat. Today we took Kyle's parents with us and we kayaked while they used our bikes and then we switched. It was a beautiful weekend.







On Sunday night we hosted Rib Fest. Each couple/person could enter in a rack of ribs to the contest. We labeled each rib by a color and everyone voted on their favorite rib. We had 13 entries! Way too many ribs.