Best Intentions...

Turns out that the days are far too full, and the internet far too intermittent for regular updates, but I have posted pictures on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/stevenbland

There will be details, stories, and pictures and video I promised once I get home and can take a stay-cation to recover from my vacation!

It's raining in Cochem this morning, but we still hope to head out to skate around noon--the high temp is not expected to top 60!

The First Day on the River

Just a few pictures before bed:

Laurie and Brock in front of the hotel before we headed out.

Natalie on the ramp.  You can see that she's placed her left skate so that it will brace against the lif of the step, which then slants down.  BIZARRE!

Our first adventure before we even got on the path! A steep ramp with shallow steps which faced UP, making it virtually impossible to skate, with a sharp turn onto the path at the bottom, and the river RIGHT ahead! (Our hotel is the 12th through 14th floors of the tall building in the background.)

The fog burning off as we headed out of town.

An early view of the Mosel and the path in France

Just after consulting the map of our day's route (the right of Paul).

The campground where we got briefly lost in Malling, from the other side of the river.

Our first vineyards!  Many more to come, but everyone was very excited about the FIRST!

One of our many crossings of the Mosel, leaving Contz-les-Bains

Aaron and Tracie in Sierk-les-Bains, where we stopped for sorbets and cidre.

Steve on the bridge into Remich, Luxembourg, with our hotel just by my left ear.

The view from my window in the hotel in Remich, looking back to the bridge where the previous picture was taken.

Sunday in Paris

In order to get back to blogging what I do each day, rather than being a day or more behind, I’m going to put in a very brief ‘placeholder’ for the last day and Paris, and then jump ahead to the day I’ve just completed.


In brief (words I RARELY use!), I got up at 10:30, got all my stuff together, and checked out of the hotel at noon. Took the Metro to the train station and left my luggage in the luggage locker area. Then Laurie, Lara and I skated to the Sunday Skate at Place de la Bastille. 12 miles of skating, during which we hooked up with Blossom! Blossom joined Laurie, Lara, and I for the skate back to the train station, stopping on the way for dinner. Then the train to Thionville, a nice walk over the bridge to the hotel, and blessed sleep!

Much more later, but for now, that tells you the brief details of Sunday, and I get to work on Monday, our first day on the Mosel!

A Free Day in Paris (Saturday)

I’m sitting on the train out of Paris on day 3. We’ve had adventures and mishaps, unexpected discoveries and minor disappointments. It’s been a truly memorable vacation so far, but you’ll have to wait and learn about it in sequence. The last time I blogged we had finished the Friday night skate and I was ready to get to sleep, VERY late on Thursdayfriday. (We’ve still been too busy to relax much, and that means I haven’t gotten to share everyone’s pictures, but I expect that to change tomorrow. We leave the big city and spend some more relaxing time in the country, and I hope I’ll start SHOWING you what we’ve done, rather than just telling you about it!)

Even though I didn’t get to sleep until 3:30, I slept immediately, and like a log. I woke up around 9:15 wanting more sleep, but still refreshed. Half the group was already at breakfast when I got there, enjoying a full and varied buffet—cereal, orange juice, grapefruit juice (pamplemousse—love that word!), coffee, croissant, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, hard rolls, a beautiful fresh fruit salad…I’m sure I forgot a few things. The group (12 of us now in the hotel together) wandered in and out as some woke up later; some ate earlier and got cleaned up dressed. By 10:30 we were ready to head out.

Everyone had different things on their list of ‘must do’s’ for their one free day in Paris, and the only scheduled event wasn’t until 11 that night. Somehow we all agreed to head first to the Eiffel Tower. We wanted a picture together there as our ‘quintessential Paris memento’. Some were interested in climbing The Tower, but some just wanted to gather there and then split up for separate adventures.

We all made it through the Metro ticket-buying experience (un Carnet, s’il vous plait), and more importantly, the ticket USING process! A few stops down the light green number 6 line (in the direction Charles de Gaulle –Etoile) and we were out on the streets of Paris. This was my third trip to Paris (High School Foreign Language club junior year and a weekend in March of ’09 on my own for the skates), but somehow the first view of la Tour Eiffel UN-jades just about everyone. It is awe inspiring, familiar, touristy, personal, ugly, beautiful, and absolutely unique. This is why, despite all our individual goals for the day, we agreed that we wanted a picture taken here.

After passing the white-face statue man, the gold lamé pharaoh (woman?), and 30 or so vendors with meter-square cloths offering Eiffel Towers in 8 or 10 sizes (not to mention several trios of camouflage-clad Frenchmen with automatic rifles (I’m sorry, I know it’s 2010 and they are there for my safety…but they did NOT make me feel safer, and they reminded me that we do not live in the world that I wish we lived in), we got close enough to really see the crowd. I’ve been here before when there were skaters free-styling among the crowd, and you could stroll your way through the plaza beneath. But this was a Saturday morning in August, and the entire area under The Tower seemed to be filled with queued visitors.

We found an area across the street, and commandeered a bench where we could lean, sit, and stand in such a way that the whole group and nearly the whole tower would be in the picture—a ubiquitous image, but somehow with a new slant. (A dozen pictures on six or so cameras, auto-timer that never went off, a picture of the tower without any people…I’m sure at least ONE of these pictures will be a wonderful memento—I just hope it’s not one of the ones that is missing the cameraman—I hope Brad’s auto-focus pics come out!)

Now it was time to split up, but we couldn’t quite decide who was going where. While we were deciding, Aaron and Tracie headed off to climb The Tower (I later learned that they climbed to the second story of the second level), and Natalie went in search of information on a boat tour of the Seine, which Brad had suggested. She came back quickly and said that there was a boat right down the stairs to the quai where we were; one left every 20 minutes for a one hour tour. It was €11, and there was no line. We all looked at each other, and our individual plans took a step backward. This seemed like a great plan, and NONE of us were adamant about a specific plan for Paris, as the group experience was paramount.

Mar on the Seine with Notre Dame behind her.

Ten of us took the tour (half an hour or so to buy the tickets and wait for the tour, and then an hour on the river). We all took out our cameras, and Brock continued to shoot video. Have I mentioned yet that the weather was perfect? Blue skies with a few light clouds, comfortable temperature (by now it was about 24°C (that’s about 75°F). What an ideal day to be on the Seine! For many, this was the perfect introduction to Paris (when you only have a few days, at least you see many of the highlights) and for others like myself, it was a lovely reminder of the beauty and history of the city. It was truly a joy to share this experience with my friends—to see their first reaction at the sight of Notre Dame reminded me to LOOK at it, not just to see it as a familiar sight. It is truly a beautiful building. Eyes grew wide at the size, grandeur, and spectacle of many of the sights, and it helped me to enjoy my trip to Paris even more!

Next up we still planned to split up. Some were headed to Saint Chappelle chapel, and I was headed to a clock I was anxious to see—a modern public clock called Le Defenseur du Temps (The Defender of Time). I’d seen pictures and video of it (on the hour, man battles the three demons of time, one each hour. At noon, three, and six, it battles all three). I determined that we could all take the same subway to the same stop, and then head toward St Chappelle, where we would part. But first we would eat, as it was about 2:00, and we were all starving!

We found a nice little sidewalk café right outside the Metro stairway, pulled 5 tables together, and sat down to eat. The man sitting next to me had a wonderful looking salad with cured ham, mozzarella, tomatoes, and pine nuts. He saw me looking at it and told me in perfect English with a beautiful French accent that it was delicious, and where it was on the menu. (Later his tablemate told me that she had just finished a 7 month stint working in Houston—she had been staying in Montrose!) I ordered the salad (and a Kronebourg 1664—have I mentioned yet that I’ve adopted this as my beer to drink in Paris?) All the meals were wonderful, the service was wonderful, the location was SUPREMELY Parisian, and we were all together. (The experience WAS ruined for one of us who ordered the special, then was told they were out, but they could substitute something else. What he wasn’t told was that the ‘something else’ was 10 euro more!)

By now I had pulled out the map given to me by my coworker and friend, Jo Ellen, for ‘the best chocolate in Paris’ and realized that we were a few blocks away. Everyone seemed interested in an experience which might be a letdown, but might also be the unexpected gem of the Paris experience.

On the way we passed through an open air market filled with hand-crafted items. Marionettes from Myanmar, (she made a point of telling us as we walked by), jewelry, scarves, an AMAZING booth of candied fruit—raspberries, kiwi slices, pineapple, even WHOLE pears! It is a small regret (for both Brock and I) that we didn’t stop, and weren’t able to get back.

We turned off the main street onto a quiet side street, and a block later I saw the sign for Debauve & Gallais in the middle of the next block. This was one of the 2 things I was planning for me Paris day off (the clock being the other), and now I had everyone with me. What if the place was a bust, the staff was rude, and the chocolate failed to impress?

The facade, from their website

One side of the window was filled with exotic teas, the other with chocolate. The façade was green wood with a large picture window on each side of the beautiful door—probably quite an extravagance when this location opened just after the French Revolution in 1800! We walked through the door, and I knew that we had found a special gem. The curved presentation counter (perhaps the original?) was inspired by the previous occupation of one of the founders as a chemist (at that time, basically an apothecary). Three women with smiles and smart uniforms—and white gloves!—waited to help us. Only one (I believe) spoke English. Chocolate was everywhere. Each piece looked too good to eat. And the smell. Oh my god! The smell. They should have charged just to enter. (But instead there were small samples by the cash register.)

The left side of the counter was filled with individual pieces, the right with pre-boxed assortments. I warned everyone before we went in that this was EXPENSIVE chocolate, as I didn’t want anyone to be disappointed, or to buy a lot and then find out that their bill was €300. Despite this, many made purchases, and several of us got assortments of our own to consume on the trip. I’ve had three (anyone who knows how I can tear through a box of Godiva knows what a force of will this has been!) I’ve tried a 99% dark chocolate (I almost cried) and dark chocolate with miel (honey). I expected a liquid honey center, but it was instead an exquisite soft center unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. I also had the best mini-truffle I’ve ever had. Still to come are several with raspberry, a chocolate covered cherry, one with rhum (I hope that’s rum and not, I don’t know, rhubarb!), pistachios, and apricot. (Upon arrival in Thionville I had a couple more before taking this picture—including the cherry cordial, strong and delicious alcohol and…what is this? A PIT in the cherry!)

Well, now it was time to think about separating. After a walk by the book stalls along the quais of the Seine, the rest of the group headed for Saint Chappelle, and I aimed for Gare de L’est, the train station where we would depart Paris the next night. I wanted to determine the layout, and most importantly find out if there were luggage lockers where we could stow our bags, since check out time was noon and our skate was from 2:30 to 5:30. Sure enough, it’s a tended site where they scan the luggage and store it ‘behind the scenes’ for €5 a bag.

Next up for me was Le Defenseur du Temps, and it was about 5:30. If I hurried, I could make it for the 6:00 ‘triple show’. I found the clock in a public square in the Quartier Horologique (the clock district) just north of the Pompidou Center. There was no one waiting for the show. I asked the waiter in the café opposite if the clock worked (March-t-il?) and he told me that the time was correct, but it hadn’t performed for 4 or 5 years! HUGE disappointment. But I had enjoyed the walk, and the clock itself was very interesting.

Home by Metro now for a regrouping with the Houstonians for a night at THE MOULIN ROUGE! We were all due refunds of varying amounts (depending on what portions of the trip we were attending), and the refunds for most were just enough to cover the cost of admission. As it turned out, only the Houstonians (but ALL of the Houstonians!) were interested.

The Metro ride required a transfer to a second line, and after some confusion, I realized I had gotten us off one stop early. Back onto the same line (RUNNING to throw ourselves onto the train that arrived just as we entered the station (crazy over-dressed Americans!), one more stop, and on to the bawdy section of Paris. (The area is called Pigalle, but is intentionally mispronounced as ‘Pig Alley’ due to its reputation!) While we had been on the train it had rained a bit, and was steadily sprinkling now. Our plan had been to grab some sandwiches and eat them on a bench, but the weather changed that. We poked our heads into a few places, but found they didn’t have any areas where the ten of us could eat together. Then we found a nice little Italian place across the street and down a bit from The Moulin Rouge. They seemed pleased (but a bit rattled) to put together a round table and three small square tables for us (picture a large key hole). DEFINITELY a language barrier and not all of us got what we thought we were ordering. We had been told to be in line for the Moulin Rouge by 10:30, and at 10:15 some of our food wasn’t out yet. We asked the waitress if things could be hurried up a bit, and it seems to me that some of what we thought we were getting hadn’t even been ordered! Things were quickly put right, we all ate our fill, and we headed out.

While we were eating, the line for the show had grown down the sidewalk to the point where we only had to cross the street to join it. The show started at 11 (so we were told!), but the audience from the previous show wasn’t even let out until 11! The line finally started moving at 11:15. We had only computer print-out of our confirmation, but that was enough. As a group of ten, we were directed to a special line, up a (formerly) grand, red carpeted stairway with giant posters of Can Can girls. Into the theater and we were led to a table for ten facing the stage on a terraced floor. White tablecloths and red lamps lit the space, and there was a champagne bucket on each table with two bottles.

Soon after arrival, the champagne corks started flying, and the show began. Women wearing very little and men covered head to toe danced and sang (well, lip synched) a song called ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’. Very flashy, very showy, and very fun. In the second half of the performance, there were 3 beautiful topless women with the same fully-clothed men. The nudity was shocking and mundane at the same time—an interesting element, more than a scandal. There were many ‘set piece’ dances, all with beautiful people performing choreographed routines, with varying amounts of proficiency and enthusiasm.

Interspersed were some astounding acts—a man who balance a woman while doing incredibly acrobatic acts (he balanced her upside down on his head…then walked across the stage, sat down, lay down, and got back up again. Later he held her hands and pressed her up, lowered her to impossible angles, twisted around the stage—truly awesome), a very impressive man who did a somewhat similar balancing act on his own, and a ventriloquist (who at one point had three ‘dummies’ come up from the audience and he gave them each a voice).

The highlight of the show was definitely the Can Can when all the women came out in red, white, and blue petticoats and did a very impressive and familiar dance in a dance hall where it has been danced nightly for, what? 150 years? --quite a spectacle!

We were all in the right mood for it, and the comment was made that it was the best refund people had ever had. Basically Greece’s fiscal irresponsibility bought our tickets to a memorable night out!

The subway ride home to our hotel was very fun. We were all…feeling the effects of half a bottle of champagne, not to mention the effects of the beautiful and suggestive young men and women. One of our number who shall remain nameless treated us to a bit of pole dancing on the subway car until we were joined on the car by a couple of young men who inserted themselves into our conversation. Later when we were announcing that ours was the next stop, two ladies chimed in that they understood, too! Everyone was having fun and enjoying the camaraderie and satisfaction of a day well spent, and the knowledge that there were still many more to come.

Nous Sommes Arrivés!

This will be a text-only update, because it’s 2:40 in the morning local time, I’ve had 3 ½ hours of sleep since Thursday morning, and we just got back from the Paris Friday Night Skate, so no one has gotten me pictures yet. [As I get graphics from others I will add it into the appropriate places.]

I got to the airport yesterday at noon (thanks mom and dad!) and breezed through security. I headed right for Ruby’s (which has now become my ‘Before Departing on a European Adventure’ tradition) and had a chicken Caesar and a Blue Moon, then headed for the gate. I hadn’t been there ten minutes when Laurie, Brock, and Lara showed up, wanting to eat. So we headed…back to Ruby’s! Laurie and Brock got some food, and I realized that it was my last chance to have TEXAS beer, so I ordered a large Shiner Bock. While we were chatting about the trip, I saw Sherron walking along the concourse and yelled to her. She had met Mar by chance as they started into the airport, and the two of them joined us for a meal.

We made a special toast to those who had wanted to make the trip but hadn’t ultimately been able to go (Joel, Ann, Glenn, Marta, Rusty, Diana, Bert, Dana) and the many who would have loved to go but just couldn’t from the start. You are all on our minds, and you make our experience richer!

After finishing our meal, we headed to the terminal with 40 minutes to spare, and found Natalie and Brad worried about where we all were! They were boarding our rows when we got there, so we headed right onto the plane.

The flight was fine and miserable at the same time. Customs and baggage claim were miserable and fine at the same time. ‘Nuff said.

But as we grabbed our bags at the carousel we looked over to a bench and saw two very familiar looking strangers. We all introduced ourselves to Aaron and Tracie from Philadelphia. Okay, THAT was easy!

After some indecision and confusion over how to get to the hotel, 7 of the ten took a private shuttle to the hotel (the shuttle would only accomodate seven) , while Natalie, Brad, and I took the Air France Shuttle.

We dropped our bags at the hotel and found that a few of our rooms were ready, but some wouldn’t be ready until check in time. In twos and threes we headed out into Montparnasse for a meal.

My room was ready, so after a Croque Monsieur et Vin Blanc, I took a 4 hour nap! Afterwards we joined back together, as a group of ten for the first time outside those few moments in the airport, and headed for dinner.

Our main concern for dinner was a restaurant where we could all sit together. Aaron and Tracie didn’t know any of us, and were anxious to get to know us all as a group. We found a nice café, the waiter spoke just enough English, and we managed just enough French. I saw lamb shank, steak with bleu cheese sauce, burgers, pasta, and even some curry on the table.

Back to the hotel for a 30 minute break, and then it was off to the first real event of the trip, THE PARIS NIGHT SKATE!

We agreed to meet around 9:15 to head over to the skate rendez-vous point—skaters begin to arrive at 9:30, and the skate starts PROMPTLY at 10:00. Several of us headed to a previously-agreed-upon location to meet Soren and Celine. Within 5 minutes, two strangers came out of the Metro and became our newest friends!

We headed to Place Raoul Dautry, just a couple of blocks from the hotel, and saw skaters EVERYWHERE. 40 in blue t-shirts from a European tour group. Dozens in yellow volunteer shirts. Cops on skates. Guys with dreadlocks. Girls who I suspected might be VERY cold by the end of the night.

Aaron had sussed out the location to purchase t-shirts—he and Tracie and I had all missed out on getting them on our previous skates, but we all get them this time! Pari-Roller on the front, and Le Tour Eiffel on SKATES on the back! Now we just had to EARN them.

Brad, Paul, Lara, Sherron, Mar, Steve, Aaron, Laurie, Brock, Dana, Celine, Natalie, Soren

The skate started right on time (no Skater Time for the Parisians!) Aaron, Tracie, and I were the only ones who had done this before, so we felt exceptionally giddy knowing what a glorious skating experience our friends were in for! Aaron and I estimated (later in the night) that there might have been 4000 skaters there—small for the Paris skate, due to all of the Parisians who take vacation in August, but still larger than anything we had skated before. When the group got going, especially down a narrow street, we stretched out for 8 or 10 blocks! Skaters as far back as you could see, and a sea of bodies ahead as well!

Downhill over cobblestones was a challenge!  Skating surrounded by bodies was a challege!  The views, the speed, and the companionship of 4000 friends was beautiful.  Racing down into a tunnel under the Seine and cruising under the river without a worry in our minds about a car was one of the top skating moments of my life!

WHAT A NIGHT! Cops on skates in amongst the crowd (SEXY cops, I might add; and there to ensure our fun and the cooperation of the locals, not to harass US!), young (6? 8?) and old (many in their 60s…at least!) Many languages and nationalities, and all of us in our home town shirts—Texas flags, cowby hats, Philly Free Skate shirts—we represented! I saw one guy in a Texas shirt—turned out to be a Parisian. Lots of people questioned us on our ‘Texan-ness’, and many ‘yee-hawed’ as they passed Laurie in her cowboy hat.

Alas, 14 of us started, and only 11 finished. Lara had a skate malfunction that took her out of the skate, and worried us all terribly. Far too many people for us to stay together, and when we realized no one had seen her since the first part of the skate, we could only trust in her good sense and the luck of the gods that she was okay. (We ultimately found her cuddled up in bed and in good spirits. I look forward to her full story tomorrow!) Soren and Celine left the skate early on, as well, Dana saw them leave, but we still don’t know just what happened—though they appeared to be in good health when they left. They’re not staying at our hotel, so we’ll have to follow up with them tomorrow.

After the skate (and checking that Lara was okay!) we headed for a local Brasserie for beer, crème brulee, ham and cheese sandwiches, and a banana split!

I was sitting next to one of my newest friends, Tracie, when she said, “I’m happy. I’m eating a crème brulee." I corrected her: “You’re eating a crème brulee in Paris.” She agreed that life was INDEED good.

More tomorrow, and I promise pictures and maps (though we go to the Moulin Rouge tomorrow night and again get in after 2:00AM, so that may have to wait another day).

My love to you all. I wish you were all here. My heart is indeed full, and my life is blessed!

Welcome New Readers!

If you're new to the blog (as I suspect many of you are, since we're finally leaving Thursday!), be sure to click on the number 2010 at the right to bring up all of the blog entries.  Then scroll all the way to the bottom, and start reading the entries in the order they were posted.  This will give you some idea of the nature of the trip, the itinerary, and the people involved.  Enjoy!

The Elephant Scale

You know how everyone always comes back from vacation and says, “Oh! There was food everywhere! I gained X pounds”? Well I thought it would be interesting to see how our group fares on that front. We’re eating and drinking like fiends—good food, good beer, good wine! But we’re also skating some 250 miles! I wonder which one will win out?

I thought it would be cool if we could all get weighed as a group—that way no one has to worry about their own specific weight, but we could see as a collective whether we gained or lost. I mentioned this months ago to Natalie, and she said, “Ooh! I can get us in to use the animal scale at the Houston Zoo!”

Well, we weren’t quite able to ALL get there, but we did get 8 of our 15 travellers to the zoo after hours last Thursday, and here is a photo of the 8 of us standing on the scale (the reading is in kilograms). I’ve converted to pounds and added in 6 of the 7 others (I’ll adjust when I have the last one).

Our total going in is 2261 pounds.  What do you think? Are we going to eat more than we skate, or skate more than we eat? Tune in after the trip to find out!

Blossom From New York

Aaron at the Philly Free Skate tipped me off to the Europe skate. So I am the late addition, hailing from Manhattan.

Ironically, did not discover my athletic self until more than a decade into adulthood when the skate bug bit me. As a student, I lived in my head and weaseled out of gym classes to take more academic courses.

My first experience with inlines was when I visited a friend in San Francisco. We rented skates and giggled ourselves silly, wobbling up and down hills, holding onto cars and lampposts. Bought my first pair of skates as an unemployment gift to myself; the top-of-the-lines fit like gloves. My NJ housemate, who encouraged me to buy them, did not like being shown up when I successfully rolled backward my second time out. Ah well—we choose the sport that suits us. Helps to have spent bits of my childhood on roller skates coasting the driveway and taking trips to the ice rink.

Shortly after moving to NYC 11 years ago a friend invited me to the well-attended Wednesday night social skate. Heard about the faster, further, leave-bodies-by-the-side-of-the-road Tuesday night skate, 18-26 miles. Bought a helmet and went the following Tuesday, and every Tuesday for years. The social aspect made me forget how hard I had to work to keep up. At first I had to train with men 15 years my senior to keep up. I owe much to the encouragement of better, senior skaters, both female and male. Earned more scars on my knees as an adult on skates than ever as a child on Big Wheels.

Got new skates this summer. The 100mm wheels sail over rough pavement & potholes, and climb hills more easily. The cuff seam has bruised my entire right ankle, ripe for growing a bone spur. The discovery of EZ-Fit booties, a neoprene half-sock, has made skating enjoyable again.

Still mourn my last skates, which served me faithfully for 4,000+ miles. They have toured:
* Cross-country from Kittery Maine to Philadelphia Pennsylvania—8 states with 9 other skaters, 423 miles
* Two A2A road races [Athens to Atlanta, an infamous 100-mile-in-a-day skate event]
* Two Tour To Tanglewood North Carolina bike-a-thons of 90 and 100 hilly miles where cyclists treat skaters like minor celebrities and document me as their first female skater
* Defi de Montreal, 128km around the island
* Miami Great E-Skate, DC Skate Weekend, Skate Boston, Philadelphia Free Skate, and (NY) Big Apple Roll - fun weekends of 5-7 skates, partying and socializing.
* Paris Friday Night Skates and a three-day skate trip along a rails-to-trails path through French wine country
* Berlin
* NY 100K (for which I ran registration for a few years and sang the pre-race anthems)
* Eddy Matzgar's skate clinic
* a few Greenwich Village Halloween parades (thanks Aaron and Tracie for the loan of the Batgirl costume); the first year I skitched home (pulled along) on the back of a boyfriend's motorcycle
* … and years of weekly street skates over bridges to NY outerboroughs and NJ plus training skates of 50+ miles. Lots of pavement in New York!

Street skaters seem to have some qualities of an adrenaline junkie. I like to challenge my fear of heights by dabbling in flying trapeze, skydiving in Hawaii, bungee jumping in Florida over a pond (which bore a sign "do no feed the alligators"), and screaming in terror down roller coasters. From diving in the air to diving underwater, I have also had the opportunity to scuba the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Belize, Cozumel, and Turks & Caicos in the Caribbean. It was dear skate friends who introduced me to trapeze and scuba, in fact.

Skating was a great escape from my unhappy and sedentary life pushing papers on Wall Street. Took a 7-year hiatus from skating to overhaul the career and grow a physically demanding business around another passion: Dogs. It was a tribute to my beagle Casey, no longer with us, that I created Camp Blossom out of a desire to be home for her in her senior years. I get paid to watch puppies play, offering a platinum-level service as dog behaviorist, trainer, boarder, and daycare provider. My dog charges learn etiquette in navigating a densely populated environment, demonstrating a calm, friendly, and trusting demeanor in any number of situations. The newly-built park in front of my building facing the Hudson River serves as my office. Before you feel badly for a city dog, wait until you see their activity and social calendar! In return, the dogs have taught me great kindness and an endless generosity of spirit. I log 4-7 walking miles per day but always prefer to skate!

Some of the most fun paid jobs have been on skates:
* Wearing a purple MSN butterfly costume to debut the new web browser by skating the city and singing badly-written jingles
* Skating with dogs - someone has to teach them not to launch and bark at skates!
* Skating with a cat (okay, that was my idea while catsitting last week—he liked it—but I have been hired to walk cats on leash outside)

Other passions include musical theater, fine dining, and fantasy novels. For 3 weeks every fall I hang up my skates and binge on a musical theater festival, attending 30-40 original musicals in 3 weeks. Have volunteered for the nonprofit producer, not quite ready to venture into producing myself. During the rest of the year, I attend an average of 3 live shows per week, from musicals to plays to bands to improv to cabaret. Lots to do and see and eat in NYC! Running with dogs and skating the streets affords me the eating habit, one of life's greatest pleasures. My current 25-book fantasy series describes life in and around castles, and war with swords on horseback. Looking forward to seeing castles and medieval towns!

Forty-and-a-half years old, single, and loving life.

If you have read this far, thank you for your interest. Thanks, Steve and friends, for taking a chance on a stranger.

Here's hoping for dry weather and smooth pavement. Looking forward to new skate friends, good laughs, and great memories.

Lara's Skate Bio

I started sk8ing in pre-K and still have the award for it. Continued to yearn for skating so the first real purchase I remember making with my own money (that I made from washing my parents’ car) was a pair of white quad skates from JC Penny’s, $40 (boy have I upgraded!) I even took those skates to college with me. However I never really skated until I moved back to Houston and found a nor-easterner that had inlines and introduced me to the streets downtown--then it was history. Next I found the Texas Club group that happened before the Tuesday night skates out of the parking lot at Fuzzy's. I made lots of friends and still consider them special.

For many years I skated downtown and then I decided to make fitness my focus. I used to skate out in Brookshire with JD Crislip and others early on Saturday mornings until that stopped when the price of gas skyrocketed. Then it was Memorial Park for training—however now it’s too rough and I prefer skating Sunday mornings with the Clear Lake group in Friendswood. We go to Starbucks after the skate—that is the best part (ask Chuck Bridgeman). I have skated many Texas Road Rash and Northshore Inline Marathons plus many Eddy Matzgar workshops.

Recently I have started participating in local duathlons and sprint triathlons since skating marathons requires so much travel. Plus on my plate right now is scheduling a wedding to a road cyclist—Chris Langley—for 10/30/10.

This is my first trip to Europe!

Mar (picture to follow)

I first started skating when I was 6 or 7 years old. My neighborhood had several hilly streets—I owe all my knees’ scars to those streets! My sister, brother, and I used to roller skate down the streets all the time wearing no safety equipment—knee pads, wrist pads, helmets, etc. I kept roller skating occasionally untill I was 14 years old. Then we emmigrated to The States and there were countless things to be learned. Roller skating ended up in the not-important-to-do list.

When I was 27 and living in Houston, my ex taught me to roller blade on the streets of Houston. I was afraid of skating on the streets, but the satisfaction took over. My ex invited me to the Wednesday night skate at Shiloh’s back in 2002. I only skated for a few months. After my ex and I broke up, I went back to skating to release stress and other negative feelings. At the beginning I was shy with the group because English is my second language and sometimes people don’t understand what I’m saying. But I finally came to peace with that aspect of my life—well nobody is perfect!

Dana S...the Dana S. on a bike...okay, the FIRST Dana S. on a bike!

I’m Dana Sullivan, almost native of Houston—a former Dallas-ite.

I came into skating after one of those life changing events—becoming a widow.

Once I was newly single again, I was encouraged to venture out into the singles scene.

Most of my life I have been (and still am) an equestrian. I came to a time in my life I was looking for a new hobby, possibly something less expensive than owning a horse.

I had a former co-worker, Starving Marvin, who worked as a furniture salesperson with me during the day and had a band called The Drop Kick Chihuahuas. His girlfriend encouraged me to come out and see the band play at Rockafelllers on Washington. That’s the first time I met Paul Weber. He asked me to dance, and then we sat near the stage. I had just received the glass of wine I ordered—a very full glass of wine. I was holding it in my left hand and some person stumbled, bumping my arm and sending most of the contents of the glass all over Paul. I was sooo embarrassed and offered the only thing I could offer to help him dry off: a tiny cocktail napkin.

The next time I ran into Paul, I had gone to see The Drop Kick Chihuahuas at the dive called the Blue Iguana. He came in on skates with a bunch of others skaters.

Shortly after that, I found myself buying inline skates. My first pair were Bauers.

I got them home. I set a chair in my garage, opened the garage door, put on my skates, stood up and pushed myself gently. I rolled ever so slowly out my garage, across the alley behind my house and GRABBED the telephone pole and held on tightly. That was exciting!

Before long I was skating from Shiloh’s in the Heights on Wednesday nights….Coming out of King Biscuit I landed on my rear end because of that dip….And from The Big Easy on Thursday Nights to downtown…Skating into Sanora’s, the biker bar that no longer exists, was a trip. Still a newby, I was so nervous that I’d run into and knock over a Harley, and get one of those tough biker dudes upset!...Getting back to The Big Easy to hear Luther & the Healers, was a ritual….I’ve skated quite a few Art Car Parades…A couple Blankenship Memorial skates. I’ve skated around town with Skate Trash… I skated most of one Toe Jam, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

Due to ankle issues, I’m choosing to bike the European trip.

Time is drawing close to travel time. Getting excited!

Paul is going with me to Barcelona a few days before Paris. It’s been my dream to revisit where I lived as a preteen with my family. I haven’t seen it since. My memory is definitely fading.

I hope I won’t be the only one on bicycle, especially on Friday Night!

See ya in Paris!

Dana

Hello Darlings! I'm Sherron...

...and definitely not one of the better skaters, but it doesn't keep me from hanging in and out with the group. Like many kids in the States, I skated in the rinks as a child and through the years at my own kids' birthday parties. My daughter, Jennifer (38) and son, Chris (26) were great on their skates, but in those later years I was pretty iffy and likely to fall. Not long after moving to Houston 20 years ago a group of us met HugoB at Peter's Wild Life and he mentioned the skaters. A spark was formed! I put on my 1st pair of in-lines 14 years ago at age 41, when I lived on Hazard. My son, Chris told me I must learn to brake before I went "out". So every day after work I'd skate in front of the house, just trying to stay up and learning to stop. Each day I was soooo nauseous from nerves, but I could feel an excitement building that thrilled me! I did learn to brake and skate on our street, but not necessarily the better ways and am still a work in progress....

I started skating from the Shiloh Club with Skate Trash several nights a week, other nights with all the skaters at some point, in the Art Car and Mardi Gras Parades in Houston and Galveston. I love dressing up and skating! I've been in and out of the scene because my husband's job has taken us out of the country for several years. My first experience skating abroad was in a French compound 10 miles outside Luanda, Angola. (Yes, we are in the oilfield and huge environmentalists!) My husband warned me before my arrival I wouldn't be able to skate in the compound because of the high speed bumps. Right - Houston's streets had me prepared. It was fun seeing the surprised faces of the French and Angolans to see me (to them) zooming around the compound. I'd bring candy and gum to hand out on my rounds :) Afterwards we moved to Macae, Brazil which is about 2 1/2hr drive from Rio de Janerio. When Mike went to meetings on occasion in Rio, I'd go along and spend the day skating the famous beaches :) My last day there a group of friends and I went "asa delta", hang gliding off the cliffs of Rio. Oh my gosh, W.I.L.D.! Two regrets: I got my NAUI certification (diving) about 8years ago and during the 2 years we lived in Brazil and even having our equipment there, never went diving! I did a lot, but I couldn't find time to take surfing classes either. Pro ~ we have many wonderful Brazilian friends and it's still possible! :)

Where ever I've lived my passion is "in going out and helping others". Growing up in MS, for my family it was just "the thing to do". So this spark started early and has become my flame in life. Here in the States some of my favorites have been working with Habitat For Humanity learning to roof, tape & float and tiling floor, Boys and Girls Country, HAWC (Houston Area Women's Center), Ronald McDonald House in Rio & here, soup kitchens, HMS (HoustonMargaritaSociety, which helps 4 Houston children’s' charities), FridayNightLight, a group from our church, Westminster Methodist who join with others every other month or so and see where is the greatest need. While we sort gathered/donated clothes and toiletries, we eat and make hamburgers to take down to the homeless. We've also made 250+ Health Care Kits for Haiti & made sure they got to the correct destination. The really cool thing for me is not only the good being done for those in need, but in those it brings together. Friends from all beliefs have come to help at the FridayNightLight gatherings; Christians, Jews, Muslim, believers of nothing or everything. It's what I call, "Building Bridges".

One of the most awesome opportunities for me was teaching English several days a week in an orphanage, Molemba in Luanda to 12-17 yr olds, with 2 French friends. A group of French ex-pat wives started this school in '91; taking 50 of the boys off the streets. The boys are taught how to grow their own food, harvest and sell it; then how to invest their profits. (We bought their goods, but had to give it away to Angolans because our systems couldn't handle the water used in irrigation.) One day I realized the school didn’t have a "school album / year book" nor did the kids have any pics of themselves and digital cameras were new (and huge). We had just been told we were being transferred to Brazil and I knew we'd be going home 1st, then back to pack before heading to Brazil. So we planned a school photo day near a beautiful hot pink flowering vine on the school yard fence, (made from old oilfield steel pipes). Poor little kids; many had only one shirt and no shoes and it was heart wrenching to see some didn't even know how to smile, but we had a fun time trying! In the States I made a school album with the photos of each and of us as a group, plus a copy of each child to keep of themselves. They may not remember names, but they won't forget the crazy American! It broke my heart to leave these kids, but I know every kind deed matters.

When my husband speaks of retiring and moving to Steamboat Springs CO, I feel a panic attack lurking. The thought of leaving the freedom of skating through the streets nights and the camaraderie of the skaters is an alarming thought... (as long as we keep a small place here).

Last but not least, I am a Realtor and I love helping others find their dream home. Hint, hint! (Try me, you'll like me ;)

I love LIFE and can't wait to go on this trip! WOO HOO! :) GOD ROCKS! And thank you, Steve for setting up everything.

Sherron :)

The Skating Route

Okay, so the group hasn't been exactly forthcoming with their biographies, so I guess I'll move on.  I'll post more if they ever arrive!

For now, here's a map of the route from Thionville, France to Wiesbaden, Germany.  That's 220 miles of skating over 9 days, with one day off (day 6) in the middle for a hike.  Now THAT'S a relaxing vacation! The numbers in circles are mile markers.  The numbers in squares are where we're staying each night: 1) Remich, 2) Trier, 3) Neumagen, 4) Traben-Trarbach, 5) Cochem, 6) Cochem, 7) Koblenz, 8) Oberwessel, 9) Wiesbaden.

Here's a regional map to orient yourself on the skate map.  Note Paris in the lower left and Frankfurt in the upper right.

Paul aka “Bode”

Hey All— My name is Paul and I am a native of Houston. I started skating the streets about 16 years ago. I met a girl at the old Emo’s bar. She talked about skating later that night. At the time I was really into skateboarding and had my board with me. So…I joined a handful of skaters that night. They skated into a bar…wow…this is cool.

The next day, I bought a pair of in-lines (first generation) and skated parking lots and sidewalks for the next two weeks. I heard about a skate group with the funny name of “In-Line Swine”. They met at a bar downtown called “Fuzzy’s”. Turned out it was a bar that mostly catered to Houston Police. Somehow, for some reason, this was also a skater hangout. The cops stayed on one side, the skaters on the other. In-Line Swine met every Tuesday and Thursday night. If it rained, we just sat and drank.

I started doing trips that were planned around skating. I did a Zephyr skate trip in Holland, skated the Philly Freedom skate 3 different times, did the San Francisco Friday night skate, skated the Northshore Inline Marathon twice, the Round Rock in-line Marathon many times, skated Washington DC, Dallas, and many other cities.

I got the skating nickname “Bode”(Bō’ dē) because I like to skate sideways—with one skate facing forward and one facing back. It’s so much more stable that way. I have heard it called “Side Surfing” and “Catalan” during the X-games. Back in the early 90s there was a line of skatewear t-shirts that featured a skeleton skating that way—called ‘Bode Designs’. I had a Bode shirt, but it died. So that’s where ‘Bode’ comes from!

This will be my 3rd time overseas. I have been to England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Holland. So this trip will cover some new ground for me. Dana #1 and I will spend a few days in Spain before the trip. She spent a few years growing up there.

A Little Bit About Natalie

It was circa 1993, and I was living in New York City. It was the first warm sunny day of spring, and I set out to purchase my first pair of inline skates. I had researched skate shops, found one about 10 blocks from my apartment, and walked over. Ever prepared, I even brought a backpack so that I could carry my shoes while I skated home. I had no doubt I could skate home, because I had rented some inline skates once, with a group of friends, and we had skated the (smooth, flat, even-surfaced) rink in Central Park.


I purchased my skates, and proudly informed the sales clerk that no, I didn’t need the box, because I was going to skate home. I didn’t quite understand the cynical look he gave me as I teetered to the front of the store. And out into the sunshine I went. The streets were packed – cabin fever and a beautiful day brought everyone out, many folks with dogs and strollers. Well, the store was on a very slight incline – and suddenly my optimistic plan turned into a really bad movie scene. As I began rolling out of control down the sidewalk, people were literally jumping left and right to get out of my way!! I finally stopped by crashing into a glass store front (no, it didn’t break, but imagine what that must have looked like to the people inside the store) – only continuing the bad movie scene! I humbly sat down, took my skates off, and walked the rest of the way home. Yes, if I had a tail it would have been between my legs.


Well, I’m nothing if not persistent, so from that point I spent many weekends trying to master skating – but on a much less public, less dangerous path! I like to think that I am a better skater now. Eventually I became a ‘skate commuter’ in Manhattan – although my work was only about 2 miles from home, trust me, skating through NYC traffic is quite the adventure by itself!


I moved to Houston a few years later for a great job (still my current job), but after a few months hadn’t really made any friends outside of work. I was looking for something to do (other than become better acquainted with Houston TV channels), and saw a notice for one of the skate groups. Upon further research, I learned that Houston had a very active skate community, and lots of different groups. I decided I’d try them all. Inline Swine was my first, and it was a perfect fit for my personality. Social, fun, friendly, a stop for a drink, snack, or ice cream (those were my favorite stops). Although I’ve taken a few breaks over the years (I call it falling off the skate wagon), I’ve skated with the swine for 13 years now, and it has led to several adventures – including a skate/bike weekend in Austin to do the Road Rash Marathon, A2A with another skater, and a long weekend trip with 8 other Houston skaters (plus the son and roommate of one couple in our group) to Napa for the inline marathon out there, where we were also able to do the San Francisco Friday night skate. That weekend was an adventure that led to many funny stories and great memories. I’m looking forward to the new stories and memories from our trip to Europe this summer!!

An Introduction to Steve

Hi. I’m Steve. This blog is mine. I’m 44, and I’ve been skating for half of my life. Until 2 years ago, I only skated in parks, and almost always alone. Then I heard about the Houston Inline Marathon and decided I wanted to give it a try. I decided to try to find some skaters to train with, and I found Inline Swine. I met them for the first time in around July of 2008, and that night was a revelation. It was all about fun and comaraderie, and nothing like any skating I’d ever done before. It was a little terrifying, too! After years of skating in broad daylight on smooth park paths, I was skating in the dark over potholes and railroad tracks, fighting cars for the road. But what fun!

The second night I skated with IS we pulled up to a bar. I was a little scandalized, so I waited outside. By the third or fourth week, I went in and had a soda. About the sixth week we rolled into a real dive, with pool tables and working class patrons unwinding after a hard day. I announced to Laurie that I was going to have half a beer, and she offered to buy it for me. (Right from the start I found myself always next to Laurie, and we were ‘kissing’ all night long. Don’t worry about Brock—in skating, ‘kissing’ is when you are skating next to someone and you accidentally clip skates. And it’s not cool. I was really worried that she was going to get pissed at me, but if she did, she never let on.) Well, after my half a beer, I rolled out of the bar and thought I would be eating the pavement in 23 seconds, but I found that I could skate just fine, and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the evening. Beer has been one of my favorite parts of skating ever since. Thanks for corrupting me, Laurie!

A year ago, a small group of us decided we wanted another skate night each week, and we wanted to push ourselves. So we started skating on Thursday nights, and we do 20 miles pretty hard. I didn’t know the city well, so I decided to organize the courses using mapmyrun.com. At that point I brought a map and a list of each street with me each time and prayed that I didn’t get us all lost. We explored some really interesting places, and we’ve managed to get together every Thursday that it didn’t rain for over a year. We’ve had as few at 3 people and as many as 12, but 6 to 8 is the norm. Laurie and I have been core members from the beginning, Mar joined us a few months in, and Brad and Natalie have been coming lately, seeing it as great preparation for our trip. I still map the course out beforehand (we don’t want to push hard and expect 20 miles and find out it’s really going to be 22!), but now I know the city so much better, and I’m able to keep it all in my head.

In my non-skating life, I’m a new realtor, and I’ve found that my knowledge of the city from skating it has really served me well. Whenever I talk to someone looking for a house in a particular neighborhood, or someone who wants to sell their home, I’m able to say, “Oh, sure. I know that area. I skate there all the time.” I’m loving my new career, and I’ve helped one skater find a home and am currently working with another to find her dream home.

I have a 2 ½ year old, 100 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback, Minga. I don’t know how I’m going to make it 2 weeks without seeing her, and I’m very worried that she won’t eat while I’m gone. I love her dearly, and don’t know how I lived 42 years without a dog in my life!

I love to read (especially contemporary literature and history), I always have a couple of TV shows that I watch religiously (Lost!, HIMYM, Glee), and I’m very into my genealogy (my first trip to Germany was to meet the family of my great grandfather, who emigrated in 1880).

I’ve been looking forward to this trip for two years, and I can’t believe it’s actually close enough to count down to it in days. If the trip is 1/10 of the experience I think it is going to be, it will be a trip to remember for a lifetime. I’m so glad you’re going to live through it with us!

Meet Laurie!

Hi, I’m Laurie (aka Blondie) and I’m a middle aged, ex-suburban housewife gone wild and loving every minute of it!

My introduction into the Houston skate scene came about rather interestingly around 4 years ago. About a year after the end of my 22-year marriage, I decided on a lark to put a profile on “match.com”. Along with a bunch of creepy dudes, I kept getting emails from this nice looking guy inviting me to join him on a “bar-hopping skate” in downtown Houston. The emails continued for a few weeks before I became brave enough to try it out. Scared to death to even drive downtown, I couldn’t imagine skating through the streets (especially as I didn’t know how to use my brake)! After arriving, looking around the bar & noticing all the black clothing, tattoos & piercings, I thought, “What the heck is this shy little white bread girl doing here amongst this group?” I soon learned that beneath the sometimes scary exteriors are some wonderfully interesting people. I had the best time. I was hooked!

The match.com guy kind of disappeared but through my new acquaintances I found the Tues night Inline Swine skate group. I have skated with this group for about 3 years now and have developed many new friendships. I even dragged my best bud Mark into the street skating world. At 63 he is one cranky guy but everyone loves having him around and even though he may protest, he loves it too. I am also the official “Watermelon Lady” of the Tues night skate.

So between the Tues night IS skate, the Thursday night killer speed skate (Thanks to Steve), and various weekly bar hopping skates, I am one heck of a busy girl. I never thought I’d see myself dressed up as a Lusty Barmaid Wench skating in a St. Patty’s day parade, a skating Genie in the Art Car Parade or a Zombie Bride for the Halloween skate. So out of my comfort zone! So much fun!

I was having such a great time that I left the suburbs behind and moved to a cute little place near downtown. Now I can skate or bike directly from my house to most places. Pretty convenient after some of the beer drinking skates.

I have a 22-year-old son Daniel, who I am sure thinks I am nuts after hearing of my crazy adventures. He even came to rescue our Thurs night group during a mid skate rainstorm. No need for a taxi when you’ve got a son handy. Just load up Mom & 5 or 6 sweaty guys into the SUV. Isn’t that normal?

By the way, this story continues on a happy note. The match.com guy that got me into skating is now my boyfriend of 20 months. Brock & I met up again on an “After Hurricane Ike Skate” and have been dating ever since. We are looking forward to sharing a wonderful European skate adventure with our old friends & meeting some new friends along the way. Thanks Steve for putting this all together. It will be a trip of a lifetime!

Cast of Characters

Over the next posts, I want to introduce you to the people coming on the trip. I’m hoping I can get them to write these posts themselves! Our players in their own words, their own voices. Here’s a brief introduction, in alphabetical order.
Aaron—from Philadelphia. Tracie’s boyfriend. None of us know him yet!

[update: Blossom—a friend of Aaron and Tracie.  They made the trip sound so amazing at Philly Free Skate that she asked if she could be added at the last minute, and she could!]

Brad—skates with Inline Swine and on the Thursday night fitness skate. Natalie’s boyfriend.

Brock—a quad skater from way back when. Rarely seen on anything but bar skates and theme skates. Laurie’s beau.

Céline—from Montreal (looking forward to having a French speaker on the trip!) No one knows her, either. Søren’s long-distance love.

Dana 1—she’s Dana 1 because she signed up first. Skates and bikes. Paul’s squeeze.

Dana 2—the last person to sign up, and the hardest to get to commit! Sherron’s the only one who knows her well, and she’ll be biking. [update: Dana has to have wrist surgery, and was forced to pull out at the last minute]

Lara—I’ve met her once or twice on Tuesday nights, but she skates mainly outside of the inner loop, training for fitness (I think!)

Laurie—known for bringing watermelon to the Tuesday night skates. ALWAYS there on Tuesday. ALWAYS there on Thursday. She puts up with Brock on a daily basis.

Mar—skates with us on Tuesdays sometimes, but prefers Thursdays, because she doesn’t like the bar stops. We’re going to get her over that in Germany!

Natalie—a veterinarian and sometime Tuesday night skater, now a regular on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Brad’s girl.

Paul—also known as Bode. (Why? I don’t know.) Skating through his days with Dana 1.

Søren—a Dane currently wishing he was in Montreal with Céline, but generally in DC without her. We’re looking forward to meeting him (and hoping he knows some German!)

Tracie—another Philadelphian and Aaron’s number one girl. Looking forward to making her one of us (run now, Tracie…run!)

Sherron—came on a skate a few months ago and I talked about the great trip we were planning. Within a short while she’d decided she was going. Woo hoo!

Steve—your blogger. Regular on Tuesdays, organizer of Thursdays. The only one on the trip in a single.

The Plan

Thursday, August 5: leave Houston (or other points of departure)

Friday: arrive Paris; lunch; nap; great dinner; then the Paris Night Skate—meet with 10,000 or so other skaters at 9:00PM and skate 18 miles through the city!

Saturday: Free day in Paris

Sunday: Free in the morning, then skate again with a slightly smaller group (5000?), about 15 miles through the streets of Paris, but this time in daylight. Then take the train to Thionville, France on the Mosel River.

Monday: Start the downriver trip to our hotel in Remich, Luxembourg—30 miles of paved path on each side of the river.

Tuesday: Leave Luxembourg for Germany and spend the night in Trier, a roman town founded in 4 CE.

Wednesday: On to Neumagen—should be plenty of wineries, biergartens, and castles to tour!

Thursday: Next up is Traben-Trarbach, with lots of Art Nouveau buildings…and lots of wine and beer!

Friday: Skate on to Cochem and finally get ready to NOT skate for a day!

Saturday: Take the train to the next town, then hike up the Eltz River valley to Burg Eltz, a spectacular 12th century castle—we’ll approach it just like travellers would have 800 years ago. Then when we get back , we’ll head up to Cochem Castle for a 4 hour medieval banquet including a falconry demonstration, jesters, lute playing, and BIG JOINTS OF MEAT! And beer.

Sunday: On to Koblenz, where the Mosel and Rhine rivers meet.

Monday: Down the Rhine river, past the Lorelai, and on to Oberwesel, where we’ll be staying in a gorgeously renovated castle--Burghotel auf Schoenburg. The restaurant is closed to the public on Monday nights, so we’ll have the banquet room all to ourselves for a special meal just for the guests.

Tuesday: Further down the Rhine, past Bacharach and Bingen, then on to where the Rhine meets the Main river at Wiesbaden, which has been a spa town for 2000 years. Hot springs and massages anyone?

Wednesday, August 18: A short train trip brings us to Frankfurt and our flights home.

So, what should you expect to see on this blog, and why would you want to follow it?

My friends and family take some pretty amazing vacations and adventures. I love hearing about them afterwards, but it’s just not the same as feeling a vicarious part of what they’re doing while they’re gone—though I think about them a lot and imagine what kinds of trouble they’re getting into! When mom and dad are traveling, they post hundreds of pictures a week of the places they’re exploring and the things they’re doing. My favorite part of these posts is the accompanying descriptions—seeing a picture of mom sitting in a 16th century cell is interesting. Knowing that it’s the jail cell that her 12th grandfather, William Bradford sat in at 17 years of age, before knowing he was ever going to make it to the New World, and that she was moved to tears by the experience…that’s worth knowing.
So, one thing I hope to do with the blog is share the substance and meaning of our adventures while the adrenaline is still coursing through my veins.

Back in 1978, my family took a pretty amazing trip to England at Christmastime. My sister was a little older than I was, and she kept a diary and lots of ticket stubs and other artifacts. Years later we were able to relive the trip, and remember a lot of things we’d forgotten about it.

So another purpose of the blog is to help those of us who go on the trip to remember the details and what an awesome experience we had.

When I was putting this trip together, it was hard to explain to people what the experience would be like, since it’s unlike the kind of vacation that most people take. I put together a ‘brochure’ with pictures I pulled off of the web to let everyone know what the places look like and what kind of hotels we’re staying in. This helped them visualize what they were paying for. I hope we will make more trips like this in the future, and I’m going to want a tool to sell people on it from the start.

So the third purpose of the blog is to sell our friends who aren’t coming with us on getting it in gear and committing to the next one! And if you’ve stumbled on this blog by accident, or are a friend of a friend of a friend, we’d probably welcome your participation, too!

As far as the content goes, I think you’ll be pleased and surprised, assuming I’m able to get all the technology figured out before we go!

I’ll be bringing my Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch on the trip. This watch not only keeps track of mileage, but uploads the course on a Google map. So I’m hoping to post each day’s route--including wrong turns and backtracks!

One of our group, Brock, is a professional videographer (not entirely sure that’s the right description, but it’s accurate, anyway.) He’ll be skating / biking (he’s the ‘1/2’ I referred to earlier when I said 2 ½ people were biking the trip) carrying a professional video camera. I’m hoping he’ll be able to piece together a few short clips of our time together each night so I can post them and key them to where they happened on the course map. I’m also assuming that many people will have still cameras, and I’ll post the best of each day’s pictures as well.

And then of course I’ll tell you what we did. It will be one person’s perspective, so I’m sure a lot will be missed! But you’ll get the general feel for what we did each day, with my spin on what it meant to me, or what I saw other people connecting with. Whether it’s the exasperation of being on the wrong side of the river from our destination, the humor of someone falling into a creek, a moving experience with a local kid, or a menu translation that resulted in eating something we did NOT expect to be eating, I’ll try to make these posts interesting and meaningful for anyone reading them.

I hope we’ll have lots of people following us as we prepare, and waiting each day for the new post to find out what went wrong and what went right, and what it meant to us!

Steve