A Baseball Birthday

When we were still in Germany I complained that a trip like this (we were on) would add several pounds to my person. The food was so good. Friend Martina sent this to me:

Translation: Of course all my clothes are still fitting ... just not me any longer.

The following photos were taken on Friday September 8 on the way home. I can't remember where we were but there was a cloud so pretty, I had to try to capture it.

Saturday September 9

A special day. Our twins were turning 7. This was THERE day and of course Papa and Omi were at their game at 9 am. Of course there is the whole team but we need to root for our boys the most. We have to pay attention when ours are on the field. 

Owen is the green helmet. 

Colin is the red helmet.

I took a video. Actually several which are not in this YouTube because of course every baseball player usually has several turns to try to hit the ball. But ... yeah ... Colin and Owen each managed to do it. On Colins turn he had a hit but did not have enough time to do the whole run around. His hit though let others from his team complete their run including his brother. 

Video: 2023-09-09 Twins' game.    (0.48 minutes)

That was a home run and the game ended with "our" team having won. 

The boys were happy of course and Colin got to take the golden team chain home until the next game. He was happy. Owen is not so particular about things.

Kathy and Mike, the other grandparents, had come for the birthday too and we all went to their house. The next was the gift from the parents. It was a treasure hunt. OMG, the parents had hit this out of the ballpark too. For our German family: its a figure of speech. It means it was awsome. 

Video: 2023 09 09 Twins turn 7     (7:55 minutes)

Their gift from their parents is "Link", a lizard. They were so excited and pleased. 

James and I went home. They had later birthday cupcakes with the little birthday guests (each twin invited 3 friends) and at 5 pm we met them at the ball park. The weather was iffy, we had quite a downpour but the storm was supposed to move out.

I had brought a towel since I had heard the forecast and James volunteered to wipe the seats with it Sarah had reserved. 

The game did not start at 6 pm as scheduled but the boys were excited to meet the mascot Nutsy anyway.

Finally at 7 pm things did start. The birthday twins were scheduled to do a "first pitch" and they were on the field waiting with their parents. 

Colin and Owen were so excited. They were called out, each did the pitch. They were announced over the big screen and they were allowed to keep the ball.

A normal game usually takes about 3 hours. It was actually very good. "Our" team won and we even caught a ball. I say "we" because it hit first my foot and bounced off from there. 

It ended with fireworks which one can never capture on photos. It was pretty spectacular. 

All the little darlings were very, very tired at the end but we really could not leave before the fireworks, could we?

Sarah and Wade always arrange lovely events for their boys. James and I are always happy to be part of it. Thank you!!!

Trip Day 29 and 30 - going home

Tuesday September 5

Our "stuff" is packed. Ute's car started again. None of the several people who worked on it know what the actual problem was. We changed plans and actually packed our luggage in her car and had breakfast at her house Niece Maren and friend were taking us to Amsterdam and she lives on the same street as her mother. So we had a little more nice time with Ute before we had to part.

The drive takes about 2 1/2 hours and when we came to the intersection where it is I was perplex. We had stayed here before and on the other side of the intersection was the hotel we had walked to for dinner that time. The hotel is close to the airport but in a country setting.

The 4 of us sat in the shade under the umbrella so they could eat their picnic. A last chat until they left. Thanks for bringing us. So much better than the train which we had done before.

We could go into our room right away. It was only 2 pm. We played cards at the edge of the bed. At 5:30 we headed to that restaurant, the La Bouche Brasserie. 

One from Spain and one from Italy. (smile)

Soup of the day: spinach. It was very good.

We were actually not very hungry so we ordered from the menu "Sabich - Sharing" (grilled eggplant, tahini, egg, pomegranate seeds, celery, mango chutney and pita bread". It was very nice...

... even if it didn't look so nice stuffed into the pita pocket.

Germany had spoiled us. We had to have a piece of apple pie.

Well, we had to walk that piece of pie off so we went into the other direction which was a suburb with nice houses and lovely front yards to look at.

Wednesday September 6

The alarm rang at 5 am. We left the hotel with the shuttle at 6. Checking in at Shiphol was so easy and so was security. Time to have breakfast.

Walking to the gate. There is our plane.

I am not making a fashion statement. These are my flight socks and you can't easily put them on when you are already at your seat.

Punctual at it could be we are taking off. Picture taken at 9:26 am.

7 hours later - Newark, USA. 

We have quite a long lay-over but that is better than missing a plane like on the way to Oslo. It's a bit boring though. Newark is not the nicest airport.

When we take off I took several photos. Lucky that the sky is so clear. When I just looked at this photo in detail I pulled it really large and looked at sections. Yeah, you can see the statue of liberty! Isn't that cool?

Actually, besides having a really long lay-over we were also an hour and a half late arriving in Richmond. We got an Uber really fast and the driver was very nice. That was especially good since we had trouble getting into our community. The gate attendant had already left and our #number didn't seem to work. We found a quick sollution but it was not quick enough because the Uber company called me and the driver that they noticed that we got stuck in a place and had not arrived where we were supposed to be. We had to tell them that everything was alright. Actually, I am happy to know this and feel even better using this service.

Home, sweet home. We had a wonderful time. Our guided trip with OAT had been great as always. And the time in Germany was wonderful. Spending good time with the different family members and friends, especially my sister Ute ... I don't know what words to use for that. Thank the Lord!

Trip Day 28

Monday September 4

Picture Book Perfect Weather! Maren has vacation. She drives with us to Duisburg to the Tiger and Turtle Walking Coaster.

A wide walkway gently circles around the hill until you are on top.

It is very impressive and a great experience with a wonderful view. Surprisingly I didn't find it strenuous at all. I have to admit though that next day some of my muscles in my legs let me know what a great day we had. 

Let the photos speak!

We wondered about the green signs under almost every step. Maren suggested that it might be the mandatory signs for the way out in an emergency since it is not one continuous way. You can't walk upside-down steps. On either side of the top loop is a gate to block anybody from attending a dangerous climb. 

I found though that when you have to turn around to walk back both times somehow you seem to have a different view.

We were good with hydrating ourselves which led to somebody disappearing here and Maren discretly blocked the entry. Ha-ha.

Maren brought us back to Ute's house. We couldn't have a day without playing cards. When Ute wanted to bring us back to our lodging, her car didn't start. Gero helped her deal with that and Maren quickly drove us because we needed to refresh and change. A dinner was scheduled for 5:30 pm, a thank-you to the young family for their wonderful hospitality.

They had selected the Black Bonsai Restaurant in Recklinghausen in the pedestrian old City Center in a historic vaulted wine cellar. It was a great choice. We shared a sushi platter for two. William would have been jealous. 

Three of us had the vegan curry. It was very good too.

Ha-ha, see the platter?

Maren had helped Ute with her car problem. All was good at the end. James and I have now some packing to do. Sigh.