Beautiful Sights

It may be 30 degrees colder here than Iowa, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it is so much more beautiful out here than the flat, boring Midwest! Out here they have winding roads that carve paths through the mountains and through beautiful old growth forests and you can see mountains and valleys in most of the directions you look on a clear day! It's so amazing how beautiful a few large sized rocks can look if you're not used to seeing them!

Yesterday we traveled to Lindau, Germany near the Austrian and Swiss border by the Bodensee. It was Sunday, so all the shops were closed, but even with that, there were so many picture taking opportunities in Lindau and during the drive to get there and back, I don't feel like we wasted a day because we couldn't browse the local goodies, which seems to be a big part of any vacation. ...you know admiring the local crafts and foods that you don't have at home.

I was able to take a lot of good pictures and post them on Flickr. I have some that are only visible to friends and family when they log in, so if you have an account, log in before viewing! I also upgraded to a pro account so that I could organize my pictures into sets. They limit you to 2 sets if you have a free account. So I figured it was high time to upgrade. And besides, it was only $25 for the whole year :)

I've had cold cuts for most of my meals out here so far. I think it is far more common to eat cold cuts out here than it is in the states. It isn't bad though because they have so many varieties of sausages, salamis, hams, cheeses, and breads that you can eat cold cuts for several days and never eat the same thing. That is nice in itself, however, I do wish I could get a hot local meal :)

My dad was introduced to pesto the other day. I bought a jar in the store, and now my dad has been putting pesto on almost everything. I guess you can say he likes it. He even put it on his picked fish sandwich! I'm glad that my dad likes it so much. He even asked me to keep introducing him to foods I like that he hasn't tried. That made me feel good because it lets me know that he appreciates my opinion :)

And so with that I think it's time to add pictures and let you all be jealous of how beautiful it is out here. I wish you all the best and I hope you are having as much fun as I am!

clicky!

post fest!

So since it's been so long since I've had a blog, I'm going crazy with the posts today.

I love my truck because it hasn't gotten me killed even with my crazy driving at times. So I've decided to write it a letter.

To My Truck,

We've had good times together. I drove you to prom. We went to college together. We even did donuts in the snow on the old baseball field. The times we've had together have been filled with joy, laughter, anger, tears, sadness, and just about any other emotion to be had. You were my first vehicle, and for that you will always have a special place on my key chain. But with all things, change is inevitable.

You're starting to grow old and you just don't drive like you used to. You make funny noises when turning, and you pull to the left randomly while driving. Your power steering whines like it's going to die at various times and it won't stop whining even if the wheels are not turned. Your shifter comes off when I change gears, and your clutch is just about worn. You even smell like must now since I left your back window open during the rain. My senses and my heart is sorry for making you smell so bad. But all this means that every day, I think about moving on. I need to get something new.

In 2001, your 20mpg was great because gas was only $1.20/gallon, but now that it's pushing $4, it's getting harder and harder to ignore how much you guzzle. And I know it's not your fault. That's just how you were made. Rusty tail pipes and all. I hope you can understand that it's not you, it's me. I don't deserve you anymore, it was a good run, but I think it would be better for us both if I moved on.

Yours Forever,