Sunday, June 28, 2015

Our Craziest Trip

Sherry and I match in our love to travel. Before we decided to travel full time we loved to go on weekends, holidays and vacations. Once we decided to flip a coin at every intersection, Heads=Right, Tails=Left. After traveling 45 minutes we were back home, so we gave up that idea, and drove to the mountains.

Sherry does not like to fly and I love it. Our dream trips were different, She wanted to go to Israel, I  to Alaska. It happened that some of her friends from the church were going to Israel, I was busy with a house (or something) so she partnered with Alice (My friend Buck’s wife) and they FLEW to Israel and loved it.

One year the airlines were bumping heads on fares and they got down to $275 round trip to Frankfort. Buck usually dug my footers and I asked if he and Alice would like to go. So we got our passports and international driver’s license and went. We rented a car and started driving. Let’s go to Paris.

Germany is a beautiful country. The roads in the farm fields are paved. I got lost once, I was on a farm road, I could see the Autobahn but could not get on it. The Autobahn was like our interstate system with no speed limit. WOW that is a trip.

I mentioned the language thing a couple days ago, signs are also a little tough. Not quite as easy for my map reader to get me ‘there’. Thru Luxemburg and  Belgium Producing passports, trying to understand, a couple places they just shook their heads and waved us on.

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In Paris we drove around and one of the stupidest things we ever did was NOT go to the Eiffel Tower.

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This is the closest that we got. I loved the country side in Europe. It is gorgeous. It was hard for us to realize the devastation of WWII to the land, but it is back and gorgeous. On a French Audubon, Sherry once asked if I knew how fast I was going, I said NO without looking off the road, she said slow down we are going 105 mph. I could not slow down or I would have gotten run over.

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Most of the hotels/motels were reasonable. But when we got to Zurich, Switzerland. The only hotel available was the Senator, $275 a night. OUCH. But the drive thru the country was great, then back into the Rhineland, the beautiful Black Forest, more gorgeous views and country side.

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Inside the Castle grounds.

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This is a ceramic wood burning furnace for the castle. All the openings (no windows) were covered with deer skins in the winter.

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We toured a Castle in Heidelberg, Then on back to Frankfort  for the flight back to Charlotte, a whirlwind week, not knowing where we were headed, all we knew was we were going to Germany.

Nite Shipslog

PS: We had depended on our movie camera for pictures and it failed us.

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1959 GM FIREBIRD III

The 1959 Firebird, this one never made production either.

This is the last of my non-production cars. There were hundreds of others, but that is all I had.

10 comments:

TARYTERRE said...

Because of our mobility issues we do not travel much, if at all. I like to live vicariously through other's adventures.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

I think it's great that the two of you share the love of travel and have been able to see so much. I enjoy seeing where other folks go but have never done much travel at all.

Glenda said...

Wonderful photos, and what great memories....hoping some of those details were noted in a diary or journal? Especially love the Germany comments and castle!

betty said...

What a great adventure that trip was! I bet you guys talked a lot about the price of the room at the Senator. Can you imagine what it must cost now (if it is still in business)

betty

Mevely317 said...

How FUN! Coming from an uber-organized family, I don't know how comfortable I'd be with no itinerary.
...Then again, I'm not getting any younger.

Aside from a few trips to Tuscany, I'd love to witness the European countryside once more. (I was but 7 y/o last time around and have precious few memories.)

Unknown said...

Fantastic trip! I think everyone likes to dream of going somewhere on a lark, but not all of us are cut out to do it in reality.

Cher' Shots said...

Thanks for taking me along on this journey, even if it was only through pics and tales ;)
Hugs to you and your bride.
'love 'n hugs from afar'

Back Porch Writer said...

Sounds lovely! And exciting! George and I are heading to Maine late July and our rooms are that much there. We are only staying the weekend. Not our usual price for hotel. lol

shirl72 said...

Well glad you are home. I know you are tired after traveling 4000
miles in 2 weeks. You had a whirl-wind trip. Glad everybody had
a good time and I enjoyed the pictures you shared. Mayor said
WELCOME HOME

shirl72 said...

I left a comment and it may have disappeared.