Padded Cell Anyone?

So, we discovered that the lovely folks who met us up close and personal (rear ended us) on I-25 last weekend lied about having insurance. Yes, they are uninsured. So, you can imagine the headaches we are now going through. We are all ready out $500 of our own money for the deductible. We shall see how this one plays out. We are scheduled to have the Jeep dropped off at the body shop on August 8th. The damage total came in at $1690 roughly!

And if that wasn't bad enough! Friday I had the Cherokee to take to work as Hubby had taken my car to the airport. I was at Starbucks in line for my coffee when the lady behind me rear ended me and caused more damage! I am glad we hadn't been able to get the Jeep in for repairs yet!! That was a big mess.

Finally I got to work and finally Hubby got to Vegas after having to divert to several different places. His trip should have been only about 4 or 5 hours, and it ended up being more like 12. I told him he should have taken the bike to get there faster.

Tonight I took the dogs for a walk. It was the first time in a week and a half since we were attacked last time we were walking. It was about a week and a half ago. Long story short, we were walking through the neighborhood and there was a bunch of kids with a dog on a leash. Some kid let go of the leash and the dog came over and attempted to bite our two dogs. Thanks to Hubby's quick thinking, he was able to avert that by stepping on the dogs leash and pulling our dogs out of the way, but Buddy let out a yelp first. After that, I walked the little girl home who's dog it was that was having the issue and asked the parents to please keep their dog aggressive dog under control.

Well, that situation with them didn't go to well. I will just leave it at that.

Then tonight I am out walking my dogs for the first time since the incident. And a mom of one of the other kids approaches me and accuses me of grabbing her kid by the arm. Well, I let her know I had no reason to grab her kid nor do I recall grabbing her kid. Even if I would have grabbed her kid it would have been to get him out of the middle of that situation. However, there were no kids around close enough to be grabbing (hence the loose dog).

I was so upset by the time I got home. I called Hubby who did not see my reason for being so upset and was angry with me for being so upset. I can tell you this much, I do not plan on walking alone in my neighborhood any more! It just isn't safe. Apparently you need a witness with you!

Ever felt like you need a padded cell? I know I do!

Same stuff, different day

So, Friday night we went for our regular Military Briefing at the Academy. I always forget just how gorgeous the Academy is. But I am always lucky to see it around twilight, which just seems to make the place seem just that much more impressive! We had to park at the field house and go by bus to Arnold Hall.

This year was the same thing as last year pretty much. Be mentors, be good role models, make them follow the rules, no underage drinking, etc, etc... They were kind enough to inform us that next year's briefing will be sent out on DVD for us to watch at our leisure with a beverage of choice in hand (the general's exact words). Thank goodness is all I have to say to that! These briefings are mandatory for us, and they are about as much fun as paying lots of money to see a really bad movie. (hey, it was the best analogy I could come up with on the fly).

Anyway, we will get to meet our new Doolies on August 7th. This year we are taking 3 for the day and we will decided what to do from there.

The heat has finally broken! We have had a few cooler days, including one rainy cool day! In fact it was so rainy that our roof at work started to leak. I had 6 buckets trying to catch all the leaks placed on the floor in various spots. Today the roofers came and said they fixed the problem. I hope so.

Hubby leaves for Las Vegas tomorrow. He is heading off to a conference called Defcon. It's for computer security people. He should have a fun time as this is one of the biggest conferences of the year for his field. And they make it out to be more of a fun learning experience then anything else. He returns Monday, just in time to start our first training class for Bristol. The first night we go without the dog.

Other than that, things have been pretty much the same around here. I am still taking private yoga lessons from a lady in Monument. I am very much enjoying it.

Big news around here is that the doctor finally cleared my mom to get back on her feet! She is out of the wheelchair for the first time in 2 months. In fact she has a new car and is driving herself around! We went down tonight for dinner, and to fix a computer problem and to check out her new wheels. She got a '97 Toyota Camry. It pretty sweet. It has power everything, tinted window, a spoiler and the works. So far she is very happy with it.

Bristol continues to grow like a weed. He still isn't filling out much, but boarder collies usually are thinner, and he is a puppy. He has a ravenous appetite, but is still thin as a rail. He loves bones, like real cow bones. We have about 10 of them floating around the house and he is almost always chewing on one. In fact he is chewing on his favorite one right now.

Buddy, on the other hand, is sound asleep in his favorite chair. He isn't very interested in playing anymore. I don't know if that is because he is upset about the new puppy, or if his eyes are bothering him, or if he used to just play to entertain us. Who knows, but he has given up on every playing with toys again apparently.

I am having all my employees over on Sunday for a Bar-B-Q. I had all ready put it on everyone's schedule when I realized that Hubby would be gone. So, one of my employee's husbands has been kind enough to step in and do the grilling of the hamburgers and hot dogs in Hubby's absence. It should be a good time, there will be several dogs here as well as people.

Up and down, and up and down....

Our Saturday was a bit of a roller coaster.... Saturday morning, Bristol woke us up early. He started whining in his kennel about 6:15am. That is the time that during the week Hubby usually gets him up and out, so I just figured his internal clock told him it was time to get up. He kept whining and whining so I decided I would get up, let him out and then we could all go back to bed for a few hours. After all, it was my day off and we were not going to be heading out to the races until later.

So, I got up, let him and Buddy out, only to discover the real reason he wanted to go out. He had a bad case of diarrhea. After the pups came back in, I got their breakfast ready. He wouldn't eat. Instead he wanted to go back outside for another go around. It is odd for him not to want to eat. So, being the good dog mom that I am, I went outside with a zip lock bag inside out and scooped up some remnants for the vet. I have suspected for about the last week that he had some sort of parasite or worm. We all ready knew he didn't have heart worm, but he just wasn't gaining any weight as he grows. So, at 7:45am, I loaded the sample and the dog into the Jeep. Off we went to the vet's office. They were able to squeeze us in since we were there so early.

After the sample was examined, guess what they found. Yes, worms. Round worms to be exact. It's something he got from his mother's milk. So, at some point in time, his mother was around long enough to feed him. So, $68 dollars and two prescriptions later, we headed for home. He just had his last de-wormer treatment and he will be on antibiotics for a few days. That was one of those down hills.

About 9:45am, after the Tour De France time trial stage ended, we headed off to mom's house to drop off the dogs. Bristol hadn't been to Camp Nana yet, so it was a big day for him! He met Chula for the first time, which went better then I thought it would. Chula was more scared of him than he was of her. We left him and he was settled in within minutes of us leaving. That was a up on our ride.

We headed down to PPIR for the Busch race. It was HOT, HOT, HOT. Miserable hot. We were sweating like crazy and the sun was miserable. We had brought 2 bottles of water each. Plus I bought 2 bottles of water to drink those as well. It was hot. That was a down.

But then we headed up to our seats. About 20 minutes into the race the sun moved behind the building and our seats were in the shade. AHHHHH! Major up! And then the race was really good. We were cheering for Kenny Wallace. He took 3rd. It was a fun time! (again, an up)

So, then we headed to the parking lot. And started the long journey home. We were heading up I-25, in stop and go traffic. At one point we were stopped and the next thing we knew, we were rear ended. (That was a big ride down). Thankfully there was a state trooper about 4 cars back and Hubby was able to get out of the Jeep and walk back to their car. So, we all pulled over to the side of the road and the officer took all the info. We have major damage to the Jeep. It doesn't look that bad, only a few bumps, however, our tailgate won't open. That is going to be an expensive fix. But apparently this kid has insurance, so hopefully it will be easy to take care of. Hubby will probably contact the other guy's insurance company today or tomorrow.

After an hour we were back on the road heading for home. By now my sister and Phoebe had arrived at my mom's house. Apparently all 4 dogs were having a great time. We finally arrived and went out to dinner with everyone. It was a nice dinner. (up again).

We headed for home, and finally crawled in bed late! It was a long exhausting day, but I really enjoyed the race.

I had to get up early Sunday morning also. We had a staff meeting at the store, before it opened. I worked all day and then came home and was sound asleep by 10:15pm. I have a day off tomorrow. I am looking forward to that.

HOT, HOT, HOT!

I am so happy! I went to the doctor today for my yearly exam. I was really really dreading it, as don't we all? But, by the time I walked out of there, I was sooo happy! First, I got on the scale, and I had dropped 14 pounds since my last visit in October last year! (I knew I had, but it still feels great to have it on record). Then the doctor came in, addressed all my concerns and we went over all the blood work I had done last October as well. Everything was perfect!! He said I couldn't be in better health! Not to shabby for being 30, oops, I mean 29! ;)

I must be old, I get excited that I got a perfect bill of health from my doctor. I never really cared before.

So, we are having a little heat wave here. It's been upper 90's the last few days. Yesterday I was working so I was able to avoid most of the heat by being in my air conditioned work. Today however, I am not working and it is again in the high 90's. Weather.com says it is currently 87 degrees however I happen to know that earlier today my thermometer from outside was saying 93 and that was at 3:30pm. So, it's hot. HOT! I have all the swamp coolers running full blast and I am refilling them about every hour. We have decided that it's time for air conditioning. We are going to suffer through this summer and in the fall or winter, when they are the cheapest, or on sale, we will buy one. We are talking whole house air conditioning. Ah, next summer we will be nice and cool no matter what the temp outside it! I won't have to put the dogs in the basement anymore due to the heat!

Speaking of dogs, our two are as wild and as crazy as ever. It's just about 6pm which is their feeding time and they are letting me know. They are both at my feet. And of course they are panting because of the heat.

Oh, and about the microchips, you also have to pay a start up fee with the company once you microchip your dog, so it ends up costing around $52 or $53 dollars, BUT that is only a one time fee, so you don't have to pay again when you make changes (like if you move).

Other than that, things are pretty much the same here. Hubby is absolutely hooked on the Tour de France, like he is every year. He is also happy with his Jeep. We went to Car Toys on Sunday and spent way to much money on a new sound system for it. He had purchased on line an MP3 player for the car and he needed to get rid of the tape player in the car and have a more modern deck to hook it into. So, we did. And also, when we got the Jeep the front speakers didn't work. And I said, heck, since we are getting front speakers, we better get rear one's also!! So, many dollars and hours later, the Jeep now has a nice stereo system.

Okay, I am on the top level of the house on the computer, which is probably one of the hottest places to be, so I am going to meander down and once I feed the dogs, I am going to park myself in front of the swamp cooler with a nice cold beer!!!

Bristol goes to the Vet

Ahhh, a day off today! With my current schedule, I still get 2 days off a week, but it sure doesn't feel like it! I feel like I work all the time!

Let's see, well, I have told you all about our trip now. Friday was a normal work day, and I worked Saturday. I was supposed to close the store that night, but we had a party for a friend to go to, so my assistant manager was nice enough to switch with me so I was able to go to the surprise party. We all got to Tony and Kelly's at 5:30pm and Tony was supposed to arrive at 6pm. So, at 7pm when he finally arrived, we all yelled 'Surprise' and then dug into the wonderful food that Kelly had brought in from Qdoba! It was very tasty!

Saturday morning Hubby took Bristol to the vet. His first visit to his new vet! Buddy tagged along to. We got Bristol all checked out. He weighed in at 32 pounds (seriously underweight), but in great shape. He gets fixed on Tuesday, and when he is under, they will have to pull his 2 baby canine teeth. They didn't fall out when the adult teeth grew in. We also had him and Buddy micro chipped. It's now law that any new dog that comes into a vet's office or any humane society, or SPCA has to be scanned for microchips. So, in case the dogs ever get out and someone picks them up, they can find there way back home just that much easier! AND it only costs $35. So, I highly suggest it to anyone! Heck, I am even thinking about having one put in Hubby! But then again, if he gets out and lost, do I really want him back? =)

It's a very odd feeling to have another type of dog. I was so used to having our Beagle and Beagle mix! I feel like a traitor to the Beagle name by having another breed of dog in the house. We used to call Petey and Buddy 'the brown one' and 'the white one'. Well, we can't say 'the brown one' anymore, because they are both brown! So, we are trying to figure out new nicknames. Hubby said it should be 'the fat one' and 'the skinny one'. Or 'the old one' and 'the new one'.

We are still working on the housebreaking thing with Bristol. He hasn't had an accident in the house in a week, but he does tend to piddle in his crate when he is left in there for a little while. So, we are still attempting to work on that. Right now it is difficult trying to get him to go potty outside when we are getting ready to leave. We try explaining to him that we are leaving and he won't have a chance to go potty again for a few hours, but it doesn't seem to matter to him. If he doesn't want to go, he won't. Ahh, puppyhood. The vet is pretty sure he is right about 6 months old. So, that would put him born about mid January.

Well, I have laundry to do, lots of cleaning to do and some errands to run. I guess I better go and get started!

Bristol on the deck:

Last day in London

Life with Bristol sure is interesting! He is one smart cookie! He watches and imitates everything that Buddy does! He is getting much better at the potty thing. So far only 3 real accidents in the house, and we have caught him twice before he piddled on the floor. Something about our basement makes him want to piddle?! He is such a character. He still has trouble walking on a leash, it's a battle taking him for daily walks. But when he doesn't get a daily walk, he is so hyper. In fact, I need to make this quick so I can take them before I go to work. I did sign him up for obedience class starting the first week in August.

So, our last day in London started off raining. We went to a little breakfast shop just about 50 feet away from our hotel called The Muffin Man. I had tea and cakes for breakfast. It was on the breakfast menu, but it was literally tea and a huge slice of cake! I got the Queen's cake, which was kind of a spice cake with nuts and chocolate frosting with chamomile tea. Hubby got more of a breakfast thing with Earl Grey tea.

After breakfast we walked to the nearby park, which I don't know the name of right now. But in this HUGE park is Kensington Palace, and the Princess Diana memorial fountain and playground. We walked by the palace and the playground but we never made it over to the fountain. After we walked around for a while, we headed to a book store to get things to read on the plane. Here is a picture of the palace:



And here is a picture of the things on the ground that show the way to Diana's fountain:



After our stop at the book store we walked back to the hotel and got ready to head for home. We got up at 8:00am London time that morning which would be 11pm Colorado time the day before. Our flight was 9 hours, I only slept maybe 30 minutes and Hubby didn't sleep at all, he read a book cover to cover. By the time we got home that night and crawled in bed at about 10:30pm it had been almost 24 hours that we had been awake! Needless to say, we were sleeeeeppyyy! The next few days we both dragged a little bit, but we were back to normal in a short time!

Here's one more picture of the new pup:



And here is a picture of the new happy family!:

New Puppy!

We just got back from a long HOT walk. It's HOT out there!

As most of you probably all ready know, we have a new dog in the family!

Bristol!



He was with a rescue group that comes into my store about every other week. And he pretty much fits the profile of what we were looking for. He is cute, submissive, sweet and pretty much well behaved. His foster family said he was housebroken. He pretty much is, but he has had two accidents since being here with us. But, these are unfamiliar surroundings, so we have to work with him. Other than the accidents, he's great! He does have trouble walking on a leash, so we are still working on that. And a little separation anxiety when I try to take Buddy somewhere and not him. And he is a little bit timid, but we don't know what his past is, so we will work on making him more confident. He is approximately 5 months old.

Suzi and Zak stopped by last night with Phoebe. Once Bristol got used to Phoebe, the two of them played and played and played and played! I took some pictures of it and will have them to share soon.

Bristol has the tail and ears of an Australian Sheepdog, but the fur and face of a Border Collie. He is brown and white. Yes, Scott, all our dogs have to be some shade of brown and white.

Bristol also likes to get up EARLY. This morning he made it until 6:30am before waking us up. Yesterday is was 6:15am. But, when he does that, I get a lot done. He is pretty darn smart too. He watches Buddy do something and then he does it also! Like jumping on the bed. They have to jump on the bench at the end of the bed because the bed it so high. He tried to jump up the side, but couldn't do it. Then he saw how Buddy did it, and now he does it!

I am going to stop here and go take a shower before I head to work. I will tell you about the last day of our trip tonight or tomorrow!!

5th day in Lithuania, headed back to London

My parents spoiled me growing up by always giving me “REAL” maple syrup with my pancakes. My Hubby likes the “fake” stuff better. Yuck. I have a real craving for pancakes right now, but we are currently on the Sam's size bottle of fake stuff. We rotate if possible so we are each happy. Mrs. Butterworth's just isn't “real” stuff. Did I mention Sam's size bottle? You know what that means? It's about as big as a milk jug! I think I may suffer through just to have some pancakes.

Yesterday was probably one of the hottest days we have had so far. It was in the mid 90's here. I pulled out our 2nd portable swamp cooler from the basement and got it up and moving on the main level. So, we have 1 upstairs with 5 other fans going at all times. And now we have one on the main level with only 2 other fans going at all times. Plus we have a large fan that moves cool air up from the basement. The system works okay, better than no fans at all. It wasn't too sweltering in here yesterday when I left for work. And I was kind and filled up the swamp coolers before I left so hopefully the house would be somewhat cool when Hubby came home. Plus, I let Buddy have the run of the house, so I wanted him to be nice and cool as well.

We have to confine Buddy when we aren't home otherwise he gets in the trash. In the winter we usually confine him in the living room. He can get on the bench and look out the window. In the summer we tend to put him in the basement, for 2 reasons. First, it's a lot cooler and 2nd, in case big storms come by he is a bit more protected when we aren't here should something major happen. We have a wooden gate at the top of our basement stairs. It used to have a guide only at the bottom it would lock into. For some reason Hubby took that off a while back and installed the lock at the top. About a week ago, our not so slim Beagle figured out that the bottom of the gate isn't locked into place and slipped out. Guess what he did then? Yes, he got in the trash. So, until Hubby locates and re-installed the bottom lock for the gate, he either has to be in the living room or we have to put the trash up when we leave.

We have this nice wooden trash container holder that we paid $100 for. (It's really nice) The plastic trash can (the ugly part) goes inside and you lift the lid on the wooden part to throw trash into the trash can. So, yesterday, when I left I took the blue plastic trash can out, with a small amount of trash in it anyway and put it on the middle of our table. Then I left the door to the wooden holder open, so the Beagle could see there is NO trash in there. He still knocked the wooden holder over. It's about dead, we may have to invest in another one. It just hides the ugly trash can so nice! Hubby is thinking we should bolt it to the wall. Who knows, I just know after 7 years Buddy is still as much of a trash hound today as he was when I first got him. And the real trash can, with the real trash was still safely in the middle of our table. But I am sure he tried.

So, on our 5th day in Lithuania, we got up somehow in the morning. It was tough after that weddings. We ate breakfast, called Scott and Eva to say goodbye and headed to the airport.

At the airports in Europe, you don't know what your gate is until about and hour to a half hour before your departure. You just kind of hang out in the main part of the airport until it pops up on the screen, then you move to your gate. It's just different from here, where they tell you what gate you will be at no matter when you get there, so you can go and sit and wait there. I like our method much better. This way, I can sit and read without having to worry about watching for more information!

Anyway, we had a normal flight back to London. We landed at the Gatwick Airport, took the train to Victoria station and then took a cab from there. We could have taken the tube right to our hotel, but it's difficult with all that luggage, a cab is easier.

After settling in our hotel room and getting cleaned up, we went to our new favorite Thai restaurant just outside out hotel. Then we spent the evening relaxing.

4th day in Lithuania

What a difference a day makes! I am still feeling uneasy about everything that happened in London. We went through Edgware station several times. And we went through King's Cross and I am pretty sure we went through Liverpool at least once. I am not sure which lines were the ones that had the accidents as there are several lines that run through each station. I just know that it's a very uneasy feeling to think that we could have been on the trains when the terrorists were there scoping it out. Or that we could have been there when it happened!

Going through something like this again, (after Sept. 11th) just reinforces the fact that life is so short and precious! You have to take advantage of it while you can!

I am pretty sore after my yoga on Wednesday. So, yesterday I just walked on the treadmill while I watched CNN. Today I was good and got up and practiced my yoga even though I was sore.

So, back to our trip. Saturday was the big wedding day! Hubby, Bob and myself headed to Eva's house at noon to be there for everything. I helped Eva get ready once she got home from the salon, she got her hair and makeup done. The guys waited in another room with the door shut until Eva was completely ready. Then when Scott came in, he presented Eva with her bouquet. Then they were blessed by her parents. We then had a shot of brandy and some food. Then off to the wedding house.

At the wedding house, there are several groups of wedding parties waiting their turn. Right before it was Scott and Eva's turn to be married, they have to go into contemplation rooms for a few minutes separatly to think about getting married and to be sure it is what they want to do. We then proceeded into the room where they were married. After a champagne toast, we headed outside for pictures. Here are some pictures from the wedding house:







From there we headed off in the cars to Trakai, to the castle. Yes the same castle we were at a few days before. There are lots of places for some beautiful photos there! Here are a few pictures from the castle area:













After that we headed back to Vilnius for the reception. It was at a nice hotel. Here we are with the bride and groom at the beginning of the reception:



Yes, there was lots of Russian vodka, and the reception was mostly in Russian and Polish, but occasionally some English. It was lots of fun and the night finally ended at about 1:30am. It was a LONG day and we were happy to finally make it back to the hotel.

3rd day in Lithuania

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! I did. I did have to work on Saturday, but once I got that out of the way, it was much better. Sunday we went to breakfast in the morning and went and ran some errands. In the afternoon we headed off to Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) for the midget car races. The tickets to this were part of the package we won at the Red Ribbon Ball. After the 3 races, which I really enjoyed, there was a Hootie and the Blowfish concert. After that, a large fireworks show. I figured it would be the only chance for us to see fireworks that weekend, so we hung around to watch. By the time we got home, it was midnight.

We got up early the next morning to head off on a motorcycle ride. We hooked up with Glenn and Alexis and headed up to Woodland Park for breakfast at the Donut Mill. Then, from there, we headed north out of Woodland Park. It ended up we went about 130 miles. I hadn't been on the back of the bike since we went to Santa Fe. My behind was feeling quite sore! I have to get in shape before our big ride in September.

We got home around noon and took a nap. We got up and headed off to Sherry and Cady's house for a bar-b-q. It was just a small gathering of friends, but it was a nice time. We ate yummy ribs and watermelon and it was just how the 4th of July should be! We came home about 8:30pm and then Hubby and I watched a movie before heading to bed. What a great 4th of July weekend!!!!

I got up early today, on my day off, to head to my yoga instructor's house. She really works me hard, but it's such a great feeling after. I have about 6 more sessions with her until I am on my own.

Things are pretty much the same here. It's in the low 90's today. I have my day off today and I am going to pick my mom up about 2pm and take her out for some errands.

So, our 3rd day in Lithuania we just kind of checked out old town Lithuania. We had lunch in a neat restaurant in the basement. A lot of the restaurants go into the basement, or the old bomb shelters. It makes for a pretty neat atmosphere. Here are some pictures from around Old Town:







In the afternoon, Eva had to go to get her manicure and to pick up her wedding dress for the next day, leaving Scott, Bob, Hubby and myself to fend for ourselfs. Which wasn't a problem, except Scott took us up to the 3 crosses. Sounds nice, except it was about a million stairs to get up to them. We were worn out by the time we got up to the top. But here are some neat pictures from the top, including the one of me pointing at the hotel we were staying in:







And here are the 3 guys doing the cheesey wave:



And Scott and I in front of their “White House":



That night we found another traditional Lithuanian restaurant and had a nice dinner there. Then it was an early night for all of us, since the next day was going to be a BIG DAY!!!

2nd day in Lithuania

Recently someone sent this to me and I found it made me smile. So I am passing it on to you:

Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably
worth it.

It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

Never buy a car you can't push.

Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you
won't have a leg to stand on.

Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

The second mouse gets the cheese.

When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors,
but they all have to live in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.


So, I am still a little congested and now I have a cough. The congestion and cough are controlled easy enough with Dayquil and Nyquil. I had to stop yesterday at Walgreens to pick up some more.

Speaking of Walgreens, they are building a new one just about a mile and a half north of us. There is also one only about ½ mile up the road from us to the East. Then there is the one we use that is about a mile and a ½ west of us. That one is a 24-hour one, so that is why we tend to use that one. Plus it's between us and the major streets of the city so we tend to go past it more then the one that is only ½ a mile away from us! But geez, just how many Walgreens do we need within a 3 mile radius?!

So, back to our vacation. Some things I noticed while on vacation:

In London, the cops cars really do make that sound like you hear on the movies, after they have been running for a while.

The sun rises at around 5am and sets around 10pm in both London and Lithuania. (As Hubby says, makes for drinking beer longer, easier)

You only drink bottled water and the cheaper water is carbonated water or water with gas. Regular water, or still water, or water no gas, is usually one of the more expensive beverages on the menu!

So, on our 2nd day in Lithuania we decided to go down to the castle at Trakai. Trakai was the first capital of Lithuania before it moved to Vilnius. Well, we agreed to take a bus down to the castle. First we had a hard time locating Scott and Eva at our meeting point. Finally we did and we hopped a trolley to the bus station. From there we got on the bus to Trakai. The bus had to have been the first bus ever made. It was so old! It was a very hot day, and the windows didn't open. The only air flow was through the small emergency exit. Needless to say it was pretty hot. Well, Scott and Eva told us it was only about a 20 minute ride to get there. They didn't expect that the bus would be stopping to pick up people all along the way. It ended up being over an hour journey. Here is Scott and Eva on the ancient bus:



We finally got to the town of Trakai. The bus station is about 2km or about a mile from the castle. So, we started walking. We walked all the way to the castle. We walked around the castle, it was very old and kind of cool. I personally think it would have been fun to live there! Of course with some modern conveniences though. Here are some pictures of the castle:









After that we stopped for lunch at an outdoor cafe overlooking the lake and castle. The service was so slow that we were not going to be able to catch the last bus back. So, we ended up calling a taxi to take us back to Vilnius. We ended up waiting a long time for that as well. But we finally got back to town, and Scott and Eva had to rush to the airport to pick up Scott's friend Bob who was also flying in for the wedding. Bob works for the Embassy in Germany.

That night was the bachelor and bachelorette parties. We started the evening by going to a traditional Lithuanian restaurant. They eat a lot of potatoes, meat and vegetables. We did a grill mix thing that Scott, Hubby and I all split. It was pretty darn good.

After dinner the guys headed off one way while the girls headed off another. The girls went to a dance club and we sat at a table and had some drinks. After a few hours we headed off to catch up with the guys. They were at another club/bar just down the street. They were at a 2 level club that had a bar upstairs and a dance floor downstairs. They were upstairs at a table in the bar area. We sat with them for a while and had a drink before Hubby and I headed back to the hotel. That was a late night for us.