Transylvania part 4

8/17/06 - this should be the last update of bran...as i still need to cover brashov from the trip to transylvania...there is just so much to see and talk about...it seems that woodworking is an artisans trade here and i saw a lot of woodwork...embroidery on tablecloths and such and some lace work too...BUT...i have heard that glasswork is really one of the hugest exports of here...so i am hoping to find some good glass pieces...i'll keep ya posted..here are some funky masks made from wood that were at one of the stalls in the market

in bran...as in places all over romanian...there are many buildings that are in states of disrepair and rejuvenation...in other words there is tons of construction on old, impressive looking place, like this old church in the middle of bran...it seems like folks are doing all of this construction for romania to become a member of the EU in october...it should be interesting to be able to watch that from within this country...

the next shot is of some of the folks i am working with...almost everyone in this shot is from the states...BUT i am also working with canadians, south africans, aussies, kiwis, brits and romanians...its a very interesting group of folks...many of whom have lived a lot of other places overseas...it will be fun to get to know them and hear their stories...and here is the cat that was picked up...in the castle that is...

okay...no more pictures will post concerning bran...so i guess thi is the last one above....i am hoping i get back out to bran and hang for a mellow weekend at some point...as i really enjoyed myself, its only about 5 hours away from bucharest and there is supposed to be great skiing and snowboarding the area...could be a blast...doncha think...hope everyone is well and i'll be back over the weekend with the final update about the trip i took a week and a half ago...talk soon

Transylvania part 3

8/17/06 - back again....with the third installment...not sure how many installments there will be...but this might be the last for bran...depends if i can get all the pictures loaded...below is a shot of the hotel where we stayed in transylvania...doesn't it look like your typical swiss chalet??? let me tell you...we were living the high life :)
and here is the amazing view from the balcony off my room...everyone got their own room for two nights...it was a "get-to-know-you" kind of trip...very relaxing and a beautiful surrounding to relax in...i loved it....the one thing that was a bit difficult to deal with was the food...vegetarian = cheese to romanians...they don't seem to give you anything without cheese if you don't eat meat...its wild...we even had slices of fried cheese for one meal...talk about lump in your stomach...ugh

a lot of the houses in bran were quite exquisite...i really liked them as they reminded me of hamlets in the mountains...plus, most romanians like to garden...so some the gardens we saw were incredible...here is an example of a local house in town...itsn't it beautiful...and an "everyday" romanian lives in this house...they are usually passed down their families forever and ever...

okay...its stopping me again...which means i need one more update here in the blog....sorry about this :)

Transylvania part 2

8/17/06 - okay...i am back...the other really striking thing about the bran castle was an amazing courtyard...from this shot below you can see that it was a gloomy and rainy day...which was kind of appropo...it was dracula's castle for goodness sake :) but this courtyard was amazing...and the well in the center was a perfect accent...a bunch of folks hung out in the courtyard for awhile...and one of the new teachers adopted a stray cat from the castle...which was a bit strange to me...but he and a few others felt it would be fine....to each their own i guess...

there were many cool rooms and secret passages in this castle...this one came from the heated siting and music room...it was stone all the way up and could have been very confining if you got stuck :)there were some amazing light fixtures as well that i really liked...most were metal, but the one below was made out of wood and gave off this soft light...it was in one of the children's rooms...interesting use of an antler...wouldn't you say...

i also spent some time in the town of bran...which was celebrating" bran days"...so there was a little market with some great musical instruments for sale...not sure what they are called...but they were cool looking...the man who made them was sleeping below them...so i didn't wake him up to ask what they were...

okay....another end to posting...another should be up in a sec...ugh...

Transylvania part 1

8/17/06 - hey there folks...back again before the two weeks have passed...there is just too much when you first move to a new country...so i hope you don't mind an extra update or two...first off, thanks to all those who sent e-mails and questions...things overall are going quite well and i am really excited as school starts on MONDAY!!!! bring the kids on i say...i am very tired of meetings....i am adjusting to being in romania, with all of its quirks and differences...but that is for another e-mail at a later date :) now i need to get back to transylvania...which was a week and half ago already...i am celebrating my two week anniversary of being in the country tomorrow....wowowowowowow....so exciting....but i digress...shocking, i know :)

on with the trip to transylvania...here's bran castle...this is commonly heralded as "dracula's castle" and therefore has tons of tourists visiting it all the time....we stayed in bran, so of course we became some of those tourists....but most romanians know that this is NOT dracula's castle and that it really is somewhere else....which i am hoping to visit...but it has been said he slept here...but i guess he "slept" all over the country....

i have to say i really liked this castle...as it felt very "cosy" on the inside...which is very different from most castles...this one had much in the way of dark, warm wooden beams and beautiful stoves in the rooms to help heat them...they were ceramic and you can see them in the picture below...the chest was also quite stunning...this was in the "count's" bedroom...not dracula...but the owner of the castle...who's name escapes me at the moment...but all throughout the castle there were beautiful pictures of the women who lived there and guests from italy and greece...it had such a homey feel...

okay...it seems that blogger is limiting what i post tonight...so i will be back with more in just a sec...

More pictures from poland and romania

8/14/2006 - hey there folks...well...i have decided i will post more pictures on the blog...otherwise, why should i bother to have this and send out e-mail updates...so if you are interested in more pictures than what i normally send...check back here on occasions...i just got back from having a beer with some teacher folks...right around the corner from my place...didn't i say i was in a GREAT location...and as everyone knows, its all about location, location, location...on with the picture show :)
the shot above is from warsaw...and an amazing looking bakery...they had all fresh fruit on their cakes and baked goods...yummy...i just loved this place...and they loved that i took a picture...the cake in the window was about as tall as me....yes, i know...not that tall....hahahahaha

this second picture is also warsaw...it the city wall that separates the "old" town from the "new" town....did i say how much i really enjoyed my stay in warsaw...although more people have told me that krakow puts it to shame...i say, hit them both :)

this last shot of poland is me standing at a pierogie shop...they were everywhere...but i had indian food, which was yummy...i will have to go back to poland for the pierogies alone...they all looked homemade as well...this place was in old town and was way cute :)

back in romania...here's another shot of my kitchen...looking back towards the front door, which you see on the left...as you can tell i have an european sized refrig...a couch in the kitchen, plus some funky red rugs...when you are facing this way, the living room/spare bedroom is to the right and my bedroom and the bathroom are to the left...

okay...i think that is enough for tonight...time for me to head to bed...hope eveyone is well...and remember...feel free to send questions about where i am living and what i am doing...i am hoping to have another update about the trip to transylvania up out soon...otherwise i will just get far behind....and remember...i will be adding extra pictures on the blog...so come check it out when you get the chance...peace out :)

Poland shots and the first of the Romanian pictures

this first shot of me was taken in the warsaw airport...we took this after waiting around for about two hours to get all of our things straightened out...like the trip the next day to bucharest and the hotel we were headed to...and such...this was taken about 2:30pm in the afternoon...so at this point i probably had been traveling almost 24 hours...with NO SLEEP!!!!

this shot is of "old" town warsaw...it was a beautiful, clear night and many folks were out and about shopping and eating and relaxing...i loved the square and had some tasty gelato while walking around it....we walked through about 8 squares like this one...they were great!!!

this is the final shot from warsaw...it the uprising monument...all the little points of lights on the steps are candles....it was stunning to see this at night....as i said below, we were there two days after the anniversary of the uprising....it was incredible....

here's a shot of me the first night i am in bucharest...the new faculty and staff all got together to celebrate everyone making it finally to romania...there are 27 of us...and the woman to my left is catherine, the other middle school science teacher who is new :) we went to a lebanese restaurant that was quite tasty :)

the building you are looking at here is my apartment building...i am on the first floor in the back and actually overlook a garden, which is quite peaceful...unfortunately i don't have a balcony as many here do...but overall i am really liking my space so far....

this is a shot of my furnished living room...this couch actually pulls out into a double bed...for all of the guests planning to come visit :) its the only room with an air conditioner...very nice, doncha think :) okay...i hink that's all the pictures blogger will put up with...more shots of the apartment very soon...hope all is well :)

i made it!!!!

8/13/06 - hey there all....well its official...i am in bucharest...i have been here for a bit more than a week....and am in the process of adjusting...my trip to here took longer than expected and we had a suprise stop-over in warsaw...which was just delightful...pictures and stories will be below...so far though i have been spoiled rotten by the school...we even had two days in the mountains...in transylvania...don't worry, we brought plenty of garlic to help us make it thru :) and yes...we went to bran castle...one of the many that proclaims that "dracula slept here"...but it IS the one many think of as dracula's castle...i am still trying to get a feel for dracula and vlad the impaler...i am hoping to borrow one of the other teacher's books....but let's start from the very beginning....as you know...its a very fine place to start :) just as a warning...no pictures seem to be posting today...will work on that for the post...sorry...

so the trip got started in philly...on a VERY HOT day...we actually hit 101 F....ugh....from philly i flew to chicago...and proceeded to get stuck in the airport with polish airlines (LOT) for 6 hours...what a mess....i have to say that LOT airlines seemed to be a bit confused...and when talking to an expat who has flown with them for 10+ years...he stated that 80% of the time they were wonderful and 20% of the time they were just horrible...i guess me and ten other teachers got stuck in the 20%...but unexpectedly we got a night's stay in warsaw, poland...on the airline's dime....what a great place....i was suprised that LOT remembered i was a veggie...and i got an aisle seat...so those were pluses...however, it was quite a small plane and the seats were not terribly comforatble...BUT...i have been told they are the cheapest airline usually connecting to bucharest...so it might be good for folks to look into them....

as for poland....wowowowowow...warsaw was GREAT!!! i was there with nine other teachers and two of them had lived in warsaw for 6 years...nothing like built-in tour guides...we stayed at a "posh" hotel out by the airport..nicer than many places i have stayed...let me tell you...we hopped taxis and headed for an excellent indian place that was one of carolyn and rick's favorites when they lived in warsaw...YUMMY!!!!! and then it was off to old town warsaw....this place was amazing...think about all the pictures you have in your head of quaint european towns...warsaw is one of them...cobblestone streets, with buildings that are close and three stories high...town squares with restaurants and bars that have umbrellas...gelato carts and coffee stands...and clean, clean, clean....it was overwhelming...the coolest thing about old town is that it was rebuilt from all of the destroyed bricks and cobblestones of "destroyed old town"...which happened in the 40's...all the materials in the "new" old town are the ones that were from the "destroyed" old town....all re-laid by hand and it took a long time to do this....just impressive to think about :)

we also stopped by the place where the polish uprising of 1944 (41?) occurred...rick was saying that the uprising came literally out of the sewers of warsaw by the folks who were fed up with the government...and the monument to this was incredible...we actually were there two days after the anniversary and got to see the monument with literally hundreds of candles around it...it was simply breath-taking....it was a fantastic night in warsaw and i am definitely going to head there for a weeked or so...i have also been told that krakow is even better...yahoo...so excited...new places to see and new things to do....gotta love it...after spending a good chunk of the night out in warsaw we headed back to the hotel to try and get some sleep before jumping the plane to bucharest the next day!!!!

and then it was time....it was a smooth trip to the airport, with breakfast included, and a short wait for a VERY comfortable, uncrowded, short flight to romania....it took about 3 hours all told...when flying over my home of the next two years, i noticed many regions of agricultural focus and that towns are small and spread far and wide from one another...no sprawl here...yet...it was a beautiful view and all of us were excited about what was to come....

as we came off the flight and some of us got our luggage, i was one of the lucky ones, we met our director of school and two principals...they were very happy to see us all together...all ten of us :) we split up for the trip to apartments and houses and made promises to see each other later...and luckily this was already planned...and then the trip into the city happened....one negative thing about bucharest seems to be the traffic...and right now its "light" because many folks are on holiday...ugh....we hit a bunch of traffic while heading into the city....and i was the last one to be dropped off...it was quite warm...95F and this is very unusual for romania....the driver was telling me we were in an awful heat wave....yuck....we finally got to my place and...

so far i really like it...its smaller than most everyone else's...but for me it is a good amount of space...i mean how much space does one person really need....BUT the greatest thing about my apartment is that everything...and i mean everything, is completely new...new appliances, new furniture, new floors and walls and ceilings, new rugs, even paintings that aren't half bad on the walls...although some of these will be coming down....i have taken pictures...but again nothing is posting so i will be back in a bit of time with those shots....but because eveything is brand spanking new...it all works easily....and then today i received my internet and it seems to be working too....i am in a GREAT location...the pub everyone heads for at the end of the school week is a block away :) and there are about 6 cafes and a bunch more restuarants in the area...i have a great supermarket and a fresh fruit, veggie and flower market next to it...its seems to be in the middle between the "center" of bucharest and school...so my commute, yes, i have been driving, is about 20 minutes....the school is quite impressive looking....clean and new (2001)...i am not sure what is happening with classrooms, but we had lots of meetings about what the school is all about and what is expected and such, with more of those to come this week...classes start a week from tomorrow...whoa...send good vibes :)

okay...i think this has been a good hi...i will be writing more this week and hopefully will figure out how to post pictures...although that could be a problem with blogger...we'll see....and so it begins...time for me to ask you for questions about where i live...next update will include and explanation of my trip to transylvania...there is just too much this tie to bring up...but suffice to say i am happy, healthy and have made it safely to romania...yahoo!!!! talk soon..hope all is well with you too :)

How to contact dani in romania...e-mail, snail mail and skype

8/1/06 - here is the post i sent out recently on e-mail on how you can contact me...drop a line when you get the chance as i would like to hear how everyone is doing....track me down and catch up :)

***********************************************************************************

hey there folks...well, its that time....i am headed to romania this wednesday and am scheduled to be in bucharest teaching at the american international school of bucharest for the next two years....school years that is...i will be teaching 7th and 8th grade science and am really excited to get back into the classroom....i will be teaching in english, although i plan on learning romanian (which is a cross of italian and slovak)....

people have been asking how to track me down and first off, my e-mail will NOT be changing...so you can always get me there....

secondly, you can always check the blog for the latest info at:

www.wheresdani.blogspot.com

thirdly you can get me via snail mail....there are two different ways to send things...letter mail and package mail...here are the ways to mail me....PLEASE be sure to follow the directions so i can get your mail in a timely manner and don't have to pay an enormous amount of $$$$ for customs :)

For regular mail, letters and flat mail, the address is:

Dani DiPietro

The American International School of Bucharest

Sos. Pipera-TunariVoluntari, cod 077190

Judet Ilfov

Romania

If you plan on mailing packages to Bucharest, whether small or big, please use the following address :

American International School of Bucharest/DiPietro

Sos. Pipera-Tunari 196

Comuna Voluntari-Pipera, cod 077190

Judet Ilfov

Romania

It is important that there is no mention of my entire name (ONLY my last name after the School's name)....this is REALLY important for customs and such....so please, please, please use the last name only!!!!

As a general rule every package is liable to custom charges! If the value of the package you send exceeds exemption limits of $25 USD, the goods become subject to duty charges ! In this case custom clearance is required and i will have to pay custom charges for sure! Packages sent by mail with a value of less than $25USD are not normally liable to customs charges...but i was told that this is not always the case...but if you send something for lower than $25USD i have a better chance of not paying customs stuff....in the end unfortunately the local customs decide what item is liable to custom charges or not...gotta love the postal service :)

as for what to send...well...i am not sure what i will need or want and will put anything needed in the updates i will be sending out...which will be happening via e-mail and on the blog, just like when i was on the ice...please let me know if you would like to be removed from the mailing list...no hard feelings...i promise :)

finally....i decided to become a person who can use their computer as a phone and am joining the skype revolution....if you have skype, do me a favor and send me your skype out number....

mine is :

danid769

for those of you who don't have skype....don't fret...we can chat anyway...but if you do get skype it will be a free chat on both ends...it means you need a headset with a microphone and skype on your computer, it kind of makes you feel like a telemarketer....but i digress...imagine

if you don't have skype...no worries...i bought a PA area code phone number...for the next year....which means if you are calling from PA (610, 484) it should be a local call to me in romania....for those of you outside of those area codes...it will be equivalent to calling me in PA...crazy huh....but in the end, i'll really be in romania, talking to you on my headset that is connected to computer...and it has voicemail...so if i don't hear the computer ring or i am out, you can leave a message...how cool is that!!!!

here's the number you can call me at:

610-624-3727

and i will have DSL in my apartment, so this should work close to when i arrive in romania and get all hooked up...how cool is that...and you can use a lan line or a cell....so there you have it....the ways to get in touch with me....which i hope you will do...

remember i love questions about places i move to...and i'll answer them in the updates....which will hopefully be coming out every two weeks or so...this time though my job might be a bit more demanding...so it may be every three weeks...hope you understand...

one more thing...if you would like to check out the website of where i will be teaching...here's the address you can go to :

www.aisb.ro

finally...i will be living in bucharest in a 2BR apt....so consider this your personal invite to come and visit....some folks have already set dates....so if you decide this is for you...please let me know when you want to come...

so there you have it....i just wanted to say quickly, thanks to all of you who met up with me somewhere for sometime while i was in the states this time around....it was great to connect and hear stories and see the new additions and new houses, etc...be sure to drop a line every now and again to let me know you are alive and all that :) enjoy the rest of your summer....and thanks for being part of my story...

talk soon....on with the next big adventure for me....YAHOO!!!!!!

saying goodbye to my family....

8/1/06- well its official...this should be my last e-mail about the people i have visited and said goodbye to in the states....i can't believe i made it...and hopefully all the pictures will post easily...on with the show...on sunday night i went out to dinner with my dad, my mom, my brother and my aunt meg...below is a shot of my aunt meg, my bro toner and me....we have very similar smiles...you just can't misplace this family...

and the last shot of the blog from the states is of my family...in this shot you see my dad, my mom, me and my bro...its a big deal that i got one of all four of us, as my mom does NOT like her picture taken....very cute...

and there you have it the trip through the states...starting in december of 2005 to august of 2006...and now for the next big adventure...i am headed to romania tomorrow for a two year teaching contract...science to 7th and 8th graders, in english...the kids are from the states (20%), from romania (20%) and the rest are from about 70 other countries...it will be a room of diversity in many ways...although they are kids from families who have the means to attend the school...it should be a blast and a challenge to be back in the classroom and i am getting REALLY EXCITED!!! the next post will only be the e-mail i just sent out over the weekend with how you can track me down while i am in romania...and again...come visit of you can or would like to...

catch all of you on the flip side...and be sure to keep in touch...

"Dream your dreams with open eyes and make them come true!" - T.E. Lawrence

the last few are here...i promise

8/1/06 - hey there folks...well....one day left....TODAY!!! and then i am off to romania tomorrow...i am gonna try and get all the blog stuff updated and outta here so i am starting off with a clean slate so to speak...when we last left off i was hanging with family....but i needed to finish out with the friends who i visited...so last friday for lunch i met up with the science explorers pittsburgh team...we had a scrumptous lunch at the olive tree in exton...celebrated two pregnancies in the group...no worries, its not me....and caught up on wedding plans...again not me...i am just the one leaving the country :) below is a shot of me, karen, tracy and jen...it was a great "lunch out with the girls"....


that night it was more hangin with the girls...i met up with friends deb and susie...we chatted about life, love and the pursuit of happiness and had a terrific dinner at the american grill...very tasty...and the jazz combo afterwards was good too...although not sure they were really jazz oriented...but it was good none-the-less...and hanging with the gals was great....below is a shot of deb, me and susie...how cute are we :)

saturday rolled around with more meeting for food and drinks...in the morning i met up with my friend greg for a tasty breakfast, and good news for him, a cute waitress...she was really nice and took a great picture of the two of us which you can see below...we are both sooooooo tan...i love summer...pictures like this make it hard to remember just how pale i was when i got off the ice last year about this time...crazy that it was a year ago...i digress...sorry about that...here's greg and dani...

dinner saturday evening was with my great friend shannon...i have known shannon since about the age of 2...we were next door neighbors for 13 years...her and her finaceer, joel, met me in king of prussia for dinner and drinks...it was wonderful to hear about all of their plans for their wedding and honeymoon, which unfortunately i will be missing...it was a great time...below is a shot of shannon and joel...

the last breaakfast with friends was actually with my second "mom" - donna....who is actually greg's mom and one of my mom's great friends....donna looks fabulous recently due to weight loss...just like her son...such an impressive family....below is an excellent picture of the two of us...

the next entry will be family only and then my e-mail about how to find me while i am living in romania....be sure to check it out :)

Goodbyes abound....

7/30/06 - okay...so not only am i saying goodbye to friends...but i am also saying goodbye to family...below is a shot of me and my 96 year-old grandmother...unfortunately, she doesn't really remember who i am outwardly....but she smiles when i go to visit...in her arms is her baby doll...its amazing how much peace a baby doll can bring someone...at least it keeps her happy...which when you have reached her age, that's a great thing....such a great woman...

and just yesterday i met up with three of my four aunts, my dad's sisters for lunch...it was fun...as i was with aunt terry and her husband, uncle tony, their daughter tina and her daughter gabriella...my aunt marie and my aunt cathy, who drove up from georgia to say goodbye in person...gotta love family....below is a shot of me and my three aunts...

the next shot is a cute one of my cousin tina, her daughter gabriella and i on the couch....gabriella loves pink which is why this has been written that way :) she is also a choco-holic...it seems to run in the family though :)

the final shot is of the whole family who had lunch together...it was a great time had by all and i thank my aunt terry and uncle tony for hosting....

i have about two or three more entires to put on the blog before going...plus, i will also put on the e-mail that i sent out on how to contact me....along with the website of the school if you are interested in checking it out.....talk soon...

Goodbyes continued...

7/30/06 - time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking...into the future....love that...especially as i am getting ready for the next big thing...which happens on wed...but here are some stories about the near past and the folks i visited...below is actually a shot i tried to get on blogger yesterday...now its happy with it :) this shot is of my friend rudy, who i met at the south pole, and his finacee emily....we had a tasty breakfast in west chester while they were in town visiting rudy's dad...it was great to catch up with them and hear all the plans for their upcoming wedding...

then after the weekend, which i am still waiting for pictures from, i headed to the beach with my folks...below is a shot of my dad at the beach in ocean city, nj...earlier in the blog entries there was a shot of me and the GREATEST pizza place in the world...mac and manco's...gotta love ocean city...

after returning from two days of rest and relaxation, it was back to saying goodbye and getting my things in order...sure am glad i had those two days with my folks though...we had an amazing time...one of the places i stopped off was one of my old jobs...where i had lunch with the girls and met one of the grandkids...we had a blast...in the picture below are brad, lonnie, marge, diane, chris and me....a fun time was had by all with all the catching up and keeping up with little brad...what a cutie :)

from lunch with RLO, to dinner with dan, lisa and matt...such a cute family, waiting on the next "baby g" to enter the picture...below is the family shot for the moment...although their numbers will be increasing by one in the fall...yahoo!!! matt is such a happy baby...and what a musician...

here's a shot of just how happy matt is with....with friend kristen...he was so much fun to play with and of course his parents were too ;)

okay...blogger says i am done with this entry...as no more pictures will load...on to the next...

Lots of goodbyes

7/29/06 - well the end is coming to my stay here in the states...i can't believe that six months have flown by so fast since i was hired to work in romania and now i am leaving in four days....whoa...time does fly when you are having fun....and hopefully it will all get finished...below is the picture from the wedding in washington that i was trying to post the past two entries...in this shot you see brad, me, david, jenn, steven, gordon, bill and brian...we were missing jen (the bride) and erica(the wedding planner)....but at least we got a good shot of some of the crew that was at the wedding....

and as you know, if you've been checking the blog, i am back in PA saying goodbye to friends and family now....so below are some more pictures of folks i have caught up with...i first got to meet up with a friend of mine from the south pole, rudy....rudy came through west chester and we grabbed breakfast together...i got to meet rudy's finacee, emily and i wish them both the best of luck...it was great to see them on their pass through of the area....have a great wedding next month :) unfortunately i am not able to post the picture here...will try again soon...

that night i got together with a bunch of folks...karen and her family and jen and rob....the first shot is of karen and i...i have my spelunking hat on from science explorers, just in case we needed to go into a cave in the brew pub...

the following shot is of rob, jen and i....jen was my boss at science explorers and rob is her partner...i am hoping to see them at some point overseas :)

and i thought it would be fun to post the shot of everyone who was at dinner...besides the same folks mentioned about we have nick and his son nick and daughter shannon...overall it was a great time at the victory brew pub...yum, yum :)

i need to run at this point, but will try and finish up my time in PA soon, soon, soon...seeing that i leave on wednesday for romania....enjoy the post and i hope everyone is well :)

my last three weeks in the states

7/26/06 - back again with the pennsylvania part of my update...although i will try and post the picture of the gang from the wedding....nope...it won't let me....who knows why....maybe someday this will work for me smoothly....ugh....on with the PA show...

the first person i got to visit with and say goodbye to was my cousin ann...she just bought a condo of her own on the outskirts of norristown and i wanted to check out her new digs...very cute and there's a pool...yahoo...we had dinner at this tasty local italian spot...it was a fun time
a week later i was hangin in a bar with a bunch of folks saying goodbye....at a local place called the flying pig...and even though everyone there was local in one way or another, most people did not know each other before the night began...it was a great time....below you see sue, me, joe and lane - sue and i worked together...joe and sue are together....lane and i did ice time together in mcmurdo....

some of the other cool folks who showed up were kenny and joan...kenny and i met through playing volleyball when i was waiting to get to antarctica...and his wife joan i met as an added bonus...both of these folks are way cool :)

and the last shot from the flying pig is of friends of mine from high school...jim and eric...it was a treat to have them come up and meet some of my other friends from around the area who did not go to school with us and of course is was terrific to have them come out and play :)

i have also been hanging out with family while i have been home...and although my camera broke down, there are a few pictures i got before it died...the following shot is of my dad, my aunt terry, my uncle tony and me....we had a delicious meal together that my mom made of ravioli.....yummy!!!!

okay....that seems to be the end of what i am allowed to post for tonight.....so i will continue this again...i have more pictures to add...but i think they can wait until tomorrow....so until then...hope all is well and keep on truckin....

Final Wedding Shots...

7/26/06 - back again with the remaining few shots of the wedding i am posting here...and if there is time and blogger allows me, i will be adding some shots from pennsylvania visits....on with the wedding shots....

the next picture is of the steven seattle crew...unfortunately jennifer the bride and her most excellent wedding planner erica, were not around when we took this shot...which was a bummer, but i was glad we got everyon else together for the picture...in the shot you see brad, me, david, jenn, steven, brian, gordon and bill....we had a blast hanging out and toasting steven and jennifer at every turn....okay, okay, okay....i can't get this picture to post here either...grrrrr...i'll try and get it on the page in the next update...but don't hold your breath....

and the final shot is for those of you who wanted to see how my outfit finally turned out....a close-up of the shortest, pants-wearin bridesmaid in the bunch....me....

the wedding was outstanding and as a group we had a wonderful time...the weather couldn't have been more perfect and the company kept rocked and overall it was a grand time....and it was the perfect way to end my stay in the pacific northwest....first off, thanks to those of you who visited with me over food, coffee and such....and a special thanks to those who let me stay with them for a night or two...i had a terrific time catching up on people's lives and hearing their stories...it rocked overall....and then i caught a plane back to PA.....to get ready for the big pack and ship....unfortunately blogger is not letting me add pictures again....so here is where the next update will begin....on with the show :)