Happy Birthday Grandpa Roy!

The day I left Europe, I received news that my dad was hospitalized.  It was very difficult to feign excitement for the soon to begin honeymoon because I was upset and worried.  When I returned, we discovered my dad has cirrhosis.

He was turning 69 on July 19 so I spontaneously decided to take the kids to visit their grandpa for his 69th birthday. I also wanted my dad to feel love and support.   My older sister Yvette and her family came too and so did my brother, Leroy, and his family.  Seven days after arriving home from Europe, I found myself on a plane again.  The kids were very excited to see their cousins and their Grandpa and Grandma.  Mia had even more excitement as this was going to be her first time on a plane.

Ready to fly.   

Getting ready to take off

My dad looks very thin.  He does not have as much energy as he once did, but I think it was great that he was surrounded by all his ten grandchildren.  The house was incredibly noisy and full of rambunctious laughter. It was difficult to try to keep ten kids entertained.  They had a water gun war in the backyard.  They danced to PSY's Gangnam Style song.  We ate pizza, nachos, and had a great time!

My dad has been married to a beautiful, sweet, kind woman named Pilar.  I feel very grateful to her for loving and always being there for my dad. Her daughter, Mary, is just as wonderful.  What I'm also especially thankful for is that Mary is a nurse.

For my dad's birthday, we went to eat Vietnamese Pho.  My dad loves that soup.  We sang Happy Birthday to him and he blew out the candles in his dinosaur cake.  We put one candle for each decade.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Roy!!!!

Ten kids trying to hug Grandpa

I love my dad very very much.  For the last few years, I have been so immersed in my own life that I regrettably have not called him as often as I should have.  My dad has taught me so much over the years.  He taught me the value of family and education.  I remember so many lectures of the importance of family and education.  He is responsible, hard working, sensitive, generous, and a really good man.  I know he has worked very hard and sacrificed much to provide for us.  He has supported me and loved me unconditionally.  I know I could go to him for anything and he would be there for me.  There is such comfort in that knowledge. 

During this visit, my dad was able to meet his 10th grandchild, Oliver.  Oliver is a fat 14 month old boy with blond hair and blue eyes.  He stands out in the family of brunettes and brown eyes.  Oliver's middle name, LyRoy,  is a combination of his paternal grandparents.  Ly is my mom's name and Roy is my dad's.  Dylan's middle name is also "Roy". 

I don't want to lose my dad yet.  He has been trying to be healthy and doing what he can.  I know it is hard for him so it makes me really proud that he is trying.....

Dad, I love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love you!! 

My dad has beautiful eyes.

Fat Cute Oliver

12 Days of Heavenly Bliss - PART IV (BUDAPEST)

We had the most magnificent view of the grand Parliament Building along the Danube River as our hotel was situated alongside the river.  The over sized windows opened completely which gave us the perception of having a balcony without actually having one.  It was difficult to leave this room because of this view.  Lance and I ended the days early and retrieved back to our room where we would have drinks (beer for him and a lemonade for me) and watch the parade of boats float by.  We would also watch the most romantic sunset and the city lights of Budapest.

Parliament Building (taken from our hotel balcony/window)

Chain Bridge

Lance and I (our shadows)

Taken from our hotel window/balcony

Our first day in Budapest was spent touring Castle Hill where the current Hungarian President resides.  We also did an interesting tour of the hospital in a rock.  Yes, this six-mile stretch of interconnected caves and cellars was as an actual functioning hospital at a time.  Lance and I also had a boat lunch tour along the Danube.  The food was much better than what was served on our boat tour in Prague, but I, personally, enjoyed the Prague boat tour.  It was longer and since it was in the evening, there was a beautiful sunset.

Residence of the Hungarian President

Fisherman's Bastion

View from Fisherman's Bastion

Chain Bridge

One of the chains on Chain Bridge

Our lunch boat cruise along the Danube River

Had an opportunity to hold an eagle.  He was SUPER SUPER HEAVY!!!! 

Liberty Bridge which led to the Market

Lunch at Fisherman's Bastion (great view of Budapest)

Karmen and I in the labyrinth

in the labyrinth at Castle Hill

Lance and I also visited the oldest bathhouse in Budapest, Kiraly Bath.  You cannot visit Budapest without going to a bathhouse.  It would be like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower.  There are several bathhouses in Budapest; some much more elegant than others, but I was not looking for beauty.  What I wanted was history.  I chose the oldest bathhouse in Budapest, which was built in the second half of the 16th century. Lance, of course, complained during the 900 meter walk from the hotel to the bathhouse.  However, once we got there, he loved it.  To be frank though, it was a dump.  It was very old, not well kept or maintained, and had a rather distinct odor.  We were not here to be pampered. We were here for the history.  There were multiple baths with each regulated to different temperatures.  Lance and I made certain we sat our asses in each bath.  It was here that we exchanged vows once again.  I had read that Kiraly was a popular site among homosexuals, and so we were not surprised when we saw two men affectionately loving each other.

We also caught the light rail and went to the historic Market in Budapest where we did our only shopping on the entire honeymoon.  When I travel, I'm not eager to do shopping because I prefer to focus on the sites, but we had to get gifts.  Of course, ten minutes into shopping, Lance had that bored look on his face that was silently saying, "Are you done yet?" 

Market that we did our shopping (Building is to the left of me)

Our son, Joe, recently left the Navy, but prior to his returning to the states, he met and fell in love with a young Hungarian lady named Karmen.  Lance and I spent our final day in Budapest with Karmen.  She took us to Castle Hill again where Lance exhibited childlike excitement when we visited the underground labyrinth that had displays of Dracula. Karmen also took us to Hero Square.  We spent most of the day getting to know Joe's fiance.  Karmen is a very sweet beautiful young woman.   It is his goal to get Karmen to the United States so they can spend their lives together and build a bright future.  I love Lance dearly, and he has been extraordinary with my children, and I want only to be just as supportive to his children as he is to mine.  I'm only recently developing/building my relationship with Joe (having only met him once last May), but it is amazing how quick one can assume a parental-type  role.  I notice myself developing a protective instinct towards Joe; something I didn't quite expect to occur, but it is something positive because I want to help him secure a stable and promising future.

Lunch with Karmen on Caste Hill

I ordered room service on our last night in Budapest, and we sat watching the city lights.  Life is a comparison.  You have favorites.  The cities I liked were in this order Vienna, Prague, Krakow, and Budapest. 

Lance and I returned home simply exhausted.  This was not a vacation.  This was an adventure.  We did not relax.  We saw so much.  We did so much, and even though we both needed rest from the vacation, we have no regrets.  We both said it was the best vacation we ever took. 

A co-worker of ours who travels the world says that as soon as you get home from your vacation, that is when you start planning the next one.  I think there are always excuses to not travel, and I know it is costly, but there are ways to minimize costs.  Next year, Lance and I will be doing an RV vacation with the kids and dogs through Utah and Idaho.  The following year, we will travel to England.  I'm already excited to plan the next vacations. 

I love my husband very much.  We have an amazing marriage.  It is not perfect. There are times that he does the most stupidest things.  I never do anything stupid and I'm always right.  Lance is starting to learn that. (I'm kidding) However, overall, I'm very blessed to be married, and this honeymoon reminds me how lucky I am to be Mrs. Joseph Lance Wade.  

12 Days of Heavenly Bliss - PART III (VIENNA)

I fell in love with Vienna.  When I was planning our honeymoon, Vienna was the city that I least wanted to visit so I was surprised how assuredly it became my favorite.  I could definitely live in Vienna. 

The drive from Krakow to Vienna was long, but beautiful.  It took us about 6.5 hours to arrive, and because we departed Krakow so late, we got to Vienna at night.  As I mentioned, I was the navigator and Lance was the driver.  Unfortunately, I did not bring my glasses, and I am blind at night.  Our GPS failed when we reached the center of the city so we had to rely on a map, but because I could not see the streets, it became rather stressful.  We got into a very minor tiff because poor Lance was trying to navigate and drive at the same time.

We spent our first day in Vienna touring the second largest cemetery in Europe which was the final resting place for great composers Beethoven, Strauss, Schubert, and Brahms.  The cemetery was incredible; it was the resting place of over three million people.  Lance and I are very strange.  There were ample opportunities to take a romantic carriage ride through the town squares of the cities of Prague and Krakow, but noooo....what do we elect to do? Take a carriage ride through the cemetery.  I love visiting cemeteries and looking at the headstones.  They are all unique and tell a story.  Our tour guide explained that you can purchase a lot for ten years and if your family chooses not to pay for additional years, you could be exhumed if someone else is interested in your lot.  I still find that strange, but how else could they fit three million people in this area.

We also went to visit the crypts of the Hasburgs which is the family that ruled Europe for over 600 years. Every Hasburgs' remains are in this crypt; some as old as the 1500s.  We took a quick tour of Hofsburg Palace late that afternoon, but what was truly a special treat was we attended a very intimate orchestra play of Mozart's music accompanied with a ballet and opera.  It was at the same theater that young Mozart played for the Empress years ago.  Lance flirted with a non English speaking Dutch woman the entire time.

Lance's 81 year old Dutch Girlfriend



the theater

We spent our evenings dining in Stephanplaz Square which was lined with all the most appetizing restaurants and cafe.  We loved to people watch, and Vienna was filled with so much life.  Like Krakow, I loved the food in Vienna. We had the most delicious apple strudel with vanilla sauce and ice cream.  It makes my mouth water thinking about it.

Stephanplaz

The last day we spent in Vienna was spent touring Schonbrunn Palace.  You cannot visit Vienna without seeing this magnificent palace.  It truly was a highlight of our trip.  The gardens, the palace rooms were spectacular, and Lance and I renewed our vows in the ballroom of Schonbrunn Palace.  It was romantic and perhaps a little silly, but who cares?

Being with someone 24 hours a day/7 days a week and not wanting to kill each other once was something we didn't quite achieve.  I love traveling with Lance.  He shares a passion for history. We have very similar taste and interest.  We are best friends and we get along so well.  However, this trip was not exclusive of a lovers quarrel.  While at Schonbrunn Palace, Lance and I got into a heated argument concerning politics.  Actually, I did not get passionate, but he had more than enough passion for both of us.  The argument was bad, and Lance threw his wedding ring into a pond in the palace gardens.  He also threw the rental car keys into a bush, which he had to crawl through to retrieve. In crawling through that bush, he encountered a pair of lovers copulating.  After he had his temper tantrum, he felt guilty and apologized to me repeatedly for acting like a 12 year old boy.  All was good and now we laugh over the incident.  Lance is passionate about his politics, and he should be, but I did not want a political discussion taking place on our honeymoon.

in this pond rest Lance's wedding ring

I think what I loved about Vienna was that I felt like I was in a European city with the culture, but I also felt, because of how modern it was, it closely resembled the United States.  There was rich history, culture, beauty, but also some of the modernization of America.  Like Prague, the Danube flows through the city which I think is just beautiful.  The food was extraordinary and the people friendly.  We used the subway and light rail to navigate our way through the city, and the experience was amazing.

the very clean easy to navigate public transit system.  I think if you visit a country/city, experiencing public transportation is a MUST.

I was sad to leave Vienna.  Because this was not a must see city for me when planning the itinerary, I did not allow ample time to see more of the city.

We left Vienna for Budapest and drove the short 2.5 hour drive.  We pulled into a gas station to get a toll pass and saw a hobo girl holding a sign that read "Budapest".  She caught my attention because she had a dog with her.  I wanted to take her to Budapest, but I knew it could be dangerous, but I felt so bad for her dog.  I asked Lance if we could at least give her some money so we did, but what I did not expect was for her to refuse the money.  When she refused the money, the next thing I was doing was getting my things out of the back seat.  Her refusal of the money prompted me to take her to Budapest and so we did. CRAZY!!!!!  This is something I have never done in my life and this is something I will never do again.  Not that it was a bad experience; on the contrary, it was wonderful.  She was German and had been living this life for two years and her plan was to continue to do this for another two years.  She was en route to Greece to attend a festival with others who chose this lifestyle which she described as full of love and peace.  She had no shoes on.  She was very educated and I knew she came from a good family.  She told us she does not call her mom regularly because it only makes her mom upset.  She spoke fluent English. In fact, she spoke the best English out of everyone we encountered on this trip.  She made the 2.5 hour commute to Budapest seem like 30 minutes.

She was also extremely considerate because she laid out a blanket in the back seat of the car so her dog, Socks, would not get its hair in the car.  She also tried to move Lance's seat back to its original position after he moved it forward to give her more room.  Spontaneous things like this make the best memories, and I'm really grateful we did this.  We even told her we only gave her a ride because of her dog. 

Cute little "Socks"



Vienna is my favorite city. Why?  It had a little bit of everything.  It had Prague's beauty, the friendliness of the Krakow people, great food, lively culture, modernization.  I want to visit the city again. 

up the stairwells, behind the balcony on the second floor are the windows of the ballroom where we renewed our vows.  Maybe I'm ridiculously sentimental, but I love recommiting myself to Lance and our marriage.  I want him to know he is everything to me.

Next Stop:  Budapest, Hungary