Hawthorn Concord Mills

... w*tching *n FC B*rcelon* futbol g*me while LEGALLY drinking un* cervez* con un* t*p*, w*lking p*st L* S*gr*d* F*mili*, *nd t*king * stroll down L* R*mbl* just bec*use I h*ve the option. Are you serious?! Typing th*t out just m*de it even more re*l th*t THAT is *bout to be MY life. Not someone elses. MINE! Oh, *nd since I mentioned my Christm*s list, I prob*bly should mention my mom bought me * new Kod*k ...

The journey home began at 6AM Venice time and even with only a one hour layover in Munich we arrived in Charlotte at 6PM est time (midnight Venice time!) a very long day. We had a trendous trip and Aunt Sue and Guido were the perfect hosts and tour guides. I almost feel like going right back but that will have to wait for now probably June 2011. The weather was cold and at times rainy so some of the things you would routinely do were just not possible.

Excited and ready to leave. The forecast does not seem very promising but it will be great to see Sue & Guido again. We leave Charlotte at 5:30 PM and should be in Venice at Noon (Italian time) Wednesday. I will try to send photo's as we take them as well as update this blog. I loved this when Chris and Liana used it .

... does not make for a pretty show. But, the cast was great, made due, and put on a good show despite our wonky lights and effects. They really are a great group. Plus, some of our student helper crew members were adorable ("Sasha Fierce" and "Smeyes" as we lovingly dubbed them).

Aside from that mini-drama, everything's going well. The group is great, we're all still laughing and getting along which is good. :)

More from the NC coming up soon!

I thought that I would post this picture of me and La Poderosa just before I left for the west coast a couple month's ago. She had to be sold in LA:( What an amazing bike for 700 bucks. She got me through one of the most amazing adventures that I've had to date. As soon as I can get my computer that has all the pics on it online I will have a boat load of stuff to post from this trip.

So I just set up this blog thingy. Computers and stuff like this are not my forte. I will try to update with some images of my travels as I get a chance. I am leaving for Istanbul, Turkey in a couple days. So i am practice packing to get things down to as little as possible. I am hoping to hitchhike ...

... spots is very puzzling to my mind. You think "I KNOW you! I really KNOW you. And here you are. And here we are... and we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!"

We have about a 2 hour wait before our evening flight across the pond. So, let's have a beer!

... a T.V. with cable/DVD to bad we can't watch anything because of the weather and didn't think to bring any movies... Bummer!

Now I'm gonna kick Nic's you know what in a couple games of cribbage ;)

Hoping for better weather tomorrow,

Jess & Nic

P.S. Stacy sorry we couldn't make it to Dollywood for you, but maybe we can do a mini road trip when we come out next fall.

... little local night race. Vince tells me that there are about 4 races that night, from small engine cars to late model stock cars with a lot bigger engines. The cars are SO loud. Thank god I brought my ear plugs for this one. it is interesting to watch how much work these guys put into these cars and how passionate they about this "sport." All of these ...

... the same situation as Calgary, having grown quite a bit in the past few years. Banking and Medical the main industries. A highly educated, professional workforce. I didn't stop to take any pictures. There was nothing worth taking. I almost forgot....yesterday...Thanksgiving. I went to the Thanksgiving Dinner in John's Place. I met John and Sheila, the campground owners for the past 21 years. They paid for all the food. A few of the campground residents (there are about 50 year ...