A Magical Birthday

Hello all!

Happy October! We have officially survived one whole month away from the East Coast- we are handling it like champs. For Peter’s birthday, we got to spend five glorious days with our dearest friends, Kyle and Aleece!

We flew to LA last Wednesday and began our adventure with me seeing the Pacific Ocean for the very first time. Bucket List item checked off. Then, we went to the Dodgers game to enjoy front row seats behind the dugout, courtesy of Kyle and his work. I do enjoy a good baseball game, solely because the food is delicious. This adventure did not disappoint… we got to eat a catered meal of cheese steaks, pasta, salad bar, AND A DESSERT BAR. We also got free peanuts, nachos, and soft pretzels while in the stands. The food was the best part. J

On Thursday (Peter’s Birthday!), we woke up and went to the beach in Santa Monica. Peter tried surfing for the first time with Kyle while I ran along the beach. Then, the four of us began our road trip to Yosemite! Peter and Kyle’s 10 year dream of visiting Yo-Se-Mite came to fruition. We drove for about 5 hours before arriving at our cabin for the weekend in June Lake. June Lake is about 1.5 hours from Yosemite. It is a beautiful town full of lakes and mountain peaks. We went grocery shopping and then had pizza on the deck that night, telling stories of old times.

On Friday, we headed to Yosemite! We did some light hiking and took beautiful photos in the sunshine. I did not realize Yosemite is such a humongous National Park… 1,169 square miles to be exact. We shared our lunch with a squirrel, swam in a small river, and even had a drink on the lawn of the Ahwahnee Hotel. We took our time wandering back and stopped for dinner at the Mobil Gas Station. Aleece described this glorious restaurant at the gas station and it led up to its reputation! After we devoured some chili, meatloaf, carnitas tacos, and a burger (can you guess which one of us ate what?) we drove back and played a wicked game of Harry Potter Clue! Aleece and I made the boys a chocolate pudding birthday cake with Hershey’s icing and they blew out their candles together… celebrating a friendship of 30 years. J

Saturday was a joyously relaxing day spent on the lake, taking naps, dinner at the Tiger Bar, drinks at the June Lake Brewing Company, and a night time stroll to see the stars. 

We got up Sunday and drove back to LA- having just enough time to eat DELICIOUS burgers at Plan Check (Kyle and Aleece’s go-to place), see the Santa Monica Pier and enjoy some Rita’s together before Petey and I flew home.

We are so thankful for the time we got to spend with Kyle and Aleece last weekend- friends are certainly those extra family members we choose for ourselves and I am so glad I have been witness to the love that Peter and Kyle share. I am also so thankful for Aleece’s friendship and her love of adventure, board games, and good food! Cheers to many more years of journeys together!

Now, Peter is 30! We have spent 14 of his birthdays together. I couldn’t ask for a more amazing partner in this constant change we call life. I love you Bub!

Happy Weekend to you all!

Love,

Katie and Peter

This week in Colorado…

We accomplished two quintessential Colorado adventures about a week ago. On Wednesday, Petey surprised me with tickets to see the Counting Crows at Red Rocks. For background on this glorious venue, please see below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rocks_Amphitheatre

When we arrived at Red Rocks, we had to walk up approximately one bazillion stairs to reach our seats. In the high altitude, it was quite a work out! Vendors passed out free peanut bars and sweet potato chips. The seats there are awesome because they are long benches with numbers etched on them. It is true stadium seating like at a high school football game. All of the seats look down on to the stage and you are wedged between two giant red rocks that provide delightful acoustics. 

The opening acts for the Crows were a group called Hollis Brown and Citizen Cope. Both were great.

The Counting Crows are a delight always. Listening to them and watching the sun set over the entire skyline of Denver made for a beautiful night. I can’t wait to go back next season for another show.

A few days later, we decided to venture up Mount Evans. Mount Evans is a mountain peak over 14,000 feet and the Mount Evans Scenic Byway is the highest paved road in North America. We picked up sandwiches on the way and began the ascent. This road is quite dicey as it weaves up the mountain. There are virtually no guardrails. It is quite terrifying. At the top though, I saw a posse of mountain goats. It was so awesome! We also took in the sunset… this sunset was quite possibly the most beautiful I have ever seen. There were so many colors above the mountain peaks.

Both of these adventures live up to the reputation that precedes them! I highly recommend both to any who come here.

Love,

Katie and Peter

The First Mountain Adventure Weekend

Hello Friends,

This past weekend was a glorious introduction into relaxation and everything Colorado has to offer. I suffered some minor depression this past weekend because it was the Greek Festival back home and all I wanted to do was eat a chicken souvlaki pita with some tiropita. So… Petey made big plans.

On Friday afternoon, we began by visiting the DENVER CAT COMPANY! See website below:

http://www.denvercatco.com/

This amazing gem of a café has eight cats available to play with for an unlimited amount of time. They provide a basket full of cat toys to lure the little kitties over and they are ADORABLE! I bought this baller shirt there and I really feel like opening a cat café is my true calling. What else is there?

After that special visit, we went to a Greek restaurant called Yanni’s so I could participate in the Greek Festivial even across the country. The tiropita was ON POINT… hot out of the oven. The chicken souvlaki was delightful as well with true, homemade tzatziki sauce and a Greek salad with homemade dressing. Mmmmmmm. We ended Friday evening by going to a hole-in-the-wall bar called Grandma’s Kitchen. They have about a billion board games available and they served Petey’s brew in a cartoon glass. Cool.

Saturday morning, we arose at the crack of dawn so we could drive out to the plains and see the Hot Air Balloon Festival! It was awesome! The balloons came so close to the hill we sat on, that we could have talked to the Aeronaut. Pictures are below.

We then drove to a little diner in Bennett, famous for massive breakfast burritos and homemade sausage gravy. After a delicious breakfast, we returned home to clean up some. Later in the afternoon, we set out for Georgetown, a little mountain town. The town had a small main street with awesome views of the Rockies. There were two bakeries, A TEA ROOM, a homemade chocolate shop, several little bars, and lots of local artwork. There is also a huge lake to go fishing at. This is a great town, worth the stop.

On Sunday morning, we tried out a church. Most of the churches out here are HUGE- congregations of over 1,000 members! I loved the music. We will continue church shopping so we can make the best decision for us. Then, we decided to drive the Peak to Peak National Scenic Byway. This drive is glorious – we passed the hotel that prompted Steven King to write The Shining.  The hotel is actually named the Stanley Hotel and it is located in Estes Park. We drove the whole Byway Sunday afternoon in the sunshine. We ended the weekend by grilling kabobs and fresh corn on the cob at the grill by our pool. 

This next weekend, we have plans to see Vail- the leaves are supposed to be changing and it is Oktoberfest. I will keep you posted. :)

Love,

Katie and Peter

Welcome to the Wild, Wild West.

Greetings from Colorado!

As I sit here on our couch in our new apartment in Colorado, I am reflecting on the whirlwind these past few months have been. After months of preparation and help from our beloved family and friends, our house in Maryland is ready to rent and we made the trek across the beautiful United States with two ANGRY kitties only to arrive in the glorious (and different) state of Colorado.

We left early in the morning on Sunday, August 23^rd, in order to make good time but also because one cat wouldn’t stop patrolling the hotel room and crying out that he saw something (himself) in the mirrors. We watched the sun come up in Western Maryland that morning and I spent time thinking about the summers Petey and I have shared at Rocky Gap and now in the gem that is Berkeley Springs. Maryland is the ultimate state and I won’t forget that even if I take this extended vacation for awhile… J

We made our first stop in Morgantown only to find out one kitty threw up all over himself while the other kitty had a … poopsplosion in his crate. After a particularly hysterical low point, we ate breakfast and cleaned the cats up. I have yet to stop snickering about this situation even almost two weeks later… we drove a total of eight hours on day 1 and made it to our ambitious goal of Indianapolis by evening! The cats were furious by the end of day 1 and Sanka proceeded to hide under the only chair in the hotel room. Petey and I had dinner at Olive Garden and then passed out in the hotel at 7 pm. We awoke thankful that Sanka did not feel the need to patrol that particular hotel room (this could be due to the fact that we used blankets to cover all the mirrors).

On Day 2, we drove another eight hours and made it to Kansas City, MO. The cats cried the entire 8 hours… Petey eventually had to just put headphones in to drown them out. We stayed next to the Kansas City Royals stadium- and guess who was in town that night when we were? THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES! I was so happy that MD was following me. We had dinner at a great college dive bar called Minksy’s and then went to sleep early again.

On Day 3, we had a short journey of about 4 hours, stopping in a teeny, tiny town called WaKeeny, Kansas- population 1,000 people. You can drive the entire town in literally 5 minutes. It was awesome! We ate dinner at a Pizza Hut- one of about 4 restaurants open in the town and went swimming in the hotel pool. The next morning, we ate at a glorious little restaurant called Two Blondes Bakery. We had cinnamon roll French toast, hashbrowns, and bacon with the locals and talked to the ladies who owned the restaurant. We packed up the kitties then and drove the 4 hours in to Colorado with howling meows the entire end of the journey.

After 3 more nights in a hotel, we got our apartment keys and the awesome moving team unloaded all of our furniture and boxes. And here we are.

I am consumed with thankfulness and gratitude for our families and those we are so blessed to call our friends. While saying “See you later” to many of you in the past few weeks was not an easy task, I love you all and think about you every day. Start planning your trips out west because we have a guest room and bathroom that are both #killinit and ready for you.

Already, Petey and I are enjoying spending more time together than we have ever had. His commute is 15 minutes to work and he gets out earlier than back home. We have gone to the pool in our apartment community (BIG DEAL because we never went to the pool the entire time we lived in our house in MD) and taken evening drives all over Colorado to soak in the magnificent sunsets. Each weekend, we have big plans to head to the mountains and learn how to relax- a skill that both of us suck tremendously at.

Happy September to you and yours! J

Love,

The Wileys out West

Salzburg's Christmas Market: So Many People!

Hello again,

So the time has come to conclude this Bavarian vacation. Let me tell you about Salzburg... where the hills are alive with the sounds of crazy tourists bumping into each other at Christmas markets.

Last night, we went to the Christmas markets first. It was Saturday night (dumb idea on our part) on a weekend right before Christmas. The number of people at this Christmas market made me want to break out in hives. People just bump into each other holding their warm cups of gluhwein. I tried to see all of the ornaments but you couldn't really even get close enough to the stalls to buy anything. So, I tried Plan B. I located every single stall I wanted to buy from and planned to return early this morning. The view at night is wonderful... Christmas lights surround the entire town square and the view in the distance is the Hohensalzburg Castle. Click the link below to find out more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohensalzburg_Castle

So, this morning we had breakfast at the hotel. It was a bustling place, with a traditional European breakfast buffet (tea, coffee, deli meats, cheeses, bread, rolls, eggs, bacon, cereal, and yogurt). Then, we set off back down into the town center.

This morning was so much better! We got to the markets as they opened before the church crowd let out. We did sneak into the church where the von Trapps got married. A mass was going on- it was so cool! Note to tourists: Christmas markets are ridiculously more accessible during the day. I got tasty treats, ornaments, and knick knacks to bring home, all in under 45 minutes, thanks to my preview yesterday evening.

Then, we took the city bus to the other side of town across the river.

We wandered the streets and came across a little, tiny Christmas market serving BAKED POTATOES. Holy Cannoli. I got one with bacon, cheese, and GARLIC SOUR CREAM SAUCE. It was fantastic... deliciously warm, so garlicky, and easy to eat as we kept walking.

We walked through Getreidegasse, the more historic shopping district, where I found more delicious treats. It is a charming street with Christmas lights and virtually no cars driving through.

We ended our last evening of vacation at a little restaurant called Spaghetti and Company. It was adorable inside with black and white photographs of old Salzburg and wood panels. Peter had pizza... duh... and I had Penne Arrabiata. It was delightfully spicy- I was surprised as a lot of food in Europe is on the bland side. We finished eating with a bang- a homemade Apfelstrudel with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. I will show you a picture. It beats every apple pie or apple dessert I have ever eaten in the U.S.

We wandered slowly back to the hotel, taking in the views. We now sit in the hotel room, preparing to pack and watching the Sound of Music... which... surprisingly... runs 24 HOURS A DAY HERE ON T.V. Between Mozart and Sound of Music, the Austrians have it goin' on.

We have a long day of travel tomorrow and thus concludes Bavarian Christmas Tour 2013. As we prepare for Christmas in the coming days, I am thankful for you, those wonderfully special readers and friends to Peter and I.

"Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand."

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Love,
Katie and Peter

Frankfurt to Munich To Salzburg...

Season's Greetings!

It is Saturday evening here, after a whirlwind two days. Here is how it all went down...

Friday morning, we woke up at 7 am in Frankfurt. We got packed up, checked out of the fabulous Hilton hotel we had found on Hotwire, and walked to good ol' Dunkin Donuts. They have techni-colored donuts here. Some are flavored green apple and plum. This was a nice, cheap breakfast that we ate as we walked to pick up our rental car.

We found the rental place and Peter requested the Peugeot... a little French car I was hoping looked like his Honda Fit... well... the man at the desk said, "Mr. Wiley we give you upgrade to a Mercedes C220." I thought Peter was going to faint with joy. I thought, "Here we go... Peter on the Autobahn with no speed limit in a Mercedes..."

We got in the car and Peter grinned with pure happiness. We plugged in the address to our first destination... a little Medieval town called Rothenburg. We arrived in Rothenburg with no trouble at all. This little town is a walled city so you have to park on the outside and walk in. It is adorable! We happened upon a giant Christmas store called Kathe Wohlfahrt. Peter is amused by her last name. Ahem. This store is actually two giant stores full of millions of Christmas ornaments and decorations. It is insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought a Baby Jesus, an apple, and a Santa ornament. It was a tough decision...

Then we wandered the little Christmas market stands. I found some beautiful handcarved ornaments, Peter had more gludwein, I bought stollen bread (look it up!), and then I bought cookies. Lots of cookies. Butter cookie cut outs and jelly thumb prints. I planned on saving both of these but ended up finishing them last night for a snack. They were so soft and flavorful. I want more before we leave.

Our lunch consisted of a German version of flatbread pizza sold at one of the stands and wood-fired. We tried a flatbread with bacon and cheese. I don't even really know how to describe to you how good it was. I really don't. I am speechless. So, I will post a picture.

We jumped back in the car and hauled off to the Disney Castle...Neuschwanstein. I have posted the link below so you can read about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle

Ludwig II of Bavaria had it built. We actually decided to be cultural and pay to go inside. We had to walk about 2 miles up the mountain to see it. The view here is majestic. I definitely know why my man Ludwig decided to build his castle up here. The inside is ridiculous... the murals and furniture are so over the top. This man had access to some serious money. But alas, money can't buy everything because he was arrested by the Germans and died alone. The audio tour tells all about it. It's creepishly sad when you walk through.

Afterwards, we ran down the mountain, jumped back in the car, and set off for Munich. We hit some traffic coming in and finally found the garage where Peter kissed the Mercedes good bye. We found our hotel... a rather... shady Best Western. Hotwire did not deliver on this hotel. But that's ok. After dropping off our ridiculously heavy backpacks, we wandered out into the city of Munich. On the train, I got to people watch and the girls were DECKED TO THE NINES to go out on Friday night. I did not get the memo about needing to wear leather pants and platform heels. Darn it.

We wandered around in search of Hofbrauhaus, a giant beer hall. This was number one on Peter's list for this vacation so I went along with it. We wandered through a few Christmas markets with billions of people before we found it. It was INSANE! Thousands of people were inside sharing tables with huge beer steins. I turned to Peter and said, "I can't eat here." With a promise to come back and have a beer there later, we found McDonald's as my blood sugar began dipping dangerously low and the angry Katie came out. :) Peter loves this side of me...

I ordered a "Cheese and Beef," a cheeseburger with about 6 kinds of cheese on it. It was quite tasty. This was a nice, cheap meal and I continued my tradition of trying McDonald's in every country we visit. This McDonald's delivered- fries are the same.

Then, we returned to Hofbrauhaus. We wandered up and down the rows of tables for about 20 minutes before joining a table of 4 other people. Peter ordered a 1 liter mug of Pilsner. He was more than pleased with his selection and loved the atmosphere. I smiled and nodded. The noise was insane. Check that off the list of Bucket List items.

We made a quick stop at the train station to buy our train tickets for Salzburg and returned to the hotel to crash. After sleeping in until 9:30, we got up this morning and packed up to head over to the Christmas markets and the train station.

I found a painted glass ornament and a door decoration while Petey tried some more gludwein. We are collecting the cups from each Christmas market we go to. We have been successful so far and only have one more cup to achieve in Salzburg. My impression of Munich was okay... it is just another big city, in my opinion. Once you've seen a big city, you've seen them all. The real magic is in the journey between the cities.

We hopped the train for a 2 hour trip to Salzburg. We arrived in Salzburg this evening and my first impression of the city is that is is magical. The Alps hug the entire city so as you walk where Mozart grew up, you see view of snow-speckled peaks. The glacier water that runs through here is a vibrant blue-green. This is by far my favorite stop on this trip. I am so happy we have two nights here! I am going to save the description of their Christmas markets for tomorrow's entry. Tonight, we did see the markets, ate a Schnitzel sandwich and ham/cheese sandwich, and enjoyed a Cappucino/hot chocolate at a delightfully cozy little cafe. We are preparing to go to sleep early so I can purchase 15 more ornaments tomorrow, our last full day on this Christmas Market tour.

Hooray!

Cheers,
KT and PD

Frankfurt: Christmas Market 1

Season's Greetings-

Welcome from Frankfurt! Let's get down to business!

We left Dulles yesterday evening at 5:15 pm… it was a relatively good flight. We got Subway to take on the plane so I did not have to eat the nauseating airline food. I ate my sammich and turned on 21 Jump Street. I have seen this movie numerous times and still laugh hysterically when Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are bike cops. I was laughing so hard I think I woke up some other people on the flight.

Then, I tried the difficult job of sleeping in an Economy Plus seat. I tried twisting and contorting into multiple shapes but nothing worked. I slept maybe two hours. Then, a continental breakfast came out consisting of a stale croissant and a little fruit cup. So, out came my own muffins from my backpack. I was set.

We arrived at 6:30 am this morning (12:30 am at home). It was pitch-black in Germany and I was delirious. We decided to check in at the Hilton and see if perhaps… maybe… our room might be ready. Guess what?!?! It was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so happy. We checked in and I crashed! We slept for 4 hours, showered, and set out into town. The temperature here is quite lovely- in the upper 30's and perfect for wandering in a big, puffy coat with a giant scarf.

We wandered the streets. I would compare Frankfurt to a calmer Washington, D.C. I like the feel of the city- the people are friendly… and there are CHRISTMAS MARKETS GALORE!

So, the markets have: ornaments, beeswax candles, hand painted crafts, BAZILLIONS OF GINGERBREAD COOKIES, warm Apfelwein (Apple Wine) and gludwein (warm wine), sausages upon sausages, sauerkraut, potatoes, cotton candy, hand painted cups, giant pretzels, chocolate covered everything, you name it!

We had Pizza Hut for lunch… a nice cheap alternative. There is a Pizza Hut stand and for 3 euros you can get a slice and a Coke. We sat in the cold and ate. I people-watched. No one wears Uggs here… it's kind of disconcerting…

Anywho… then we wandered to Starbucks (there is one on every street corner Sarah Bailey!!!!!!!!!). NO PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE THOUGH… it's shameful. I had to settle for a Caramel Hot Chocolate. It sufficed.

We began our wandering trek through the Christmas markets. I tried the Apfelwein… it is a very, very bitter apple cider. If you like wine and apple cider, you would love this drink. As for me, my go-to drink is a Bay Breeze so it didn't do it for me… and that's ok.

I tried a fluffy Gingerbread square… it's jet-puffed! Very spicy with hardened icing on top. It was quite tasty with my hot chocolate.

For dinner, we tried local favorites from the Christmas Market stalls. I had fried potato pancakes with a side of applesauce to dip them in. These are delicious… crispy, garlicy, oniony, and dipped in the stark contrast that is cold applesauce. I ate three of these giant gems. Mmmmmmmm.

Petey ate a giant bratwurst and a steak sandwich. I tried the Bratwurst… the flavor of the meat was wood-fired. It was quite delicious but I would have preferred to have smothered sauerkraut on top.

I ended my evening eating a Nutella crepe, hot off the griddle. It was perfectly cooked, doughy pancake, and the exact right amount of Nutella. OMG.

Now it is time to retire to the hotel. We have an early morning tomorrow… picking up our rental car, driving to Rothenburg's Christmas Market, seeing the Disney Castle, and onward to Munich. Tomorrow, the real hunt and purchase of tacky Christmas souvenirs begins.

Love to all,
KT and PD