I experienced Paris...

Ok. I know what y'all are thinking... "Who hasn't experienced Paris?" But I'm talking about the city in France, not Paris Hilton. HA! Sorry...I couldn't resist.

But honestly, the city of Paris was amazing. Some friends and I hopped on a train for a 3 hour ride from Landsthul, Germany to Paris, France on the 1st of July. We got to Paris around 7pm and headed straight to get something to eat. We grabbed grub at the 100% American Hard Rock Cafe, a never miss establishment for me. We all had burgers, and they were darn good too. After we ate we asked a couple Hard Rock employees there advice on finding a decent, reasonably priced place to stay the night. (That's right, we went all the way to Paris without planning a room in advance. That's the "fly by the seat of your pants" style I like to use). So we head off on our quest to find a cheap, yet safe room for the night. The first place we tried was 190 Euro, which transfers to over $200...a little too rich for our blood. The second place we went was only 77 Euro...much better. So we booked'em, dropped off our bags and headed back out. Our plan was to figure out the Paris Metro (underground subway system) and go see the Eiffel Tower at night. A very nice French guy that spoke English (I got a whole lot of experience asking "Englay" over the course of our 2 days in Paris) showed us the best route to get there, so we paid our 1.8 Euros for the train ride and took off. When our train came out of the tunnel to cross over the Seine River the Eiffel Tower was right there, shining bright against the dark night sky. It was amazing. We walked around the surrounding area, getting an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower from every angle. I can't stress enough how amazing it was to actually be in Paris walking around this historic tower at almost midnight. Beautiful weather with a crisp, cool breeze, the amazing tower shining before us... it was truly one of the most incredible things I've ever done. But as I walked around, I saw many couples walking hand in hand, and even a few couples pushing baby strollers, and it made me realize how much more amazing the experience could have been if I had my Mic & JD with me. I will definitely have to come back to Paris with them someday...

Next time, the next day, a whirlwind tour of Paris...

Half Way Home

Well, as of this Friday (17 Jun 05) I'll be exactly half way through my deployment here in Germany. My time here has been pretty cool so far. I've seen some cool stuff and have met some cool people. If it weren't for missing everybody back home in the States this time in Germany would be great. The next two months are going to be very busy. We've got some really cool tours planned, and we'll probably take a couple day trips to some cool places like Brussels and Switzerland. I hope all this stuff makes the time go by faster. I really can't wait to get home and play with my boy...and not long after I get home I'll be seeing a bunch of you at my house for the NASCAR race in September. Only 2 more months to go...

10 Weeks to go...

Well, on Wednesday I'll hit my 6 week mark here in Germany. At times it seems like it's going pretty fast, but at other times it doesn't seem quick at all. When I stop and think about it, it really doesn't seem like I've been here 6 weeks. But when I sit alone and watch a NASCAR race instead of watching it with my Mic napping on the couch, and with my JD asking me to play in his playroom instead of sitting in front of the TV, then it seems to be going slow. When I'm reading about Disney World online instead of enjoying the week there with Mic, JD, Mom, Dad, Brad & Beth, then that really makes it seem like this 16 weeks is going to take forever. But I am in Germany, and there is so much history to see over here, not to mention a planned trip to Disneyland Paris that's coming up in July, so at least there is some cool things for me to see and do while I'm here. If I have to be here away from the ones I love, I guess I should make the most of it. Until next time...

The Force

Well, it's been a few days since I saw Episode III, 6 days actually, and 2 days since I saw it for the second time, but I still wanted to post a few of my thoughts on the movie. So here goes.

- Hayden Christensen really impressed me. There were times in the movie where I really felt like I could feel his pain, his anguish, his confusion.

- The special effects in this movie were mindblowing. Lucas and his people are always at the top when it comes to special effects, but they've even out done themselves this time.

- Lightsabers, lightsabers, lightsabers. The fights in this movie were incredible.

- Obi-Wan really is a bad, bad man. He kicked so much tail, including Anakin/Vader...

- It was awesome to see Palpatine kick some tail too. McDarimid was great. If only we could have seen more of him like this in ROTJ, cause he was spectacular.

- Two of the best scenes in the whole movie had to be; 1) Bail Organa taking Leia to Alderaan and Obi-Wan taking Luke to Tatooine...very cool. 2) Vader, Palpatine, and a young Grand Moff Tarkin observing the early construction stages of the Death Star... Great!

- Burn Vader Burn... That was amazing. And even as he burns, Obi-Wan resists the urge to save his friend, his student, his brother, or finish him off... It seems one or the other would have been appropriate.

Ok, so those are just a few of my thoughts. In my opinion, this is the greatest movie I've ever seen. An incredible finale to the greatest series of movies ever made.

The First Time

Hello all who happen upon here by accident. I just learned about this place through my buddy DWB. I'll try to come back and say "hello" from time to time. Take care.