St. Louis and Silver Falls

About a month ago, Angie and I went back to St. Louis to visit my family. We were only there for the weekend, so we had a lot to do in a short amount of time. We spent some quality time with my family, Ang and I went to a Cardinals game (of course), ate at our favorite places, and saw some old friends.
It was good to see my niece. She looks exactly like her mom! I had the priviledge of blessing her at church. I can't wait until I get to do the same thing for my own child! I also enjoyed the time spent with my family. My sister and her spouse flew in from San Francisco, so all of us were gathered together as a family for the first time.

As some of you may know, my stepmom was involved in a serious automobile accident last September and when I last saw her (later that month), she was laid up in a hospital bed full of machines and tubes hooked up to her. I'm happy to say that she is doing a lot better now! I knew she had made great strides since then (such as re-learning how to walk, speak, etc.) but it was good to visit with her and see the progress for myself. If you met her today, you couldn't even tell that she was hit by a semi-truck on the freeway. Amazing.

We didn't take many pictures on this trip, but here are some of the highlights (I took some random pictures with my phone and uploaded them to Facebook, so you can catch them there under the "Mobile Uploads" folder):

Angie and I chillin' at Busch Stadium (aka-my Graceland)

They even have fireworks, too! (at least when the Cards hit a home run)

Ordering out of the back window at the White Castle drive thru...because that's how we roll when we're in St. Louis!

Me doing my best impression of Buddy the elf on the escalator.


Me and my niece. See, she's already looking up to me (well, up at me, at least)!

How about this: Judas Priest and Whitesnake performing at the FAMILY Arena? Really?

And speaking of trips from a month ago, Ang and I went with our friends Blake and Kristin to Silver Falls State Park at the end of May and had a great time! We chose to do the five mile hike around the park and we saw a total of seven waterfalls. It was amazing to see all of these beautiful waterfalls and their plush, green surroundings. Blake was told by one of the park rangers that he should be fine to walk the trail with a stroller (instead of using that baby backpack thing they have). After helping Blake carry the stroller up and down many steps on some winding paths, I came to the conclusion that the park ranger must not have any children. Anyway, we had a memorable time and went on a beautiful day!

Us at one of the falls.

One of the falls.

Come to think of it, couldn't this post have been broken up into two? Yes, it could've. Just consider it a "packaged deal" of rewards for you, the reader, in response for the lack of postings lately.

Oh, and one more thing...

IN YOUR FACE!

Flashback: Rome

Here is the final installment of the "flashbacks." Enjoy.
(btw, this entry is longer ...because it's Rome)

Wednesday, March 14

-We wake up around 1:30 a.m this morning to head off to Rome! We're gonna see some sights, eat Italian food, watch out for the pickpocketers and do as the Romans do! As Jesse Spano (from Saved by the Bell...as if I had to explain) would say, "I"m so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so...scared!"

-At 2:30 a.m., we start driving to the Frankfurt Hahn airport with our helpful guide, Susan (that's the name of the voice we have programmed on the GPS). Except Susan doesn't know that one of the roads we need to drive on is now closed, and she keeps saying, "turn around whenever possible." Oh, Susan. If you only knew the 411. Thanks to some help from the Man Upstairs, we find our way.

-We fly Ryanair, which has hard seats and the chairs don't even recline. Also, you have to pay for any snack or beverage you get. This is only the tip of the iceberg with this company. I'm just glad the pilot was sober enough to land the plane without crashing it.

-Our cab fare from the airport to the hotel was 60 euro ($75 U.S.)! What a rip! Even though these cabs are expensive, i'm still greatful we cancelled our car rental. The people out here drive crazy! These streets are so crowded! Cars pack in three-wide on one-lane entry ramp onto the freeway, they share lanes side-by-side, people are driving on the shoulders like their normal lanes, people are cutting each other off constantly and our cab driver is weaving in and out of traffic like a madman! The driving out here is something you have to see to believe. Utah drivers are great compared to these Roman-folk.

-I GOT PICKPOCKETED! I think it happened on the bus, which is overcrowded with people all up in your personal space. I didn't even notice until a few minutes after we got to the Metro station. Wanna know what they took? A little bag of nuts n' berries out of my jacket pocket. They scored big on that pull (I didn't even bring my wallet. I kept the money in my front pocket, which I've been constantly keeping my hand over).

-We get to the Metro station to buy our all-day pass (four euro each). Ther's an outdoor bar in this station, which is a bit odd. They have a sign up saying to beware of pickpockets. This sign must is their substitute for law enforcement.

-Our subway finally pulls up and we can't believe how dirty this thing is. You know how you watch movies taking place in New York City and the subway trains are all old and full of graffiti? Well, they must come here to Rome to film those scenes (fyi-I've been on NYC subways before and they are nothing like that).

-We got off at the Colosseo (Colosieum) stop and right when we walk out of the station, bam! There it is. I can't believe I'm actually in front of it! There's history all around us. We see a street vendor and end up buying gelatto from him and for a couple of minutes, we're in heaven.

-Almost all the historic sights are in walking distance. Next to the Colosieum are Ceasar's temple, the remains of the old town center and Capitol Hill. The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Camp di Fiori and Spanish Steps aren't too far away, neither.

-After a while, I stop acting so paranoid about our belongings and start to soak it all in. It's an awe-filled walk, stirring up thoughts of what it would've been like to live here in its heyday. As we start walking the streets to the Pantheon, we stop at this Italian place on the corner and order pizza (which they make rectangular and serve slices in long rectangles and fold in half). I start eating it and I'm in heaven for a good 10 minutes. This is the best pizza ever! And its just ham! I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I'll still want the same thing tomorrow. Good times, good times.

-The Pantheon was worth seeing, as well as the Trevi Fountain. As we are getting lost looking for the Spanish Steps, I hear someone yell my name. It's my buddy Greg! He and his ladyfriend finished their Mediterreanean Cruise and decided to stay longer and see Rome. What are the chances?

-While I'm getting us lost, we walk down alley ways full of Italian men, with their suits, hair slicked back, sunglasses on, smoking and speaking Italian. I think they're mafia. Something's going down in this alleyway, and it's gonna be big. We walk past those streets and 15 minutes later, gun shots are fired and tires are squealing (just kidding. They were just businessmen taking smoke breaks, but that's the stereotype that popped in my head. Thanks, Hollywood).-Rome is very crowded. It's full of tourists, small cars, ancient sites, dirt, mopeds, graffiti, the Pope and pickpockets who steal small bags of nuts n' berries (among other things).

-Street vendors here: what the crap? They are everywhere and some are quite pushy. For instance, when we were at the Spanish Steps (waste of time. All you see are tourists sitting on them and no steps) people would forcibly give Ang and Valeri roses and then look at me demanding money. What's up with that? I wanted to punch them all in their faces (not Ang and Valeri, but the vendors).

-We hop on the Metro, last a few stops and get off. Valeri says animals shouldn't even be subject to riding on these trains and we should just take a taxi. The ladies decide they dont want to put up with Rome anymore and want to go home tonight. I think I've seen enough of Rome, so I agree. Looking all around this city, its really old and dirty. It reminds me of when Ang and I drove around Mexico City, except we ain't got no Mexicans here.

-We got to the hotel and can't cancel the reservation, but Valeri isn't too concerned about that. We're determined to get out of here. We can't get a hold of anyone from Ryanair to change our flight, so we take another taxi to the airport.

-The airport and our struggles with Ryanair for about seven hours deserve its own entry, which Ang has already taken care of (in our family forum).

-In summary, Rome wasn't built in one day. But that's all the time I'd take to visit it. And now that I've seen it, I don't care to go back (but I would go back to Italy and see a different town, though).

-Also, we took a ton of pictures here. It was great to see all of these sights in real life.



Ang and Dan at the Trevi Fountain. Apparently, you have to turn around and toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain. They say it's because you'll make it back to Rome if you do. I think it's just a lame excuse for the locals to take more of your money.

This is the place with incredible pizza.

Ang and Valeri walking down one of the many alleyways in Rome. It was actually pretty cool walking down these.

The inside of the Pantheon. I really enjoyed this place, although it didn't have a ton to offer. Oh, and sorry the picture sucks. Can you tell that I took it? (oh, I=Dan)

Ang and Mama Stoddart eating gelato right by the Colosieum. Contrary to her facial expression, Ang and I really enjoyed it (she's just making an angry face on purpose).

Another Germany Flashback

Here's another flashback of our trip to Germany. I'm not posting all of my entries because everyone is probably bored enough of this. In fact, I'll probably post one or two more of these later and call it good.

Enjoy!

Wed, March 7

-We drove to Frankfurt today to go to the temple and do some sightseeing. On you way there, we encountered a "stau" (traffic jam), which made our 1 1/2 hour trip 2 1/2 hours instead. While waiting in traffic, the radio plays "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly and Angie starts crying because she thinks its the most beautiful song (actually, she hates this song. I have no idea why).

-There are cigarette vending machines all over the place. They're on just about every street corner. I don't think they have a minimum age requirement for smoking, which explains why everybody smokes out here. Even the babies.

-The Frankfurt Temple is hidden within a neighborhood, so you don't see it until you're right in front of it. I like this temple. It looks sorta like the Chicago Temple. Anyway, we asked the temple workers if there was anything that needed to be done, so we did baptisms. Valeri and Ang weren't prepared for this, so their makeup washed off and they didn't have their hairdryer, neither. But they don't need that stuff. My wife is hott!

-After that, we decided to drive downtown to walk around and see the sights. After driving around for about a half hour and not finding a place to park, we decided to just go home. We weren't too impressed, anyway.

-FYI, the cities of Munich and Frankfurt were left in ruins after WWII. Frankfurt decided to tear down and start fresh, while Munich chose to restore. In other words, Frankfurt looks like a U.S. city and Munich kicks it old school, Duetchland style!

-For dinner, Valeri, Ang and I decide to go to an Italian restaurant called Pizzeria Anna, named after Kent and Valeri's first landlord out here (can you believe it? Italian food in Germany! This country also has Chinese and Mexican food, too! Who knew?). Anna is a real Italian, so she makes authentic Italian food. Valeri and Ang split a pizza while I throw down a calzone that's as big as my head. In addition to our food being good, it was cheap, too. Everything here (except the steaks) is under 10 euro. They'll even light a candle on your table.

-Ang and Valeri like it when I talk in a German accent. Just a little something I've picked up while being out here (to be honest, the accent is fake and is only busted out once in a while to spice up conversation).

Ang and I at the Heidelberg castle. The place looked much better before this picture was taken (200 years before, as a matter of fact).

This picture was taken down an alley into one of the main shopping streets in Baden-Baden. We ate at that restaurant located down the way (the green building).

In Baden-Baden, in a tree, off the beaten path (I like this one).

The bakery in Meisenbach that was around the corner from where we were staying. This place had some awesome pasteries and candy. I could live in this place (I don't think Ang would approve, sadly).