June to early July 2012

On May 26, 2012 Danette flew to Fargo to be with her mother and father in Fargo, ND.  Danette’s father had been ill for some time.  Jim drove to Fargo, ND pulling the Casita camper and arrived Memorial Day.



Church and Pastor Bill, June 15

Dad, June 5, with intarsia he made for
Fargo Redhawks and donated
to head coach.

Parents grand and great grandchildren

We spent the next three plus weeks in Fargo.  Danette’s Dad passed away the early morning of Monday, June 11.  While this time was sad and emotional for the family, it was tempered by the great 84 years of life he, Sam, had lived.  The funeral was a great celebration of life which included 150+ people.

Mom, Darline, with niece and nephews



Tom and Kris home WI

Jim's family

June 20, we drove toward the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers and camped along with MN and WI borders.  We took the scenic route south to Jim’s brother and wife, Tom and Kris, place in Rising Sun, WI (south of LaCrosse).  Jim’s cousin and wife, along with his sister and husband, spent the weekend with us.  We went to a wine and beer festival and enjoyed time at the house.

southern MN

Left WI and camped overnight in MN at an old Sioux Indian reservation area, which is now a state park. 



Scott Maurer with golfers

Adrian, ND

ND rain and fields

Took a scenic drive toward ND and went to Monpelier, ND, which is south of Jamestown.  We saw the cousins and participated in the Dally Cup golf tournament on June 30.  Scott, Danette’s cousin, was the organizer and is also Mayor of Montpelier.  60+ people attended and we stopped at three bars after the tournament, with the Dally Up being the final stop.

Jim grilling for 20 guests

Deb, Teri, Viki at MN winery

We stopped to see Danette’s mother, Darline, before going to lakes.  It was difficult to leave Fargo after spending so much time with family.  July 4 week we spent at Deb Anderson's, my best friend, cabin along with her two sisters, Teri and Viki, near Detroit Lakes, MN.  Saw some good long-time friends, and Uncle Marv. 

Jim and Sandy relaxing

Biking by Paul Bunyan

Next adventure will be toward Brainerd.  Remember the movie Fargo and the wood chipper!  After that, north to Canada.

Winter 2012

Jim and I drove up to North Dakota to support my family. 
Dad, Sam, went to rehab January 5.  We got up to ND Feb 13 and stayed until March 14.  Sam is at Bethany Nursing and Rehab facility where he receives care and therapy.  Sam enjoys looking out the window at the events outside.  The staff really enjoy him, and his humor, and take good care of him.  Sam takes everything "a day at a time".
Mom, Darline, ended up in the hospital for four days after fainting and falling and was also in rehab short term.  She has been cleared and is back home.  It was great to spend a month with my parents.  Jim was outstanding with his support and spent hours on end with my father.

We managed to have an outside life while up in Fargo.  Spent time with Susan, my sister, and her family, Mike, my brother, and his family and Uncle Marv.  We went to a blues festival with Deb.  Spent time with with my good friends, Nancy and Cathy, and also saw my cousins, Bill and Scott, and their families.

 

After leaving ND, we spent time with Tom and Kris in WI.  Also stayed in Chicago with Kathy and Gary and enjoyed the fun for St. Patrick's Day.  Tom is Jim's brother and Kathy is Jim's sister.

Family comes first

For those checking the blog regarding our Bahamas trip, we have a change.  After being on PEACE for less than a week, we decided to cancel our trip and go to Fargo, ND.  Life's priority right now is to support Danette's mother as her father has been in rehab since January 5.  We will update with photos from North Dakota!

August 13-19 NETHERLANDS then flight out of Frankfurt to FL - End of Trip

August 13-16 NETHERLANDS.  We stayed along the coast at Noordwijk.  We rented bikes one day and saw the floats from a flower parade, walked the beaches, and biked along the canals. 

We enjoyed a day with our good friends, the Timmermans and the Vissers.  Jim had worked with Rob and Tim and we have known them for a long time, along with their wifes, Ida and An. 
We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at a restaurant along the coast.  We then went to Amsterdam and went on a tour of House of BOLS Cocktail and Genever Experience.   At the end of the tour, we sampled a cocktail of our choice as well as a couple shots of Genever.
Tim had arranged for a water taxi to pick us up and we toured the canals of Amsterdam.  We were then dropped off at Hotel Okura and went to the famous Teppanyaki Restaqurant Sazanka (Japanese table-top cooking).  It was a gastronomic adventure!
It was a perfect day with great weather, good friends, good cocktails, and good food!  Tim, Ida, Rob, and An were outstanding hosts and we truly appreciated the day with them.
Before we left, we spent time with Tim and Ida, saw their children, and met their grandchildren.  Danette was able to shop at Ida's store and maxed out on items to carry on board!


August 17-19 GERMANY  We took our final trip in the van, Karl, to Koblenz.  Our campsite was right along the water viewing the Old Town area.  Koblenz is where the Rhine and the Mosel rivers meet.  We walked the area and cleaned the van.  Rolf and Britta where the owners of Karl and they were great to work with.  We left Friday, August 19, and flew out of Frankfurt into Ft. Lauderdale.

August 20 HOME  We traveled 87 days, 19 countries and put 7000 miles on Karl, our van.  It was an overall fabulous trip seeing the various cities, villages, country sides, waterways, learning varied cultures, and enjoying the local food, beer, and wine.  Until next Potoventure.........Jim and Danette

SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, BELGIUM

July 30-31:  VEVEY, SWITZERLAND.  We walked to the city market.  They had vendors selling fruits, sausages, cheeses, and local art.  They had an orchestra playing, and three men played the Swiss wooden horns.  Local wineries were there and you could purchase a glass and drink all the wine you wanted from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  We sampled all morning, so needed a nap by early afternoon!  The following day, our campground had a Sangria party at 5, dinner and music at 8, and then followed by dancing.  This was to celebrate Liberte de Patriet (Aug 1), Switzerland was founded in 1271.  We could see fireworks from Montreux, other areas around the lake, as well as our own local fireworks display.   When we left our camp, the owner stated it was the first time in 15 years that an American stayed three nights.  He said “Savoir voyager, c’est savior s’arreyter”, which means “to know how to travel, means to know how to stop”.

Aug 1:  PONTE-DE-POITTE, FRANCE.  We drove into France.  It was a nice drive with forests and hills.

Aug 2:  CERCY-LA-TOUR, FRANCE.  We met John and Karen Siscoe on their boat, Chateaux Deux.  They have been traveling the rivers and canals of Western Europe for four summers, with most of their summers being spent in France.  They winter in FL south of Tampa, and are old boater friends that we first met doing the Great Loop and also spent time with them in the Bahamas.

Aug 3-4:  DECIZE, FRANCE.  John and Jim moved the van (Karl) to Decize, took the train back, and then we went on their canal boat to Decize.  It was an enjoyable trips traveling down the narrow canals, seeing farms, fields, chateaus, and going through some real narrow locks and low bridges.  When we went under some bridges we took the top canvas down and you duck your heads as you go under the bridge!  The evening was filled with good company along with beer, wine, and food.  We extended our stay by one more day in order to spend time with John and Karen.

Aug 5:  AUXERRE, FRANCE.  We stopped in Clamecy before moving to Auxerre.  We parked right along the waterway and free camped with 40+ other campers right in the city center.  The old town was very nice to walk around as it had several churches, restaurants, and shops.  The Cathedral had a sound and light show at 10 p.m.  The church was originally built in 500 AD and Joan of Arc and Napoleon both visited this church.

Aug 6:  NANCY, FRANCE.  We drove through one of the Champagne regions and went to a regional festival.  We purchased a bottle for our 25^th anniversary, which is August 9. 

Aug 7:  METZ, FRANCE.  We went to the Sunday market and drove through Nancy city center.  We stayed in Metz and walked around the quaint city.  We went to a museum, saw churches, and walked along the Mossell River (Mosel River in Germany).  Cathedral St. Etienne has the third highest nave and the largest surface area of stained glass in France.  This was a pearl of a city which John and Karen had suggested we visit.

Aug 8:  TRIER, GERMANY.  Jim treated Danette to a hotel for our anniversary.  Our room overlooked with city center of Roman ruins, churches, shops, and restaurants.  After 2 ½ months, it was great to sleep in a real bed and no sleeping bag!  The city was nice, but the volume of tourists was not to our liking. 

Aug 9:  ZELL, GERMANY.   25 years ago today Jim and Danette were married in Dallas, Texas.  We spent the day driving along the Mosel River, stopping in villages, and buying the local wine.  The hills were covered with vineyards the entire route we were today.  If anyone wants to come to this area, August 12-15 are the days which every little village has a festival.   Our stop was in Zell, which Jim had visited over 20 years ago with Jenny and Dan Zuehlke and his daughter (after the ladies graduated from high school).  It is known for their black cat wine.  We celebrated with our good Champagne and went out for a nice dinner.

Aug 10:  LA ROCHE-EN-ARDENNE, BELGIUM.  We drove into LUXEMBOURG and stopped in Vianden, which was described as a “fairy tale” city and it was with a castle on a hill.  From there we drove through a mountainous area to a high plains agricultural area.  Once inside Belgium, we stopped at Bastogne and saw the MEMORIAL MARDASSON.  This is where a memorial for the WWI Battle of the Bulge was fought.  During the battle, 76,890 US troops were either killed, missing in action, or wounded.  For Tom, Jim’s brother, the 101^st US Airborne Division, “The Screaming Eagles”, were instrumental in turning the tide on The Battle of the Bulge.  We camped in the ARDENNES region of Belgium which has rivers and forests. 

Aug 11:  GHENT, BELGIUM.  Our friend, Jackie, suggested some places to stop as she used to live in Belgium.  We drove along the River Meuse and stopped in Dinant as it has a Citadelle, and old church, the river, and some nice side streets.  We went to a brewery called Brasserie Caracole and purchased some locally made beer.  We then moved to the Gardens at Annevoie Chateau, known for their water gardens.  We camped in Ghent so that we could enjoy tomorrow day and evening in the city (Friday).

Aug 12, Friday:  GENT/GHENT/GAND/GANTE, BELGIUM.              We loved walking around this gorgeous city with the canals and the fabulous architecture of the buildings.  We drank our way around the city sampling various beers!  We even found a bar where we stopped 13-14 years ago with Jenny and Scott (Jim's daughter and son-in-law).