Andrew's Airplane Ride

Going our way

On August 5, 2012 Andrew and I got to take an airplane ride in a Cessna 172 4 seater plane.  Through a friend at the barn, Andrew was hired to help store hay at their farm.  As part of his payment he got to go on the airplane ride.  We met up at Forest Lake Airport, us arriving in our car a little early and waiting to watch the plane land.  Here's the plane landing:

The plane landing on the grass

Checking it out

I did not realize the Forest Lake airport has a grass runway.  That kind of blew my mind.

Getting ready to board the plane.

Taxiing towards the runway

Our pilot told us some information about the plane and about Young Eagles, which is a group that is trying to inspire more people to take an interest in flying.

When our pilot Joe G. was running through the pre-flight checklist and was ready to start the plane he hollers "Clear!" and I just about jumped out of my seat.  That was pretty funny.

When we were taxiing to the runway, there was somebody's naughty dog on the runway.  Another shocker.

Dog on the runway - really?  Yes indeed.

This particular plane happens to be a trainer, which means it has two sets of controls.  Andrew was allowed to fly the plane for about 15 minutes!

It's definitely Andrew driving!

We got to fly over our house, and over Sunborn Stables, and near Osceola and Taylors Falls.  If you look closely you can see Conquest in his field.

Our house

Sunborn Stables - Conquest in foreground

The field behind our house almost looks like it's a message for aliens.

Minnesota laughs

Scary how many of these apply to my family!

Jeff Foxworthy on Minnesota :

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Minnesota

If you're proud that your state makes the national news 96 nights each year because International Falls is the coldest spot in the nation, you might live in Minnesota

If you have ever refused to buy something because it's "too spendy", you might live in Minnesota

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Minnesota

If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Minnesota

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Minnesota

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Minnesota

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Minnesota

If you know how to say...Wayzata, Mahtomedi, Cloquet, Edina, and Shakopee... you might live in Minnesota

If you think that ketchup is a little too spicy, you might live in Minnesota

If vacation means going "up north" for the weekend, you might live in Minnesota

If you measure distance in hours, you might live in Minnesota

If you know several people who have hit deer more than once, you might live in Minnesota

If you can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you might live in Minnesota

If you see people wearing hunting clothes at social events, you might live in Minnesota

If you install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked, you might live in Minnesota

If you think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and Venison, you might live in Minnesota

If you carry jumper cables in your car, and your girlfriend knows how to use them, you might live in Minnesota

If there are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Mill's Fleet Farm at any given time, you might live in Minnesota

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you might live in Minnesota

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you might live in Minnesota

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and of course, road construction, you might live in Minnesota

If you can identify a southern or eastern accent, you might live in Minnesota

If your idea of creative landscaping is a plastic deer next to your blue spruce, you might live in Minnesota

If "Down South" to you means Iowa, you might live in Minnesota

If you know "a brat" is something you eat, you might live in Minnesota

If you find -10 degrees "a little chilly", you might live in Minnesota

If you actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Minnesota friends, you might live in Minnesota

MN State Fair

We found a booth by Harlequin.  These cowboys were giving away a free western romance novel.  You could get your picture taken with them if you wanted.  I sorta twisted Jess' arm.  :-)

Jessica at the State Fair

Connie got stung by a bee

Poor boy.  It took a couple days but he's better now.

Playing cards

Getting ready to play a game of Continental Rummy.  It's the only 'contact' card game I know - there may be cards ripped and blood flowing tonight!  If you've never played before, the rules are mostly like this:   Continental Rummy in WIkipedia

The exception is, when a player discards, all other players may attempt to grab the discarded card.  Whoever gets it first touching their hand of cards wins it, and takes the extra penalty card from the stock pile as well.

Good time guaranteed!

Stuttgart

Today we decided to explore Stuttgart. We split up. Mark and Brad going to the Mercedes Benz Museum. Nikki, Shelly, Andrew and Jessica going to the Ludwigsburg Palace. The palace was still furnished, but unheated and cold. Much of the furniture, curtains and tapestries were original from the late 1800's. We managed to get to the english tour of the inside of the palace. The tour of the inside, we were informed, is over a mile in length.

Each room opens into the next such that you can look all the way down the hallway from one end of the building to the other, and it is a long way! There were a lot of original paintings. Nearly every room had something painted on the ceiling, whether cherubs or depictions of fables or just intricate designs. Nearly every room had an amazing hanging crystal chandalier. One interesting thing the guide told us is that to transport the chandaliers from Italy, they put them in a barrel and then filled it with melted butter. The butter was allowed to solidify and then the barrels were loaded up and moved. Pretty clever!

I thought the paintings with horses in them were interesting. People used to ride much smaller horses than they do now. They had shorter stirrups with their legs bent at a 45 degree angle and still their lower leg was hanging below the horses. I would guess they were somewhere in the 14-15 hand range. Usually they are depicted rearing up.

After the palace we went back to Stuttgart and found a shopping mall. We went inside and got lunch -- donner rolls, pommes (french fries), and then afterwards we had the spaghetti eis (ice cream with strawberry sauce) Jessica was hoping to find. The donner rolls and the eis were both very tasty. From there we drove downtown to a tack shop Nikki knew of. I got to go in and check out what a German tack shop was like. They are similar to the tack shops in the states, but some things are definitely improved. Their brushes, curries, and whips are definitely higher quality and cheaper than in the states. They had a dozen brand new Passier and Kieffer saddles against the wall. Their breeches are much more colorful. They had loads of vests for the rider. And of course the owners were very nice and spoke english very well. It was a fun experience for me.

On the way back to the house we got stuck in a 'stau' or German traffic jam. It is amazing how many micro mini cars you can get stacked up in a 3 lane road, with nobody moving. When we returned to the house we had good old American meatloaf and mashed potatoes for supper.

Strasbourg, France

Today we drove 1 1/2 hours to Strasbourg, France. We took a detour through the Black Forest to see a castle but it turned out to be a mile hike through the snowy woods to get there and it was so cold we decided not to. But it was an adventure just getting there! Thank goodness for GPS or we wouldn't have found it. The streets in Baden Baden were Very narrow - only one car at a time. The streets over here in general are narrow; there is no shoulder on most of them. Brad did an excellent job navigating - we had to duck partially off the road once for a garbage truck and a second time we jumped the curb to avoid a city bus. Yikes!

In France they think nothing of parking on the sidewalk. They are all driving micro-mini cars. The lines in the streets, as Nikki said, are more of a 'guideline'. They are not nearly as orderly and rule-following as the Germans! You will find people parked along the sides of the street facing both directions, and some even at an angle with the front wheel up on a curb. However they can get out of traffic to park, they will do it. The people biking and walking are just as bad. It seems like there is stuff coming at you from every direction.

We ate at an italian restaurant in France. Our first waitress didn't speak any English, and she was quick to disappear. The food was what you'd expect, with the exception of the cheese which definitely tasted to me like goat cheese. The lasagna tasted like Chef Boyardee ravioli. Who would've guessed it's actually very close to the way they have their sauce over here?


The buildings are a lot more colorful than in Germany. In France, they have pinks, yellows, and oranges and most buildings have the exposed timber construction. In Germany houses are almost always white or tan concrete or stucco with a brick red or brown metal roof. Very occasionally you will see a wildly colored pink or blue house. We saw lots of architecture design through the years from the boat ride tour we took. The boat was warm and had a glass roof. That was a good thing because it was so cold! It was about 5 degrees F with the windchill. We were all very cold and it gave us a chance to warm up completely.




After the boat tour we walked over to the Strasbourg Cathedral. The Cathedral was constructed beginning over 900 years ago. Amazing stuff there. The stained glass windows are still original from the 13th and 14th centuries, and is really beautiful. We lit candles for Brad's dad and my brother when we were there. Here is a link if you want more info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg_Cathedral




After that we walked around looking at the shops and buying a few souvenirs. The streets there are all cobblestone, which I thought was cool. They are not very well marked though; you can easily step into traffic or in front of a train and not know you have done it (no curbs, no lines, nothing).

On the way home, Mark finally saw some wildlife out the window. He saw 7 German deer out the window to go with the European hare he saw yesterday. He says the hare was nearly the same size as the deer!

Another fantastic adventure! We are all tired and ready to relax.