Happy Belated Birthday

to Meeeeee!

Not really, but I told BS that all I wanted for my birthday was to go to a Virginia Tech football game. Didn't care when or which one, as long as I got to go. Didn't even matter if the game wasn't anywhere near my birthday, as long as I got to go.

I WANNA GO!!!!!

Really? Me? I wanted football for my birthday?
*knocks self in head*

Yes. Times change, people change, and my smug & condescending distaste of football turned into an unexpected & fervent fondness for the Hokies once the family kids started going to VT for all their high cost higher learnin'.
And I have partaken of the proverbial crow ever since.

So, anyway, BS got tickets for the NC State game this past weekend. And through extra tickets and schedule changes, one of his good friends and Sista G ended up going with us. Sista G, for all her living in Roanoke (only 45 min away from B'burg) and years of Hokie nieces & nephews, had never been to a football game. Any game. Anywhere.
(and she's even more rabid about football than I am)

Hot dawg! Good times on the way!

But first things first.
I had to go explain to SOMEONE that I couldn't watch the game with him this time
on account of I was gonna be at the game.
Boy, did I get the stink-eye.
The worst of the stink-eye was over by the time I grabbed the camera.


I had to pacify him with the promise of souvenirs.
Lots of them.

So, BS + friend + I left after work on Friday (and I got to doze in the back seat. ahhh, pure pleasure)
to stay the night at Sista G's. We left for the game a little after noon on Saturday.
BS & friend were staying the night in B'burg, so he drove my car & Sista G drove hers.

Now, seeing as how this was the last home game of the season, traffic was going to be a bitch. See?


So BS took us the scenic route to avoid those all those crazy VT drivers (present company excluded ;-).
That's BS & friend ahead in my li'l green car.

It was a really lovely little winding hilly twisty twisty road . . .


. . . and Sista G took great pleasure in careening around the curves
so we could pretend we were on a roller coaster. Pretty close.



If you listen closely, you can hear me mumble something about throwing up.

First stop - the bookstore for the promised souvenirs.
Next stop - the looooong walk . . .



. . . to joy & fun & yee-haw!




Including the super secret sniper spies on the roof.



We ate giant smoked turkey legs, yelled a lot, did the wave, stomped, hooted, hollered, shivered,
and generally had a heck of a good time.
Yes, we won. By a lot.
Random shots from the night:

Someone's unfortunate idea of a practical joke


Sista G


BS & friend


BS


Thank you Beloved Son for a terrific birthday.
I had 2 months to look forward to it, which made it all the sweeter!

And,
in the spirit of tomorrow, and since the VT mascot vaguely resembles a turkey,



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Some Last Things About The Bahamas . . .

. . . and then it will be over, I promise.
But there are a couple more things that struck me about our resort.

SEAGULLS.

They were everywhere.



On the beach.




In the pool (seriously).





Divebombing you if they smelled bread scraps, as one of my companions discovered.





WIND & OVERCAST SKIES

I think I mentioned before that during most of our stay, it was blowing a steady 30 mph with overcast skies, sometimes showers.
These pictures were taken on one of the nicer days.



Did you notice that umbrella with the scarves hanging from it in the last picture?
Some local ladies would take turns at that umbrella and set up their wares to sell to the hotel guests.
I guess they figure they have a captive audience. And they do a pretty good business there.
That picture as taken during a rogue calm moment. Usually, the scarves looked like this:




BEACH VOLLEYBALL

What can I say - the scenery was, uh, terrific ;-)




2 last things:
this sign in a fitting room in a tourist store in downtown Nassau:


Makes me wonder what happened there to necessitate that warning.
Well, let me take that back, because obviously we know what happened.

And it seems some things, no matter what country you are in, never change.

We Interrupt This Program . . .

The "November Nor'easter" of 2009 will be remembered here as having the 4th highest storm surge in the last 100 years. It missed 3rd place by only a few inches.

In the #1 spot is the 1933 hurricane (naming of hurricanes had not yet started) which had tides of 9.8 feet above normal and caused massive damage as the eye of the storm came on land directly overhead here.

#2 honors goes to the "Ash Wednesday Storm", dubbed by the US Weather Bureau as "The Great Atlantic Storm" in March of 1962 wasn't even a hurricane. It was just a plain ol' nor-easter.

#3 bronze medal belongs to Hurricane Isabel when she spanked us in 2003. "The worst of the effects of Isabel occurred in Virginia, especially in the Hampton Roads area."

So, now we have the November Nor'easter, which is really the remnants of Hurricane Ida (click that link to see some awesome pictures from around here, also part 2, part 3, & part 4). She topped out at 7.3 feet. Doesn't sound like much, but those of you in coastal areas KNOW.

Now, for the rest of this, remember to click on any picture to enlarge it.

My backyard backs up to protected wetlands, so I basically have a marsh in my back yard. Or a swamp, really. But among the tall marsh grasses, there is a little creek that goes out to the Elizabeth River. See here:


Here's my back yard during the storm's LOW TIDE:



At the tide's highest, it was lapping against the backs of those peoples' house behind mine.

At my house, each of my neighbors was surrounded by water . . .





. . . and the back half of my shed was under water overnight when the tide was at it's highest
(here it's at low tide),


. . . but my house is on a bit of a rise, so it was fine. The streets, though, not so much.



These next 3 pictures are in sequence. Did he just do this for fun?




Soon I will go back home and start to clean up. I think every pine needle in my pine trees is now in my yard. Limbs & branches. Crap everywhere, but the leaves are pretty, eh?


Now, keep in mind that the flooding in my neighborhood is minor compared to some of the other areas in my corner of the state (especially after looking at the pictures on the links above), and we lost power for over 24 hours. Not so bad, but I have well water. It uses a pump to suck the water out of the well.
The pump is electric. No electricity = no water. Bummer.

So, here's the plan for such things - I have a cistern that I collect rainwater in. Buckets get filled and brought to the bathroom for toilet flushing. Hey, even in a howling storm, one must maintain certain standards.

Anyway, the first night without power, BS has enough juice left in his laptop battery to let us watch some "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" (don't ask). Then his battery needed charging, so he ditched his poor helpless mother in the dark to go to his Granny's house to bask in the glow of electrical bliss. I sat in the living room with whatever reflected glow was in the sky outside and 3 flashlights at my side.

Sat.
Twiddled my thumbs.
Sat some more
Aw, hell. I'm going to sleep. Nuthin else to do.

Next day - got up early (that's what happens when you go to bed at 8:00) and drove through lots of water to get to work. Left early to get home and see if any damage control needed doing while it was still light enough to see. Still no power. Damn.

So I did what any good contestant on "Survivor" would do. I came to my mother's condo on the Chesapeake Bay to take a shower, wash some clothes, and sleep in a warm bed. I'm such a wuss.


The Lynnhaven Fishing Pier succumbed to the forces of nature again (as it did during Isabel), and yes, they will rebuild. Again. (movie reference. anyone?)




Lastly, I would like to say to the hundreds of tireless workers of Dominion Virginia Power who have been working round the clock to restore power to the over 370,000 people left in the dark because of this storm,
"Thank you and God Bless."

In a day or so, the last of my musings about the Bahamas. First, I want to go home.

Bahamas - Days 1-4

You might think that I should split up the days and do a separate post for each one.
After all, I did it for the Gesundheit trip. Well, I'm not gonna, for a couple reasons:

1) It was a laid back & relaxing vacation, so each post would be about 3 1/2 sentences long.
2) I don't want to work that hard.

First, the burning question on my mind all weekend - what makes the water this color?
Really, I want to know.
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?



We went downtown to see Nassau and the Straw Market - the big covered market where local vendors sell handwoven straw baskets & handbags & hats, woodcarvings, beadwork, and, of course, t-shirts. Once you've seen the first aisle of stalls, you've seen it all since they all have the same stuff.


The downtown area was clean, quaint, and colorful.












This wee horsie was tired.



The slavery museum was heartbreaking.
I'll never understand how human beings could ever think it was okay to do this to other human beings.



What is this?! Quizno's, Burger King, McDonald's, KFC, and more! And look here - the Hard Rock Cafe is across the street from Subway. Sigh.


Nassau is also a mecca of high-end, very pricey, designer shopping.


Uh, I didn't even go in those stores.

At one point, we walked along the beach toward the big, beautiful Wyndham Hotel. The odd thing was, most everything between our hotel & the Wyndham was either torn down or abandoned. The one that was torn down used to be The Rock 'n Roll Cafe. We later asked about all this blight and were told that the properties were being bought up and will be remodeled or rebuilt. Good to know.






The Wyndham had a big shiny casino for one of my friends. I'd have a picture of that, but the casino security guard was most unhappy that I took a picture, so I had to delete it in front of her. That way, I didn't have to go to a Bahamian jail and sit in a dank cell for the rest of the trip. Whew!

I managed to ditch my companions one afternoon (who were content to stay around the hotel most of the time) and go exploring on my own. I climbed the hill to Fort Charlotte, 1 of 3 forts on the island (it was closed, so I could only get a few exterior shots). It was built in 1789 and operated for almost 100 years. It was disarmed in 1891, but activated again during WWI. It is in sad disrepair now. The story is that during the Civil War, the soldiers stationed there were so bored (the fort has never ever even fired a shot) that they carved graffiti everywhere, and most can still be seen.






. . . watched a cricket match,


. . . and walked along the "Fish Fry" - a group of restaurants (although in some cases, the term is used rather loosley) where you can feast on local cooking. It's a popular place for locals as well as tourists who are tired of the American food they have been fed at the hotels.








Next up, random stuff and my brush with death on the trip home.

How Did I End Up Here?

Really, how?

Every year for the past lots of years, some of my co-workers have taken themselves to a lush tropical paradise for a long weekend when the chill winds start to blow around here. I've heard stories about these trips. Cancun, Jamaica, Freeport, and this year is was Nassau, in the Bahamas. A small group this time, with just 3 of them, but at the last minute, one of them couldn't go.

Aww, gee, I guess I could take her place. I've never been to a lush tropical paradise.
It was on my bucket list, so I had to go, doncha know?

Let me tell you, it was bound to be a wild ride
if what happened before we even got off the ground was any indication.

DR & SJ were my companions for this trip, and SJ doesn't like to fly. Seriously doesn't like to fly.
She requires fortification for the flight with sufficient quantities of wine.
Even if the plane leaves at 6:50 am.

I got to the airport at the appointed time, and looked around
no sign of them
checked my suitcase & looked around again
no sign of them
went upstairs to security & looked around
no sign of them
took my shoes off & put by carry-ons through the big machine & looked around
no sign of them
didn't get frisked this time & looked around
no sign of them
walked to the gate & looked around
no sign of them
went to the bar next door & looked around
no sign of them
walked back to security & looked around
no sign of them
asked the nice man at the gate if they had checked in
he said yes
walked back to security & looked around
no sign of them
asked the nice man at the gate if they had checked their bags yet
(they could have checked in online)
he said yes (well, at least they're here somewhere)
"Now boarding Flight XYZ to Charlotte"
no sign of them
everyone else gets on the plane
no sign of them
I'm the last one at the gate - I'm not missing my plane dammit
no sign of them
I get on the plane & take my seat in the back row
no sign of them
"Attention passengers. Please take your seats as we prepare to pull away from the terminal."
clunk goes the door closing
no sign of them
clunk goes the door opening
DR & SJ careen around the corner and flop into their seats

Wouldn't you know, I looked in the wrong bar.
And because I had asked for them a couple of times,
the airline paged them when time was running out.
I was all set to have a good time all by myself.

A small bus from the hotel picked us & all the other vacationers up at the airport and drove
(on the wrong side of the road, thank you very much)
to the all-inclusive resort right on the beach.




The nice people who were everywhere to help you with whatever.


And wouldn't you know, the first thing I noticed about the hotel when we walked in was the floor.



But then, my attention was soon completely distracted by this lovely sight
bearing a welcome of frooty libations.


And some weird statue-like thing.


Our room (and the all-important bathroom. Sista G understands this):



The whole lobby area, and indeed most of that floor in the common areas is open air.
If you walk straight back from the lobby to the back of the building and step out to the balcony,
THIS is what you see - your first sight of the aqua blue sea.


Now, I want you to notice something.
Look at the clouds.
The outer bands of Ike.
They were there on Thursday (the day we got there), Friday, Saturday,
and a good part of Sunday.

It was relatively cool, as evidenced by people, including Bahamians (who were downright cold at times),
walking around in sweats & hoodies & things to ward off the chill . . .

And lastly, I want you to see the, uh, I can't call them breezes (like the name of the hotel).
It was WIND.
Gale force winds at a steady 30 mph.
Blowing you sideways.
For 4 days.

This poor tree was blowing to the side the whole time we were there.
It didn't fluff out once.


But, really, what a nice sight, right?


Stay tuned.

Ticky Took A Trip

. . . to a tropical island, mon.

Stories to come, but tonight I am tired.

Oh, and I was internet-less & cell phone-less for almost 5 WHOLE DAYS!

I don't know how I lived through it. There were moments. Oh my, there were moments.

ps - for those who don't know, "Ticky" is my online persona. Long story.

Just a tease:

Gesundheit Day 3 - Clowning Around & Goodbyes

Sunday dawned bright & clear. A gorgeous day. Good for pictures.
But first, after breakfast, we sprinted for the costume closet in the workshop.

See us leisurely sprinting?
(and look at that light!)

photo by Anne

photo by Soozi

Some came with preliminary accessories.


Raiding the costume closet is buckets of fun, 'cause the goofier, the better.

photo by Anne


photo by ?

These are our hosts:


And the whole bunch:

photo by Elise

They (not me - I'd never do anything like that!) even tried to turn the dog into a clown,
with less than satisfying results.

photo by Anne

After our clown session, a group went off to hike up the mountain.
I didn't go because my leg still hurt.
*sniffle, whine*
I want sympathy.

But they found this cool-as-all treehouse:

photo by Anne

Back at the ranch, Elise (Mrs. Adams) came across a mouse in the library
(told you the mice enjoyed the library)
that had eaten some rat poison. She and Miera tried to nurse it back to health,
but, rat poison being what it is, that night he went to the big cheese in the sky.





This picture is now Elisa's profile picture on Facebook. Heh.

I also let their 4-year old daughter paint my fingernails. Cosmo quality, wouldn't you say?


But, as with most good things, they must end sooner or later, and ours ended sooner.
From left to right:
Wildman
Caleb (volunteer)
Elisa (Wildman's wife)
Miera (volunteer)
Anya (sp? - volunteer)
Wonderful people all. We will miss them.


And doncha know? Only a couple hours down the road, we needed some MEAT!
So we stopped & tore through some burgers like rabid hyenas. Oh my, they tasted good.
Burp . . .

Now, I will leave you with some of the scenery we were forced to gaze at during the weekend.
The sacrifices we make.




















The creek, before & after the rain:


And finally, from the trip home. You gotta love the Appalachians!

photo by Soozi








So, it's like, over a week later, and the color on my leg is finally fading.
Although now, every once in awhile, it feels like bugs are crawling on the spot that hit.
Ewwww.

Gesundheit Day 2 - A Lotta Work & A Little Play

It rained a lot throughout the night, and was still drizzling on Saturday morning,
so outdoor chores were set aside in favor of indoor chores.

Wildman had 2 big jobs for us to work on.
Keep in mind that the Adams Family hadn't been here long. There was a lot to do.

1 - Clean the library - take all the books down, dust them, and paint the walls.

2 - Work in the greenhouse.

He didn't really explain what the greenhouse entailed, or maybe I just didn't hear it,
so I had visions of happy little plants and digging in some dirt.
Kind of like being outside, right?
My hand goes up for the greenhouse, as I hate dusting.
He said that only 3 of us would fit out there (???), so I and my 2 accomplices ventured out back.

Here's the greenhouse from the outside, on the back of the farmhouse:

photo by Anne

We hadn't really taken a good look at it the day before, during our tour.
Looks so innocent, right?

Oh nooooooo!

Now, here's the deal. And here's what I didn't know when visions of those happy little plants were circling around my woefully misinformed brain. The last land manager kind of let things go, so the greenhouse, which by nature should contain green growing things, was used as a chicken coop for several years. There was nothing green in there. And the only thing growing was our apprehension, along with a possible plethora of bird flu viruses.

This is our introduction to the room of doom:


Oh, the humanity!

The WHOLE place was covered in chicken droppings, cobwebs, dead bugs, and all manner of nastiness that was kicking up some foul (fowl!) dust as we started on the work. We thought of inhaling all that dust and contracting deadly diseases which would leave our loved ones to plan our funerals in a few weeks, so the first thing we did was ask for masks.

Have you ever worn a mask for hours? It starts to stink. You can't breathe.
But, given the choice of stinky mask or pestilence, we chose the stink.

There was a pile of dirt, waist high (I kid you not), on one side of the room.

photo by Soozi

I swear to you, we found a scapula in there.
We brought it home.

The boss wanted me to take a sniff, and since I want to keep my job, I just had to, ya know?

photo by Ann

At least the pile is gone now.


While they working on the pile at the bottom, I was at the top half, clearing chicken droppings, cobwebs, dead bugs, and other nastiness that was covering absolutely everything.

It was falling on my head. AARRGGHH!

Then, we had to shovel out the top half-foot or so of dirt that was in the raised bed, as it was nothing but chicken sh*t.

Holy cow!

But, oh gee, look at the time. It was 11:00, and since I was signed up for lunch duty, I had to leave them. Shucks.
*saunters off to the kitchen grinning & whistling*

And yes, I cleaned up first. Geez. (I heard you Mom)

But what of our compadres in the library? It looked like this when we got there:




This is what it looked like when they got done with it:


Hoohoohooheeheehee. Just kidding.
This is what it looked like when they stopped for lunch.
But really, they did exactly what Wildman asked them to.
Some of the books had been used by the mice in not very nice ways,
and all the books had to come down in order to clean them & paint, which they started after lunch.

They found a snake skin. In the library.


But truthfully, we didn't have time to finish either job.
That's okay. Wildman assured us that he hadn't expected us to,
but we made a f'ntastic start, better than he expected,
(he is truly the nicest man)
and the next group of volunteers (coming in a week) would continue.

Although we learned later that one of the people that was already there finished the painting after we left.
That means he also had to put all the books back?
We're sorry Caleb.

Plus, we had that good, satisfied feeling of hard work. That's what we were here for, after all.

After lunch, we went back to our chores for awhile, then the powers-that-be decided it was time for a break.
We hiked around the lake & up to the waterfalls. Oh my!
Those pictures in my next post. Heh.

Oh, and as I was getting down off my perch in the greenhouse,
my foot slipped on the mucky bottom step and I slammed the bottom of my shin on the edge of the next step.
By evening, it was bright red & swollen.
A few days later, the color had spread down each side of my foot and across the top.
As I type this (a week later), it still has a rainbow hue.
Why did the discoloration spread to places that weren't touched?
They'll probably have to amputate soon.

After dinner, it was time for more fun & games,
although the first thing we did wasn't so much fun as it was inspiring.
Wildman showed us another video of Patch's trip to Kabul during the war.
Here is an excerpt:



It was a very powerful film.

Afterwards, time for balloon animals.
Seriously, everyone needs times to just clown around (pun intended) and act like a big kid.
We made all kinds of things out of balloons - flowers, dogs, bees, hats, octopusseses, palm trees with bananas (Wildman made that one).
And yes, he knows bananas don't grow on palm trees, but his monkey had to have something to eat.

photo by Anne


photo by Soozi


photo by Soozi


photo by Soozi


photo by Soozi

Really, being at Gesundheit is an excellent way to get in touch with your inner goof.


photo by Anne

Next - our last morning & all the scenery.

Gesundheit - The Buildings

photo by Soozi

Before I describe our activities for the rest of the weekend, let me give you a little tour of the place.
It was nothing like we expected.

Gesundheit! consists of 317 acres, 6 main buildings, 2 tents, 1 lake, 1 river, several creeks, 1 treehouse, and several waterfalls. Here's Google Earth aerial view with the main buildings marked.


Scenery on the next post, but first, the buildings.
I'll put the pictures in order of what you would see as you come to the place.
(When you see no photo credit, the picture is mine.)
As you turn off the little 1-lane road, the first thing you see is . . .

The Abandoned Barn - this was derelict & really beautiful.
We took lots of pictures, especially on Sunday when the sun was shining & the sky was blue.



photo by Soozi

The 3-Story Workshop is next.
Although, I think more fun occurs here than work.
There's a woodworking shop, a performing arts studio (with the COSTUME CLOSET!),
and a conference room.

photo by Soozi


photo by Anne




photo by Anne





Then the road winds around to the parking lot . . .


. . . and you cross a footbridge requiring significant repair (soon to be completely rebuilt) to the main compound.

The Farmhouse - the main building is old, with additions tacked on. Here are the big kitchen, dining room, small sitting room, library, greenhouse & office upstairs.
Gobs & gobs of character here.

photo by Anne












Wildman doing some caulking in the dining room.

photo by Soozi

The main living quarters are housed in the coolest of all buildings, called
The Dacha - a large multi-level house with a kitchen, living rooms, bedrooms & bathrooms, all scattered and tucked up & around stairwells. Easy to get lost.

photo by Anne


photos by Anne




photo by Soozi




photo by Soozi


photo by Soozi








Our sleeping quarters

All the handrails were smooth logs . . .


. . . and the showers all had beautiful mosaic tilework.







photo by Anne

Those are the main buildings. The others are used for meeting space or dormitories:

Can't remember the name of this one, but it was a tiny little gnome's house used for a meeting room:






The Yurts - permanent floored tents with bunches of bunk beds:



photo by Anne - and no, it's really level


photo by Soozi

Another building used as a dormitory:


And one that I have no clue about:

photo by Soozi

A view of the farmhouse & Dacha:

photo by Anne

And the message that welcomes everyone who comes for a day or a month,
in a different language on all 4 sides:

photo by Soozi

Gesundheit Day 1 - Getting There

There were 3 of us taking pictures all weekend, so I'm going to pick & choose among them.
My co-workers have given me permission to do this.
After all, fame & fortune will no doubt follow them as a result.

We set off at 8:00 am on last Friday morning - 8 women, all with different bladder schedules,
on a 6 1/2 hour drive to the wilds of West Virginia.
Once we hit the interstate, we were oohing & aahing at the fall color,

photo by Anne

but it soon turned to driving rain that lasted until we got to the mountains.


I tried to get some pictures of the color, but I was in the middle of the monster van, so it was pretty futile.
Even so, I managed this one that turned out decently.


We made it halfway before we needed a potty break, stopping in Waynesboro.
The parents of one of our party live there, and we all made a beeline for their bathrooms.
All they could do was stare, speechless, at all of us while that was going on.
While we visited for a few minutes, we looked around us. Oh my!
I have a weakness for pretty trees, so bear with me:


And weren't we stupidly excited to see this sign?

photo by Anne

We got off I64 at the quaint little mountain town of Lewisburg.
We were running early, so we killed some time driving around the pretty little town (raining again) . . .

both photos by Anne

. . . looking at its unique atmosphere,

photo by Anne

. . . and noticing the unique shops.


Since we were getting close, we tried to morph ourselves into a Gesundheit frame of mind.
This is our boss,

photo by Anne

who drove the WHOLE WAY there & back. Thank you Soozi.

So, off the interstate, we meandered our way north on Route 219 on twisty turny roads until the turnoff to Gesundheit.
That turned out to be a 1-lane mountain road,


and no sooner had someone wondered what we should do if we met another car
(seriously, the words were still hovering over heads in one of those little balloons),
then we saw this coming our way.


A game of road chicken ensued. The bus won.


And we're here!

photo by Anne

And looky, it's new!


With all the comforts of home.


Just kidding. This is what we were looking for:


It was still rainy & drizzly, so I will save the pictures of the property for tomorrow, after the rain let up.

We were greeted by Wildman Adams (Patch's brother), his wife Elisa and daughter with hugs all around.
And wouldn't you know, none of us got a picture of our first meeting with them. Oops.

They had had a full-time land manager, but Wildman & Patch decided it would be better if family was on the land.
The Adams Family moved there about 2 months ago to stay on full-time.

And no, Patch wasn't there. We missed him by 3 days.
He was there earlier for a group of about 50 medical students doing an elective on humanistic medicine,
complete with lectures, workshops, presentations, and community work.
They had been there for a month and the last of them left just hours before we got there.
There was lots of scurrying to get beds changed and bathrooms cleaned for our arrival.

Look at the pile of laundry waiting to get done. Wildman refused any help with this. Huh?


There were still a few volunteers that stayed on, including one of the medical students.
When we arrived, they were cooking dinner, complete with clown noses. We all got more hugs,


and a thorough tour of the place, but I'll save those pics for the next post.

Here is a picture of us with the Adams Family. That's Wildman in the red shirt with his wife in front of him.

photo by ?

Before I continue, let me say that, even all the food was vegetarian (but not vegan, whew!), it was really really good.
We didn't miss the meat at all
(until the drive home. heh).

After the silly people with clown noses & big knives finished cooking, we all sat down to dinner.


Afterwards, we signed up for our chores for the weekend and went over to the big building to watch a documentary,
"The Real Patch Adams".
It cleared up some of the inaccuracies of the movie and expanded on Patch's work since the end of the movie.
All that information is in the links that I have on the last post, so I won't repeat them here.

After the video, it was time for fun & games. Fun & games is very important in the life of Gesundheit.
So, someone puts him/herself into a position of their choice.
Then their partner, with eyes closed, has to try to figure out the position and replicate it.
It involved lots of touching to figure it out, and they made me promise I wouldn't post the best of those pictures.
Rats!
You would have learned a lot about all these people (if you know what I mean).
But it was pretty hilarious. Here's one of the tamer ones.


Wildman, Elisa, and everyone else there were incredibly welcoming, and we immediately felt like part of the family.
I don't think I can say I have ever been welcomed more warmly.


Tomorrow, we're put to work. After all, that's why we went.