Could you pass the Effingham?

Dan traveled five hours through a snow storm to visit his high school friend, Vic. This is footage was taken late at night, after a GREAT Ricky Skaggs concert at the illustrious Effingham Rosebud Convention Center.

Vic's thirteen year-old son, Joe, lent his talent as sound engineer (and videographer), because he's the only one who really knows how to work the recording equipment.

Dan's head was cut off in the chaos that ensued.

Sverige

As my trip draws to an end, I wanted to get a few more pictures into the blog. Once I get home, it will be days before I emerge from my transatlantic fuzz and my children allow me the time to post.

I have been asked to return home a few days early in anticipation of more travel later this month. Sigh.

Since I last posted, Ivan finished his stint and went home. He is a really unique guy. On the outside, he is a good looking, stylish Italian with the accent that makes American girls swoon. But for those who get to know him better, you will understand he is just a pretty death metal boy who is lots of fun.

We saw some great scenery. I won't bore you with lots of pictures of buildings, but I will share a few of my favorites to give you a flavor of the city.

Okay, so I am easily amused. It's an outdoor pee stall.

Every meal was a new adventure. We had Pakistani, Chinese, Thai, Italian, South American, and oh yeah, Swedish. We collected a business card from every restaurant and marked it with our collective rating.

Yep, I ate Reindeer for dinner. Being the daughter of hunter, it did not upset me but did cause a lot of discussion on how unfortunate it was for Bambi or Rudolph.

Finally, the best part of the trip was getting to know my niece better. She was an excellent traveling companion and I hope she saves enough money to play hookey again soon.

Välkommen till Stockholm!

My work has taken me to beautiful Stockholm, Sweden for a few weeks. I am joined by my multi-cultural deployment team. Pictured from left Matt (UK), Dennis (China) and Ivan (Italy).

Most of the city hotels were booked due to conventions, so we ended up at a small artist's retreat toward the south end of the city called Maude's Hotel in Enskede.

I also am excited that my niece Claire has decided to skip school and get international experience. Given that my days are not my own due to work, Claire ventures out on her own on the T-Bana (subway) to explore the city. I am not sure I would have been that adventurous at 16!

Over the weekend, we explored the Queen's Garden which has a public skating rink.

We ventured to Vasamuseet (The Vasa Museum) which had a recovered ship from 1628. The ship was delivered ahead of schedule in 2.5 years (usually ships this large took 4-5 years). They obviously cut out QA, because the ship sunk only 20 minutes into its maiden voyage due to being top heavy.

We decided to try the Stockholm Ice Bar (yes, it is made entirely of ice). You needed to wear a special overcoat so that you did not melt your seat. Even the glasses are pure ice. Note to my brother Greg: Claire was only drinking Ligonberry Juice (I swear!)

I took a picture of the beautiful Swedish Opera House for my dad-in-law.

More to come as work allows.

Happy New Year!