On September 18th we moved Avery into his dorm at Western. I think for all of us, our feelings were all over the place in the weeks leading up to it. Excitement, sadness, anxiety and sentimental feelings each took their turn. The day of, there was lots to do, and quite honestly, in addition to all the feelings about Avery, I was excited to see how he and Ryan’s room would come together! I think it turned out really cute!
Ryan, from San Francisco, had moved in a few days earlier. We took him out to lunch with us after getting Avery settled in the room. He’s super nice and we were relieved and excited that Avery seemed to have lucked out in the roommate department. After we brought them back to the dorm and finished setting everything up, it was time to say goodbye. We’re so proud of our boy, feel confident about where he’s at and can’t wait to see what he does this year. Go Vikings!
With his roommate, Ryan
All packed up
In the car on the ride up
Same place, 27 years earlier!
Avery’s Lego world map
I surprised Avery with this pillow at move-in. It says “text your mom” on the other side.
Getting set up on his computer
We took Avery and Ryan out to lunch at Fiamma Burger
We survived! Grabbed our (last) celebratory beer at Boundary Bay before they close their doors for good after 30 years.
Last supper before college dropoff
Friends since preschool
Last night as a resident for a while
Saying goodbye
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We decided to tack on a trip to Munich for my birthday since we were already in Europe until the 26th. I’m so glad we did. It’s a birthday I’ll always remember! Here we are celebrating at Augustiner Beer Garden. The vibe there is SO Bavarian!
We bought Avery his first beer here
Don’t worry, that’s not a dark lager, Kieron opted for root beer
First meal in Munich at Zum Brunnstein
Our first meal in Germany had lots of sausage, sour kraut & German-style potato salad.
Here’s what happened the morning of my birthday. We originally planned to go to Neuschwanstein on my birthday and Dachau the following day because who wants to go to a concentration camp on their birthday? Well, we had some trouble with the trains and ended up in traffic in a taxi, and arrived at the tour company literally one minute late. By then our bus had left without us! Fortunately, the tour company worked with us and was able to switch our tours so we could do the camp on my birthday and the castle the next day. I’m so thankful we were still able to do both, but it made for a somber birthday. I was on the verge of tears half the day!
Solitary confinement
Neuschwanstein! I love the crazy story about this castle and it’s creator.
Uncle Scott, same place, 44 years earlier!
1981
Don’t ask me what he’s playing!
Taking a carriage to the castle in 1981
I always thought this picture of me was taken of me looking out the little window at the top of the castle – but I just learned it is not! It’s from some other castle in Europe.
At Kinder Paradise, 1984
Downtown Munich. I love that my birthday falls on Pride Weekend
We stopped in Pompeii on our way to Sorrento and had a small guided tour of the ruins. It was incredible and sad to imagine the final moments of its citizens. If I’m being honest, we were coming off three days of tours in Rome and we were all tired, hot, “ruined out” and ready to relax. I think we all trudged through the tour, anxious to get to our hotel. It was however, interesting to learn that 1/3 of Pompeii remains uncovered, and to see what a city from that time really looked like.
Carriage tracks
A cast of a teenage girl
We made it to our hotel in Sorrento, the Hotel Riviera! Time to relax!
We liked the Beach Club!
Getting White Lotus Season 2 vibes!
Had the BEST dinner of our trip here at this little seafood restaurant!
A cool model boat in our hotel
We took a private boat to Capri one day. On the way, we stopped for a little snorkeling. Once there, we ate lunch, rode the chairlift to Ana Capri, got gelato and did a little shopping.
Here’s a cave we passed on our way.
We took the chair lift up to Ana Capri
At the top
Headed back down
Someone learned to shave on our trip!
Our favorite thing we did in Sorrento was a private cooking class with a local chef, Guglielmo (William), on his family farm, which has been in his family for more than 500 years! He picked us up in his Ape Calessino.
The farm included a veggie garden, lemon grove and animals. They produce olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Chef Guglielmo (William) is passionate about using only the best and purest ingredients. We made bruschetta, gnocci, and chicken piccata.
