July 5 (Day 268)

I guess I can finally get to the fun stuff. After the few hours rest at the Sheraton, my friend and I hit the road up to Landstuhl, where my sister's best friend from childhood, Leticia, lives with her family. I was fortunate that I was offered a lift, otherwise I would have needed to take a shuttle or the train, either of which would have cost about $50. It took us just under an hour to make the trip. I was dropped off near the train station in Landstuhl. Now it was time to contact Letty to get a ride to her house. Clare had pointed out a phone booth (I had used one at the Frankfurt airport to let Letty know I was en route) on the corner. They cost 1 euro and do not, evidently, take other coinage, so I popped into the corner store to get change. When I tried to use the phone, however, the euro just fell through to the change slot. I went back into the store to ask if there was another pay phone, but the gentleman at the store simply inquired who I was calling. When I said a friend in town, he let me use his store phone. Good luck with that in the States! I managed to get through to Letty, and about 15 minutes later, she and her husband pulled up.

It was really nice to see Letty and her husband Robert again. It had been quite a few years, maybe a decade or so, since we last saw each other. It was early afternoon by the time we arrived at their house. We spent the rest of the day catching up on “old” times and having quite a few laughs. Robert has the Apple TV, so we availed ourselves of some shows as well. It was a very relaxing afternoon. Making periodic appearances during the afternoon were their three daughters, Summer, Kaitlyn, and Shelby. The girls were a hoot! One even “allowed” me to use her room the two nights I was there. Letty made a delicious dinner of quesdillas (go tex-mex!), and then we settled into a movie to finish off the day. The benefit of being the guest was I got to choose the film. Since I have been downrange for 9 months, I had missed out on a lot. I settled on Wrath of the Titans. Not an Oscar contender to be sure, but a fun popcorn flick. That was June 30.

The next morning, I awoke fairly early (I am used to it at this point), so I went downstairs and started watching some NCIS. I can't wait to get caught up on that show! Since it was a Sunday, the rest of the household slowly began filtering out from their beds. Letty got breakfast going, eggs, potatoes, refried beans, breads and fruits. The next few hours were again filled with chit-chat and just simply lounging around, with some TV thrown in. Mom and Dad were flying in that day, so we waited to hear from them one way or another. We managed to get in the new 21 Jump Street movie. It was funny and I enjoyed watching for the cameos from the original TV series. The one that got me was Johnny Depp. I hadn't heard he actually signed on, so that was a surprise.

Mom and Dad finally manged to find their way to the house early afternoon. It was good to see them in the flesh. We had Skyped several times during my deployment, which is better than a phone call, but it isn't the same as in person. It was a joyful reunion, even though they were both tired from their long journey. They forced themselves to stay up the rest of the day in order to get on the local cycle.

My mother and I needed to exchange some currency, so everyone went to the PX at Rammstein. It was the most elaborate one I have ever seen! Outside of the PX proper (which is larger than the little compound where I work), there were a couple dozen stores (local merchants mostly) along with the requisite food court. We exchanged some of our dollars to euros in preparation for our two-week long festival of fun, and wandered the PX for a bit. Afterwards, we got a bite to eat in the food court, and I topped it off with some ice cream...Peanut Butter Chocolate of course!

We filled up on fuel as well. Let me tell you, it is not cheap! It is somewhere around 1.40 euro per liter for diesel; my parents rental is a BMW 520d. Unfortunately, the euro is stronger than the dollar, even though it looks like it might implode at any time.

We had dinner that evening, bowtie pasta with vegetables, followed by some conversation. Mom and Dad finally called it a day, while the rest of us stayed up and watched another movie. This time it was Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. As with the other “Pirate” movies, it is fairly long, so I did not get to bed until midnight or so. The end of my first official day of leave, July 1.

Well, as that night, I should call it a day. Until tomorrow...