As always, it was a good year. Spent time with both sides of the family. We had to take our puppies with us--Jak Jak had kennel cough. Ate too much food, had too many laughs, had too little time with my brother, but it was a good time. My nephew broke his arm and had to go to the ER, he is doing well now.

We spent our time with our neighbors. There was a little drinking and lots of chatting. It was a good night. What I am completely overwhelmed by is my Squeezebox Radio from Logitec to stream internet radio in any room in the house that has wi-fi connectivity. There are some really (REALLY) good internet radio stations available. So far Sky.fm has some of the best 80s and Jazz channels.

We spent the holiday with family. Christmas day was with my in-laws. They were too good to me. They just went down my Amazon list and bought them. We spent a few days after Christmas with my family. Our niece and nephew were spoiled by us. My family spoiled me.

I, my brother, sister-in-law, their kids, my wife, mom, dad, my brother's in-laws and my brother's niece went to Disneyland the day after Thanksgiving. We woke up early, 4:00am, to get on the road.

This year is our tenth anniversary. Michelle planned our trip to Maui--she is much better at planning than I am. We left for Maui on Sept. 10th at 7:00am. The early flight allowed us to upgrade to first class seating. After ten years of marriage, why not upgrade to better seats? We picked up our rental car after the 5 hour flight and drove to the Ka'anapali Westin on the the southwest side of the island. I made a promise to myself that during this trip I would touch the ocean everyday. I kept my promise.

On Sunday in San Leandro there was the annual Sausage and Suds Festival. The festival featured the local fire department (Alameda County) and the police department. They were handing out hats to the young kids. The "Biergarten" was set up in the Englander's parking lot. The first stop was the ID check table where I got a nice wrist band that identified me as legal to drink. Next up was the glass and ticket counter where for $20 I received a pint glass marked with the year's logos and three drink tickets. There was a wine table and of course a long line of beers on tap.

If there is one thing I wish I could do with my friends is sit down to plates of cheeses and share good wines. This has never happened with my friends but my in-laws set on hell of a spread of cheeses and wines. There were two lazy-susans filled with more than 25 cheeses ranging from mild brie to very sharp blue cheese. Here is a list of some of my favorites:

Mild
Ste. Andre Brie
Petite Basque
Mahon (Spanish)
Gourmandise au Kirsch

Medium
Gruyere (cave aged)
Manchego (Spanish)
Dubliner

Strong
Gouda (Winchester Farms extra sharp)
Point Reyes Blue
Societe Roquefort

On Saturday my family and I went to the Winchester Mystery House (www.winchestermysteryhouse.com) to take the tour. Before the tour we walked through the historical firearms museum where guns from civil war times right up to the last century were displayed.

Our guide was very knowledgable about the Lady (Mrs. Winchester) and the house she haphazardly build. The tour was quite cheep ($24 for Michell and I and $21 for my Parents). I recommend this tour for anyone who can walk a mile unaided.

From München to Penzberg:
Drive south on A95

From Penzberg to Füssen (Schloss Neuschwanstein):
A95 south
B472 West through Uffing, Schöffan, Böbing, Pischlach
Cross over the 23 near Ilgen
17 south toward Füssen

From Penzberg to Ettlingen
A95 north to München
96 west
99 north
A8 west toward Stuttgart, Ulm, Augsberg
A5 south to Ettlingen

From Ettlingen to Heidelberg
A5 north
Exit east on 535 to Speyerer straße

From Penzberg to Gstadt am Chiemsee
head east toward Bad Tölz on 472 (pass through Miesbach)
13 east toward Prien and Salzburg

Hello all,

Well the last week has come and gone. It was all work, and lots of it. I will be leaving soon on my way back to Michelle. Would I do this again for work and for a vacation? Genau. But I would much rather share the experiences with Michelle and stay for a couple of weeks not a month. I have had many great experiences while here in Deutschland and in Österreich.