Now Tracy's here too!

On Memorial day, May 30th, Tracy and her family flew into town to see some sights. Lee was still here, so we loaded up both cars and headed south.


First we went to Schloss  Linderhof. Here are Connor, Steve, Tracy, and Kaylea in front of the palace:

I can't take credit for this picture. Tracy took it. This sign was right above the toilet. I was glad they gave us helpful tips on how NOT to use the toilet. That could have been embarrassing for me:

Erick and David were with us for the first half of the day (they headed home with Bailey and TJ, so they could get to bed on time):

 TJ found a new best friend in Connor. Connor played with him and watched out for him. It was a good day for TJ:

This is the first time we toured inside the castle. It was magnificent, but we were not allowed to take pictures. We were, however, allowed to take pictures in the Venus Grotto. King Ludwig had this fake grotto built in the mountain side. It looked like a location in one of his favorite operas. He spent a lot of time in this fake grotto alone. He could change the lighting and escape the world outside.

After doing a little shopping in Ettal, quickly driving through Oberamergau, and filling up the gas tanks in Garmisch, we said goodbye to Erick and headed for the castle ruins of Ehrenberg in Austria:

Seriously, I have the coolest family. I'm so glad they all came to visit me!

This castle/fortress was first constructed in 1290. It grew and had many parts added on throughout the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Mainly the additions were for greater security. This castle saw many battles and was taken and retaken (I just quoted myself from a blog post in summer of 2010).

Me with my sister (love you Tracy!):

Lee and Connor and Kaylea hanging out of windows:

Joey got to stay for the rest of the day with the "big kids:"

Uh-oh, Connor's in trouble. I wonder if I could get one of these in my house for time outs:

Next stop, a little late in the day: Neuschwanstein. 

I had just picked up Tracy's family that morning from the airport in Munich. They were jet lagged and tired, but they were troopers on this long day:

Obviously, Lee and Tricia were not tired:

View looking down from the castle:

When we got to the castle gate, they were closing. Tricia violently tried to force her way in (ha ha):

Tracy was more patient, and tried knocking to get in:

They actually were just getting ready to close the doors, but they let us into the courtyard first. Then they closed the big doors behind us as we left.

Then we headed to the bridge to take pictures. I got a picture with my girl, Joey:

On our way down the mountain, Lee got us lost on tiny trails in the woods. Eventually he got us to where we wanted to go. It was quite an adventure! We then ate some traditional Bavarian food at a restaurant we found in town. Good times!