Today, we left a little earlier.

It is about a 1/2 hour drive to Bundenbach through Rhaunen. We got there on time. I had “warned” them that we were coming at about 10 a.m. I don’t know if they knew what hit them.

We started off with the tour of the celtic village. The tour guide tried to wear us out by taking the shorter route. We did actually make it to the top of the hill. He told me that his English was very rusty because he hadn’t used the vocabulary for an English speaking group in some time. He did very well, though, just having a little trouble finding the correct words, though. But we helped him out. (Now, Julie, what were the buildings built out of...?)

We took the longer way down back to the slate mine. We got to put on helmets. The poor guide, still stumbling over the language... What was that “thing”?
“And now, back to the tour...”, we climbed all over the caves. They had dummies (no, I don’t mean us) placed all over to show what working down in the slate mines was like. (Julie, Jennifer: Did you ever figure out what that one guy was supposed to be doing...?) For some odd reason, probably they thought we had had enough already, we weren’t even OFFERED a schnaps.

Barbara Roberts (fresh from the airplane from Sweden), my father and Crystal brought us a picnic lunch. I think everyone else at the picnic area was impressed.

After we cleaned up the picnic area, we hiked back up to the bus and continued on our way to Idar-Oberstein. Here, everyone had several hours of leisure time on their own.

I started to go up the “church in the rocks”, and gave up at a bench half way up. Ended up “directing traffic” while I waited for everyone to come back down. I think they went up to the castles above the church, too.

We headed back to “Housing”. Everyone freshened up and changed. Tonight was our “dinner-dance”. The “Meet and Greet” started at about 7 p.m. We had several “locals” come this evening, so there were plenty more hugs and kisses.

We had supper catered (“Schnitzel” with different sauces, potatos and salad). We ate about 8:30 p.m., because McMorrans landed from their vacation in Ireland at about 8.

Afterwards, my father and I made our speeches. I actually made it through mine without crying. All of my attempts rehearsing it came to a halt because I couldn’t see my printed words...)

It just so happened that Mr. McMorran brought an old yearbook to show us. It was the one from 1967. Such are coincidents, Barbara Roberts was FROM Class of 1967. She hadn’t even seen the yearbook during High School. She was very happy when they presented it to her to keep.

We then opened the dance with the theme song “The Dance (Garth Brooks)” Quite a few did actually dance. I think one dance was belated... That dance pretty much ended the “dance” portion of the “dinner-dance”, too ;-) Everyone wanted to talk, talk, talk.

Udo and I passed out the little gift bags to everyone. In them, we had packed: a piece of slate (carved with the date of the reunion), some semi-precious gemstones, a pen, pin and a little towlette from the airport, some brochures, some little bags of “Gummibears” (Or, as Carlos would say “Gummis”) Even the bag had a meaning. It was sewn out of material left over decades ago from at-home sewing of curtains for the Base. We attached a little wooden rooster (“Hahn “=> “rooster”) that we actually found in the school colors.

Jennifer and Julie gave out gifts later to all of my “little helpers” (who I cannot thank enough for their help)