Here's a list of a few of our hobbies,
projects and interests.
Travel - We travel a lot, mostly for work but
sometimes for pleasure. A lot of the trips have been
cruises on Holland America, Princess, or Cunard ships. Here's a summary of our cruises
so far:
Alaska on Holland America's Veendam
in 2003 for our honeymoon, with Heidi's Aunt Kay and Uncle Dick.
Alaska on Holland America's Statendam
in 2005 with Heidi's parents.
Canada and New England on the Princess' Star
Princess in 2006 with Heidi's parents.
Transatlantic, New York to Southampton, in 2007 on Cunard's Queen
Mary 2 with Karl's Mom for her birthday.
Transatlantic, Southampton to New York, in 2009, again
on Cunard's Queen
Mary 2. There is just no ship and no trip like a transatlantic
crossing on the Queen Mary. Here's a scan of the hymn sheet for
the Sunday morning service on the Queen Mary. Very British, and
very moving to sing some of these on an ocean liner in the middle of the
Atlantic. Queen_Mary_2_Hymns_2009.pdf
Cozumel Mexico and Key West on Carnival's
Destiny out of Miami, March 2011 with Heidi's parents. The
cruise was fun, food was excellent, snorkeling off a catamaran in
Cozumel was a blast -- but we won't do Carnival again. We knew
Carnival was a budget cruise line, but too many of the passengers could
be characters on the TV show Jersey Shore.
Transatlantic, Southampton to New York, August 2011, yet again
on Cunard's
Queen
Mary 2. This time we'll be sailing with Karl's father and
Jordan. Classic, elegant, there's nothing like the Queen Mary.
One of our favorite websites for all this cruise stuff is www.cruisecritic.com,
and our userid is kthoennes.
Boating - In the spring of 2009 we bought a
19-foot Bayliner power boat and usually take it to Lewis & Clark Lake above
Gavins Point Dam on the Missouri River near Yankton, SD. Here's a nice
YouTube video of our boat, the dog, and the cliffs on the South Dakota side of
Lewis & Clark Lake on a fall evening.
Wine - Mostly reds, some Chardonnays,
very seldom anything German because they're too sweet and heavy, and now
some French wines since they elected a new president. A particularly good wine
we found lately is the 2002 Jim Neal "Chariot Diana." Here's
a sample of the Chariot label.
The Sangiovese was a little thin, but
the Diana was dark, heavy, and a great buy for around $13. According
to Jim Neal himself, the 2002 Diana sold out, but the next batch was
shipped in April 2006. Another great wine we found recently is
Montevina's Terra d'Oro, Amador County, California. Big, lush, fruity
taste but with a lot of depth and character, lots of cherry, probably the
best wine we know for the price lately.
Cooking - Heidi is a great cook. In a cooking
competition she could slap Gordon Ramsay silly until he cried and begged for
mercy. Here she is in the midst of the creative process.
Woodworking - Karl is an avid
woodworker. One of his favorite websites is the woodworker's
forum on www.woodnet.net.
because they're too sweet and heavy, and now
some French wines since they elected a new president. A particularly good wine
we found lately is the 2002 Jim Neal "Chariot Diana." Here's
a sample of the
