The Three Musketeers!

On the evening of October 20th, Kim, Bernie and I boarded the USO bus and headed out to Boleslawiec, Poland for some Polish Pottery shopping. The bus ride was a long eight hours with all the stops. However, it was nice to just sit back with the gals and chat while the bus driver did all the work. I must admit being on a bus when you're nine weeks pregnant doesn't help the nausea, but I pushed through it. Anything for good shopping!! We arrived in Poland early Saturday morning and hit the road running. We started at about 6 a.m. and shopped until about 5 p.m non stop. We did stop for some delicious perogies for lunch, but just to refuel so we could keep shopping. The highlight of the day was when the tour bus left us at a ceramic shop. The area had several shops in a close vicinity so the guide gave us a 1.5 hour time line for shopping. Kim, the punctual one of the group, noticed twenty minutes before the scheduled departure that the bus was no longer in sight. I was in line buying a piece of pottery I had been looking for all day and decided to stay put. Bernie, the technological one, got out her paperwork and cell phone and started making calls. After several minutes had passed, Kim decided to run down the street to check near by shops for the bus. The three of us could hardly believe that the bus had actually left us. While in line Bernie and I chatted up some gals from Ramstein (another near by base) and secured ourselves a ride back with them if need be. After 40 minutes passed, the bus pulled back into the parking lot and the guide came off the bus with his head hung low. We were ready to let him have it, until he started apologizing profusely. He stated that a bunch of ladies had walk up the street and hit another store. He asked if we were in the group and they said yes. The three of us jumped back on the bus and decided it was all part of our grand adventure. Besides, we had more shopping to do. We finished out our day and arrived back in Stuttgart early Sunday morning. Overall the trip was a large success. I found lots of great pieces for myself, friends and family. I also had a wonderful time just hanging with my girls.

On the bus...ready to spend some money in Poland!!