The ceremony was as powerful as one can expect. We lucked out with a great spot in the crowd, and the Honor Band, Honor Guard, and Color Guard were pretty close to us. At some point all the phones in the crowd came out and we eventually figured out that the POTUS was just through the other side of the crowd.

I took photos, but due to gadget misplacement I only had my cell phone and not an actual camera. I’m still glad I got what I did though, and you can find them here: Veteran’s Day 2011. There’s also a few videos, but they’re crappy cellphone videos with constant wind noises that I probably won’t take the time to edit.

AK’s taking over as Dungeon Master, so I wrote a little something to mark the milestone. Seamus McMutton is my Elf Paladin character.

And, Mom, before you call with questions: it’s just a game, trust me. Still call, of course, but I wanted you to know.

As our adventurers begin to wear out their Hero’s Welcome in Wintervale, Seamus adjusts slightly in his perch above the lake. The ale sits well in his belly but he hasn’t been able shake the notion that something out there… in the cosmos… is different. The feeling has been there for almost a fortnight, nagging at his soul, and finally the ritual prayers to Avandra have provided some insight. Through the twinkling hours of night and into this faerie dawn he sat, meditating, his lips uttering the holy rites almost without his knowing. Then, suddenly, the swirling thoughts of his mind begin to shape as he’s snapped from his trance by an approaching creature- a human, judging by the scent.

“Guthlac- I told you not to disturb me.”

“Yes, Seamus, but I too sense something strange, and you’ve been out here all night. Did you learn anything?”

“I saw… a marionette… leaping flames… and I heard- I heard cackling.”

“Hmm. And what does it mean?”

“The Puppet Master has changed.”

We’re on the juxtaposition of Days 10 & 11 of our 12-day Europe 2010 trip; I only have 5 days of the trip successfully blogged and 6 days cataloged via Photo Albums. The upside is that the reasons are 30% technical issues and 70% lack of time due to doing so many things in Europe. I hope to catch up on the long plane ride home, or within the next week. If I let it wait more than 2 weeks, it may not ever get done, which would really suck.

I could spend time now thumbing through photos and recounting days past of memories, but I really don’t want to. I’d rather fire off a Journal article about the trip in general, “pontificate” a little, and then do random internet things until I get sleepy. I must admit- the lacking availability of random internet things is definitely something I miss. There hasn’t been ONE single public wi-fi hotspot in Germany or Switzerland, despite > 3 dozen attempts over 9 days. I keep jokingly telling QT that “free public wi-fi could take this country by storm- BY STORM!” but I know the reasons are rooted in local culture as well as technical and legal limitations.

This trip to Europe has rekindled my interest and appreciation of… well, basic humanity. To continue to babble on about the trip has the potential to undermine it’s value, because it’s an experience, and not just some online blog article.

Gute Nacht.