Bucharest trip April 20th 

It rained the whole way and seemed to get worse the closer we got to our four hour destination.  It was a trip we had not made from our new home.  The first part of the trip was mountainous and beautiful.  When the rain got really heavy we were in more open road with a freeway - added blessing.

 I was pretty sure I didn't want to trade our pretty green car for a blue.  Check out the license plate.  

Elder Brown thought we ought to at least check out the bigger car.  

As you see, with Rand holding our suitcase, the new blue won us over with many upgrades that our bare bone green didn't have.  the problem we had was that the green car, by the time we decided to trade, had already been sent to have winter tires replaced with summer tires.  Our belongings were difficult to round up as they had set some of our stuff out at the mission storage so they could put four tires in the car to travel to the tire store.  Thanks to the Majerans, the office couple who found the items we missed and sent them to us with this last transfer.

Now that we've been here 6 months we are running into some of our beloved missionaries.  Elder Hubbard now serves in Bucharest and was at the mission office looking up something in Arabic for an investigator who speaks that language.

Next we drove to Ploisti to spend the night on our way to Brasov.  There is an actual church building for the members in Ploisti.  We went there for our first zone conference the day after we arrived in Romania last Oct. We took time to find the building and sure enough, more missionaries that we either knew or had heard of.  They helped us find the nearest grocery store.   Missionaries are always ready to pose for a picture.

The mall with the grocery store had a fun celebration of spring.  It was still rainy so nice to be indoors.

 We enjoyed our hotel, Vigo Grand Hotel because it had a bath tub to soak in after cold rain for the last two days.

Our reason for traveling to Brasov was to do apartment checks in the three missionary apartments there.  With no senior couple, we were assigned the job.  We got a picture of the elders but forgot when we got to Sora Wyatt and Sora Jerez's apartment.  We knew the sisters and had more fun talking and forgot to get pictures.

 The Elders were easy to find and both lived in the same apartment complex.  They did a great job cleaning their apartments and were so proud.

 Our Elder Cochran, now serving in Sibiu had served in Brasov and recommended we check out Sapte Scari (seven ladders).  This was a hike to waterfalls accessed by ladders.  It sounded just our style and we had an afternoon to spare and the views were magnificent.

 So glad that the rain had let up and we didn't have to carry an umbrella to the hiking trail we only had vague directions to.

 Our vague directions led us directly to the trail, so fortunate.

 Here is the water from the water fall.  Now, how far to the falls?

 The spring green in the deciduous trees was so strikingly beautiful and the trail was longer than we suspected.

 Laced throughout the area were ramps to zip lines.  Not sure how you get to use those but they must have a ball.  This is one of the zip line ladders not the water fall ladders.

 An hour and a half later we find the ladders.

 This ladder was 4 stories.  Most were less than two stories high but the scenery magnificent 

 This is the Jewish couple from Israel who helped me get back to the car.  Rand and I got separated when he went looking for a tree to take a leak.  Thinking I would go a ways and wait up we got separated and I got so turned around I kept ending up back at the ladders.  Guess I hadn't had enough of them but I was becoming exhausted and the ranger at the "ladders" didn't speak English and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.  After the second return he hooked me up with this couple and I followed them till I got past the place where I was getting turned around.  So glad, they were such sweet people to help out an old lady. 

 Rand came looking for me and it was a happy reunion.  Here is another view of our new car.  It is such a joy to ride in even though I can't find it in the parking lot.

Tomorrow is our 38th wedding anniversary so we decided to take the day and visit Bran Castle.  Next blog page will feature that trip.