Back to the Old 'Hood

A new friend and I made the trip up to Ramstein yesterday. Ramstein is where I lived in '97-'98, when I lived here before. It is about two hours north of here. We left around 9am Saturday and spent the day shopping, eating, and driving around the base to see how much it had changed in 12 years. They have a big mall on base now, with a Food Court, complete with several American fast food chains. (Taco Bell, Subway, plus a ton of AAFES favorites like Anthony's Pizza and Frank's Franks.) They also have a Macaroni Grill and multiplex movie theater upstairs. Quite different from back in the day when we had to "rough it." :) There's a Chili's on base now, although it isn't in the mall. We went to Chili's for lunch and I enjoyed a Buffalo Chicken Salad, just like at home! Yay! It was lovely! It was neat to drive around the base and go by the high school. I look forward to going back on a school day to see the teachers who are still there. The next trip, I plan to spend some time off-base, in some of the villages in the area that used to be our old stomping grounds. Fun!