Packed and ready

   Packing is different when there's a whole car's worth of space. When I'm living out of one suitcase for a week or two, I know what to bring. This trip will have summertime driving, mountain golf, hiking and rafting all followed by a couple of nice restautants afterward for dinner. I decided to use my Conectiv black hole bag that my work-friend George gave me. 

    I leave in the morning after a very fun Fathers Day weekend; the first day of driving will probably be the least interesting. I'll head for Chicago and see how far I get on the busy roads. The days after will be better driving through Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. 

   My car is well equipped with entertainment: satellite and internet radio, iPod, podcasts, and an audio book. Lots to choose from. I'll have my cell phone if anyone wants to chat or text.

   I'll try to post daily to my travel blog but I still haven't figured out how to do comments; you may have to join Google+ to send comments. It might be easier to just email or text if you care to, so feel free which ever is easiest. 

   I'll miss my family and friends for the weeks that I'm away, but it'll be an adventure. Have a good week …

Reunion Trip

 

  I got a call from the past a couple of months ago. Rob Panowicz, my roommate aboard my first ship USS Sumter said he was organizing a reunion of the wardroom. He and Kevin Cummings were making calls to see who was available to come for a week in Whistler, BC Canada . 

   Rob and his wife Linda are graciously hosting us at the ski resort outside of Vancouver for the week of June 22nd.  Most of the 13 guys and their wives can come and it'll be the first time I'll see most of them since I left the Sumter in June of 1971. This was a special group of guys and I really enjoyed working and living with them all when I was first in the navy.

   I have some open weeks in my busy golf schedule so I decided to use this opportunity to drive cross country, something I really will enjoy. I am planning my route now and Mary will fly to and from Vancouver to meet me for the week.

Mary was close with the wives too and it'll be so interesting to hear stories about how we've spent our lives since we last saw one another.

   I'm on a 6 day schedule for my trip west but I have more time for the return and I'll try to see Canada for the drive home.

  The last few days I've been planning my route and digging old travel books out of the basement. Next week I'll look for old pictures and repack. It's getting close now and I'm excited. I'm planning on shoving off on Monday June 16.

   More along the way …

Amsterdam, last day

   Today we made our way to the Rijks Museum by trolley. We took the Number 9, but it wasn't the line that got the closest, so we had a bit of a walk. It was a nice day and it was pretty around the outer canal rings so we enjoyed the walking just the same.

   We had lunch in the museum restaurant before we looked at the collection. The Dutch Masters were there as well as a couple of Van Gogh's and I really liked a carved statue called "Two Mothers".

   We had dinner at a canal side Dutch restaurant and our meals were the best we had in the city.

   We leave for the airport at 10:00 tomorrow and the whole trip has been great. Ted and Theresa are great traveling companions, having them with us made our trip especially nice.

Amsterdam - Day 2

   Sunday evening we found an Argentine restaurant on a narrow street. The place has a very small kitchen but served good steaks. The Latin music seemed a little strange to me, but we all enjoyed the meal. The night was cool and comfortable as we walked back to our hotel.

   Blog notes …

This was my first trip doing the travel blog using just my I-phone. The old way was to shoot my pics, copy them to my laptop, upload the pics I want to the blog and add the narrative.

The new process works using the Google Blogger app on my phone. I take my blog pics with my phone camera and app lets me upload pics and add a narrative just as easy as sending a text message with a picture attached. 

I was worried the pictures wouldn't look as good as my regular camera but I've been happy with them. I haven't figured out how to view and post any comments I may have gotten, but I'll use my laptop next week and upload any when I get home.

One more day left in Amsterdam but in less than 3 weeks I'll start my Canada trek to meet my old shipmates in Whistler, B. C. I hope to post during my cross country drive.

Thanks for following along with me.

   

Amsterdam Weekend

   When we booked our  Amsterdam hotel a few months ago we felt good about getting a place close to where the ship docked. It is also close to the Central Train Station and Dam Square and on a spring weekend the streets are really busy. Amsterdam seems to be party central with thousands of young people roaming the narrow streets. 

   We made an easy ship to shore transfer, dropped off our bags at our hotel and went off to explore the city. We came back in the afternoon to check in; the rooms were small but with a comfortable bed. 

   For dinner we walked passed the Ann Frank House and found a quiet pub with good food and a friendly house cat named Antonio. We walked home through the crowds but without trouble, once we got better at dodging the bikes and motor bikes that seem to come from everywhere.

   Sunday morning was a much more pleasant walk to breakfast and afterward we hopped a tour bus to the Van Gogh museum. The lines were long to get in but moved along reasonably well and we loved the museum. 

   We still have Sunday night and Monday in the city before our flights home on Tuesday. We're having a great time but are missing everyone at home too.

   

Last Night Onboard

   We cruised further up the Rhine into southern Netherlands today. The river passed through green countryside with cows and horses grazing right down to the waterline.

   We stopped to tour some working windmills with a lecture about coastline, dikes and how the country manages being mostly below sea level.

   We had a wonderful last dinner onboard the ship. The meals were all so good as well as everything else aboard the Viking longship, Tor. 

   In the morning we transfer ashore for three nights in Amsterdam. Still some fun ahead before we return home on Tuesday. 

Cologne

   We spent Thursday in Cologne, northwest Germany; the locals spell it Köln. We toured the old city in the morning and the biggest thing to see by far is the Cologne Cathedral. It's so big and so close to the major parts of the city that it's hard to get a picture of it all unless you're far enough away.

   When we went inside I couldn't believe how high the ceilings are, higher than even in Rome from what I remember. It was started in the 1050's and took 600 years to complete. It was the tallest building in Europe until the Eiffel Tower was built.

   Today was a holiday for Ascension Thursday; it was also Fathers Day locally. This difference here is that Fathers Day is a drinking holiday and all the local pubs were overflowing with guys out the doors, even at noon when we toured by. We had a great lunch in town with Ted and Theresa and  a couple of beers to celebrate Ted's birthday.

   After a great dinner onboard the ship I took a twilight stroll along the river walk in town. It was a great visit, wish it were longer but tomorrow we're off and will cross into The Netherlands.