Saturday, December 11, 2010
Today is saturday and snow is falling. Not a lot, but enough to make me annoyed, as it always does when it snows. Of course everyone around me loves the snow. Why do people have to be so annoying and tell me they l o v e snow. Snow is no good for anything.
Fred is not going to be home till late tomorrow or maybe not till sunday. The world of being married to a longhaul truckdriver.
Just found out that the tests for hemocode is 499 dollars. Wonder if our healthinsurance pays for that? Need to go back to the doctor to find out if they even do hemocode testing. Want my life back and if I have an allergy or intolerance, then I will be able to kick whatever habit I am intolerant to and get on with living.
The blackberry phone is still giving me headaches, maybe I am allergic to electronic devices. Call Rogers on monday and see what we can do about the damn phone.
Talk again Sunday.
Fred is not going to be home till late tomorrow or maybe not till sunday. The world of being married to a longhaul truckdriver.
Just found out that the tests for hemocode is 499 dollars. Wonder if our healthinsurance pays for that? Need to go back to the doctor to find out if they even do hemocode testing. Want my life back and if I have an allergy or intolerance, then I will be able to kick whatever habit I am intolerant to and get on with living.
The blackberry phone is still giving me headaches, maybe I am allergic to electronic devices. Call Rogers on monday and see what we can do about the damn phone.
Talk again Sunday.
Labels: Snowy Saturday
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Getting closer to the border. I guess we can tell that we are in Detroit. All you see is signs with cars and even a big tire in case we missed the other signs.
Basketball Territory, "Hoosier Stadium" in Indiana.I guess it's tradition to keep playing a such a old place. Lots of history here.
The dog in the driver's seat is waiting for his master. Pets are usually patient and always sit in the driver's seat.
The sights were amazing. Nice summerdays. Pictures of Dolly Parton and Elvis on all the billboards. We hit a lot of traffic in Bristol, Tenn. and did not know what all the commotion was till we saw all the carhaulers with names of race car drivers. It was nascar race day. Sure ties up traffic.
While the flowers are still in bloom, I think Canada Geese already know fall and winter are around the corner. We saw plenty of them moving south. Getting ready to move and stay warm for the winter. Wish I could join them.
After 2000 miles we've reached our destination. Little Rock, Arkansas. It's night time, and the flag over the truckstop is lit up. A little hard to sleep. Temperature is 110 degree fahrenheit.
Good food in the truck stop. More than we find up north.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Amsterdam has many attractions. We all know about the obvious ones. We could not help but take this picture. Busy place with line-ups outside.
We had a fantastic time and wished we could stay.
Fred drove all over Holland and Belgium. Pity there are no more borders in Europe. It just says "Welcome to Belgium"
Fred got used to the road real quick after a few wrong turns and U-turns, driving on a bicycle path or having an electric tram come up behind us, because we were on the rails.
We should have rented a Tom-Tom, a popular gps system, that is widely used in Europe. We figured we would be alright with a map. The car was good, but small. So was the price. Public computers can be used in hotels and internet-cafes, but the price range is 5 euros to 10 euros per 50 min. Will not travel without our laptop again. The road system is good for a small country, but city driving is impossible. Better to take the metro or trams. We done it all and loved our trip. Thanks to everyone who helped, especially Janel and Marco who were our hosts and Rob who guided us back to our hotel in Rotterdam, because we would have been lost again.
It was time to go, Schiphol airport was waiting and we had a good flight home.
Tired for a few days which must be jetlag. Back to work now. Saving for the next trip.
We spend a day at the beach in the Hoek van Holland. Sitting on a terrasse, drinking wine and beer and enjoying 20 plus degree weather all the time we were in Holland.
No truck stop is complete without a MacDonald's truck. Truck stops are a good place to find snacks and coffee in cups that are bigger than a thimble. Tim Horton's is badly needed in Holland. Coffee taste great but the cups are too small and no refills, even in restaurants.
During dinner Sandra ,Ria, Tober and Michael performed, the children sang children's songs with the live band, while the 2 sisters watched the offspring.
Mothers day was a big event, because I we got to spend it with the family. We went to an Indonesian restaurant. Dutch people seem to be very relaxed about going out to dinner. It was a 5 hour event and we all had a chance getting to know each other. I kept thinking that all these people were descendents of my father Roelof Vandenberg. He could never have known that we would not only find each other but actually meet. At the table are his daughters, Truus and I, granddaughters, Ria and Antoinette, great-grandchildren, Sandra, Michael, Patrick and Dorinda, and great-great-grandson named Jesse. "We are family"
All that shopping! Totally pooped, find a terrasse for a drink and some sun....
The streets are very narrow and usually closed to all cars, but to facilitate deliveries in the downtown areas, a system is installed in the pavement, where the delivery trucks have a transponder to be able to move the middle pole down into the ground, so they can pass and do their deliveries. You would not want to get stuck on one of those!!!
Although the old windmills are still there and many have been converted, it seems Holland is big on the modern version of the windmill. Holland is definitely progressive and companies are using the new windmill power for their facilities. Cities are using them too, for hospital power and other city buildings. Very impressive.
A nite out to dinner in Utrecht with our fantastic hosts Marco, Janel and their almost 2 year old Sofia. Utrecht is a beautiful mix of old and new.
Fred was very interested in the trucks. They were quite a bit smaller than we see on the road in Canada and USA. All the trucks we saw were cab-overs. European truck traffic is heavy, since Rotterdam is the busiest port of the world. 30.000 ships go in and out of Rotterdam and goods move by trucks beyond that point into the rest of Europe.
The original Delftware factory is located in Delft, where 15 painters still handpaint the masterpieces that are sold all over the world. Guided tours are free. The prices however are out of this world. You need to be a collector to afford the costly pieces.
The houses in Delft, Holland are very small and built close together. It looks likes they filled the alleys and build some more. The canals run right through the city and there are many bridges.
The most popular transport mode are bicycles. People in Holland use them to go to work, for shopping and to go visiting etc.
Parking places are most often for bicycles. Car parking is hard to find and always cost euros. Luckily the explanation on the parking machines is often in 4 languages. So even this technologically disadvantaged couple from Canada can figure out how to use them. As long as you have exact change.
Hugs and Kisses all the way around.
The strangest thing is when you look in the eyes of a total stranger and see something familiar. She and I have the same father. I guess there is no fooling around with DNA or genes. It does not matter if you have not ever met, you are family through birth and that does not change. Needless to say it was a wonderful welcome in Holland.
Big surprise at Amsterdam Airport. My new family was waiting with this big sign. A few tears rolled and Truus and I got to hug and kiss for the first time.
Fred patiently waited for me to run around and get chips and other snacks for the airport wait. We also imbibed at the bar and had a good laugh at the expense of some tourists. The price of 2 Heineken drafts was 23 dollars at the Dorval Airport. The price of 2 whiskeys for us was 9.50, so we were ready to fly.....
Holland Trip
May 2008,
So our big adventure has come to an end and work is waiting!
We went to Montreal and flew directly to Amsterdam. Flight was really good. Good seats and really good food. Individual movie screens and you get the pick of which recent movie you like to see.
