Tulip Time River Cruise Day 2

Sun. Apr. 6: The day opened cool and gray. After a full breakfast buffet, where one can also order eggs cooked to order, we had to be on our first tour bus for the morning by 9:00. Rolland took us to the far side of City Central in Amsterdam and then walked us back through small roadways and alleys towards town, giving us interesting bits and pieces of Amsterdam history. As soon as we got off the bus a light rain began so we spent perhaps a little less time than we might have before we got to the canal beside the museum that covers the 400 years of Canal history, where we took a canal boat cruise back towards the harbor and then the bus took us the short way to our cruise ship, the MS Amabella. Along the way we saw many expensive canal house boats and the funny crooked houses that frequently have to be shored up as their 400 year old foundations are deteriorating because of water table changes. 

Rain slick, brick street in Amsterdam

On the canal

Out of the rain, on the canal boat

Looking through the "Seven Bridges"

Inside a Beggary, like a convent, but the women were free to
leave at any time because they don't take vows.

As we ate lunch the boat began to travel the Ij River north into the now fresh water lakes, the Ijmeer and the Markermeer. Until 1933, when they built the dike to close what was the Zuiderzee off from the North Sea, the water was salt water. In the short time since then the ecology of the area has totally turned over and they have gained all sorts of fertile land. We docked in Hoorn, which is a very old, charming village that was once a thriving, bustling, well-to-do mercantile seaport with a natural harbor. There are still many boats moored there but they can only get to salt water by going through the lock and gate in the dike further to the north. We didn't get the name of our tour guide at first (later found out it was Klaas) but he was a tall, erudite Dutchman who had lived in Indianapolis for four years so his English was excellent, now lived in a canal houseboat in Amsterdam,  and was wonderful at putting all we were seeing within a cultural context. He talked a lot about how Calvinism and the belief in predestination had colored and changed the Dutch from their Catholic beginnings into their present thrifty, practical personas. He also mentioned that southern Netherlands had kept more of their Catholic roots and were more "Mediterrarian" in their outlook. (This was confirmed the next day by our guide in Nijmegen, which is farther south). The weather had improved and although cloudy and windy we had no more rain. We wandered through the old part of Hoorn, peaking in windows at the tidy, neat three and four hundred year old houses, encouraged to do so by Klaas, who revels in it and assured us that the Dutch don't mind it--in fact, he drew attention to the fact that the sparkling windows have no curtains for just that reason. 

Ships in Hoorn Harbor

Wandering in Hoorn

Winding side streets in Hoorn

A Fish Heron.

Harbor House in Hoorn

After an hour or so we wound our way to our bus and we drove about  an hour away to the town of Edam, passing beautiful, pastoral farm houses and the rich, canal filled pollan farmlands along the high dike we could see in the distance. Klaas's enthusiasm and love of the history, architecture, and general setting were infectious. At Edam we again wandered slowly through the lovely, tiny old part of town, climbing the ancient small bridges that go over narrow canals and locks throughout, and stopped at a small cheese shop that has been there since the middle ages, where they gave us samples of their local cheese with delicious, tangy, sweet mustard in which to dip them. I could have stayed there for a week, lost in the quiet old village but we had to return to the ship for dinner and to sail all night for our visits the next morning. That evening there was a special presentation of Dutch traditional clothing and dances on the ship, given by a brother and sister who live on a family farm.

Edam canals

An ancient but still used lock

Refurbished ships like this are very valuable and expensive

CHEESE!!!

Marv gets artsy

Tulip Time River Cruise Day 1

Fri. Apr. 4-Sat. Apr. 5: Kris and Heidi picked us up at 4:30 in the afternoon and, despite some heavy, slow traffic and light rain, we were at Detroit Metro before 6:30 for our 9:30 flight. We all got some exercise, walking around the airport, to be ready for our nearly 8 hour flight directly to Amsterdam. Our plane was a 767 KLM with spacious seats and personal entertainment screens offering a variety of movies, games, TV and music which made a pretty pleasant overnight flight but none of us got much rest. Our cruise line, Amawaterways, had a young man to meet us at the gate and get us to our bus that took us straight to the dock where we could drop our luggage and have sandwiches, soup and cookies for a light lunch. 

Our first views of Amsterdam from the bus

It was around noon in Amsterdam and we couldn't get into our state rooms until 3:00. As we rested in the warm sun on the sun deck Kris's Dutch friend, Johann, whom he had contacted by email, found us on the boat and took us on a walking tour of the nearby city center, showing us the canals, edge of the red light district, the so-called Old (1400s) and New (1500s) Churches and the royal Palais. 

Poolside on the deck

Johann, Heidi, Peggy & Kris

Bikes, bikes, bikes!!

Typical canal view. Note the high hooks from the cornices
for hoisting furnishings to upper floors 

The churches both had high curving wooden ceilings used because they are much lighter and flying buttresses supporting other materials would just sink into the mucky soil. He was a delightful and knowledgeable tour guide. In the center square we arrived just as a huge crowd broke out into a giant pillow fight and feathers were flying all over the place and lying on the ground 6 inches deep. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and there were many people out and about enjoying the vibrant city center. We saw none of the legal prostitutes for which the Red Light District is famous and Johann told us that city officials had cleared them out recently, feeling that it was not appropriate for such a busy, sophisticated area. No one else has mentioned it so we're not sure if it's true but we certainly didn't see any.

Royal Palais

Saint Nicholas Church

 We came back to the ship and checked into our state rooms where our luggage had been taken and got upstairs in time for the 6:00 orientation and introductions of the crew. Peter is our entertaining Australian tour director who will keep us on schedule and on our toes for the week.  After our Champaign toast we went for the first of many fantastic dinners in the dining room. We sat with Jessie and Carol, sisters-in-law from Texas, whom we would see more of during our time aboard. By dinner's end about 9:00 Heidi and Kris were ready for bed but Marv and I decided to relax for a bit in the whirlpool on the sun deck. The water was pleasantly warm, not hot, and we could see the moon and some stars over the city along with the lights. We hardly saw any other people despite being moored between two other river boats and it was really lovely. Back in our room we found that the steward who turned down our bed and put chocolates on our pillow had made an arrangement of my "Pajamooses" night shirt on the foot of the bed! When we finally fell into bed I had trouble falling and staying asleep but Marv slept well.

Winter 2014-Habitat for Humanity and Goin' Home

Wed. Mar. 5—Sun. Mar. 9: It was still chilly when we got up in the morning, packed up the lunch Marv had made the night before and headed to the work site. It was a rehab house that was nearly finished and there was one other volunteer waiting in front of it when we arrived at 8:00, as instructed. Tommy volunteers once a week and lives in a town near to Biloxi. The Habitat for Humanity crew didn’t show up for nearly an hour. We worked both days with Ken and Joel as supervisors, usually one at a time, and a group of AmeriCorps workers named Jessica, Colby, and Shane. Once opened up, the house had a furnace that kept us comfortable for working though it didn’t get above the fifties that day. We spent the morning figuring out the “giant jigsaw puzzle” of the trim from the living room and four bedrooms that the carpet installers had dropped pretty indiscriminately in the bedrooms. Before lunch we managed to work things out for all but one bedroom and got it all painted. Since the others were going out, we went to Wendy’s with them for lunch and got to know everyone a little better.  The afternoon was spent applying the trim and caulking and spackling it, and then cleaning up. We were back to our campsite in time to hike the short nature trail on the ridge along the creek that runs through the campground before we ate our lunch for dinner.

Biloxi House #1

The next day we were sent to a house near the downtown, just a few blocks from the Gulf shore. It was also a rehab; apparently a rare repossession of a Habitat for Humanity build. It wasn’t as far along and was in pretty bad shape. The furnace was newly installed and, though they fired it up for a bit, it wasn’t used while we worked. Luckily, it was a little bit warmer than the previous day. We spent the entire day painting the kitchen, hallway, and two bedrooms. They are trying to do a “rush job” on the house because there is a buyer for it and, despite its poor shape as we worked on it, the Habitat folks figured it would be move-in ready by the next week or so. Hard to believe! We went to “Quality Chicken and Seafood” for lunch and ate with Ken, but it was probably too expensive for the AmeriCorps workers, who eat out every day on a limited budget. Had we realized the dilemma, we would have enjoyed taking them out to eat, and were sorry that wasn’t readily apparent. Marv had half a smoked chicken with sides and I had shrimp gumbo with half a fish po’ boy. It was good, and it was interesting to look over the array of fresh seafood for sale in the main part of the market. Marv and I took time to drive over and see a bit of the beach, since we were so near before we returned to work. Back at the house we finished up around 3:00 because the others had a 3:30 meeting. It was just as well because we had to empty and clean the refrigerator, winterize the camper, and get it all ready to head north in the morning.

Biloxi House #2

The Biloxi Pier

The Beach in downtown Biloxi, Mississippi

Having stayed on Eastern Time we were up and on the road by 8:17. We ate lunch out of the cooler as we drove and spent several hours of our trip on the Natchez Trace. It speed limit is only 50mpg but there is little traffic, few crossroads, and goes at a diagonal to the north east so it made for a very pleasant afternoon and we made it to Frankfort, KY to spend the night at a Comfort Inn. 

The original Natchez Trace

The Natchez Trace today

A pleasant by-way for a break

We arrived at the Penquites’ Saturday about halfway through Jordan’s sixth birthday party and were there to see him blow out the candles on his Captain America cake. Ken, Jen and Josh were there and, after he opened his family presents, we took everyone out for Jordan’s birthday dinner at Stacked Pickles before the Dunns went home to Fort Wayne and Marv & I went to see Craig’s new firm’s office in an historic building in downtown Carmel. Sunday morning we sang in a quartet at both services and with the choir in the second service at St. Peter’s UCC. Craig and Eli went to a baseball try-out for Eli, and the rest of us went to McDonald’s so Jordan could get the Happy Meal he wanted for his birthday. 

Figuring out the new Microscope from Aunt Jen & Uncle Ken

(from left) Elijah, Jordan, Ken

Marv helping Analyn hold her cousin, Joshua

(left) Craig, Sarah, Marv, Analyn, Ken
(right) Elijah, Jordan, Peggy, Jen, Josh

Always the Happy Girl!

Jordan is six!!

Marv and I left from there and drove the two hours up to Fort Wayne. We picked up pizza that Ken had ordered and got to their house in time to watch most of the sad, final MSU regular season basketball game, which they lost. It’s been a disappointing season, that’s for sure. We celebrated Ken’s 31^st birthday at halftime and left before the end of the game. 

Josh and Peggy Ken open is new bench grinder

Joshua and Grandma Cookie

Joshua at 3 1/2 months

Josh loves the Johnnie Jump-Up handed down from the Penquites

Joshua and Boppa get some quality time together

There were no problems on the last leg of our long journey and we arrived home to a warm house, thanks to the Puentes coming over and turning up the heat for us. The driveway was cleared enough to back the trailer in and get it over to the side so that we’d be able to get the car out past it in the morning. But the banks of snow on each side were about four feet tall and encroach from each side leaving only a vehicle’s width for an entrance. We had driven 4280 miles and gotten 16.3mpg. The trip hadn’t included the stunning beauty of being Out West last year. But we had done some good work volunteering and seen some of our favorite people along the way. And even if it wasn’t as warm the whole time as we would have liked, we could always comfort ourselves with the knowledge that it was much colder back at home in Michigan! And we have our next trip, a Tulip Time river/canal cruise in Netherlands and Belgium with Kris & Heidi, to which we can look forward the first full week of April. Maybe the snow will be gone when we return from it!

A postscript: Monday was sunny and 52° at home. We managed to open, unpack, clean, close, and put the camper back in the garage in relative comfort. Tuesday was a bit cooler and cloudy. That night and into Wednesday morning East Lansing got 6.5” of new snow. Wednesday night there was a record low of -5°. Thursday was cloudy with temperatures in the 20s. Friday was sunny for the morning, then cloudy for the afternoon with a high of 50°. The Winter of Discontent shows no sign of leaving completely anytime soon. 

Winter 2014--Big Lagoon State Park

Sat. Mar. 1-Tue. Mar. 4: Gulf Shores State Park, in Alabama, where we had stayed a few years ago, was full but Marv made a reservation for Big Lagoon State Park in Florida, which was only about 15 miles east of Gulf Shores. We were so lucky to have clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the low to mid seventies for the weekend. The park reminded us very much of St. George Island State Park, and is situated on the dunes between the Gulf of Mexico and beside where the intracoastal waterway cuts inland to form Perdido Key. Our site was short and low with salt marsh behind us and next to a (closed) boardwalk into the marsh so it was pretty private.

 After we got settled we drove 13 miles west to Orange Beach, Alabama, where Bob and Nancy Muhlbach own a condominium. They had picked up Bob and Sylvia Stevens from the airport in the morning to stay with them for a few days. We all gathered around 3:00 (Central Time Zone for a few days) to watch MSU get beaten by Illinois at home in basketball. L At 5:30 we walked across their parking lot and stood in the main drag beside the beach for a Mardi Gras parade. The sun set as we waited for the parade to begin. The floats were lighted and some were animated and the crews were throwing beads, moon pies, cups, mini-footballs, and stuffed animals in abundance. We half filled a grocery bag with beads, four footballs, a few moon pies and 1 cup. 

Bob and Sylvia Stevens with Peggy

After delivering our loot to the truck and theirs to the condo the six of us plus their friend, Chet, walked to the other side of the parking lot to Wintzel’s Oyster Bar. We would have had to wait for a table so we sat around the corner of the bar where we could watch the oyster shuckers open a whole trough full of fresh raw oysters. Bob Stevens was the only one who ate his raw, while Nancy had hers fried. Marv & I shared a big plate of red beans and rice with sausage and chicken. It was spicy and filling and, with a side salad, very satisfying. The Stevens were on Eastern Time Zone and had begun their day at the Flint Airport at 6:30 so they were really tired. We drove back to the campground, enjoying a really nice Mardi Gras firework display from Perdido Key for most of the drive. We made a stop for groceries on the way but still got back to the camper before 9:00. So we grabbed a flashlight and walked the half mile or so down the boardwalk to West Beach and looked at the stars and into the dark water of the Grand Lagoon.

Bob shows off an oyster

Marv got up and started the coffee in the morning as usual and we both took showers and got dressed for church. When I asked Marv what time it was as we ate breakfast he said 9:15 but then we both realized he had looked at the one clock we hadn’t changed and it was only 8:15! We had plenty of time to eat and walk the boardwalk again in the daylight and even read for a while before we drove back over the beautiful S-bridge and a few miles to the state border. We met the Stevens, Muhlbachs, and Chet at the huge, sprawling Flora-Bama Bar for “Worship @ The Water”. Over 500 people squeeze onto bleachers and into folding chairs and stand around at the back, flowing out of the outdoor “tent” part of the bar, all gathered for Worship. There was a large enthusiastic Praise Band to lead the worship and we sang about 8 songs from their self-published “Honky Tonk Hymnal”. A nervous young woman gave the message, filling in for Jeremy, who usually preaches, and another woman gave a testimonial witness, and the place was really rocking. It is sufficiently popular that beginning next week they will go to two services for a while (Spring Breakers will replace the Snow Birds who have been in attendance). It’s not quite my cup of tea and very different from Edgewood but it was fun to experience…once. Afterwards the seven of us went to Cobalt for a fantastic Mardi Gras-themed Brunch that included Eggs Benedict, omelets, roast beef and pork, French Toast, strata, and a variety of salads and sides, with beignets, Crème Brule, and King’s Cake for dessert. The buffet was $19 a person but the Bloody Marys were only $2 with the buffet! We were stuffed by the time we finished. So we returned to Muhlbachs’ condo to change clothes, took chairs and towels over to the beach, and all went into comas in the sun to digest. When we had partially recovered, the Bobs and Marv and I walked about a mile west on the beautiful white sand beach. The tide was just going out so there wasn’t a lot to find but it was a nice walk nonetheless. Since we hadn’t seen that much of the campground Marv and I elected to head back, arriving with time to ride our bikes 3.1 miles out to the Governor’s Pavilion (where a wedding was being held when we came on Saturday) at West Beach and catch the end of the sunset. It was dark when we returned and put the bikes away in the truck and we read and listened to the iPod for the evening. 

(form left) Marv, Peggy, Nancy M., Bob & Sylvia S., Bob M.
at Cobalt, enjoying our brunch

Orange Beach, AL

Peggy & The Bobs work off some of the brunch.

We weren’t expected back to the Muhlbachs’ until 4:00 Monday so we had scrambled eggs loaded with veggies, did the dishes, and got over to the Library across from the park gate before they opened at 10:00. I spent the next almost three hours, desperately trying to finish up and order a Photo Book from Picaboo for which I had a Groupon that was running out on Tuesday. Around noon I admitted defeat and figured I’d have to just put the money towards a full price book. But Marv said to contact the company and see if I could get an extension. Sure enough, the site had a chat line and in a few minutes I had a month more to finish the book! I will do it at home with our faster and more reliable internet. A few minutes later we went back to the campsite and had soup for lunch for the first time in several weeks. It tasted good because, although the light rain we had had all morning had ended and the skies were clearing, it was windy and in the low sixties so it felt colder. With time left in our schedule we drove across the bridge onto Perdido Key and spent a couple hours hiking around at the Gulf National Seashore area. There was no one at the gate and very few people in the park which must be jammed with beach combers during spring breaks. We especially enjoyed driving out to the end of the less than 50 yards wide spit of land that poked out into the Intracoastal Waterway. By then it was time to drive to Orange Beach for the last time. The six of us went to LuLu’s in Gulf Shores for dinner. The owner is the younger sister of Jimmy Buffet and several of their specialties, including their draft beer, are called Little Sista’s. Brett Burnes is a favorite performer of the Muhlbachs and he sings at LuLu’s on Monday nights. He is sort of a cross between Jimmy Buffet & Jeff Daniels as a singer/story teller, very entertaining, and with a big following, so we had a hard time finding a table. We ended up in the bar next to the plastic windows and the cold air was streaming in through broken zippers. But we enjoyed the food and the ambiance and the songs before going back to Muhlbachs to play dominoes.

Gulf National Seashore at Perdido Key

Nature Hike Boardwalk at Gulf National Seashore

(from left) Marv, Peggy, Sylvia, Bob S., Bob M. & Nancy
at Lulu's

HAPPY MARDI GRAS! There wasn’t a big hurry to get to Mississippi the next morning and it was cloudy and only in the high thirties after a cold night. What a sad difference from the weekend. I was depressed as I packed away my shorts and sandals, realizing they wouldn’t be needed again on the trip. Since we had time I decided to check my email and was pleased to find an email from Janice with an update on their travels. I was surprised to read that they had been at Torreya State Park the day before we were. But I was shocked to find out that they were now camping at Big Lagoon State Park!! We thought that the New West van camper that was parked near us had just moved to a new site when we saw it the night before. Instead it was the Oiens. We walked our coffee over to their place and woke them up, so they made their coffee and we got caught up on things. As we talked I realized that the couple from Michigan that Ranger Howard had told us about was none other than Janice and Lou. How amazing!! We got on the road later than expected but as we drove out of Florida, across the foot of Alabama, and into Mississippi it began to rain harder and harder. The temperature dropped to 35° and things looked pretty dismal. The GPS found the Big Biloxi campground in de Soto National Forest for us and we got set up in off-and-on light showers with no end in sight. We will have a thirty mile drive to the Habitat for Humanity worksite to which we’ve been assigned for the next two days.