Thursday. And it is T minus 2!!!

Lots of last minute running around, packing, taking care of day to day business and finishing up with a few travel details. I think I will be glad to get on the plane and say whatever didn't get done...packed...or taken care of will still be there in 3 weeks and it will get done then. I always make the statement that everywhere I have ever travelled if we don't have something we need, we manage to find a store that has what we need or forgot. I am sure this holds true for the Netherlands and France.

It is cloudy and overcast here today although the local forecast looks wonderful for the next week.  I would be spending lots of time out in the gardens if I were home. I took a picture of the front circle garden today because I think it will be so much fun to make the comparisons when we get home.

Everything is greening up and starting to pop out of the ground but it has been a slow process. We had light frost 2 nights this week so I guess I am glad we will be going away or I am sure I would have been pushing the envelope on getting plants into the ground. The traditional Mother's Day last frost rule will probably apply this year and as such I will only be a week or so late getting my annuals planted. Goedemiddag!  Good afternoon. 

Wednesday t minus 3

This was my morning today. After a board meeting in Bowling Green at 7:30 AM in was stuck in the I-75 traffic jam for about 2 hours. Fortunately I did not have anywhere else to go but I can only imagine the tension/rage that some of the other drivers must have been experiencing. I will let this be a reminder to check my traffic app on my smart phone before we head off to the airport on Saturday. We are allowing an extra hour over what we would normally plan anyway.  

Tuesday T minus 4 and I am doing OK

You get another picture of my bird bath garden today. 

And the reason is because I worked on it today.  The packing went well last night. I feel quite organized and so today with the delightful spring weather I spent the day outside prettying up the yard. Inside now to finalize some last minute travel details. Like getting a rental car in France. Tot zo! (See you soon in Dutch)

T minus 5. Yikes!

While Steve might be happy to pack a suitcase on Saturday morning before we leave that is not my idea of getting ready for almost 3 weeks of suitcase living.  So today the suitcases are laid out on the bed and I am choosing clothes to wear. And yes that is a Rotary flag as we will be attending an English speaking Rotary meeting while we are in Amsterdam. Hopefully by the end of tonight I will have a pretty good handle on what needs to be packed and what we won't be taking.

Sunday T minus 6

Tried to make it a regular Sunday today. Played a quick 18 holes of golf with Steve and now just doing the basics.  Laundry and a little housecleaning.  I panicked a little yesterday afternoon and started rechecking all of the reservations I have made over the last 2 months. Everything is "on my smart phone" but suddenly I felt the need for paper backups. So all of the confirmations and in some cases printable train tickets are now on paper in a folder marked vacation. I am still in the process of creating a real  itinerary to leave behind with friends and family so everyone will know about where we are at any given time just in case of emergency.  Such a pretty day with the sunshine I guess I will just snap a picture of my bird bath garden for my picture practice today.

T minus 7

One week! Next Saturday we will be leaving for Amsterdam from Detroit Metro. The biggest disappointment is realizing we will miss the Kentucky Derby this year...AND there is a horse named Stanford running in the race. We will make a wager on him even though we will not be able to see him run. 

Trip planning is never complete but it has been fun to read books, search the Internet and talk to others that have been to the areas we plan on visiting.  Last night a fellow golfer ask if we had seen the movie " in Brugge". She said she had not seen the movie either but when she was on a group trip through Belgium a fellow traveller walked them through Brugges based on what he had seen in the movie. While it is a fictional movie I am going to look it up on Netflicks and see if we can watch it this week. Just as a point of more information. 

Work for today is planting. I went to the BG plant exchange this morning. 

T minus 8 days

The vacation project today is to determine the best way to get some limited international phone coverage while we are in Europe. I am not excited about a trip to the Verizon store but I think that will be the quickest way to accomplish my task today.  

Heading out to the golf course tonight for a couples twilight. It will be the first swing for me in 2015. Fortunately it will be a scramble format so we will only need one great shot each time. 

I am still practicing uploading pictures from my phone and iPad to the blog so today I snapped a couple of shots of my nesting bluebirds. Not great photos but I am working on the learning curve of uploading not photography so be it.

T minus 9 days til vacation

Throw back Thursday! Remember the Game Boy. When I was cleaning the basement shelves last month I found all of the Nintendo "stuff" from the kids.  Brushed everything off and put in new batteries and Steve and I were quickly battling at Tetris again. Happens that AJ was at the house then and saw the games and we used the opportunity to talk about his Dad and how John was a very good gamer in his day. Last night when AJ was here he ask me if he could play his Dad's games. So of course Game Boy is still sitting on the table this morning.  Now I will just have to put my I-Phone with Words with Friends down and play one more game of Tetris.

T minus 10 days until Vacation

But.... today is a regular day with regular business to keep up with. A 3-hour board meeting for Woodlane this morning at 7AM followed by a 2-hour golf committee meeting.  Then met Jesi at the dentist while she and AJ got their teeth cleaned. I was there to help with the baby she is currently taking care of.   Just settling in now while AJ finishes his homework.  Unfortunately it is still too
 cool to do much outside today so we will settle on some board games and a little time with the video games before I bring him back to his house.  If there is time ( or energy) left after bringing him home I may do a little research on our Belgium stops.
Here are AJ and Steve playing chess after AJ finished his homework....

Countdown to Vacation 11 days to go

With just 11 days until we leave there are still a few details that need work.  Trip Advisor has been a wonderful resource on planning. The latest answer I got was about the holiday schedule for May 5. The Netherland celebrates Liberation Day on May 5 as the day which marks the end of Nazi German occupation during WWII. We first learned of the holiday when Steve was making his reservation for the Amsterdam Rotary Meeting.  The local Amsterdam Rotary Representative mentioned in her response that the Monday night meeting would include the 2 minutes of silence at 8PM in recognition of Rememberance Day. This then begins the celebrations for Liberation Day. Initially Liberation Day was celebrated starting on May 5, 1945 once every 5 years however in 1990 it became an annual national holiday. What fun to be in a foreign country on a holiday.

Vacation looming

With less than 2 weeks until vacation the plans are firming up.  We leave on May 2, arriving in Amsterdam on Sunday May 3.  We will spend 5 nights in Amsterdam and then take the train to Paris. Yes PARIS! I am so excited to spend my birthday in the city of light. We will move on to Normandy on Tuesday May 12. The plan is to visit the D-day areas and also take a day trip to the abbey Mont St Michelle.  Then we will drive to the town of Lille, France, drop the rental car and resume train travel to Bruges, Belgium. Bruges to Brussels and then back to Amsterdam for the flight back home.  A little planning but there are so many things to see and do it is almost overwhelming.  I have already decided that a return trip will be in order.  Watch for daily pictures and updates.

The New Year 2015

It has been a long cold winter in Ohio and we have not left the state for a warmer climate at all. Usually a week or two in Florida or Arizona helps break up the long gray months of January, February and March. This year instead of vacationing we did a home improvement project and painted the living room and dining room and added hard wood floors. What an improvement! By doing it ourselves the cost was comparable to replacing good carpeting and now these floors should outlast Steve and I.