Jan 20, 2010 - Fairhope, Alabama

It was threatening rain this morning, so we decided not to go anywhere on the Harley. I did get in a great 70 minute walk on the beach before the thunderstorms arrived however, and found some more interesting seashells. Just about when it was beginning to rain, we headed out in the pickup for the pretty town of Fairhope on Mobile Bay, but on the way, we stopped in Foley for lunch at Lambert’s Café, called “home of the throwed rolls.” The Travel Channel has named Lambert's Cafe as the "World's Best Place to Pig Out", and after a meal there,...

Jan 10, 2010 - Heading out to warmer climes

Since you last heard from us, we have tried to find warmer weather to no avail. So we figured we had better just get over it, and continue on with our plans for heading west. We left Fort Myers Beach on Friday, January 8th, and headed north. We stopped for lunch with old friends from California who now live in Plant City (Ben & Jayne Rawnsley). who seem to have settled into the Florida lifestyle very nicely. They have a lovely home near 2 18-hole golf courses and are far from retired, each pursuing their interests in innovative ways. We...

Jan 8, 2010 - Fairhope, Alabama

Despite the cold, we wandered over to Fairhope this morning. This charming community is almost directly across the Bay from Mobile. It was hard to distinguish where Fairhope ended and Daphne started. Once in Daphne, you are really in the outskirts of Mobile. Our route from Summerdale to Fairhope took us past pecan groves, farmland, horse farms, golf courses, and a polo club. As you might imagine, the houses got progressive larger as we approached the polo club. Entering Fairhope, dwellings got back to a more reasonable size. In fact, homes...

Nov 28, 2009 - My last month in America – Ida, a wedding, golf tournament and thanksgiving

Ida: In the time that I was in America, I said I would like to experience a hurricane, the locals said it was not worth it. So going into November I thought I had missed my chance. But Monday the 9th of November I woke to the news that a hurricane was on its way and going to hit the gulf shore that evening. Most schools had been closed for the day. In the morning the hurricane was a category 1 hurricane, the lowest category, but it still means winds of 74-95 mph (119 – 153 kph). At work, all people were doing was listen to the weather...

Nov 8, 2009 - Atlanta and Halloween

Seeing as Stork has two more companies in Georgia, I made the 4 hour drive and went to visit Fokker Aerotron in LaGrange, Georgia. Its a component repair station like Airinc,so it was good to see the differences and how they work. Next was Fokker Services Inc in Atlanta (about an hour further). One of the other trainees is also stationed in Atlanta and Chantale (another trainee) had come down that weekend. We all meet up together to spend the weekend in Atlanta. Friday we had a BBQ with all the Dutch Expats in Atlanta, very enjoyable....

Oct 14, 2009 - New Orleans, New York and Panama City

Arjan came to visit for almost three weeks in September, which was great. First on the agenda was New Orleans, just 3 hours from Fairhope, we headed to New Orleans Thursday morning and arrived before lunch. Like all tourist the fist thing we did was go to Café de Monde to have something to drink and eat beignets. The rest of the day we roamed around Jackson square and the rest of New Orleans. In the evening we enjoyed drinks and the atmosphere of bourbon street, we also had a famous New Orleans hurricane drink, which really leaves you...

Oct 14, 2009 - The Netherlands

After Arjan left, I returned to the Nethelands within a week, for two weeks. I had a few work obligations like a trainee workshop, trainee presentation day and leadership skills training. Besides working it was good to catch up with friends, see Arjan and spend some time with my cute little nephew, Julian. I returned to the States on the 10th of October, for my last 7 weeks in America. I am enjoying my time in America very much and learning a great deal, and will definitely miss all the great people I have meet, but am also looking forward...

Aug 30, 2009 - Alligators and Battleships

Last weekend, Sjoerd another trainee from Stork working in Atlanta came over to see Fairhope. Saturday the weather was great and we went to the beach with Brad and his family, we went out in the boat and saw loads of dolphins and enjoyed the sun! In the evening we went on an Airboat along the delta and saw Alligators. The alligators are easy to spot at night, but do shy away quickly, luckily we did get to see one up close as he got a bit suck in the shallow water (don’t worry he didn’t get hurt, but just couldn’t get away). Sunday we went...

Jul 25, 2009 - golfing

Two weeks ago there was a work gold tournament, but seeing as I've never played golf I didn’t join, although I was willing to learn. So last weekend two of my colleague took me out to teach me to play golf. We started at the golfing ranging, were we stayed for about two hours just learning the basis, didn’t realize that golf was so complicated. Sunday I went with three colleagues to play 18 holes. We played for about 5 hours! It was not that bad, I managed to hit all my balls, and only lost one ball (when I had to hit my ball over the...

Jul 12, 2009 - 4th of July

The last weekend it was the 4th of July, independence day. On July 4, 1776, America claimed their independence from Britain. The 4th of July is a public holiday, so it was a long weekend (if the 4th falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the Friday or Monday is a public holiday). The America's really celebrate it really big, as they are very proud of their independence. At work we also celebrated the 4th of July, with a cook out. A few days before the 4th, during the lunch break, we all had lunch together. Loads of food was order for the...

Jul 3, 2009 - Gulf Shores area

It feels unusual to spend two nights in the same place after moving for four consecutive days. We spent the day yesterday touring around Gulf Shores, AL. We vacationed here for a number of years when the kids were young during their spring breaks but we've never been here during the summer. Remind me to never come here again in July. The traffic is horrible. Backups everywhere. Now that we've learned that, we'll spend our time today around Fairhope & Daphney, two beautiful little towns on the east side of the Mobile bay and off the beaten...

Jul 2, 2009 - Katy, TX - Fairhope, AL

532 miles & 10 hours, 47 minutes of engine time. I'm about to get trucking out of my system. We've come 1.617 miles in 4 consecutive days spending two nights at Flying-J truckstops. Thank heavens for the generator - we've burned some LP staying cool at night but it was far less expensive than paying campground fees for passing through. Yesterday, we had our second consecutive bad experience in Baton Rouge, LA. Their traffic is worse than Atlanta's. I-10 entering town eventually reduces to one lane causing a backup for miles and there is...