SUNSHINE!!!

 Today we woke up to SUNSHINE!!!

First time I have seen the sun in the last 2 weeks!  I am beyond thrilled!!! So I have to back up a second and talk about what happened this past weekend. On Saturday the mechanic came to fix the vent on the top deck. It was his birthday so I rode my bike into town to buy a cake so we could sing Happy Birthday to Raymond.  The whole riding bike thing is not new to me but it is when your not wearing a helmet and you are right next to cars on a street that is the size of sidewalks back home. I have been doing pretty well considering the environment.

Also while out collecting a cake for Raymond, Joseph gave me a small list of things to purchase. One of which included buying a repair kit for the bikes. So I went into the bike shop and met this lovely lady. She is the nicest person I have met here! On a side note, Joseph and I went cycling one night and every time we passed some one I would say "hi or hello" And I very rarely got a hi back. In fact it was usually a dirty look! Joseph said "Anne Marie why do you insist on saying hello when you know they don't like to be friendly". I just laugh because I think its kind of fun to mess with the Dutch!

Well back to the cycle shop, the lady could not have been nicer, she helped me pick out a repair kit and an extra tire tube just in case. As we began the transaction of purchase she asked me where I was from, so I replied Boston. She said oh wow my son wants to go to MIT but unless he gets a scholarship it is just a dream. I agreed, but then she went on about her daughter who is a Sophomore at the university of Tennessee. I said "oh she is Tiger"! We both laughed. Then she went on to tell me that her daughter is there on a full ride for throwing Javelin and shock-put. She just received enough points to go to the NCAA Tournament! I explained to her about my family and how Doug lives there with his Beautiful wife and 4 adorable children. She told me she is heading to Memphis in October to visit her daughter. I gave her Doug and Anna's name and address! Looks like they might have some Dutch over for dinner!!!

Speaking of Dinner, Joseph treated me to a night out on Saturday. We decided to try the Irish pub in town. The bar was packed with soccer enthusiasts, treated to an exhilarating 2013 UEFA Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund…with Dutchman Arjen Robben exhibiting deft touch as he scored the deciding goal in the 89th minute for Bayern’s 2-1 victory.
We only stayed for the first half because they were not serving food! What Irish pub doesn't serve food? So we walked in the rain to Dikke Mik our favorite Dutch Burger joint. To our surprise they had the soccer game on a projection screen on the wall! We watched the Munich team clinch the win in the 89th minute. It was amazing to see just how excited the bar got!


 At the Irish Pub The Dubliner with our friend in the background!!!

I forgot to mention that we went to church earlier in the evening. We got excited at first because we thought the mass was going to be in English but as we sat in church we realized that it said English because Joseph had copied and pasted the Dutch website in Google Translate! haha jokes on us!

On Sunday, We took showers hear in Enkhuzien. Previously we had been going back to Medemblik were the boat used to be because there showers are free and the facility is new. In Enkhuizen they charge 1 euro for a 2 minute shower! As you all know it is very hard for me to take a 2 minute shower, but I did on Sunday! We were getting cleaned up because the previous boat owner Andre and his wife had invited us out to there house for lunch. It was rainy and cold on Sunday. So we headed to there home which is about an hour and twenty minutes north of here. They have a very modest but beautiful home. They also have a son named Seegar, who is seven years old. He is super cute with long blonde curly hair. I tried to talk to him but he does not speak any English. He only has words like, yes, no, please etc. We played soccer for a little while and had a good time. Then we headed over to the marina were Andre has his office. He showed me the boats that he builds. They are small sailboats and two different types of little speed boats. They looked a lot like the boats you see in Venice.  The name of his company is Cooper Yachts. www.cooperyacht.com  We went to lunch there in the yacht yard. It was pretty tasty!  After lunch we headed back to our boat because Joseph wanted to try out our new water maker. It is a machine that he installed that takes in saltwater and turns it into drinkable water. We needed to add this to Zimbabalooba because in Spain, France, and Italy they will charge for the water. This way we can make our own water and fill our tanks ourselves without having to pay.

I ended my night with some great skype sessions with the family. Happy BirthdayJOEY BEAR!!! haha... and I got to speak with Abby, Joan, Ginny, and Aunt Kathy. They all seemed to be in good form!  I love getting the emails too! hope everyone is having a safe, healthy, and happy Memorial Day! God Bless our Armed Forces!
There are so many windmills here!!!