Amsterdam, July 3-7

Hey all,

Pulled into Amsterdam, Netherlands on Weds eve. Joe (OPS) and I went out Weds night to have dinner w/ Aislinn’s first cousin, Courtnay and her husband Brian. They live and work in Amsterdam and were wonderful hosts. We went out a nice dinner at a local restaurant, GREETJE. I had a great meal of Dutch beef, mashed potatoes (w/ spinach and onions mixed in). For desert I had a raspberry tart and icecream. And also had a couple Beerja’s (beers). After dinner Joe and I went back to Courtnay and Brian’s apt and I got to make a video conference call home to Azzy. It was wonderful talking w/ Azzy and I got to see my nephew and my beautiful pregnant wife! What a treat. It was so neat seeing little Landon, he’s 5 mos old now (the same age that Connor will be when I return).

Today we hosted a 4th of July party on the flight deck for 200 guests. The party was sponsored by the American Consolate General. They have a bunch of sponsor cater the event, w/ hours de’voures, haagen daas/ben and jerry’s icecream, and a nice treat (beer and wine). The Captain and Consolate General made nice speeches about America and our independence and the rest of the night was filled rubbing elbows w/ the big wigs.

Tonight I’m just relaxing and catching up on some sleep. Tomorrow I have duty and will be giving a few tours to some VIP and their families. I’m also looking forward to having Courtnay and Brian onboard for a special tour.

Of course I’ve been making a cajillion calls home to check on Azzy and the status of the pregnancy. I can’t wait for little Connor to arrive into our world. Of course I’m sad I won’t be home for the baby to arrive, but it’s nice that Mom and Dad will be there to support Azzy and her family.