Remaking the Routine

Things look a whole lot different than they did a week ago. Instead of having to drive into town in order to find the Internet required to post my blog, I get to type this from the office upstairs while watching people drink beer at the bar across the street. Tiny European cars drive by, but just as common on the street are cyclists. I have about 4 kilos of ground beef sitting on the counter downstairs (the freezer needs to be filled with delicious burgers) so I shouldn't type too much.

The end of our time in Escanaba went well. Naomi left one day before me, and we headed over to the house of some friends on our last night together. Naomi had tried and failed to check into her flight earlier that day, but we figured it was no big deal. One of our friends said it was. So we called the airline, and sure enough, the flight was changed to two hours earlier without any notification. As it left from Marquette, an hour away, this would have been a major bummer. To make the new time we would have had to get up at 4:30 in the morning. Ouch.

When I asked the lady if there was a later flight, the answer was no. Then I asked if we could switch airports. It would be an extra hour each way of driving time, but at least we could sleep until a normal time. This all turned out to be possible, and Naomi ended up making it back smoothly - without her checked bag. Fortunately a courier service brought it to our house a few hours after she arrived.

I ended up buying a ticket to and from Brussels because it was cheaper. I did manage to get a layover in Amsterdam though, in hopes that I would have to pick up my checked bag for customs, and then instead of getting on my connection to Brussels, just hop on a short train home. No such luck. I had to follow my bag to Brussels (at least the view was nice), and when I got on a train at the airport, I happened to be sitting next to an American who was also on his way to Rotterdam. Turns out he had even been to Escanaba before. Strange.

My luggage made it on time, but not in one piece. It took many hours to clean up some shattered/powdered glass along with food powder. So much for returning without dirty laundry.

Work went well on Friday (I missed the first day, Thursday, as we were informed of the schedule long after tickets had been purchased), it was good to spend a bit more time with the new colleagues and and see the old ones again.

This weekend has been one of settling in and relaxing. We had planned for about 6 days of this, but I guess we will make do. It has been most enjoyable. Hopefully we will get some energy back soon...

Door County, WI.

Sleeping Bear Dunes? Anyone know?

Detroit.

Amsterdam.