OK
folks. I've been working on this blog for 2 days and every time I get
ready to publish, it evaporates into the ether. Very irritating. So
I'm going to do the best I can and try to edit the photos into the
blog at a later date. Doin' my best here. Maybe the text will make
you curious for the photos? We'll see . . . .
Adam
mentioned in an e-mail that it had been 11 months since our last blog
entry. Well, there's a reason for that: we haven't been very well
this trip. Bill's been occasionally under the weather, but I've been
hit hard. First it was tripping and landing on my face just before
we left, which may have caused more damage than we realized. Then
there was the miserable heat that hit about two weeks after we got
here: multiple episodes of heat exhaustion. Strained back muscles.
All small things by themselves, but put together a bit debilitating.
To show you the extent, one of the first things I did was buy 3 bars
of my favorite grocery store chocolate – two bars are still
untouched.
Anyway,
we got here in good order (miserable flights, but otherwise . .) and
Kempers had the US flag out to welcome us as usual. If you missed
the photo in Facebook, one of our neighbors lives on board and once a
week he puts out an eel net and smokes the catch. He gifted us with
a nice portion. Ugly little faces and funny little gills. I just
don't like lots of smoke, but otherwise it was quite good.
There
was quite a lot of work not done again this year, but we've got our
Dutch radio license all taken care of so we are off to the South. Our
first stop was, as usual, Alphen, where we encountered the first of a
recurring issue for this summer: bridges that are broken and don't
work. Got through and on to Goude just in time for the WaterStad
celebration. This is its 10th year. We'd been here for
it by chance once before, and it's grown quite a bit. The sea chanty
choirs were not the major part of the party, this year there were old
salmon fishing boats demonstrating that way of life, and cooking
fried fish for those walking by. And let me tell you, those folks
were REALLY having a good ol' time!y
This
is the boat Bill wants to build in the back yard when we get back to
the States.
We
went to our favorite soup spot on the market square, and had tomato
soup and my favorite cheese soup with assorted breads and spreads.
The
area has improved mightily in the years we've been coming here. The
latest is a little cafe that also houses the showers and toilets.
For years it was a derelict but they've salvaged the building from
the ground about 4 feet up and then just added simple things and
turned it into a really pleasant meeting place - + it has WiFi.
Out
the canal side, they rent "whisper boats" so you can tour
the canals on your own.
Also
found a yummy little Arab bakery – I'm always ready for that! In
the market, I bought a little blown glass dog. Now not only do we
have a boat dog, we have a Saluki on board!
Rob
and Jeannette came for dinner before we left. I didn't get a photo
unfortunately. Every year they's invited us to a lovely dinner at
their home, and we wanted to return the favor, though boat food is a
bit limited. They brought a couple of small tomato plants and are
still producing and that Bill is especially enjoying. Then we left
Gouda and dealt with more broken bridges, some that forces us to make
detours and others that just stopped us in our tracks until they
could be fixed.
One
outcome has been that we've visited tiny towns that we normally would
have passed right through, each one cuter than the next. Most of them
also have carrillons that play "Name That Hymn" tunes on
the quarter hour. Haastrecht was particularly interesting in that the
Tour de France 2nd stage was supposed to pass through a
day or two after we did. Great tiny streets to eliminate riders and
some of the hottest days yet. Lots a luck guys.
Of
course our perspective is a bit different.
We've
also been keeping track of changes, just in the 5 years we've been
here. Used to be Ketchup was a novelty, now see what you can find in
the tiny towns!! Lucky us!!!
We've
also met some unusual friends. The Ice Cream Man evidently makes his
own ice cream, using milk from his own cows from what it says on the
container.
Since
then we've been limping from town to town, all originally built as
star fortifications on a water ring around to heart of Holland to
protect it from Spanish and French attacks multiple hundreds of years
ago.
In
Woudrichem we found a little cafe in what 300 years ago was the
arsenal. Just the kind of light meals we are eating this year and
in a totally gorgeous setting.
In
Heusden Bill found the best bread I've ever eaten in my life.
Multigrain, rich, flavorful, loaded with nuts and dried fruit. They
only made it once a week, or we'd have been too stuffed for the boat
to float.
And
finally we'll end this with a bit of Dutch fashion for Amy. I do
love the Dutch.
We
are currently at the confluence of the Maas and the Maas Waal Kanaal,
heading up river to Maasbracht where we plan to leave the boat for
the winter. More from us when we get a chance. Tot ziens y'all.
After a month at hospital in Roarmond (August 2015) and mostly home care thereafter, Carol passed in October 2016.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry . . just found your blog
ReplyDeleteCarol Ann Neitzel Watson
ReplyDelete12/25/1949 – 10/19/2016
Carol has led a remarkable life based in faith, one of two students in her high school class to leave the state of Indiana. She graduated from the George Washington University with a degree in international affairs with specialty studies in the Middle East and Arabic language. While at university she worked part time and volunteered for Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana. After accepting a marriage proposal senior year from Bill Watson and upon graduation in 1971, Carol set out for the Middle East and Bill set out for graduate school at the University of Maryland. Carol got as far east as Istanbul, Turkey, slowed down by war in Lebanon and, fortunately (for Bill), returned to marry and take up graduate resident living. Carol worked as a secretary at UMD and continued her Arabic studies in the UMD history department.
When asked what she did for a living, Carol explained that she was a stay-at-home mom. Although she didn’t lose outside interests, Carol began a lifelong interest in a breed of Arab hunting dog called Saluki. She took her dog Nuri to finish with U.S. and Canadian championships and even a trip to the Westminster show. With the birth of Adam in 1980 and Richard in 1983 she became involved with Ascension day school, supporting the hot lunch program and occasionally dressing up in Middle Eastern attire and teaching some calligraphy.
As her sons grew, Carol explored other arts and worked at a quilt shop in Catonsville. Carol’s mother, Ruth, was a prize-winning quilter and Carol followed in her artistic footsteps. Along with side ventures into doll making, porcelain painting and gourmet cooking, Carol focused upon bobbin lace making. Her passion was reflected in the detailed and elegant gifts that are treasured by her friends and family. Her interest in a specific style of lace led to classes in the Netherlands. To study with Sister Judith, a 95-year-old Dutch nun who spoke no English, Carol learned Dutch at night classes in the Belgian Embassy. She eventually became a Smithsonian volunteer at the American History Museum, helping to bring their lace collection to the internet and demonstrating lace making in the lobby. Bill mentions that in marrying Carol, he became a patron of the arts.
After Bill retired from NASA in 2010, Carol decided he needed to expand his interests, and so organized a shopping expedition to the Netherlands in search of a Dutch canal boat. This led to acquisition of the good boat Water Vogel (Dutch for “water bird”). To be legal, she needed licenses, and so became the skipper and radio operator of the boat, relegating Bill to deck hand. A side trip to France caused Carol to take up french language studies at UMD.
Bill and Carol had five good summers cruising the canals and rivers in the Netherlands, with plans to head into France. It was on the last cruise that Carol became progressively weaker from undiagnosed breast cancer, leading to over a year of treatments in the Netherlands and U.S., followed by her passing on October 19, 2016.