Day Three: Middle of the Atlantic to Amsterdam: (Year 3: 1970)

September 23, 2017

The States did not turn out to be a place for quiet study. The Vietnam war was still ramping up, and with it the draft, affecting American university students. In February a main building on one of the University of Wisconsin campuses, where apparently the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) was established, was torched. Then on May 4 of the year we had the Kent State massacre. With that, the campuses went ballistic.

But that May, Dodie was 9 months pregnant with Joni. She was obviously not moving too fast. While crossing the street in the town of Madison, she was almost killed by a speeding riot police car. Steve and Dodie's blissful teenagerhood and quiet first years of marriage then got a cold dose of reality. In a certain sense the "60's" arrived for us in 1970.

Despite the despair associated with war, the year was still mainly joyous. The arrival of our first child was by far the greatest and most wonderful thing that had ever happened to us. The only one who was a little sour on it was our cat Pussy, who had taken possession of Joni's crib, and got kicked out when she arrived.

The greatest thing to happen to us till then came in 1970 with the arrival of baby Joni. Joyful Steve handed out cigars on a street corner in Madison, Wisconsin, and he does not smoke!

Forever Young, is our prayer for Joni, our other children, and grandchildren. It was written by Bob Dylan in 1973:

By June we had had it with the U.S. Not only was the place in an uproar, but the quality or focus of the Economics faculty was not up to snuff. They seemed to be mainly engaged in putting into complicated mathematics simple concepts that had been covered for me in words in undergraduate courses at McGill. I phoned McGill a pay phone outside the Social Sciences Building and told my former advisor "get me out of here!"

So we bundled up newly born Joni and made our way back to Montreal. Dodie and Joni flew, but I took the little VW, with a U-Haul trailer on the Interstate. I got thrown off the road by police, for going too slow. But I later found that the VW could keep up if I drafted behind a semi-trailer!

-----

Starting our trip today from the "Middle of the Atlantic" was not quite accurate. It turns out that from Vancouver the plane headed quite north, ultimately passing over Hudson's Bay, Greenland, and Iceland. That perhaps accounts for why, at nine hours, the trip is shorter in the air for us than first going to Montreal and later completing the hop to Europe.

The takeoff from Vancouver was interesting because it gave a great view of the local geography - the Fraser river and its delta, the main city of Vancouver, and the very large and green looking Stanley Park. But the most stunning was the confirmation of what we of course knew - the extreme ruggedness of the mountains directly north of Vancouver. They looked exactly like a washboard. It was quite a contrast when we landed in Amsterdam, coming in over green and ordered, and flat!, farms.

The mountains of Vancouver Island with the Salish Sea in the foreground.

This is what lies behind (north) of the civilised city of Vancouver.

We arrived at the green and ordered Amsterdam region.

The flight itself was made really significantly more tolerable by a glitch with Transat's seating assignment that eventually had them putting us in two seats with no neighbours. The seats were also about two inches wider than the sardine holders used in the rest of the plane, and there was more legroom. All that allowed us to squirm and shift, making the long hours much easier. In future flights we might consider paying for these seats. They were really great - or to be fairer we should say the tiny narrow ones are really rotten.

One thing that is always good on these Transat flights is the free movies and TV shows displayed on seatback tablets. This time around I watched a documentary about the Alsace wine country, which coincidentally the Classens have been suggesting we check out instead of blasting by on the Strasbourg to Colmar canal. Another show traced the history of the Louvre in Paris, over the past several hundred years. And finally there was Andre Bourdain, covering the traditional foods of Quebec, and oh, one about great chefs of Israel. I learned a lot from all of these, even the ones that were in French, which somehow was getting processed well in my brain today.

On the seatback TV, images of the Alsace wine route.

We arrived in Amsterdam suitably spaced out and jet lagged, but still managed to collect and reassemble our (undamaged) bikes. We found and followed the bike paths from the airport and arrived at the Ibis in Badhoevedorp. In its little snack bar we grabbed a burger and chatted with a young man from India who owns a company making and exporting material transport belts. We were able to learn a lot about how they are produced and marketed. In turn the young man learned much about our grandchildren and bicycle tours. I feel like we got the better part of the exchange.

Now at 5 p.m. (8 a.m. in Vancouver) despite all they say about not giving in to jet lag, we just have to have a nap. Stay tuned for a few photos that are from the air, later. And tomorrow, we will be ready for major fun!

Walking inside the modern Schiphol airport there was no evidence that we had left Vancouver (except that all was in English - no French), until this.

Through immigration and customs like a breeze, the Europeans turned us loose on their continent again. Here near the airport we encounter the bike paths and bike signage that we love so much.

Today's ride: 7 km (4 miles)
Total: 52 km (32 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0