Dutch Women Softball Team

2008

USA Tour I - Day 1

Day 1 of the first USA Tour started early, as 7:45 AM was the scheduled time to meet at Schiphol Airport. Of course, everyone was on time, so we could check it together. As we were traveling to the USA, checking in and boarding takes longer, because of all security regulations. But once we were inside the Boeing 767-300-3-Cabin of United Airlines, we were all raedy for it. The plane left almost on schedule, only 16 minutes late and it departed on a symbolic time, namely 11:10 AM. Why is this symbolic? Well, it you put 11 and 10 together, you have 21 and that is the total of players who are on the roster for the Pre-Olympic Team. After a smooth flight, under the command of Captain Marc Flores, the plane touched down more than an hours earlier than scheduled in Chicago. As the captain explained, favorable winds and a more northern route took more than an hour off the flying time, which we also would need before boarding the plane to San Francisco.

For the record: The distance from Amsterdam to Chicago is more than 4000 miles and it took 8 hours and 25 minutes to bridge that --- Pam, one of the flight attendants, celebrated her 40th anniversary with United Airlines --- The groundspeed averaged from 546 to 591 miles per hour (or 890 to 951 km per hours) --- The altitude varied from 32000 to 36000 feet (or 9753 to 10972 km) --- The outside temperatures was -55 to -68 degrees Fahrenheit (or -64 to -86 Celsius) --- Our flying went from Amsterdam to Newcaste Upon Tyne in England, then across the Scottish border to Glasgow. From there, we crossed the Atlantic Ocean under Iceland across the southern tip of Greenland towards Gothab. From there, four hours in the flight, we entered the North American continent and Canadian airspace. After passing the melting icefields of Goose Bay for the Canadian coast, it went on to Kuujjuaq, which lies on the coast of Ungara Bay. By the way, on our leftside, we passed St. John's (not visible), which was the location of the Softball World Championships in 1994 in which Anouk Mels participated. A little but further lies Moncton, which was the location of the 1997 World Junior Championships Baseball. OK, from Kuujjuaq, the flying route went to La Grande. Shortly thereafter, we entered American airspace above Mackinac Island in Michigan. We then passed Grand Rapids, the home of the famous Sullivans, who participated in 12 Haarlem Baseball Weeks in the Netherlands, before we landed in Chicago --- In Chicago, it was close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 Celsius) and the area was all snowcovered.

The plane flies across the Canadian ice fields

Icebergs in the Canadian landscape

Our plane is about to land in snowy Chicago

As we landed an hour earlier, we could need that. Before boarding the next plane for the domestic flight, we first had to go through customs, as this was our first port of entrance. Luckily, it wasn't that crowded, so it didn't took to long, but after photos and finger prints of everyone were taken, we could pick up our luggage, except for the table of Physical Therapist Rob Oskam, which was missing. At the gate, Kristi de Vries was waiting, as she had flown in from Ohio to join the team. After boarding the Boeing 757, we were about to take off on time, but then Captain Hucklebaum had to announce that we had to return to the gate, as a flap had to be serviced again. Because we already had taxied to the runway, we also had to take in extra fuel. Therefore, we eventually left one-and-a-half-hour later than scheduled. Once we were airborne, we were told that it could be somewhat of a bumpy ride, as turbulence was expected above the Rocky Mountains. And indeed, we sometimes had to rebuckle our seatbelts, but luckily, the turbulence was that big and took only a few minutes. After a 4-hour flight, we flew above a lighted San Francisco, crossed the famous Bay and touched down. All luggage also arrived, except for Kristi's and Rob's table. They were told that there things were coming in on the next flight and they indeed did.

Then, it was on to the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Emeryville. And after crossing the Bay Bridge, we arrived in the hotel around 8:00 PM. The day wasn't over yet, as, after we checked in, put our things in the spacy rooms (with big beds), we all went to have dinner, at the Chinese restaurant across the street. And while for us, it was now 6:00 AM Thursday-morning, the meal tasted well, but then it was to bed for a well-needed rest, as the first practice was on schedule for tomorrow.

Our hotel in Emeryville, Califiornia

Go back to the schedule of the USA Tour