Dutch Women Softball Team

2008

USA Tour I - Days 27-28-29

AMSTERDAM (Netherlands) - On Wednesday, March 12, the plane of United Airlines touched down at 6:14 AM local time at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, ending the first American Tour of the Dutch National Softball Team, which is part of the extensive preparations for the Olympic Games in August in Beijing. It also ended a 3-day travel period, which brought the team from Hawaii back home.

It all started on Monday, March 10, which was the last day to enjoy the Hawaiian sun and hospitality, but also was a day to do the last packings. Around 5:00 PM, the bus departed for Honolulu International Airport. On our way to the airport, the mountains were covered by dark clouds, which we initially thought were rain clouds. But they happened to be clouds of ashes as a result of the eruption of volcano Pele on the main island of Hawaii.

At 9:30 PM, the Boeing 767-300 2 Cabin of United Airlines (the first of three different planes we boarded) took off from Honolulu for the flight to Los Angeles. 2 1/2 hours in the flight, it was midnight Hawaii-time, becoming March 11 and that meant that Dana Horeman celebrated her birthday. As we count Dutch time, Dana already was having her birthday already for eleven hours, so she had a 35 hour birthday! It took Captain Mike Davenport 4 hours and 50 minutes to bring the plane to Los Angeles International Airport. Afterwards, the Captain was very interested in the Dutch team, while his First Officer even wanted to face some of our pitchers. In Los Angeles, pitcher Kristi de Vries and KNBSB-boardmember André van Overbeek left us. Kristi flew from Los Angeles to Chicago and Cleveland to return to Ohio, while André boarded a plane 12 hours later to bring him back to the Netherlands. Kristi will come to the Netherlands in a few weeks to play for Sparks Haarlem in the Dutch big league.

Next, we had a domestic flight from Los Angeles to Washington Dulles Airport. Captain José Menendez needed 4 hours and 25 minutes to bring the Boeing 777 Overwater to the American capital.

After a short wait in Washington, the Boeing 767-300 3 Cabin took off at 6:15 PM (local time) for the flight to Amsterdam. Unfortunately, Washington was covered by some clouds and while the Mall, with the Capitol, the White House and the Museums, was recognizable, the famous buildings weren't clearly visible. After 20 minutes, on the left side of the plane, we passed Philadelphia, which will be the starting point for the second American Tour in May. We left the American continent, passing Sydney (Canada) and St. John's to start the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. After passing Ireland on the leftside, we crossed England, with Plymouth and Exeter (the location of wellknow British TV-series 'The Onedin Line') on the rightside, then entered Dutch air territory. On our flight to Amsterdam, we flew at an altitude of 35000 feet (10.668 km), had an average speed of 640 mph (1040 kph) with an outside temperature of -54 degrees Fahrenheit (-50 Celsius). After a flight of six hours and 59 minutes, Captain Dan Novak touched down his plane at Schiphol Airport and he did a good job, depiste some gutsy and strong winds, which shaked the plane on its final approach to the runway.

So, it took us 16 hours and 14 hours of flying time in which we bridged eleven time zones, flew on three different planes, which of course had three different crews, flew across or through air territory of seven different countries (USA, Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Iceland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Netherlands) to reach Amsterdam after a travel period of 28 hours and 14 minutes. The first American Tour, which lasted 29 days, is now history and in the books. The Dutch Team now has a few weeks off, but will resume weekly practices again in early April. Of course, you can come back frequently to this site, as all updates regarding the Dutch squad will be published here. From April, some practice coverage also will be included, but more interesting items are being developed. So, we hope to see you soon!

The players and staff of the Dutch National Softball Team thank their sponsors and everyone who made this American Tour possible!

So long, beautiful Hawaii and Pacific Ocean! We all hope to see you again sometime in the future

Waiting in the hotel lobby for departure to the airport

The long travel home starts with a lot of packing
Not only personal luggage, but of course also a lot of equipment

More packing, this time in the first of ours three planes

Dana Horeman celebrated her birthday in the plane

Crossing the Potomac River, we left Washington en route to Amsterdam

The Boeing 767-300 makes its turn to Europe

Back home, waiting for all the luggage at Schiphol Airport

And then, after 29 days, everyone is reunited again with family and loved ones

Go back to the schedule of the USA Tour