Whitney and Heath's Expat Experience

Our Pirate Ship Mural

mediawhit — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:41:38 +0000

While Heath’s mom was visiting she took some time to create this mural on our wall.

The cat pirate flag.

W & H. Can you spot the cat?

One step closer to gills

mediawhit — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:10:17 +0000

Friday night Heath and I had the opportunity to try out full face masks underwater.

With these you can hook up communication devices and talk to each other – as if breathing underwater wasn’t crazy enough! Heath is already certified, but this was my first time. I learned how to properly don the mask and even how to take it off and put it back on underwater. We’re now ready for the Abyss… and able to let each other know when a shark is heading our way!

The new Rainbow Warrior

mediawhit — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 09:14:38 +0000

Yesterday in Bremerhaven, Gremany Greenpeace launched the new Rainbow Warrior III. She’s a purpose-built motor-assisted sailing yacht specifically designed for environmental campaigning. She’s one of the greenest ships afloat now – all materials, from the paintwork to the insulation, have been chosen with a view to sustainability, and each component has been supplied with transparent ethical sourcing. At full sail she can travel at 14 knots.

She’s a beautiful ship and it was great to be at the ceremony. I hope one day to be able to sail with her!

54 meters of mast!

Al Jazeera covers the launch:

Broek in Waterland

mediawhit — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:34:06 +0000

Kayaking in Broek in Waterland, a set on Flickr.

Back in July we went kayaking/canoeing with a couple friends in Broek in Waterland (Pants in Water Country). It’s about 12km north of Amsterdam.

Ice from the North Pole

mediawhit — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:02:11 +0000

The Greenpeace’s icebreaker vessel, Arctic Sunrise, recently returned from a trip to the Arctic with scientists from the University of Cambridge’s Polar Ocean Physics Group who conducted research into the thickness and volume of the sea ice.

Some of this research included taking samples of ice that formed tens of thousands of years ago from deep beneath the North Pole. They brought some back and Heath and I got a piece. Check it out!

So what do you do with a big chunk of ice from the Arctic?

Make cocktails of course!

Het Scheepvaartmuseum

mediawhit — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:27:39 +0000

Excited about the re-opening!

The glass roof of the inner courtyard. The self-supporting structure measures 34 by 34 metres and weighs 200,000 kg. The roof was designed by Luxembourg native Laurent Ney. His design was inspired by the compass lines on old sea charts. The pieces of glass all have different dimensions. Because the building has sunk somewhat over the years, the inner courtyard is no longer completely symmetrical. There are individually adjustable LED lights at all 868 intersection points of the steel frame.

Middle of the glass roof

History of Navigation Exhibit

Sailors

Stained Glass and Reflection

Masts on the Clipper Stad Amsterdam

At the helm

Molly face

mediawhit — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:27:32 +0000

Molly enjoying the warm sunshine while she still can!

Heath’s New Bike

mediawhit — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:18:06 +0000

What do you think?

A closer look…

Just Another Evening

mediawhit — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:00:59 +0000

Boats Underway

mediawhit — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:56:14 +0000

When it’s sunny out the waterways get busy and become entertaining for a lazy day on the balcony.

Some even dive ride in. Too cold for me!

Some of our neighbor’s houseboats.

Heath chillin’ out on our balcony

Full boat

The big boat on the right was carrying a band. Just cruising around playing music. These fellow boaters must have liked what they heard has they handed them some biertjes!