Overview

This blog I wrote during my recent trip to the USA. The trip came true through the support and hospitality of the flying friends I met on the www.supercub.org website. I realize that a first time visitor to this blog might be overwhelmed by the pictures, stories that are on it. I also got the hint to write a book about this adventure, or make at least a dvd of all the material that I assembled. At the moment, two weeks after coming home in the Netherlands, I am still digesting all the fresh experiences. But to give you a clue of my trip, I give this overview:
June 14th: I flew from Brussels via Wasington DC to Billings Montana by United Airlines. I met there my host Dave Kirsten (Lodi CA). With him I flew in his SuperCub to Idaho, Johnson Creek. There I spent a wonderful week with more than a hundred SuperCub friends. 
June 20th-22nd: I flew with Rick Papp and Dean Nordsving in their PiperCub from Idaho to Minneapolis. There Grant Wallace picked me up in his Champ and brought me to his work (Lake & Air) and home.
June 23rd: Frontier Airlines brings me from Minneapolis to Anchorage.
June 24th: Mark Englerth picks me up at Lake Hood with his floatplane SuperCub and for more than a week I am his guest at his cabin near Wasilla.
June 26th: Joe Beck gives me a wonderful ride in his PiperCub to Knik Glacier!
June 28th July 3rd: In a rental car I drive to Fairbanks. There I stay with Vicky and Dan Domke of Tamarack Air Services. Fly to their house, their cabin and their shop.
July 1st: Off Airport training with instructor Cleg Clayton south of Fairbanks.
July 7th: John Graham picks me up with his Citabria Scout in Wasilla. We fly to GlacierCub in Knik valley. I meet Greg Swingle and his Rans. Together we have a Thursday of more off airport landings before we return to the Lower 48 States.
July 9th - July 13th: The fantastic trip back from Knik Glacier via Palmer, Chicken, Watson Lake through Canada to Dresden Ohio. 
July 15th: A day of Pipeline Control with John Graham, 5.5 hours in a Scout.
July 16th: Rick Papp picks me up in his SuperCub. We fly first to his cabin in West Virginia. A day later we fly to New York State.
July 17th: Rick and I attend the Goose Bay Breakfast fly In at Jeff Carlsons place in Ashton NY.
July 18th: we fly to Warren Ohio and I stay at Rick and Margie Papps house.
July 19th: Rick brings me to Pittsburg International. I board the Delta flight to Greenbay Wisconsin. There I am met by Carol Dodge and Rollie Olm. I will be their guest until I leave for the Netherlands.
July 21st: I drive to EAA Oshkosh to meet Mark Forss, who organizes my Dream to Fly presentations at the Kidventure the coming week.
July 23rd: Rollie and I fly to New Holstein to meet Steve Johnson who is organizing the Yearly www.supercub.org fly in.
July 26th; My first daily presentation at Kidventure, Oshkosh.
July 28th: Big Pig Roast in New Holstein SuperCub Fly In. I meet many old and new friends.
July 29th: Washington Island Fly Out, I fly with Randy Corfman (Windonhisnose) and have a day never to be forgotten.
July 30th: Before my presentation at Kidventure I meet Jessica Cox, who achieved to get her pilots license, with the restriction of being born with no arms or hands. 
Up to the 1st of August I have the honor of telling my 'A Dream Comes True, a Flying Dutchman and his Cub' story and meeting those great volunteers at Kidventure and being at Oshkosh and seeing, experiencing that magnificent event of flying in America!
August 4th: I say farewell and take care to my hosts Carol and Rollie at Greenbay. In  Chicago's O'Hare I take off again, back to Brussels, back to the Netherlands.
And last Saturday, August 21st, I told my 'A Dream Comes True' story in the Museum at Seppe, that celebrated its 20th anniversary, together with the volunteers of this great museum, that hangars also the J3 Cub, that I fly in.

Friday August 6th Back in Oosterland

Carol and Rollie drove me in their Buick up to the Greenbay WI International Airport. I had to wait an extra two hours before my flight to Chicago left, because the weather over there had delayed traffic. We said : Farewell and see you again! And I went off. In Chicago I boarded United 972. In the line I met this guy with Aviator on his hat. He saw my Supercub.org hat and we had a good flyers talk in the plane. Appaered he was Bjarne Sorensen from Illinois, and had been the parajumper USA-flag bearer at the Oshkosh show everyday. I showed him the pictures I made of him. What a coincidence to meet this man after been for a week at Oshkosh myself whole week. He was going to Denmark, where he was born, on vacation. He was going to fly there as well, and I could tell him some details of flying in Europe.
Then we tried to have some rest during this short night: At Chicago time 2.10 am we landed in Brussels. But there it was already 09.10 in the morning. Cecilia and daughter Annelies were waiting for me and we had a train to Roosendaal in Holland. In Annelies's car we drove to my home in Oosterland. Had a good meal and slept like a log. Today Cecilia and I did some shopping in nearby Zierikzee and had coffee at my favorite place De Melkmarkt. Saturday, tomorrow I will go to Rotterdam, to see more family and Simon, my granddaughters boyfriend, who leaves Monday on a solo wilderness trip in Canada.

Tuesday, August 3rd at the Courthouse Pub and a question

Carol treated Rollie and me at the Manitowoc Courthouse Pub to a great dinner. The menu was so rich that I asked waitress Carissa to help me choose. Her choice of a Ribeye Steak was excellent, we finished in the bar where I was once more treated to their special Surf N Turf Bloody Mary.

Wednesday Carol and Rollie will drive me to Greenbay where I will start my trip back. 

Question: I left the comment option out on this blog, because it said most the time '0 Comments' .

But as I understand that quite a few people all over the world follow this blog, I open the Comment-option again, so in case you as a reader would like to comment, or to ask question about what I wrote so far, you are able to do so. I'd be only to happy to respond. 

Monday, August 2nd Back from the EAA

I am back in the Manitowoc Culture Cafe, with a good Cappucino and great Chili-wrap. Some young guys are trying chords on the cafe's guitar, I upload a film to YouTube, which might take awhile because it contains many pictures and music. Yesterday was my last presentation in Oshkosh. EAA's Mark sort of promised me to video it, for publicity reasons. I noticed him setting up a camera when I came in. But when I began the show, he had disappeared. But this last time I had a very enthusiastic audience, among them Ed Leineweber, of Midwest Flyer, whom I met earlier at Lone Rock Airport, WI. Also one of my anonymous blog fans, who admitted to be a daily lurker of www.supercub.org. Another lady asked me if I had written a book on this story, Ed inquired if I had it on DVD, to show it to Henk Newenhouse in his hometown. So maybe I will. Anyhow, I packed my props at Kidventure, said goodbye to all the nice volunteers got to know there and did a last round over Airventure. Many planes had left already, but the show was going on, as always. Then I drove back to Whitelaw. Carol and Rollie prepared a fantastic meal, that couldn't be beat, foor their neighbours Bonnie and Jack and me. We watched pictures made two years ago when I was visiting with Cecilia, and watched an apisode of the Australian E.R. soap 'Let The Blood Run Free'.  As both Carol and Bonnie work in the Manitowoc Emergency Ward, they had a good laugh about situations they are familar with.

Today I sent off a parcel with my camping gear to Holland. I will be leaving on this very Wednesday, from Greenbay WI, thru Chicago to Brussels, Belgium. There Cecilia and my daughter Annelies hope to welcome me back home.

Saturday, July 31st Oshkosh again

Today I drove from Whitelaw to Oshkosh partly in a light rain. Luckily the sky cleared when I arrived. There was an enormous number of people. On the picture you see me together with Kay Norsbye, who takes care of all the presentations at Kidventure, and Mark Forss, who invited me to do my show at Oshkosh. Impressive it was at the main entrance of Airventure: lots and lots of military aircraft. And everybody had a chance to get in or get very near them and talk to their pilots. And there was as much room for the big ones as for the small self built planes. And unlike Holland, no policeman to be seen: everything under control by relaxed EAA-security people. Even in the crowd one of them spotted a Chinese man smoking: 'Sir! No smoking! Out the cigarette!' And when the man did not undestood: 'I said OUT, OO, UU, TEE!' Then the man wanted to put the burning cigarette in a dustbin. No, not there!' Then the message was understood. The man finished his butt in the ground, and disappeared quickly into the crowd.
Yes safety is very important at EAA-airventure, but not by showing uniforms.
When I had seen enough I went to my pickuptruck, on my convenient parkingspot near Pioneerfield, and drove back to New Holstein. There the field was deserted: all cubs had gone. My stay in the USA also will end within a few days, but Sunday I will do my show for the 6th and last time in Oshkosh. I enjoy every minute of it!