#25: [08-Jun-24]

#24: [22-Aug-22]

#23: [15-Apr-22]

#22: [27-Jul-20]

#21: [06-Sep-19]

#20: [10-Mar-18]

#19: [13-Jun-16]

#18: [20-Dec-15]

#17: [22-Sep-15]

#16: [23-Apr-13]

#15: [06-Jul-12]

#14: [29-Apr-12]

#12: [10-Jul-09]

#13: [21-Jun-09]

#11: [02-Sep-08]

#10: [05-Apr-08]

#9: [09-Aug-07]

#7: [22-May-06]

#6: [24-Jul-05]

#5: [05-Jun-05]

#3: [04-Jan-04]

#4: [03-Oct-03]

#2: [18-Apr-03]

#1: [28-Jun-00]

15-Dec-2006 -- I've finally attempted another confluence, it's been almost two and a half years since my last attempt in Shanghai. In the intervening years I've finally completed my EE degree and Michelle and I have a two year old daughter. Needless to say, I've been rather busy.

What am I doing in The Netherlands, you might ask. I still work for the same company that sent me to Shanghai a few years ago but I now work in a different department. I'm in The Netherlands for two weeks installing and setting up some equipment in our new facility.

I was going to get an early start to my confluencing but because of my still lingering jet-lag and my late bedtime I didn't actually get up until 9:30 in the morning. I had already gathered my supplies the night before so all I had to do was get dressed and head out the door. On the way out I grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel's buffet. I have a rental Volkswagen Golf which I had opted for the GPS based TomTom navigation system. The TomTom has been absolutely essential in navigating the convoluted and weirdly labeled (by American standards) Dutch road system.

I had already programmed it the night before with the confluences coordinates so all I had to do was turn it on and choose my preprogrammed "Navigate to" point. It showed that would need about an hour to get to the magic spot. I kept my trusty Garmin 12XL turned off to preserve my limited battery power for the final few feet to the confluence.

The weather was predicted to be cold and rainy and surprisingly enough it actually was. The drive took almost an hour and the TomTom steered me to the spot with no missed turns. The confluence itself is very near one of Europe's ubiquitous traffic circles, once I got to the circle all I had to do is walk a few feet and I was there. It was raining quite heavily and I forgot to turn off the flash on my borrowed camera so my pictures are all badly exposed.

After getting to the right spot and taking the required pictures I quickly headed to my dry and warm car and back to my hotel. This is my furthest north confluence and my first in Europe. I expect to be back in The Netherlands in March and hopefully I can get a few more.