I think setting the alarm clock on travel day is a bit redundant, as I’m awake NINETY minutes before it is even supposed to go off!! I cannot believe it’s been a year since Bong and I set foot in Amsterdam. We did have a summer trip to New York this year for tattoos and a Murphy’s Law show, but that was in June…nearly 5 months ago! The excitement of meeting later today is enough to keep me from going into a deep sleep.
Everything runs like a well-oiled machine this morning. My bags have been packed, it seems, for at least a month! I’ve already mailed my heavy things leaving room for all the freshly-baked cookies I am bringing. (Which, once they are all gobbled up, leaves me room for that heavy stuff when I leave…) There was even a wireless router rented so safe internet access can be had by several of us at once in places without wireless. Plenty of caramels were made in advance and nicely packed away as well. All there is to do is to wait for the stupid clock to say it’s time to leave!
The time draws even closer as my neighbor comes over to smoke me out before taking me to the airport. The garage is a joints-ok zone, so we walk outside; the air is crisp and cold—winter is definitely upon us. We have time for one joint (he brought 2) and then we are off on our trek to SFO. An entire ten minutes later, I am rolling my luggage through the airport—aware that I reek like pot AND I’m headed to Amsterdam. Lol… Having said that, does anyone else feel like they have been sent to the principal’s office when going through security? I always feel that way. I am always high when I fly. Coincidence? You decide…
Once I have regained my adult composure and no longer feel like I’m about to get paddled, the walk to the gate begins. I think it takes longer to walk to the gate than it took to drive to the airport!! An actual coincidence is that the gate number is the same as the age I will be on my birthday this year…apropos as I spend my birthday in Amsterdam! I relax a bit once I am at the gate.
I am early, early, early so I decide to wait in line and get a latte and some fruit for the flight. The caffeine is long gone before we board, but I do save the fruit. We finally start boarding and I relax a little more once my bag is hoisted into the overhead bin and my seat belt is securely fastened and I watch the rest of the people boarding the plane. My strategy for booking a seat when I’m alone is to get an aisle…I pee a lot. Lol… When the flight attendant says we have completed boarding, there is no one in my row! Woo hoo!!! Sliiiiiiiiide over to the window, put up the arm rests and voila! I can stretch out! (Not that I couldn’t anyway…lol…)
Funny to think we’re both on planes right now. To keep my thoughts of excitement at bay, and for your viewing pleasure ( ), I take photos:
My flight arrives in Detroit before Bong’s does, not much before though. I think my heart is about to burst through my chest as I walk to his arrival gate. I bust out two pieces of caramel, anticipating his arrival. Several Delta planes land and taxi this direction, but none are pulling up to the gate! I keep checking to see if they’ve changed gates and every time I check, it’s still this gate, so I chalk it up to nerves. Even though this week marks FIVE YEARS we’ve been a couple, I still feel like it’s a first date every year.
FINALLY a plane is guided to the gate and the passengers begin to deplane. THERE HE IS!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!! I fight the urge to run up to him because people are all wonky about things like that in airports nowadays. He smiles at me when we lock eyes. We don’t break our stare until we are deep in a kiss and all the rest of Detroit Airport melts out of sight, my relaxation nearly complete.
It’s one more flight until Mokum, one more hour until the flight when I suddenly remember I have taken out two caramels! We eagerly unwrap them and the golden brown cube of yumminess greets us with a smile. I bite mine in half and I feel its smooth texture and buttery flavor melt in my mouth. The taste and smell of cannabis hints on my breath, so I use some breath spray. Bong eats the entire caramel and decides on a coffee. There is a Starbucks kiosk right beside our gate, so coffee it is. We walk hand in hand and get in line. Bong stands behind me and puts his arms around me…feels so familiar and so foreign all at the same time, which is part of the mystique of a long-distance relationship.
The ladies at the gate begin to talk through their walkie-talkie monitors, competing with the recorded airport messages. We move closer so we can better hear. Bong had decided to upgrade us to Economy Comfort this year, which means we get to board sooner! Our seats are close to the front so we are buckled in and snuggling in no time. I start to feel the caramels kicking in about now and that’s my sign we are close to departing!! Departure time is 4:20, go figure…well, actually 4:18, but who’s splitting hairs at that point? We are (at least I am) flying by the time we’re flying…
The rest of the flight is spent cuddling and being bold under blankets, eating airplane food and watching airplane movies, and, for me, sleeping. I can finally rest: Bong is next to me and when we land, we’re in Amsterdam once again!!!
Last edited by luvtick on Tue 23rd Sep 2014 10:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The smell of coffee awakens me; we must be closing in on Amsterdam!!! The excitement of pending arrival knocks away any sand leftover from the sandman. Bong, who’s been awake the entire flight, is happy I’ve awakened and he quickly leans over and gives me a good morning kiss. BIG smile. A great part of being together is looking into actual EYES and not a CAMERA. (other parts are great too…lol…) Bong tells me which movies he has watched as the flight attendants serve food. In no time, we are eating our non-descript breakfast and sipping coffee, returning our seats to their upright and locked position, filing off the plane and into customs, waiting for our luggage (it’s ALL here!), walking through the airport to buy train tickets, and finally descending to Spoor 1 to await our portal to Wonderdam…I mean Amsterdam!!!
At six-thirty in the morning, the station is pretty quiet. Bong walks over towards me when he spies me spying him with my camera! Another lengthy embrace is shared and we both revel in the foreign-yet-familiar hug. We are interrupted by the unmistakable scent of the approaching train. The smell is acrid yet soothing, our affirmation that Mokum is just a train ride away! Like a mechanical snake, the segments slowly come to a halt, their hydraulic doors swooshing open with a hiss. We lift our bags onto the car and, at the moment, we are the only ones occupying it; we still choose to stay as close to the door as possible! As we slither away from the station I tell Bong that it always feels like we are going the wrong way. I suppose that is because last year I DID go the wrong way…I ended up at Centraal Station all right…except I was in Utrecht! Bong assures me we are going the right way as he points out the scrolling sign. Phew! It does say Amsterdam Centraal! Yay!
Sooner than you can translate ancient Chinese scrolls into French, we arrive at Amsterdam Centraal. It’s barely past 7 am as we roll past the Albert Heijn and out into the cold morning air. We’ve made this walk so many times now it just happens! It’s still amazing how LOUD the bags sound so early in the morning…lol… Voyagers won’t open until 10 am and we have way too many bags to roll them back and forth to Barney’s. We decide to wait outside Voyagers since it’s not freezing cold and it isn’t raining either. HOLY SHIT! LOOK AT THEIR NEW SIGN!!! My camera is packed, but I know I get photos later. We park our bags and, as luck would have it, here comes Highly Blessed walking Debo past Voyagers!!!! Yayayay!! He said he thought we may be here and brought our room key! JOY! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We chat with him for a bit, until Debo makes it clear his walk is NOT over, thankyouverymuch. We bid them a nice walk and roll the last few feet to the door. Once the door is unlocked, there is more heavy lifting to get the luggage up the narrow, steep staircase; luckily our room is only one level up. Knowing what is about to happen makes these bags seem weightless; they are quickly hoisted up the stairs, brought into the room, and the door is locked behind us. You’ll have to excuse us now; we haven’t seen each other in the, um, er, flesh since JUNE. How sweet it is…
Yessiree…just what the doctor ordered.
Now that we are ready to begin Amsterdamming, Bluebird is first on our list, as they open at 9:30. We’ll stay until 10 then walk back up to Voyagers, giving them time to open the place. I have baked cookies for my friends at Bluebird so I grab their bags of cookies and put them in my tote. We beeline our way to Bluebird, driven by our need for coffee, food, and THC…not necessarily in that order either!! Much to our delight, both Jessie and Kees are here! Jessie is downstairs and is quick with a hug and kiss for me and a handshake for Bong. We chat for a bit before Kees comes out of his office and Jessie tells us he saw himself on Google Maps! LMFAO! He was showing friends where he works, his daily routine, etc., when lo and behold, he sees HIMSELF! Wow! Of course I note it in THE NOTEBOOK, and I don’t read it again until just now. I do not remember where he saw himself and when I looked around, I’m afraid his image has been replaced or I just didn’t find it. Where’s Waldo, um, Jessie?? Lol… Kees finishes his tasks in the office and comes out to greet us with a warm hug and the requisite 3 kisses for me and a handshake for Bong. (…as I typed that I kept thinking of the Charlie Brown Halloween trick-or-treating scene:
) lmfao…
Bong excuses himself to head over to the budcounter. As he peruses the menu, I talk with Kees and ask about his wife, etc. Bong surprises me with news he has ordered me a ham and cheese toastie and a latte! JOY OF JOYS! (I am starving at this point!) Kees says we will love both items as his new girl behind the bar is a trained-in-Italy barista! Cool! Bong’s other surprises are: 1. He borrowed a bong! Yay! 2. He bought Kali Mist! WooHoooooo! Excellent! I break up some of the Kali Mist and just get the first bowl filled when our lattes arrive. WOW! Kees was right! This is beautiful! It looks like a tulip!
Tastes like a latte should, too! She assures us the toastie is to follow shortly which it does. It’s perfectly toasted, with the cheese nicely melted, crunching loudly as my teeth find the bread. When you want something to eat and don’t know what you want, a toastie often hits the spot. Today is no different. Add to the fact that it is SO yummy and you have sheer delight!!! Jessie, Kees, and the new budtender girl all enjoy a sugar cookie from my kitchen. (Makes me happy to give back a bit!) We check the time and see it's a bit past 10 am, so our conversations are shored up, hugs are again exchanged, and soon we are walking back up to Voyagers.
It’s already past 10 am so the place is open and there are already people milling about inside. When we walk through the door, we are greeted much like the character Norm in the American sitcom Cheers. Gabby is behind the counter and she runs out to give us both big hugs. Bong finally gets a hug!!! Lol!!! Czechish Pete is here as is Cap’n Kicks, Gapie is chattering around the room, and we meet a new friend, I will temporarily call GrassHoppa, as he earns a more permanent name tomorrow… With a room full of stoners such as these, we begin our first smokefest for 2013! I must be wondering about the papers someone is using, as I scrawl in THE NOTEBOOK, “Paper they are smoking: OCB” lol… stoner…
First up is straight off the Voyagers’ Menu: King Kong. I did not note it, but today is Tuesday…TESTING TUESDAY…so maybe King Kong is the TT offering?? I crush it nicely and Bong picks out a bong from the plethora of bongs on the newly redesigned table! Holy shit! Everything is AWESOME! They said they were going to put a window over by the budcounter…HOLY SHIT! There’s a WINDOW BY THE BUDCOUNTER! This place is freakin’ awesome-er each time we come! Next up is Cheisel from Baltimore and it’s met with great enthusiasm. I break out caramels and begin to pass them around to all I see. The new Voyagers shirts are displayed on the wall and I no sooner mention them and Gabby is handing one to me, for the caramel she says, so I give her another one. Lol… The vape pens are also brought out and filled with some wonderful California wax. Buds, wax, and edibles…mmmmm…
My friend from California is attending The Cup this year too and she’s sent her box of toiletries in care of me at Voyagers. Her box arrived around the same time my box arrived. Czechish Pete takes us downstairs to the storage area to help us find the boxes. Bong carries the big one and I carry the small one up to the room. We open our box and pull out all the presents we brought for everyone. (Mostly candy, go figure…lol…) I go over to my suitcase and get out more of my homemade cookies and we take our bounty down to the coffeeshop to share with all.
A coffee and a cookie. Munchie heaven.
Soon Bong and I are feeling the inevitable jet lag that happens on Day 1 and we excuse ourselves to go upstairs for a nap. We eventually DO sleep and awaken refreshed and ready to finish out the night.
When 4:20 arrives, we are comfortably seated in Voyagers and our bowls are overflowing with KushDee. More familiar faces dot the place…one being the guy we met over in Greenhouse one year. I remember him saying he’s from Trinidad and he rolled the most bizarre spliff I’ve ever seen: it was the bottom half of a cigarette made full length with a clear rice paper filled in with herb. It looked so cool, but no tobacco for me, thank you… Anyways, he’s here... And, working behind the counter is...wait…what? Am I seeing things??? Ok…Andy from Barney’s is now Andy from Voyagers!! WOW!! We greet him and give hugs.
Sitting on top of the menu is this gigantic Nike shoe, only it’s not a shoe…it’s a CAKE. OMG! Highly Blessed is here and said this is the birthday cake he had made for Danny! Happy Birthday, Danny!!
Everyone takes photos of this thing and continue with our main order of business: bong hits. The minute hunger overtakes all our thoughts, Bong wants to eat at Julia’s in Centraal Station. He says he’s been thinking of it all day long, ever since we passed it early this morning! Sounds good to me, so we suit up for warmth and we’re off. Only problem is, once we’re there, Bong doesn’t remember what he ordered last year that he liked so much! He asks me. I don’t remember either so we wing it and take a guess. Unfortunately, it was not the same as last year and Bong is a bit disappointed. (Mine is yummy…lol…)
Nourishment is accomplished, though the need for more socializing and THC delivery becomes, once again, the next order of business. We quickly make our way back to Voyagers and run up to the room for some things. Once downstairs, Cheisel appears once again, the vape pen makes its rounds filled with the waxy goodness from California, and, yes, SPOON comes out to play!! Another ACDer introduces himself as Padge247. “Nice to meetcha, Padge247!! Here…smoke this…” I’m pretty sure I give him a caramel…did I, Padge247?? If not…sorry!! I owe you one! (though I do run into some people who are lactose intolerant and can’t eat them… )
Bong, meantime, is assaulting Andy with some hot sauce made locally in Baltimore. He loves it:
LMFAO! He is sweating!! I don’t get it…I can’t eat stuff that hot!! Can’t taste the food! When things finally cool down…pun intended…the place thins out and soon the last hour dwindles away to minutes and we find ourselves saying our farewells and floating upstairs.
“Well, here we are again…I’m not tired, are you?”
“ Ha!”
“What do you want to do now?”
“You.”
“Done.”
Buzzing read again ...Its like waiting on a new novel from a favourite author everytime .....
can't wait for this November....
Waiting patiently for your next instalment ......
To be old and wise,You must first have to be Young and Stupid....
Thank You for taking the time and effort, it is appreciated that coffee from blue bird looked great, I can not tell you how many friends I have taken to an Amsterdam coffee shop, only to have them not try the coffee
) 
and we already have our key to our room 
