June 18, 1991: Hawaii

Our plane left at 7:30 a.m., then stopped in Chicago and then San Francisco before heading to Oahu, Hawaii.     There was a 6 hour time difference between Hawaii and Michigan.   Our tour guide's name was Pat.  He was Hawaiian.   He told us that ABC stores are on every corner in Waikiki.   Waikiki means 'spurting water'.   Honolulu means 'fair heaven'.     Oahu was first settled 1,000 years ago by the Marquesans.  Kamehameha took Oahu in 1795 and the traders discovered that Honolulu had the largest deepwater harbor in the islands.     Three million visitors visit Honolulu and 400,000 people lived in Honolulu.      I met a nice couple from Ohio, Lillie and Paul Cantrell.   

We had a picture taken with our leis at the airport.     We stayed at the Quality Inn Waikiki on Paoakalani.   We went to the Hard Rock Cafe on Kuhio Ave.      Then, we walked down the road through all of the shops.

September 1-2, 1990: Marching Band & Labor Day Weekend

George, Marianne, Kim, Wendy and Joy came to Muskegon for Labor Day weekend. They came to see me in the marching band at our football game. They were surprised how big our band and school was.    We lost to Catholic Central 18-0.    

On Sunday,  we all went to St. Francis de Sales church.   Then, we went to Lake Michigan to go swimming.   George went rollerblading along the channel.    Then, we took Grandpa and Grandma Gonyo to Lakeside Inn for their 50th Wedding Anniversary.  Grandpa and Grandma were married on August 9, 1940 on Grandma's 21st birthday.    Marianne gave me this beautiful sweet 16 bracelet for my birthday.    

July 22, 1990: Brusseles, Belgium

We spent some time in Brusseles, Belgium, before we had to be at the airport.    It was a chore checking in all of our baggage and instruments.   Security had to check everything, as they had a bomb threat at the airport.  

Jeff Grant liked Porsches, so he was found in one of the stores that carried them.   

I sat next to Dave Fox on the flight home.   I was so happy as I had a crush on him. He let me listen to his Aerosmith and Rush tapes on his sweet Sony cassette player.   He got the cassette player for $200.   He kept hiding his soda and peanuts, so he could get more from the stewardess. It was so funny.

One of my other memories I forgot to mention was of Nick Adams at dinner one night. He licked his fingers and went around the wine glasses to make the sound.  His mom yelled at him for that.  She also told him he had to finish eating his vegetables.    It was so funny.

We flew into Chicago and took a bus back to Muskegon.   When we got to Muskegon, we were welcomed with cheers and signs.   

I am very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to take this European tour with the band.  The band at Mona Shores only went to Europe once every 3 years.      We did some fundraisers before the trip, which helped offset the cost.

July 21, 1990: Netherlands

Today, we said goodbye to our Dutch parents.  Nick Adams exchanged addresses with the Dutch girl he danced with at the party.   Our host family had 4 grown children.   We went to Antwarp.   It happened to be their national holiday, so none of the stores were open.    We stayed at Novetel for the night.   I had a nice conversation with Stuart Grevel and Mandy Johnson down by the pool.   I played ping pong with Jamie.  He knew Dan Morse from Spring Lake which was a surprise.  

Jodi, Kris, Mandy, Michelle, Sarah, Jeannie, and Mr. and Mrs. Brink got stuck on the elevator that night.  

July 20, 1990: Netherlands

I finally was able to mail my postcards today.    At 10 a.m., we went to the Buitenpost Botanical Garden.   Then, we went to Leeuwarden and I found my mom a sweater. I got myself a jean jacket, an alarm clock for Grandpa Thomas, and a bath package for Grandma Gonyo from the Body Shop. 

We performed another concert tonight and surprised our bus driver, Yohon, with the song "Locomotion".    We were all laughing so hard.

July 19, 1990: Amsterdam

Our host mother had cheese and bread for us for breakfast.   It was very good.       

We left at 9:30 a.m. for our adventure in Amsterdam.   We took a boat ride under the canals through the Red Light District, which I remembered our friend, Karen Simons, talking about.  The Red Light District is an area where a man can pick up a prostitute.   The ladies dress in their lingerie and sit in the windows waiting for a customer.

We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Amsterdam to get t-shirts.   Stopped at this small village to see this famous dike.  

Went back for the night at our host family's home.   Our host mom made us these huge meatballs, which were delicious. I will never forget how wonderful they were.   They also 

bought us Pepsi, as we Americans like our soda.  

There was a get together back in town with the rest of the band and their host families.   I had a nice conversation with Stacy Holmes.   Dave and Jamie were playing a game with coasters.   Nick Adams had the courage to dance with this Dutch girl.   We all thought it was so cute.

July 18, 1990: Amsterdam Bound

Left Cologne, Germany in the morning to go towards Amsterdam.    Mr. and Mrs. Fox left our group at this point, in order to spend more time in Amsterdam and get home earlier.   We got to Amsterdam and were assigned to a host family.   Susan Johnston and I stayed with an older couple a little outside town.    They had a beautiful home with a gorgeous garden in the backyard.    Our host father used to be a doctor.    We told the family about Michigan and showed them on the map where it was located.  
They were very nice to us.    We stayed in a room that was fixed up in their attic.   It was very nice.