Tuesday, August 10, 1954

August 10, 1954

411 Bonnie Dr

El Cerrito, Calif.

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

Well, a lot of water has passed under various and sundry bridges since I last made a contribution to the round robin, since I note that my last contribution to it was dated Dec 7 of last year. In the meantime, Jean and I have visited in Iowa and Jean had the opportunity of meeting more of you for the first time, I’ve been to Holland at Shell’s request, Jean has followed a meandering path from Iowa back to California and right now we’re awaiting the big event of the year for us. We expect Muriel (or in the unlikely we’ve decided wrongly, Martin) in about two weeks, but of course she may be either early or late — so the doctor says.

This evening is a foggy one in California, as have been the last couple of ones. Earlier in the summer it was more sunshiny in Calif, they tell me, but since my return to the land of sunshine it has tended to be on the cool side — tho there have been several warm days. Perhaps I brought back with me the weather form Holland which this summer was colder and cloudier than usual. My trip to Holland was an interesting one in many respects; however coming when it did made it less of a happy experience than it otherwise would have been since Jean could not accompany me. I flew both ways, and while the trip was uneventful I think a sea voyage would have been more enjoyable and relaxing. Coming back from New York to San Francisco I was on one of the new DC-7’s so I had a speedy trip across the continent. The day was clear so from NY to Denver one could watch the topography below and attempt to recognize steams, lakes etc.

In Holland I lived in The Hague and worked at the Delft lab which is located on the outskirts of Delft, which is about 4 miles or so from The Hague. The Delft laboratory is a small one relative to the size of the Emeryville lab or the Amsterdam lab which is slightly larger than Emeryville and in many respects was like the setup at Wilmington where I first worked in California. The atmosphere tends to be much more informal the smaller the laboratory organization.

In addition to the work I did in Holland, I had the opportunity of doing some sight-seeing but I didn’t get outside the limits of Holland (tho Jean tried to get me interested in going to Paris). I have about 75 slides I took (some 20 still undeveloped) of the things I saw or encountered; some of these I thought were quite good considering I’ve never taken any before. Also I spent considerable time shopping, some of it for Jean but also for next Christmas.

Since returning I’ve pretty much gotten back in the routine of activities both at home and at work. The yard certainly needed attention after my absence so I’ve been concentrating on that, but later on I will start painting inside where it needs it.

All for now

With love,

Jean & Carl