Bound for Helsinki

I left Seinäjoki early this morning for the drive down to Helsinki to pick up my family. I am so excited to see Estalita and our three children. They were leaving for JFK early this morning as my father-in-law was driving them up to New York for the flight over to Finland. They are scheduled to get in early Wednesday morning around 9 am Finland time. It was about a 4 hour drive down here for me today. The first half of the drive was mostly single lane driving and the last 2 hours was interstate. Two things stood out as I was making my way down here. First of all, Finland has some incredible trees. I am talking deep forested areas with thick growth and beautiful color. That was one thing that I missed while living in North Dakota over the past 6 years. Also, I was surprised by how many moose warning signs were posted along the roadside during the first half of my drive. I was definitely staying on the lookout for these large creatures. Estalita and I had several opportunities to see moose in the wild during our years living in the Rocky mountains of Utah and Montana. If a car and a moose get in a fight, the moose usually wins, so I was making sure to avoid them at all costs.
I spent a few hours this afternoon sightseeing in Helsinki before checking in to my hotel this evening. Mostly, I drove around to begin to establish my sense of direction and bearing in the city for future visits. I did spend an hour at the Helsinki city museum, which has free admission. This museum chronicles the history of Helsinki from the beginning of early civilizations up until recent times. I learned that the city was founded around the year 1550 and it has been fought over on too many occasions to mention. Most of this domination stemmed from either the Swedes or the Russians. Finland finally realized her own independence in 1917. I took a few photos of the city and the main Cathedral, but then my camera gave out on me. Therefore, I have no pictures for this posting. I plan on making up for that on my next trip to the city. There is something even more compelling about a city that is set on the water, and Helsinki doesn't disappoint. There are islands everywhere that you look out over the Baltic sea. I plan on getting out on the water at some point to get another perspective of the city. Our team plays a couple of away games down in this area over the course of the season. I hope to stay on an extra day or so with the family on a few of these trips to do more exploring in the city. 10 more hours till the family gets here!!!

Lights out.