Back in the USA

We arrived home safely after a wonderful bike tour of The Netherlands. Thanks to all who posted nice comments. Also thanks to the friends we visited on our vacation journey. Cycling in Holland is not like anything we can experience here and I highly recommend it as a great way to see this country. Hopefully everyone will be patient with us as we go through a 'withdrawal' of daily exercise and Belgian beer.

Friday Morning

The people in The Netherlands are very polite and very much the cyclist! Old and young ride, women with 2 or 3 children, all their shopping, everything on bikes. Women in dresses. And then there is Pam. It is tons of fun but a challenge. Yesterday we rode in rain and extremely strong wind gust (7 out of a scale of 10). This morning I see sun so that is a good thing.
We head to Den Bosch to visit with friends. Saturday we will be in Gouda and then on to Amsterdam on Sunday. The week is flying by. Hello to all.

We Are In Delft

We rode from Amsterdam to Haarlem and now are in Delft. Jim has been a great tour guide except we were lost for an hour in Den Haag. Weather for the most part has been good - only a little rain on the bikes. We have had great food and 'spirits''. So far Pam has managed to bike in places that would have been impossible in the States. And Jim has only mentioned work once on the whole trip.
Thanks for all the posts; good to hear that people (and dog) that we care about are okay. Jan and Richard hope you are still leaving your quarters. And Mom and Dad, I hope Wrigley is totally trained when we return and then you will need a vacation.

Pam did not break a leg

Took a "'trial"' bike ride around Nijmegen today. Pam is still in one piece. Visited with Els van Oldenborgh and her son Bas. Still the same Els...full of life. Also rode by bike to Ben's grave...which was a nice treat. Lunch at an outdoor cafe' including vegetarian plates. Dinner with the Gardeniers and daughters. The daughters that were two and four are now interesting and lively young professionals. Thanks for the Wrigley update...keep up the discipline.

Greetings From Netherlands

Arrived in Netherlands fine. Ate raw new herring today. Jean and Ciel look great and are being great hosts. Weather looks like it will be fine for cycling. Have maps of routes that may avoid traffic and see historic sites. Glad to see all the posts from family. Of course I miss Wrigley. Glad Bill likes Paul Thorne; we will see him in concert in September.

Netherlands or Bust

Finally a real vacation. We are headed to The Netherlands to visit friends and decompress. We will be traveling by train and bicycle and will try to update family periodically with this blog. Stay tuned.

Trip to Amish Country

Jim and I took a trip to Lawrenceburg yesterday to buy poplar boards from an Amish family. Their soil was a beautiful dark brown and their garden was starting to take shape. The horses were dark brown with black manes. The blue heeler had a litter of puppies wandering around. And the children were playing or working around the farm. The four year old appeared to be in charge of the two year old. The father and two sons were milling cedar when we arrived and you could smell the wood. The milled lumber was neatly stacked in tall piles and appeared to be of good quality. We will be back for more.

The father was extremely nice and talkative. He had a serene presence about him. We did notice, though, that the children are reticent to speak with us. This farm had a wonderful feel to it.

We then drove up the road to another residence that was selling bread and peanut brittle. Total different feel to this family; the buildings looked in disrepair and there was a 'gloom' to the family. We wondered about the stories behind the two farms that could explain the disparate differences.