Annemieke has a few days off

Thursday, May 28
Annemieke, who runs a pedicure business from her home is a pretty busy lady. Due to the very long weekend ahead she is able to take a few days off.

In the afternoon we drive to Hoorn, another one of those typical Dutch historical towns.
We already figured out, that the best way to see the town is to do a historical tour, of which one happens to have been developed by another Geocacher.
It's another beautiful sunny day and we enjoy it to the fullest.














Friday, May 29
The RV is packed again. Even meals have been prepared in advance.
We drive direction Bilthoven. The roads are busy because this is the weekend of Pentecostal. As soon as we get off the road we're in the woods, and are able to enjoy long walks with caches along the route.
Most campgrounds are already full, and we end up staying outside the gate of The Seven Linden, a full service campground.

Saturday, May 30
It's another beautiful day. After a quick shower we drive to a nice grassy field for breakfast and some time in the sun.
There are more caches to be found and we end up at a castle, near the Royal residence.
We find a spot inside a park near Hooge Vuursche and decide to park there for the night, after one more evening walk. Luckily no one sends us away.

Sunday, May 31
As we are having our breakfast outside, visitors to the park are arriving and it is getting pretty busy.
We are getting closer to Bilthoven and park for lunch before we drive to Mom's place.
Mom too, likes to do Geocaching, so after tea and cake we decide to go to Heide park, where even she has never been.
For dinner we all go to the Biltse Hoek, where we are fortunate enough to eat outside.
Fred and Annemieke drive back home to Heerhogowaard and we unpack our suitcase and make the bed in the attic.

Happy Birthday Ramiro

Wednesday, May 27
The weather has changed again and Fred takes his restored Borgward out of the garage.

We drive to Mavitec, the company of Fred's son Vincent and his partner.
The original company Dubbs, which build machines to dispose of animal waste, which is used for all sorts of purposes including fertilizer such as bone meal.



Vincent gives us a presentation about the other, very successful branch of the company, which builds floating bottoms for swimming pools.






















































After the tour Vincents treats us to lunch at Babylon and asks us to see the rest of the family later on in the day.
Today is Ramiro's birthday and we want to celebrate. No one wants to be the designated driver, so we decide to walk, first to Vince and Bab's house and later to La Vida, a tappas restaurant.






We have a great time. Ramiro even receives a small cake. Later we talk to the young couple who started the restaurant recently. The reviews are great. We wish them much success.

Our first days in Holland

After a pretty easy flight to London and a five hour wait for our flight to Amsterdam, we finally arrive in Amsterdam, where Fred and Annemieke are waiting for us.

By the time we arrive it is the evening of May 22nd, Fred's birthday.
We celebrate with a drink and of course need to do our first puzzle Geocache in Holland, which is a short drive and nice walk in Ouddorp.
Unfortunately it is getting to dark to find the final cache and we give up.




May 23
We pack a lunch, adjust the spare bicylces of Fred and Annemieke and ride to Noord Scharwoude for a puzzle cache, which teaches us a lot about the town.



On the way home we make one more stop in Ouddorp and do find the cache from last night.








May 24

The RV is packed and we drive to Enkhuizen. We walk all day and manage to do 13 caches of which some are also puzzle caches, which take us to the many historical places of the city, including the Dromedaris which dates back to the 15th century.











Some of the highlights are the marina and the many draw bridges.






























We camp at the farm, where the prices are a lot lower than the official camp grounds.
Annemieke and I enjoy one more walk in the woods after supper before we turn in for the night.


Monday, May 25
There's a cool wind today, but I nevertheless make an early walk in the woods. Afraid to get lost, I keep a close eye on each turn I make and the position of the sun.





Last night we had preordered some freshly baked buns, which Ramiro picks up from the farm.



We drive back to Enkhuizen to do the rest of the caches.



It turns out to be sunny day after all with a temperature of 23 degrees C.
There is so much water and so much green. Quite different from what we are used to at home.
We walk and we walk. I love being able to spend the entire day outdoors.
There is so much history. The town is doing its best to preserve as many of the old buidlings as possible.







On the way home we drive through the back country and many little villages.

Tuesday, May 26

Annemieke needs to go to Den Helder, to the hospital, where she is invited to observe the foot doctor.
It's a coastal city on the most north western tip of Noord Holland.
Unfortunately it rains most of the day and there is a strong wind, so all we can do is drive.
Well, Fred has it all planned. We do a series of 12 speed caches. Of which one is a series of 8 different locations before we find the final one.
Once Annemieke is done we visit a place to have a drink before we make the drive back home.