Netherlands, August 2013, on two wheels......and no motor!

What a great summer!

 During August, Jim and I traveled to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam to meet our friends from the Dutch Connection for a two week bicycle trip. Previously in 2005 we biked the Netherlands with our 3 children who were then 20, 25 and 28 (all single in 2005, now all married!).  We enjoyed the trip so much, we jumped at the opportunity to join our friends again in Holland this summer.

This is the happy group traveling with the Dutch Connection!

 

Pat and Ernie Myers are the Dutch Connection.  No lovelier couple! We absolutely adore them!  Ernie is the leader of the strongest riders  - he is 78. We have to keep up with him!

 

Jim and Gloria in front of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

                                                   Jamie, Gloria, Jim, Joe and Adrienne in 2005.

 

The Rijksmuseum is a Dutch National Museum dedicated to the arts and history.  The Rijksmuseum was founded in The Hague in 1800 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808.  The current building (incredibly beautiful!) was constructed in 1885.  The museum has a collection that spans 1200AD to 2000AD, displaying over 8000 objects. There are masterpieces by Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Vermeer. 

 

Isn't this amazing! Early Van Gogh at the Van Gogh Museum.

I love Van Gogh's self portraits.

 

The Van Gogh Museum is on the same grounds as the Rijksmuseum and is dedicated to the works of Vincent Van Gogh. The Museum holds the largest collection of his works.

 

Rijksmuseum half model display.

 

I'm reminded of Downton Abbey! Thank goodness we don't have to wear dresses like these displayed.  Notice the long sleeves to cover their hands. Might be tough to ride bikes or race sailboats with this dress on!

Clive Van Orden from Williamsburg, VA. We have traveled on many trips with Clive and he met us in Maryland when we cruised the Great Loop in 2010-2011.

We enjoyed a candlelight canal cruise on one of the many canals in Amsterdam.

The group gathered at 830AM each morning to review the plan for the day. Riders are divided by their perceived skill and whomever they wish to follow!  Jim and I enjoyed the fast riders (of course, haha!) and there were about 10 in our group (5 for the longest ride.)  27 people were there for the two week ride. The Dutch Connection had another group coming for the next two weeks for an identical ride.

This is a Dutch parking garage in Harlaam. No cars, just bikes. Almost every street had a road for cars, a bike path and a path for pedestrians. Bike riders are respected, unlike the US.

 

Lunch along the North Sea.

This is what it's like in the busy city. These are two of our friends, Leslie Wilson (my pal), from Flushing, MI and Patti Zensinger from Hilton Head.

 

We visited the lovely, old canal town of Delft with streets lined by medieval houses. Its charm goes far beyond its fame as the center for the famous porcelain Delftware.

One typically thinks of Delft as blue and white, but I am charmed by the colored Delftware.

 

Patti Zensinger and I at the Kinderdijk, which is a village of 19 windmills built around 1740.  This group of windmills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands.

 

Kinderdijk is one of my favorite places on earth, probably related to my childhood in Holland, Michigan and my Dutch roots. So lovely!

Where did this come from? (OK, I took a picture of a postcard!)

 

As we rode from city to city, we would take diversions to interesting sights, such as the Sypesteyn Caste. There was a castle on this site in 1288, but the present structure is more recent.

Riding through the Gooi (try to say that in Dutch and you are spitting bullets are you pronounce the "g"). We rode in the dark for an ice cream treat with our lights on our bikes. Great way to end the evening!

Cheese markets are everywhere in Holland.  We found our favorite cheese was Jong Belegen.

Hydrangeas are everywhere. Most homes have beautiful gardens and hydrangeas are the most flower. Colors range from pink to maroon.

Houseboats are common.  Who could have a house in Holland without flowers! Gorgeous!

My camera is on a lanyard around my neck, so that I can take pictures as we ride. Bike paths are everywhere. This path rode through the gardens of homes along a canal.

 

Follow next Blog for Part 2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crawdad Summer Cruise of 2013

On Monday, August 26, 2013 Crawdad said goodbye to summer. Now that she is out of the water and I have time to write the blog!

We had a wonderful summer, traveling to the Great Lakes Cruising Club Rendezvous in Charlevoix, Michigan and the Great Lakes Grand Banks Association Rendezvous in Frankfort, Michigan. 

Our adventure started at Wheelers, in Bay City Michigan at the end of June and we traveled through Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. We rented a car in Frankfort and Jim drove me to Port Huron to race in the Port Huron to Mackinac Race.
Jim drove to Mackinaw City to pick me up at Mackinac Island with the boys, Buddy and BooBoo in tow.

The Epic Team pulled off a 3rd in the Mac Race!

 

Sometimes boating is fun, but sometimes those darn boaters have fireworks and Boo isn't so happy about the loud noises, but he has found a safe place to hide.

Buddy, on the other hand, doesn't care about much of anything, except a soft place to sleep and a good meal every now and then. Oh, and a little ball playing every now and then.....

 The Officers of Great Lakes Cruising Club are reviewing the fleet.  Nice uniforms!  Our friend Phil Doolittle is the scowling face in the front of the raft. He is really a rather pleasant guy. Must be Crawdad didn't look as good as Phil thought she should.....

We enjoyed the Great Lakes Cruising Club Rendezvous in Charlevoix, Michigan. The Municipal Marina is top notch as are the staff.  The kids have a great place to play in the fountain.

Immy and her pal, BooBoo. Doesn't Boo look happy?

 Evey, Immy, Boo and I enjoyed walking around downtown Charlevoix.

This is Alissa, my niece and her three beautiful daughters, Abby, Immy and Evy.

The GLCC took us on a tour of the Mushroom Houses. They are so unique and charming! The architect was a local man from Charlevoix.

There was a cigarette boat race on the day we were leaving Charlevoix. The boats jammed the only exit from Lake Charlevoix and Round Lake.  The drawbridge operator was clueless as he lowered the bridge on boats in the exit who were trapped by boats in front and behind. We were the last boat to escape before the drop of the bridge. A bit hectic to say the least!

Leland, view from the Cove Restaurant. Leland is an old fishing town.  The old fishing buildings are now charming shops.

We were surprised to find  Mr. Dorian in front of one of the shops, boyfriend to Ms. Dorey Kasper, from Fenton. They look like twins. They were made for each other.

We were joined by our friends Ann and Dan Larmore. They are considering buying a boat and cruising. Will they want to cruise after spending a week with us on Crawdad?

The Grand Banks Rendezvous was in Frankfort. Such a beautiful beach and a charming town!

But most of all we enjoy the sunrises

on Lake Huron in Harrisville, Michigan.  Is there anything more beautiful?