First day of our road trip

Sunday morning we (Preston, Anita, Jip, Jeske and I) got an early start and headed to the southern most part of Holland. Preston brought his DVD player which kept the kids entertained.
All of the Netherlands in going vacation right now and I was amazed at the number is small cars pulling small trailers that we passed on the road. I don't think anyone will be left in Holland to run the country and work.

Anita has a Tante (aunt) Anny and Oom (uncle) Wim that live there and we will stay with them for the next few days. They live in Ulestaraten, a small village. They welcomed us with the Dutch flag flying in front of their house. We had drinks in their beautiful garden in the back, (stopping and having a drink several times a day is part of our life now) and planned what we were going to do the rest of the day.
Tante Anny decided that she would come with us and be our tour guide so we wouldn't get lost. First off, we headed for Margarten, a US WWII war cemetery. It is the only one in the Netherlands and is the resting place for over 8,300 soldiers. It is a very moving place and even the teenagers were somber.

Both Presidents Clinton and Bush had been there on Memorial Days. It was in a beautiful place and so well taken care of.
This part of the Netherlands is actually hilly and Tante Anny took us through a tour of picturesque small villages. While we traveled, she pointed out the influences of the French and Germans on the architecture and the castles which are everywhere. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.

We went to Vaals which is where three countries meet and the highest spot in the Netherlands (I think about 800 meters, not as high as Mesa). We grappled for position and got our picture taken where some of us were in the Netherlands, some in Belgium and others in Germany.

There was tall tower you could climb and look at all the different countries. Preston isn't seeing much though with his eyes closed! This is a pretty touristy place so there were lots of people. On the way back we stopped for a drink and the place we stopped also had Belgium waffles which Preston had been anxious to try. They were great and I would highly recommend them to you all. Of course, the ones in the states aren't the same so you need to come to Europe.

As we continued our tour we stopped at a small castle that is still being lived in. It had a mote around it with HUGE catfish in it.

The boys thought it was great to throw rocks in and watch the fish go after them. I gave them a granola bar to fed to the fish and we had a feeding frenzy on our hands.
From there we found a village with a chair lift and alpine slide.
The slide was short and you got to ride back up and take the other track down and then ride back up again. It was a metal slide and faster than the ones in Park City and Durango I think. Preston got going too fast both times down and fell but just walked away with a burn on his elbow. It was lots of fun.
Tante Anny and Oom Wim's gorgeous backyard.

While we were gone, Oom Wim was suppose to be working on a barbecue for us to have when we got home. There was tons of food and when he started up the grill - the gas was gone. It made me feel better after all the times I had run out of gas on Sunday dinners. We ended up having to cook everything on the stove or in the oven, but it all turned out great.
For our entertainment for the evening, Preston juggled and Oom Wim, Jip and Jeske all tried.
We hit golf balls and tried to hit the fry cooker (they have special cookers for french fries which are a part of most meals). Then we had a cherry pit spitting contest.

Finally, we went inside for a piano recital. Preston played his recital song, Jeske played a song, Anita played and Oom Wim showed everyone up and played anything you could hum. All the girls sang around the piano while he played and Preston and Jip just looked on - not the singing type. Oom Wim reminded me of my Grandma Long and how she could play the piano and improvise. It was a great evening and day!