Surprise Trip to Disneyland Paris...

Back in January we decided to spoil the girls with a trip to Disneyland Paris after the Eurohash weekend. I did my usual ridiculous amount of research to decide where to stay and for how long. Disney was offering good packages at their hotels, so we opted to stay at the Hotel New York for five nights. It wasn’t until the week before we left that the girls finally really questioned what we were doing for the rest of the week of half term. Jimmy originally made up some story about a postlube hash event in Southern France, but they saw right through his weak tale. We eventually gave in and told them what we were up to and after years of asking to go to Walt Disney World (Ashlynn was four when we last went and has only vague memories), they were very happy to visit the European version instead. It was a long journey from the hash venue and we were happy to see our nice room when we finally arrived. On Tuesday, we got up early to start five days of hitting the two parks.

Hashing in Valkenburg...

Opee was in charge of the Sunday hangover runs for about 500 hashers; his largest task as a hare in his hashing career thus far. He originally thought he’d have a team of hares, but ended up scouting all the trails on his own over two weekends earlier in the year. He chose Valkenburg because of its hilly geography and the shops and attractions are open on Sundays. Luckily Inspector Clue So-So joined him to prelay the four trails. The girls and I were sweeps on the Juvenile Delinquent Trail (6K or 3.75 miles), which was mostly through the beautiful countryside. There was a stop for laser tag in the caves for those interested while the rest of us stopped at a nearby pub for a beer.

All four trails converged at the FeestGrot, a party grotto in caves carved to remove limestone located above an old coal mine, where we enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner. No one got lost, everyone enjoyed the trails and only one hasher had to go to the hospital after falling and cutting her lip, so definitely a very successful day. It was an honor that Opee was invited to help with the Ballbreakers Team for the next Eurohash, but we already know we won’t be attending. Back at the castle that evening, we danced again to Madly until 1am.

Zulu Warriors...

After quite a comedy of errors with the buses, hashers were on their way to a variety of run starts. Opee went on the Ballbreaker, which was 26K (16 miles) crossing between Holland, Germany and Belgium. I went on the Medium, which was a 16K (10 miles) portion of the Ballbreaker trail. Thoroughly enjoyed the trail; the weather was perfect, the woods were beautiful and it was fun running with Just Laid from Orlando. We circled up near the point where the three countries meet. Then back to the venue for dinner and dressing up for the Zulu Party. Our costumes are a strange combination of items we bought at the flea market.

I was a little leery when I heard that the same band from the previous three Dutch Nash Hashes was playing because I was worried it would seem repetitive, but Madly had a lot of new material and was truly awesome. Ashlynn didn’t stick around all night, but Veronica was happy to sing and dance for hours;  Jimmy finally escorted her back to the dorm each night at 12:45am.

Eurohash 2011...

Two years after being part of the group that presented the bid in Turkey for Holland to host Eurohash in 2011, the big weekend was finally upon us. I had planned to help with registration, but instead got caught up trying to solve my own problem after finding someone else’s stuff in our room. Luckily, we were able to squeeze an extra bed into a friend’s room in the converted farmhouse across the street. After dinner the first night, there was a pub crawl around the De Berckt Castle, the perfect venue for 700 hashers. Clubs adopted the different bars by putting their own touches on the music, snacks and sometimes even the beer. The Belgians clearly had the best beer and the Americans had the best music. It was great catching up with hashers we’d met at other European hash events and seeing some old San Diego hashers; unfortunately, no one made it out from Raleigh.

The conference room in the attic was the dorm for the seven hash horrors. Little Mermaid was the official nanny, which meant that there was at least an adult around when they stayed up until 3am.

Out and About in Red Dresses...

Since it wasn’t a shopping night (which is on Thursday when the stores stay open until 9pm) nor Koninginnenacht (the night before Queen’s Day), I  was a bit skeptical if it would be a successful run. However, with the weather fully cooperating, the outdoor terraces along the Plein and smaller squares around the city center were full of people, which made for the perfect maximum exposure hash. In fact, Opee felt a bit too exposed and said he’d opt for a less skimpy outfit next year. Unlike Boghole, at least he didn’t run into any colleagues (still can’t figure out how Boghole was recognized in his atrocious wig). The route was a bit different this year, so instead of posing in front of the Queen’s Palace, here we are in front of the Peace Palace.

Ashlynn’s Old Baby Jogger...

We were happy that Jamie and little Sverre were able to join us (even though Sverre wasn’t in a red dress). It was especially fun to see Sverre in Ashlynn’s old baby jogger. We had brought it to Holland in hopes that some of our hash buddies from Raleigh would visit us, but it sat unused for over five years. When Jamie announced that Melanie was pregnant, we knew that the jogger was going to a good family and would finally get lots of use again. 

Another Red Dress Hash in The Hague...

After years of Jimmy complaining that I don’t pick out sexy enough outfits for him, I found him this very skimpy red skirt and halter top in Curacao. He found the perfect wig at a party shop in The Hague. I wasn’t quite as proud of my outfit. Not sure which was worse: that I fit in the dress Marc left behind or that he looked better in it? And I should have been suspicion when Hush Puppy said that rather than loaning me a wig, he insisted that I’d keep it. 

Unfortunately, the turnout was dismal despite the fantastic weather. Before we headed out on trail, we played a game with a toilet plunger and empty toilet paper roll; it was fun, but those photos aren’t fit for including. 

Another Generation of Runners...

Ashlynn was happy that her friends Andrew and Lauren were also running the 5K at the Royal Ten in The Hague. David wasn’t with them because he was seeded and got to start at the very front. I had originally registered for this race, but decided it was much more fun to cheer for the kids than to come dragging in 10+ minutes behind them.Veronica also skipped running after a late night at a slumber party. Much of the race course was cross country through the Haagse Bos, the forest surrounding the Queen’s palace. It was quite windy, but luckily the rains held off. Ashlynn came in 7th woman with a time of 22:21 (7:12/mile pace). Jimmy ran the more popular 10K and was happy with his time of 43:01 (6:55/mile pace).

One, Two, Three...Jump!

 Turns out that there were a few photos of Ashlynn at the adventure camp in the Ardennes up on the telegraph pole getting ready to jump off. Brave girl!

Surfing in Holland?

Ashlynn was very excited that she was invited to take a surfing lesson for Ellie’s 11th birthday party. It was a beautiful day when eleven 5th graders gathered at the beach near Scheveningen harbor for their first lesson. Ashlynn was convinced that she wouldn’t need a wetsuit, but luckily she had a change of heart because the North Sea was a chilly 60° F. 

The waves weren’t exactly the size you see on surfing movies, but were perfect for a bunch of beginners to practice getting onto their knees. All the girls had a great time! After dinner, Ashlynn went back to Ellie’s for a sleepover. Meanwhile, we dropped Veronica at Kelly’s 14th birthday murder mystery slumber party. With both girls gone, we cycled to Delft for a nice dinner, then headed to The Hague for an Indian Dance Party that I’d gotten free tickets for.

Teamwork and Fun on the Water...

Ashlynn really enjoyed all the time they spent on the water during the Ardennes trip. In addition to going kayaking, they also got to go down a small rapid in their life vests.

A big part of the week in the Ardennes is to work as a team, whether to keep their room in the hostel clean, to help doing kitchen duty or to build a raft out of inner tubes. Here you see that they managed to stay afloat.

An Adventurous Week for an Adventurous Kid...

Ashlynn had quite an exciting 11th birthday--she left that morning with her Year 6 (5th grade) class to go on a 4-night trip to the Belgian Ardennes mountains. Apparently she was embarrassed when she was called up front so everyone could sing to her, but she survived. She also survived all the adventure activities for the week, such as mountain biking for the first time and rock climbing. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a photo taken when on the most daring of the activities: climbing the telegraph pole and jumping off. Of course, she had on a harness; the goal was to grab a trapeze, which she managed to touch with one hand, but wasn’t able to hold on.

Speed Demon in Leiden...

On the day before her 11th birthday, Ashlynn ran in the Kid’s 2K as part of the Leiden Marathon. Imagine my joy as I stood on the ancient steps of the Leiden Stadhuis (city hall) and saw Ashlynn come flying down the street as the 2nd girl (and 9th kid) to cross the finish line. With a time of just 8:00, she hit her fastest pace yet at 6:26/mile. She also earned her first running trophy, which she is posing with at race headquarters in the Pieterskerk. Jimmy managed to get a very respectable 1:36:57 (7:24/mile) in the half marathon, especially considering he didn’t train and we were up late the night before at the gala.

AWC Gala...

This year the AWC hosted a gala to benefit autism efforts in the Netherlands. Terri and Chris hosted a few of us at their house for cocktails. We failed to get a nice photo of the guys, but Jimmy did get this one of the ladies all decked out.

Jimmy worked his butt off as the official photographer for the evening. The live auction was very successful, but took up most of the evening so the dancing started ridiculously late. It was very exciting to learn that the event raised € 50,000 to be split between a special needs school in The Hague and an autism musical therapy group.

I Was Kissed by a Seal at the Zoo...

We had just enough time before our taxi picked us up to stay after the seal show for a free kiss. No cameras were allowed, so those free kisses weren’t so cheap after all. But hey, how can you pass up an opportunity like this?

More Adventure...

 After their urbex adventure, Jimmy and the girls decided to go swimming. However, instead of starting in the water, they thought it would be more fun to start on the bridge....Ready, set, jump!

As usual, the wimp in the family stayed behind the camera and on dry ground. I was bummed to miss the best part of their swim: a private show by some dolphins at the nearby aquarium. Granted, they were separated by two fences, but Ashlynn was thrilled to see the dolphins jumping in the water from this vantage point.