More Boats...

It was cool to see this solar boat.

Balloons were a common theme. Check out the colorful hair...

....and the fancy outfits.

There were also Santas with a folding Christmas tree...

....sheikhs with beach bunnies....

....and some crazy guys who jumped into the cold water to swim along the Oktoberfest boat. All-in-all, another great parade and a very fun night.

Foldaway Floats...

It was fascinating to see how not only did the passengers have to duck, but some of the floats had to be folded as well.

This one for the Leiden newspaper was particularly clever.

This ambulance was also very clever.

Leiden Boat Parade...

While both our girls were heading to ferries, Jimmy and I headed to Leiden to watch the annual boat parade. We were surprised to run into Jan and Bob who had rented a boat to show a friend around Leiden and didn’t even know that about the parade. We got a lift from there to near where we’d stake out our spot for the next few hours.

We couldn’t take a photo of ourselves, but this shot of the fellows across the canal gives you the idea of what our seats were like; our clothes were not nearly as colorful.

We were perfectly situated to see the passengers have to duck under the bridge.

Even the little Minions were too big to clear the low bridge.

This was definitely one of the cutest boats.

Practice Trek...

Here is Ashlynn as she prepared to leave for her overnight Project Africa practice trek on the Dutch island of Texel.

While Ashlynn was taking this ferry to Texel, Veronica was preparing to sail on the overnight ferry to Norwich, where she’d be spending her final night in her house before moving to London.

As they arrived fairly late, the group took a bus from the port to the campsite. The next morning they did some team building exercises and then hiked the 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) back to the port. Ashlynn had a lot of fun. 

Harry Potter Comes to Utrecht...

We knew that this summer wouldn’t be like our usual since Veronica would be starting work shortly after finishing her second school year (more on that later) and would only have three nights to stay with us in June. Ashlynn surprised her by skipping school and meeting her at the ferry. They then dropped Veronica’s stuff off and we all headed to Utrecht to go to the Harry Potter Exhibit. Yes, we were suckers and paid for the official photo.

Ashlynn volunteered to try the Sorting Hat, which placed her in Gryffindor, the same house as Harry, Ron and Hermione, although she thinks she might be better suited to Hufflepuff.

Compared to the Harry Potter Studios that we visited in 2012, this exhibit was quite small, but we still enjoyed seeing some of the props and costumes once again.

As you can see, Veronica took it very seriously when she had the chance to pull a mandrake out of a pot.

Not actually sure which movie used this creepy giant clown, but it was fitting with all the clown hype these days.

Our tall girls looked small in Hagrid’s chair.

Afterwards, we’d originally thought we’d wander around Utrecht, but instead we caught a train to The Hague to watch Wonder Woman in IMAX 3D. I’m not a big fan of super hero movies, but was intrigued after all the great reviews—we all loved it. Rest assured, we didn’t dine at Burger King but found the crowns.

Meanwhile in Amsterdam...

While I was walking through the hills in Belgium, Ashlynn was in Amsterdam for a photo shoot for the graduating class of hairstylists, make-up artists and stylists at the House of Orange. Surprisingly, her first shot was with natural hair and minimal make-up.

Clearly this was a very different look with heavy make-up and styling including some funky big bug pins. Ironically, it worked out that my blog is three months behind because that’s how long it took for us to get these photos.

Hangover Hash in Belgium...

Despite Sunday’s hangover trail starting around the corner from the Orval Abbey, we never even saw it. Instead we saw this scenic spot on the way to the start of the trail.

We didn’t even pretend to run on Sunday. I brought my camera along, but there was little opportunity to use it in the thick woods.

Luckily one of the guys did a nice job of photographing everyone, so there’s a few shots of me with my friends. As usual with Belgian hashes, the circle was great fun. I caught a ride back to Holland with Abbie and Derek, which definitely was nicer than taking the train home alone. Another great hash weekend!

Hashing in the Ardennes...

We had to walk about 1.25 miles (2K) to the start of the hash trail because the hare thought the route between the campsite and the start was too boring to be included in his beautiful trail. While that seemed silly at first, he was right as the scenery was impressive.

Also as silly as it sounds, I was worried about my health after really struggling on the trail, which seemed to just be an easy path through the woods. After much huffing and puffing, I was relieved to see that the trail had actually gained some good elevation as we looked down upon the river next to our campsite.

I ran much of the way with Abbie...

...and Ola, who I was especially thrilled to see for the first time since she had moved to Germany.

Julie was frequently called up for down-downs during the circle as we helped her celebrate her 50th birthday. She came well prepared with plenty of bubbly for everyone.

There were several ceremonies and Nick sang a great song, but the most shocking moment was when Higgins presented Julie with his university degree in engineering and then set it on fire. Needless to say, it was a crazy night with good food and much merriment.

Glamping in Belgium...

While Jimmy had an opportunity to hash in Switzerland without me, I had a chance to go solo on a hash camping weekend with Brussel’s GoNAD H3 (Going Nowhere Always Drunk) in Saint Cecile in the Ardennes. After catching a train to Brussels and spending a fun night at Julie and Alan’s beautiful home, we headed to the mountains on Friday morning. While most folks were staying in tents, Julie had kindly put me in touch with some ladies who had an extra bed available in a yurt.  

Unlike the fancy yurt we stayed in Ithaca several years ago, this was a simple round tent with wooden floors and cute decor. Here’s my bed, which was definitely much more comfortable than the ground would have been.

Our yurt was cozy and warm, which was perfect as it did get a bit chilly at night.

We had to use the communal bathrooms, but had our own private kitchen with electricity just outside of our yurt, which came in very handy for breakfast and charging our phones.

Didn’t get any photos of dinner and hanging out on Friday night, but here’s one of the whole gang before we set off for the hash on Saturday afternoon.

Historic Voorschoten...

The second manor house was just up the road. Built in 1833, Beresteijn has been vacant for many years. It is now owned by a real estate developer that will tear down all the adjacent buildings to build an apartment complex. The only part that will remain will be this facade to which four retirement apartments will be built. 

Some of the adjacent buildings are empty...

...but others house anti-squatters, most of which are artists willing to temporarily live in dilapidated buildings in exchange for ensuring that actual squatters don’t move in.

The woods behind the buildings were the prettiest we’d ever seen in our town. It’s such a shame that they’re not open to the public. Of course, that didn’t stop us from scheming about bringing the hash there.

At the back of the property we discovered a hill over a tunnel built next to a creek. It was cool to see this state-of-the-art way to store ice in the past. It would also make the perfect place for a drink stop on our hash.