Coolest Thing...

As much as I loved the boats, the coolest thing I saw at the parade was definitely this fellow on a Flyboard, which combines a water jetpack with a personal water craft.

It was totally crazy how high up he went.

Just after that high performance, he had to go down into the water in order to pass under a bridge. 

Definitely a great way to spend the evening! Bummer that Jimmy couldn’t join us as he was working at the musical.

Very Cool Boats...

This was my favorite boat. How clever to combine Legos with a Mondriaan design.

Leiden Boat Parade...

After a day in The Hague, we headed into Leiden to see the annual boat parade. As always, the canals were lined with spectators.

We found a great place to sit near the end of the route so we wouldn’t miss any of the action. The boats were decorated in a wide variety of themes from scary clown....

...to cross-dressing mermaid with giant octopus...

...to floating crates of beer.

In Honor of Veteran’s Day...

The next day, we cycled into The Hague. Our timing was perfect as we arrived at the Hofvijver just as paratroopers skydived into the water in honor of Veteran’s Day.

It appeared that the target was a small inflatable boat, which none of the divers actually hit. Nonetheless, it was a nice show.

Afterwards, we walked around the center and visited the Panorama Mesdag.

Raleigh Hashers in Amsterdam...

Our next set of guests were Susie, Bonnie and Bill who were travelling in Europe as Bonnie’s high school graduation gift. They stayed with us for five nights. Here they are in front of the giant bike parking garage next to Amsterdam Centraal on our first of two visits to Amsterdam.

Susie loves taking selfies, which work pretty well with her large phone and her long arms. Here we are in the Jordaan on the way to the Anne Frank House.

Saw this funny Heineken boat along the way.

Afterwards, we visited Dam Palace and walked around the Red Light District.

We also stopped for some genever at Wynand Fockink.

Unfortunately, the scaffolding distracts somewhat from their cute wooden shoe photo.

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!

Although the final rehearsals were in the middle of her IB mock exams, Veronica attended as many as she could. I loved sitting in the front row and watching her. Here she is with Tom center stage during their few lines.

Theirs was a very funny song and the desk chairs made for a great car.

The show was awesome! It was wickedly funny and really well acted.

Jimmy was in charge of sound. He recruited Carlin’s son Mark, who had just graduated with a BS in Music Technology, to help out and they really enjoyed working together.

Musical Rehearsal...

Back in December, Veronica auditioned for a role in the AATG’s spring musical: I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Among the 20 vignettes about love and relationships, there was only one that featured teens. Despite her part being rather small, Veronica really enjoyed the rehearsals, although it was quite awkward when she stood in during the reading of one of the raunchier skits.

Here is the dress rehearsal at the AATG Warehouse for On the Highway of Love.