Dutch Nash Hash...

As soon as school got out for the year, we headed to Baarlo, near Venlo, back to the Castle de Berckt for a weekend of hashing and dancing. Rather than just hanging back at the castle, this year each girl actually ran a hash. While Jimmy ran the ball breaker, Veronica ran with me on the Saturday long run which started at the Drielandenpunt, where the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium all meet. Here we are standing in the Netherlands and Germany at the same time.

It was a lovely trail which ran through some old border crossings and it was nice that Veronica ran the 2nd half with me.

On Sunday, Ashlynn ran the long trail with Jimmy and thoroughly enjoyed being in the front of the pack. Although I ran a shorter trail, they still managed to stay in front of me the whole way. Luckily it stayed dry while we were on trail; it tipped down in the middle of the circle, which was cut short as everyone broke into a run to the buses.

Our Photo Studio...

 Sally and I got into the act as well.

Check out the advanced equipment Veronica and Jimmy used as their stool.

Great Friends...

It was very special that we were able to do this photo shoot before David left for Cambridge.

Another Nepal Fundraiser...

 (Here’s another set of posts 

that are out of order.) 

In March, Jimmy helped Veronica convert our living room into a photo studio so she could take family portraits to raise money for Project Nepal. It was a lot of work, but a very successful fundraiser.

Her final customers for the weekend were Sally and family, who really seemed to enjoy the session. 

Last Day of School...

July 18 was the last day of school.

Here is Veronica before her final day in Year 12 (11th Grade)...

and Ashlynn before her last day wearing a blue sweatshirt for middle school (Year 9/8th Grade).

Learning More about Southampton...

When I booked the trip to Southampton, I’d envisioned a lovely seaside town. Instead, we explored an industrial port city which wasn’t quaint at all. Luckily, the shopping was good, the fish ‘n chips were excellent and there was a convenient movie theatre. Before heading to the airport on Sunday, we visited the SeaCity Museum to learn more about the Titanic.

What a shock to learn that more than 500 households in Southampton lost a family member when the Titanic sank as 80% of the crew were locals.

Was surprised to see this at the airport, but apparently Southampton Airport was the first in the world to install chewing gum recycling bins. Not sure how successful this venture will be since just read that another British town has removed the bins after just three months of a six-month trial because they were being underutilized.

A Visit to Southampton...

(Sorry, this is out of order.) 

Veronica and I spent the weekend in Southampton so we could attend the University of Southampton Open Day. It was our first Open Day at a UK university and it was non-stop from the moment that we arrived. Veronica was impressed with the environmental science program, but neither of us were fond of the campus (while this photo is lovely, the rest of campus was rather bland).

The highlight of the tour was getting to see old BSN friends Ines and Miguel.

We had a great dinner Saturday evening at The Vestry Restaurant, located within an old church. The chocolate orange crème brûleé was heavenly.

Later that night, we went to a local pub to watch the Dutch play Costa Rica in the World Cup Quarter-Finals. Technically, Veronica wasn’t supposed to be in the pub since she’s under 18, but we just walked in confidently and tried to keep a low profile.

Well, maybe not such a low profile since we were wearing orange football shirts and lovely Hup Holland Hup scarves covered in Albert Heijn hamsters. The other bar patrons could have cared less about the game, but Veronica and I stayed until the bitter end when Holland finally won 4-3 in overtime.