Rub-a-dub-dub, Three Models in a Tub...

...a floating bathtub that is. It was great that it worked out for us to take Ashlynn, Isa and Soso for a boat ride. Of course, Jimmy didn’t mind having three pretty ladies in the front of his boat. 

From the attention they got from passing boats, other guys didn’t mind their presence in Leiden either. 

Honestly, they were quite entertaining...

…and were nice enough to take a rare photo of the two of us.

Luckily they didn’t spend all of their time on devices...

…and remembered to check out the sunset.
 

Socially-Distanced Pub Crawl in Leiden...

The following night, Opee hared a FILTH H3 Socially-Distanced Pub Crawl in Leiden. Normally we would stand shoulder-to-shoulder at the various stops, but standing was no longer allowed at bars due to coronavirus guidelines. So his goal was to find bars where there were enough seats for nine outside so we could sit far enough apart. One such stop was Lemmy’s Beer Café where I enjoyed my first Elvis Juice by BrewDog, a delicious and refreshing grapefruit beer.

We were thrilled that Ashlynn joined us and brought along two friends she’d met while modeling; Isa is Dutch and Soso is German. The three girls were staying at an AirBnB for a few nights in Leiden and clearly weren’t bothering to keep distance. Sissy Pants was very excited to pose with three models in front of what could be his namesake: Sissy-Boy, a Dutch clothing store. 

Loved how these symbols showed folks where to plant their butts.

We finished the hash outside at the Het Stadsbrouwhuis (City Brewery) with a few down-downs. 

Afterwards we moved upstairs to share a giant table for some late-night snacks. 
 

Reflections in Amsterdam...

On the walk back to the train station, we saw a lot of cool reflections. Most are obvious what they are, but just in case: windows of a houseboat...

…a lit bridge...

...A’Dam Lookout, a tower on the other side of the Ij River...

...a cool metal bridge...

…the big bike parking garage...

…Basilica of St Nicholas (which we still haven’t been to)...

…an almost full moon over tourist boats...

…and Lovers Canal Cruises.
 

Hashing in Amsterdam...

The first weekend in August should have been the Gay Pride Parade, one of our favorite AH3 annual events. At least we could still have a regular socially distanced hash. 

Abbie and I got completely lost on trail—clearly she didn’t have any inside information from her mother who was a co-hare—but that didn’t stop us from having a great time. Afterwards we had drinks at Café Palm Springs; Palm Springs will always be special to us (the city, not the café) because it’s where we fell in love at a hash event in March 1992.

It’s not everyday that you see a strawberry driving down the street. 

Always love the giant shutters of the former warehouses in the Jordaan neighborhood.

Also love all the flowers placed along the bridges. 

On our walk back to the station, we saw this vending machine selling bike lights...

…and this beautiful tiled wall on an underpass. 

Not sure how long this bike was parked at our local train station, but do know that it was gone a few days later. 
 

Birds and a Chick in Amsterdam...

The following day we headed up to Amsterdam to hash. On the way from Amsterdam Centraal to the start, we passed a lot of pigeons hanging out along the canals...

…a blue heron on a rooftop...

…some plastic geese hanging outside a toy store...

…and a topless chick drinking coffee in a canal. 

 

Veronica + Brett Leave the White House Commune

On August 1, Opee hared our final White House Commune Hash. It was short and basic with a blackberry stop. 

Strap Me Down was happy to have brought Kati along. 

We were sad to see them leave, but it was time for Veronica and Brett to get back to Exeter and take care of a bunch of administrative things such as getting ready to move out of their respective flats. Jimmy and I accompanied them to the ferry terminal to be on-hand in case there were problems at passport control since they had overstayed their tourist visas. The officer spoke to them much longer than usual and Veronica pointed us out, but they were allowed to leave without being fined. The million dollar question remains: what happens when they try to come back in the spring?

Veronica was excited about bringing Brett on his first ferry journey. She was also excited that they had decided to live together upon their return to Exeter—clearly a pandemic success story. 
 

Andrew’s 21st at Wassenaar Beach...

On July 31, we were honored to be invited to celebrate Andrew’s 21st birthday, who was supposed to have stayed in Boston through the 4th of July, but like the girls, had to rush back in mid-March. Not only was it Andrew and Hannah’s last night in Holland, but also Veronica and Brett’s. We cycled out to Wassenaar Beach and were shocked to see how much bike parking had been set up. Luckily we could continue to the closer parking since it was already 9 p.m.

Sally kindly provided us with bubbly, snacks and dessert. It was so great to see them after all those months!

It was a beautiful night with a clear view down to Scheveningen.

When the kids stripped to go for a swim, we were surprised to learn that Ashlynn had a new tattoo that she had managed to forget to mention to us. Turns out she and Bjarne had gotten matching tattoos based on the design of a ring she’d bought in Vietnam. She assured us that regardless of what happened with Bjarne, it was a design that signified the magical time she had in Australia and Vietnam. 

The five of them enjoyed a short swim at sunset.

The moon wouldn’t be full for another few nights, but made a nice show as it rose over the dunes...

…and made a great backdrop for what, unbeknownst to us at the time, would be our last family photos of 2020.

With that large moon, the gang convinced me to try cycling back over the dunes without turning on my lights. The idea terrified me, but it turned out that the lines on the bike paths were reflective so it was surprisingly easy to stay on the path.