A Walk Around Den Bosch...

Looking for something to distract me on what would have been my father’s 81st birthday, Carlin and I caught a train to Den Bosch. On a whim, I reached out to Mike, who had hared the great trail in Den Bosch in May, to see if he happened to be available to show us around. Not only was he available, he was a fantastic tour guide who seemed to know everyone despite only living there for five years. 

We covered much of the city center, passing sculptures recreating works by Hieronymus Bosch, placed around the city in 2016 in honor of the 500th anniversary of his death...

…lovely side streets...

…and the market square which is home to this old city well...

…and the oldest brick house in the Netherlands, built in the early 13th century and now housing the tourist office.

The shopping area is quite upscale with lots of cute boutiques. Clearly some of the international chains were also there, as seen here using an oversized bike to advertise eyeglasses.

Just as our walk headed outside the city center, we had to stop for a photo with this unusual statue.

Mike took us the opposite way of his hash trail, allowing new views of somewhere I’d been before.

We didn’t have to crank the ferry across the canal since there was a family on board happy to crank away. 

Once back in the city center, we headed towards the opposite side...

...to see the Citadel...

…and have a drink at this temporary waterfront pub. 

Afterwards, we picked up dinner and went back to Mike’s house to eat. We covered a lot of ground and had a great time!
 

Leaving Again...

Just 11 days after she arrived home from Namibia, Ashlynn was jetting off again—this time for two weeks in California to go to Dad’s memorial service and spend time with Ann. The night before she left, Sophie came over. 

The girls worked hard to make us a delicious dinner of spring rolls. 

I walked early with Ashlynn and Jimmy to the station the next morning to say goodbye. 

Luckily Jimmy went with her to the airport as she ran into several problems paying for her extra bag that would have been nearly impossible without his help. I was worried that she’d be over the weight limit as she was carrying a lot since she’d go straight to Glasgow from California. 

I stopped to chat with the artist who temporarily transformed a tar blob on a nearby path into a lovely ostrich. 

It added a bright touch during its short life.
 

Leiden’s New UNESCO Heritage Site...

At the end of July, Carlin drove us to Leiden to explore the new Park Matilo, located on the remains of the Roman fortress Matilo which was part of the northern border of the Roman Empire.

We had to take turns going up into a recreation of a guard tower since Kati was interested in joining us, but was scared of the open grid stairs.

We were curious to see how Kati would handle jumping across the logs in the little creek around the property, but that path was completely blocked off since we hashed there earlier in the week. 

Instead I tested Kati’s patience by stopping to take way too many photos of the butterfly garden, which thankfully had attracted several butterflies and lots of bees.

Like us, Kati is always happy to explore new places. 

One of the houses on the outer edge of the park had quite the collection of birdhouses.

Wild Swimming in the Sierras...

Veronica couldn’t resist swimming in many of the beautiful Alpine lakes that they encountered.

Some with swimsuits...

…and many without.

Some alone...

…and some with others.

 

Beautiful Eastern Sierras...

Although I grew up in California and lived there for 29 years, I am still blown away by its natural beauty. Veronica and Brett’s trip was a good reminder of how much of the state that I’ve never seen myself or haven’t seen since I was a kid when I underappreciated how incredible it is. Here are my favorites of the photos that Veronica shared with us during her journey.

Here’s their post of the highlights from their adventures, including this sunset at Thousand Island Lake.