Hashing in Outer Delft...

While Jimmy was busy fixing Bootjuh, I joined Hague H3 at the brewery De Koperen Kat in Delft at the end of March. Jimmy and I had explored much of the surrounding building before, this angle showed how massive it was.

I was surprised when the runners’ trail led us away from the city center and straight into the countryside, where we saw lambs...

...an intriguing sculpture garden... 

…a giant Delft pottery tulip vase...

…and a cyclist made of recycled metal. 

We ran through Technical University Delft, where we saw this colorful building...

…and cherry blossoms.

This looked like the perfect place for a beer stop, but no such luck.
 

First Spring Celebrations...

Despite a positive COVID test earlier in the day, that didn’t stop Jimmy for joining us for our first drinks of the year on the promenade deck. 

Two nights later, Veronica and I made him a birthday dinner. This year she made him cupcakes.

 

Cherry Blossom Time...

While Jimmy and I were self-isolating, Veronica and Brett went off in search of cherry blossoms. First they found them in V-town...

…and then they cycled to Amsterdamse Bos, where they had lunch and took lots of photos.

 

On Your Knees, Boys...

The following day, Jimmy helped Reinhardt install wooden floors. It was just in the nick of time before some major work was to be done that week.  

I swung by to see how things were going, take some photos and enjoy a beer with them. 

I kept my distance, which was just as well, since I tested positive the following day. Luckily we still had Terri’s car, so Jimmy could drive me to The Hague to get my official test, which confirmed the home test. Even more lucky, my only symptom was a very runny nose for about 24 hours. 

It took another two days, but Jimmy followed along by testing positive that Tuesday. He wasn’t quite as lucky as he had a fever and coughed for about 24 hours, but it was still very mild. Special thanks to all the scientists and medical staff that helped us get three jabs as protection. He was relieved that Reinhardt managed to escape catching it from him despite working together in tight quarters. Brett eventually succumbed as well, but also had a very mild case.  
 

The Afsluitdijk...

We were all sad to have to leave our waterfront chalet. 

Check-out was supposed to be 10 a.m., but the owner allowed us another hour so we could take a nice walk in the forest just outside of the vacation park. 

Rather than driving the most direct route home, we took a detour to drive across an engineering marvel: the Afsluitdijk. This 20-mile (32-kilometer) long and 300-foot (90-meter) wide dam was completed in 1932, damming off the Zuiderzee, a saltwater inlet of the North Sea, and converting it into the freshwater lake of the IJsselmeer. 

We stopped at the first viewpoint for a walk down to see the Wadden Sea, an intertidal zone of the North Sea.

It’s hard to tell, but this section was actually not flat, with the top of the grass at 23.8 feet (7.25 meters) above sea level. 

Off the coast was a huge wind farm. The largest inland wind farm in the world is being constructed on the opposite side.

Further along, we pulled over to see this visitor area with lots of information boards and a statue honoring the construction crew. 

In an effort to make the dam stronger and higher, 75,000 concrete blocks each weighing a massive 14,350 pounds (6,500 kilos) are currently being added. 

The current renovation also includes adding two additional discharge sluices and pumps to expand the ability to discharge water from the IJsselmeer into the Wadden Sea.

Here’s s screenshot from Google Maps to show our journey across the dam. We all agreed that the detour was definitely worth the extra driving time. That evening Veronica and Brett opted not to join us for a FILTH hash in Hillegom. We were the only two runners and did get pretty lost, but managed to eventually find trail. 
 

More Drenthe...

For a walk on our final full day in Drenthe, we found a smaller regional park, which seemed pretty basic compared to the national park. Kati was brave again, as seen by walking along these logs.

Here’s some more photos from our walk along the beach in front of our chalet...

...romantic love...

…and puppy love.
 

Photoshoot in Drenthe...

Brett brought along his large format camera, which took some time to set up for each shot.

I never saw the final photos as they were likely with a lot less clothing. 

On our drive back to the chalet, we saw signs for an egg vending machine and couldn’t resist checking it out. Clearly this must have been a factory farm, but since no chickens are allowed outside anywhere in the country due to bird flu, we didn’t feel too guilty. Brett usually eats three eggs per day, so bought two cartons.