Off to Croatia for My Birthday...

Our Room at Jupiter Luxury Hotel

Two days after we returned from England, I dropped the girls off at Schiphol for their flight to California to spend two weeks with my parents. The next day was my birthday, which conveniently is a holiday at Jimmy’s office. We had a lovely lunch with Jan and Bob in a garden cafe at Westbroek Park. Mister Toad’s Wild Ride came to mind during our ride in Bob’s convertible to Rotterdam Airport, but we made our flight to Split, Croatia without any problems.

Our first stop was the port of Split to check out the Nikola, which we are planning on chartering with friends next summer. When the agent heard that it was my birthday, she quickly served some wine for a toast. Not only were we very impressed with the ship, but we also loved the cherry tart that the chef made.

Newcastle to Ijmuiden Ferry...

The journey from Northern England back to the Netherlands took quite a bit longer than our usual southern route. The rooms weren’t as nice, but our view was fantastic from the center of the boat.

There was a very cool education center on board where we heard a lecture on the sea mammals that live in the North Sea. It was very windy when we went outside in search of some sea life. We enjoyed the entertainment on board: Jimmy and I did a wine tasting in one of the bars, we watched some of the Olympics on a big screen and danced to a live band.

Our Personal Fan Club...

While we headed to Newcastle to drop off the rental car and catch a bus to our overnight ferry, Sally and John headed to John’s parents. Sally mentioned that they might try to see our ferry off as it passed nearby. When she texted to tell me they’d be on the jetty just as the ferry headed out to the North Sea, I chose to surprise the girls. It brought tears to my eyes when we saw our best friends giving us a royal send-off complete with the wave and the YMCA.

Barnard Castle...

Rather than saying good-bye at Tower House, we decided to find somewhere to have a picnic together. We stopped in the town named after its 12th century castle: Barnard Castle.

Trout for Dinner...

The boys caught six trout. Lucky for us, with a father who was a fishmonger, Sally knew how to clean the fish so we could have a delicious dinner.

After dinner we took a short walk up the road in a direction we’d yet to explore. We were all sad that our fantastic week was already over.

Day 6: The Trout Farm...

On our last day at Tower House, Andrew requested that we go to the nearby trout farm so he could go fishing. Jimmy and I walked over to grab some photos and buy some trout paté. Ashlynn and Veronica weren’t interested in trying to fish, but were happy to hang out while the boys caught our dinner.

In the Nick of Time...

We arrived at The Black Swan Pub just as they were getting ready to close the kitchen after lunch. Luckily, they didn’t turn us 10 hungry walkers away.

We had some drama on our walk home when Ellie realized her glasses had slipped out of her pocket. Luckily she found them without having to return all the way to the pub.