Walking to Leiden...

While Ashlynn was at her shoot, Jimmy and I joined Carlin and Kent for another Coast-2-Coast training walk as part of our commitment to try to complete at least one long walk per weekend. These two photos were taken in our neighborhood on the way to their house...

...and these two were taken as we walked along the Vliet on our way to Leiden.

We were happy that Ashlynn could join us in Leiden after her shoot for an Indian dinner. We then dropped her off at a bus stop as we made our way back home for a total walk of 11.4 miles (18.4 kilometers).

More Cool Model Shots...

Love the Results...

Back in the Studio...

Early on a Sunday morning in mid-April, Ashlynn headed to Voorburg for a photo shoot at the studio of Vincent Kos Photography for a school project for stylist Cheyenne Leonards entitled Black and White.

Make-up artist Sjaatsy Porier gave Ashlynn a soft look with straightened hair. It still always surprises me to see Ashlynn with full eyebrows.

Ashlynn said that Vincent’s studio was the nicest studio she’d ever shot in. It was also her first shoot that was entirely in Dutch; that is, they spoke to her in Dutch and she answered in English.

Flowers and Fashion...

Arrived a little early for the AWC tour of a fashion exhibit at the Rijksmuseum, which gave me the perfect chance to see the lovely tulips placed in the Museumplein fountain in honor of Tulip Festival, featuring 500,000 tulips planted all around the city.

The exhibit showcased Dutch fashion from 1625 through 1960 in six different galleries. I especially liked the catwalk.

This was definitely the most fascinating outfit: a wedding dress from 1759. Can’t imagine how the bride managed to sit down for dinner wearing this 6.5-feet (2-meter) wide dress which also had a long and wide train.

It was nice to see some flowers in bloom on the train ride home.

Attempting to Recreate a Moment in History...

On  March 25, 1996, Kathy and Phil hosted a farewell party for me and Jimmy. In addition to haring a hash and having a great dinner, we had an incredible photo shoot in their living room including some kooky shots on their staircase.

Twenty years later, we made an attempt to recreate one of our favorite photos. Even without our dear friends Sharon and Brett, we had a difficult time lining ourselves up correctly, but still had fun trying.

Luckily a neighbor came over to capture all of us in our best attempt to recreate that moment in our combined history, which turned out extra special since Ross and Ashlynn joined in. Thanks to Kathy and Phil for a great party, and Dan and Nancy for a great weekend.

Hash Horrors Meet...

To be honest, Ashlynn wasn’t thrilled about the idea of going to Kathy and Phil’s since we thought she’d be the only kid there since their 17-year-old son Ross was supposed to be umpiring a baseball game. Luckily his plans changed and he was home. While I wanted Ashlynn to meet my friends, what she really enjoyed was spending the afternoon with Ross and his sweet dog.

I thought it was very sweet when Ross invited Ashlynn to go along with him to hang out with his friends that evening at a park and offered to drive her back afterwards to Dan and Nancy’s. Ashlynn found the entire experience quite interesting, especially since she’d never actually hung out with a group of American teenagers before.