A Visit With Family - May 5-8, 2012

     After our return from Holland, we had to visit with Stella. Here she is with her Dad.

     Here she is standing up at the coffee table.

     Grandmother had to watch over her.

     She crawled over to her 'Jumpy Machine". Aimee put her in it and she jumped for about 45 minutes.

     She had a great time jumping. She played with all the toys on the Jumpy stand.

     We also visited with Eddie Mack and Joyce. Here are two of their grandchildren, Elizabeth and Daniel.

     Michelle is with the youngest, Gabrielle. She is 5 months old.

     Here is Grandmother Joyce preparing the evening meal.

     Granddaddy Eddie Mack and Miss Gabby

    This is Elizabeth with her dad, Donald.

Our Netherlands and Belgium Cruise - April 2012

From April 19 to April 28, 2012, we were on our first European trip. We cruised on the MS Amaverde. We saw lots of wonderful sights. Amsterdam is a city built on the water. There are canals every where. There are also more bicycles than people. And there are millions of people. We also toured the cities of Volendam, Arnhem ( The Bridge Too Far town), Nijmegen, Antwerp, Ghent (in Belgium), Willemstad, Kinderdijk, and Ultrecht.

We were with a group from South Carolina. There were 11 of us. It was a wonderful collection of folks. Our leaders were Rev. Tom Malone and Ms Alda Kop of Universal Travel. I have included a few pictures from our trip in the next six "Posts". I highly recommend that you put this trip on your "Bucket List".

Our First Days in Amsterdam

 Amsterdam is a city of canals and bridges and bicycles and houseboats.

 Jan is standing in front of the warehouse where the Anne Frank home was on the top floor of the Annex.

 One of many bridges that are in the city. We took a canal boat tour of the city.

          Just a picture of us doing a little sight seeing.

 On our first night on the MS Amaverde we had a champagne "Welcome Aboard" party. This is a picture of the Captain and the Hotel Manager.

 Yes, you are seeing correctly. McDonald's is everywhere. Also you can find lots of "Subway's" and a Burger King and a KFC every once in awhile.

The canal here is lined with stores selling souvenirs and tulip bulbs.

Floriade - April 22, 2012

 Every 10 years, Floriade - World Horticultural Fair - is held in the Netherlands. There were more than 100 exhibitors from dozens of countries. There were horticultural exhibits, cultural attractions, hands on demonstrations, restaurants, music, and lots of gifts and nursery items for sale. The grounds were as large as Epcot Center at Disney.

 One of the buildings was like the largest flower show that you have ever seen.

 The exhibits were amazing. They were mind boggling.

 Here are the three amigo-ettes. I think they were stalking us!!!

 I could not figure out how this Chick-Fil-A cow got to Holland and why it was decorated in disguise.

All the flags of the countries who had exhibits greeted you upon entry.

A Visit to Willemstad - April 25, 2012

 Here we are in the small town of Willemstad. It is on the river and is a beautiful and quaint village.

 This windmill had been converted into a private home.

 You can see our ship in the background. The sun is shining and it isn't too cold today.

 A nice view of the harbor. The city is still completely surrounded by an old city wall.

 This is a picture of the first Protestant church in the Netherlands. It is 400 years old.

 We had an organ recital here. The music was gorgeous. The inside of the church was impressive.

 This is a cafe at the waterfront. We did not have time to eat here.

 You can see bells at the top of the building. They were used to warn the town folks about any enemy approaching by sea or if there was a fire. The bells played on the hour and we got to hear them.

This is some of the merry band who went walking today.

Keukenhof Gardens - April 26

This is Noah's Ark which is found in Amsterdam. A rich man is building this with his own money. It will be a tourist attraction.

 This is one of many tulip fields which are on the way to Keukenhof Gardens. You see field after field of these beautiful tulips.

 This is the first of the pictures in the Gardens. Seven million tulip bulbs are planted every Fall. The Gardens are open for only 8 weeks each year. Over 800,000 visitors are expected to come. The designs and colors are amazing. This is the highlight of the tour for Jan and me. After the 8 weeks, all of the bulbs are dug up. Each year is a new beginning.

Our Last Dinner on the Ship - April 26

 The South Carolina Eleven had their favorite table for dinner every night. We made lots of noise, drank lots of wine, and laughed lots.We had a super group. We also had Susanne from Cincinnati to join us each night. Here are Kittie and Linda.

                       Jan and Gail are next.

                      Here are Christy and Susanne.

                 This shows almost all of us.

      Joyce was the amazing one. She kept us entertained. Alda cannot believe her latest statements.

                          This is another view of the group.

              Freeman, Tom, and Sandy - some of these had left some of their marbles at home.

       Here is our Wonder Woman. She and Joyce were from LA ( Laurens Area).

             Here is the little wine lady who kept our wine glasses overflowing.

                          Our favorite waiter with Wonder Woman!

                           Everyone of the ladies got a hug good bye.

We had to watch out for these two. We had a great time. There was never a dull moment on this trip.