We both enjoyed a long weekend and that was with a special reason because we visited the Netherlands. We left already on Thursday and started with a visit to Wertheim Outlet village which wasn’t as good as we expected. From there we drove up to the Holliday Inn Express in Essen, Germany. We selected this hotel because we both didn’t felt like driving 679 km at once.

After arriving in Essen we had 2 things on our agenda, getting the Starbucks City Mug ‘Ruhrgebiet’ and get a donut at Dunkin’ Donuts! From our hotel it was a short walk to the city center where we also found 2 GeoCaches. At around 22 o’clock we were in our beds since it we would wake-up really early the day after.

This was the first 6th of September (my father’s birthday) without him and that was the main reason for our trip to the Netherlands. We wanted to have a fun day with my mother, my sister and little Jop-Jannes. Hugo my brother-in-law would join us in the evening since he needed to work. We woke up really early so we could take some donuts with us to enjoy together with my family. Further Jop played with his brand new noisy toy (I guess my sister and brother-in-law hate me at this moment), we went to  a restaurant at the Heide, we visited an amazing below water surface bridge, found a GeoCache, had dinner at my sister’s place before we watched “The Voice of Holland” together with my mother.

On Saturday we woke up a bit later and a 10 o’clock the house was full with visitors! Little Jop, Moniek, Hugo and Ronald joined us for a coffee, we made some great pictures of Jop and I played a while with him on the floor. What an amazing started. Afterwards we went to the annual fair in Steenbergen with my sister and had some typically dutch things to eat.

In the late afternoon we took our car up north to the family Schagen! On the way over there we found 2 Carpool caches which is something typically Dutch we believe since in our area there are none. After arriving in Nieuwegein we chatted a while over the past and how long it has been since we had seen Merlijn and Kay. Ria and Ruud we had seen once or twice more the last years. At least Kay didn’t remember us so it was some time… After fries and snacks and the special Kay Cache, where we scored our TTF, we went out for another 2 geocaches, we had a ride with a cable ferry and enjoyed a delicious ice-cream at Luigi’s in Vreeswijk. From there we walked back and soon it was close to eleven. Due to road works we took a detour to Steenbergen which led us a cross some highways: A2, A12, A20, A16, A15, A29 and the A4 close to midnight we arrived at my mother’s place.

The sunday morning started with packing our stuff, we visited Jop and I believe Hugo and Moniek where there too! And then it was celebration time, my mother-in-law celebrate here 57th birthday today so we could join. After the first piece of apple-crumble pie we went to see Danielle her grandfather and mother and before we left to Germany we got another piece of pie. The way back home was as boring as usual and at the end we were both really tired and happy to jump in our beds!

And this monday we both have an additional day of where I took some time to make the following movie with Jop-Jannes as the main actor:

Our completely booked vacation is coming closer and closer. Although we didn’t want to do a lot of driving by car we’d planned to drive north from Miami over the State Road A1A, but then we were looking at the map and thought about visiting Key West, the “SOUTHERNMOST POINT CONTINENTAL U.S.A.” accessible by civilians. So we’ve changed our hotel stays! We start with 2 nights in Miami Beach at the Crowne Plaza South Beach Z Ocean Hotel:

Afterwards we drive about 200 kilometer south towards Key West where we stay in the Crowne Plaza Key West La Concha for 1 night:

And after driving about 625 kilometer up north to Lake Buena Vista we stay there for the remaining 17 nights at the Staybridge Lake Buena Vista:


We can’t wait to get into the plane and take-off for Miami!!!