That afternoon Diederik and the boys went to the 'Apenheul' (monkey hill). A very interesting zoo that is specialized in monkeys. These roam about as free as is possible without giving them a chance to escape. They are used to people and come very close to you.
From Loches we went on to Paris to Euro Disney. The TGV train goes right underneath it and that was too much of an opportunity to let it pass by. We have no pictures, because Kodak lost our film.

From Disney on it went to the Netherlands where we first stayed a few days in Scheveningen which is a coastal village next to Den Haag (The Hague). As so many times before, we stayed in the Carlton Beach Hotel, which has special family rooms, which is basically a very nice 2 bedroom suite with an additional room separated out with a bunk bed in it. It is right next to the beach, a few steps from the boardwalk and halve a mile or so from the clothing optional section of the beach.

On the second day, Jolien (one of Diederik's sisters) came with her 2 kids and we visited
Archeon. This is an archeological park where they have different sections describing how things were millennia or centuries ago. It was very nice to see Jolien with her kids and Archeon was very nice too. Except for the meal at the end, that was included with the visit. Halve of us had food poisoning the next day from the spareribs. After this visit to Archeon, Jolien went with us to our hotel, where we smuggled her and her kids into our room for the night.

The second day Diederik's sister Helly also joined with her family. All these pictures are also lost. We spend the day on the beach always a favorite with any kids.

Then it was on to Deventer where Diederik's parents live in an apartment building on the 5th floor right on the river front. With such a location you get a magnificent view, especially since you can not build at the opposite of the river. The first picture shows the view from the balcony. The second picture was taken during a walk across the river. The picture is taken into the direction of the old down town. Diederik's parents live to the right of this picture.
Europe 2005

In August or 2005, Diederik took Nathan and Stephen to Europe to visit Diederik's family in France and the Netherlands. Stephanie and Jordan stayed home, because the trip would just be too much for Jordan. The outbound flight was not too bad, because at the last moment we had been able to exchange our economy tickets on United Airlines for business class tickets on Lufthansa in exchange for a pile of frequent flyer miles. So we flew from Newark to Paris, from there with the TGV to Tours, and then further in a car to Loches. There we stayed in the same hotel we had been before. We picked that hotel again because it has a pool, where the boys can get rid of their energy.
From Loches we went on to Paris to Euro Disney. The TGV train goes right underneath it and that was too much of an opportunity to let it pass by. We have no pictures, because Kodak lost our film.

From Disney on it went to the Netherlands where we first stayed a few days in Scheveningen which is a coastal village next to Den Haag (The Hague). As so many times before, we stayed in the Carlton Beach Hotel, which has special family rooms, which is basically a very nice 2 bedroom suite with an additional room separated out with a bunk bed in it. It is right next to the beach, a few steps from the boardwalk and halve a mile or so from the clothing optional section of the beach.

On the second day, Jolien (one of Diederik's sisters) came with her 2 kids and we visited
Archeon. This is an archeological park where they have different sections describing how things were millennia or centuries ago. It was very nice to see Jolien with her kids and Archeon was very nice too. Except for the meal at the end, that was included with the visit. Halve of us had food poisoning the next day from the spareribs. After this visit to Archeon, Jolien went with us to our hotel, where we smuggled her and her kids into our room for the night.

The second day Diederik's sister Helly also joined with her family. All these pictures are also lost. We spend the day on the beach always a favorite with any kids.

Then it was on to Deventer where Diederik's parents live in an apartment building on the 5th floor right on the river front. With such a location you get a magnificent view, especially since you can not build at the opposite of the river. The first picture shows the view from the balcony. The second picture was taken during a walk across the river. The picture is taken into the direction of the old down town. Diederik's parents live to the right of this picture.
The next morning we went to visit Aunt Louise who has lived here for many years in a tiny village called Cercey. It is tiny; less than 6 houses. The first picture shows the backside of here house. Aunt Louise, Nathan and Stephen are sitting on her patio.
The next picture is taken in the other direction. Stephen is still sitting on the patio, but now you can see part of the backyard and the view from the house. Depending on the time of the year you are there, the bare fields can be covered with Sunflowers, which are grown here for the seeds. The following picture shows us having lunch on the patio.
Sunday everybody went to brunch. The first picture shows Opa (Diederik's father) with Nathan. The second picture shows Oma (Diederik's mother).
That afternoon Diederik and the boys went to the 'Apenheul' (monkey hill). A very interesting zoo that is specialized in monkeys. These roam about as free as is possible without giving them a chance to escape. They are used to people and come very close to you.
Then to conclude two pictures from the return flight. This was an unusual flight in that Lufthansa flies small planes from Germany to the US that are completely Business Class. This plane had only 48 seats.
The youngest of Diederik's four sisters lives in the same town as his parents. Of course we visited Cornelie, her husband Mark and their son Duco. When we arrived Duco was waiting for us by their driveway.
During this visit went for a little walk through the neighborhood. After that walk we had coffee on the patio behind their house. The first picture includes Mark and Duco. The last picture is of Cornelie and Diederik.