Antwerp to Tholen ~ Boat Cruising Into the Netherlands, Coffee Stop, and Strawberry Vending Machine #2 (Day 9, Part 1 of 2)

 

Our morning started a little differently as we departed from Antwerp ~ we stayed on the boat.  We had our daily briefing after breakfast, which worked out great since so many had spent the previous evening in Antwerp. 

 

 

The scenery was nice once we were away from the docks, but we would have preferred being on our bikes!

 

Our riding for the day started in the afternoon and in a new country ~ we were in the Netherlands!  I didn't know the difference at the time - both countries are extremely bike friendly and our routes were easy and flat.  We continued with our strategy of staying behind the group and enjoyed another beautiful day.  We rode for a while in a forest that was incredible.  My phone stayed in my backpack and I just enjoyed the ride!  We did stop for coffee, I think these were iced lattes...

 

Our next stop was the Canadian World War II Cemetery.  I will do a full post on this because the men who are buried there deserve more than just a sentence or two.  

 

We found our second strawberry vending machine and the strawberries were just as delicious here.  By the time I wanted to take a picture my hands had too much juice on them.  Our final destination was the small town of Tholen.  There was a bridge we had to cross and we had the best laugh - two elderly women were riding side by side in their motorized scooters.  They were just having a great time chatting and never even flinched when we rode past them. 

It was another perfect day for gelato!

 

 

Another beautiful evening back on the boat.  Miles for the day: 20.43.

 

Our 35th Anniversary ~ Brugge to Ghent (Day 6, Part 1 of 2)

We woke up on Monday morning, May 25th, for the last time in Brugge (for this trip at least.)  It was our 35th anniversary and what a ride we've been on!  I adore this man more today than ever:

 

We had breakfast in the dining room.  This was buffet style.  The captain came along just as Les was breaking his hard boiled egg and added some assistance:

 

From the food that was available, we could also pack a lunch.  We both made peanut and jelly sandwiches and this would be the only day that we packed a lunch!  We had enough stops each day that taking a lunch was unnecessary.  One of the goals for our adventure was, "We're obligated to stop for coffee and pastries everyday!"  We were very successful with this goal.  Our first stop was about 11 miles from Brugge.   

 

 

 

Sign for the restrooms!

 

Another few miles down the road we saw our first strawberry vending machine!  I had read about these and Franklin had told us to be sure and stop.  They were amazing!!

 

 

This was a wonderful place to stop!

 

We ate about half our strawberries, then I put the rest in my backpack to have with our sandwiches later.  We stopped a few more times to take pictures of poppies and windmills:

 

Our route for the day was Brugge to Ghent, approximately 24 miles.  With just a few miles to go, Les suddenly stopped.  "Where's my backpack?"  He'd been wearing a backpack that had the lock for our bikes, his sandals and his sandwich.  We looked at our pictures and figured that he must have left it at the first coffee stop.  In hindsight, we probably could have ridden back and gotten it and had plenty of time.  I'll fill you in on the rest of the story tomorrow....

Welcome 2026!

 

2025 -  What a year!  God has been very good to us.  We spent more time in Tennessee last year than we have in almost 35 years of marriage, but it's the right decision.  We have been here since before Thanksgiving and my family cup is overflowing.  We have seen both of Les' siblings, their spouses and all six adult children and one son-in-law.  We've eaten and laughed and eaten and laughed some more.  All of this surrounded Les' dad with so much love.

 

As any long time readers know, I'm not big on New Years resolutions.  I finished reading my Bible through yesterday and started a new plan today.  While I was looking for a plan to follow (here's the one I'm doing this year https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/19038-bible-in-a-year-365-day-reading-plan)  I found a short one that also looked interesting - "8 Resolutions Jesus Would Be Happy With."  Part of the description says this, "In this 8-day journey through the Beatitudes, you’ll discover how humility, mercy, and peacemaking (and more) reshape your priorities around God’s kingdom. Forget the pressure of keeping perfect resolutions — this study helps you start the year grounded in grace."  This was maybe a five minute read, but it was really good.  Doing what makes Jesus happy will make for the best year ever!

 

Happy New Year!  Do you have any resolutions or big plans?  We will be celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary in May and are still deciding where we want to be when we celebrate. 

Thanksgiving Success!

I'll get to my food in a bit, but our Thanksgiving was just wonderful!  It really started Tuesday evening at our annual Thanksgiving service.  I love hearing what everyone is thankful for each year.  We followed this up with our annual youth bake auction.  There were so many great treats and our auctioneers did a great job pushing the prices up.  Our youth department raised over $3,300!  Les and I bought Oreo Truffles:

  

and Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies.

 

We got home and stayed up waiting for Leksi to arrive.  While we waited, I made two types of muffins.  I spent much of Wednesday prepping as much food as possible.  I sent Kim a tempting picture of my dressing:

Les made his double layer pumpkin pie:

 

 

I was up early on Thursday morning and got my turkey going in the crock-pot.  This is the same kind of turkey I bought a couple of years ago, Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey Breast.  As I mentioned, there wouldn't be room in my oven so I followed the directions for slow cooker.  Just add one cup of water, put the completely frozen turkey in, and cook on high for 4 hours.  I also added some chicken broth for a little extra flavor.

I also baked my peach cobbler.  It was the only thing that needed to bake at a higher temperature, but it didn't need to be ready at the same time.  It was still warm hours later when we were ready for dessert.

 

I started putting everything else in around 10:45.  Everything was going along great for about the next hour or so when my oven started smoking.  Unfortunately my macaroni and cheese boiled over and made a mess!  It was on the bottom rack, which was good because it didn't boil over in to anything else, but I suspect that is exactly why it boiled over!  We opened some windows and let everything finish baking.  Here is the spread:

Everything was SO good!  Yes, it was a lot of work, but I loved doing it.  This is the first time I've gotten to do this and hopefully won't be the last.  Leksi had told me she doesn't like dressing and I told her she didn't need to eat everything.  But she tried it and said, "This is the best dressing I've ever had."  Kim said it was one of the nicest Thanksgivings she's ever had.  My heart was as full as my belly!

Leksi turned 20 on Saturday.  Last time she was here, she told me that her skillet is kind of a mess and Wednesday morning she mentioned it again.  It was a simple gift, but we were happy to get it for her!

Rodney served in the Air Force, so it was fun to watch him and Leksi bond over their shared experiences.  It really was a Thanksgiving success - on both the food and family scene!

P.S.  As far as my oven goes - it's clean now.  My oven has two cleaning settings - Steam Cleaning and Self Cleaning.  For Steam Cleaning, I just poured a cup of water in the bottom of the oven and turned it on.  The steam helps everything soften up.  It wasn't enough, so I then used Self Cleaning.  I went for the full 5 hours and it worked like a charm!  The oven heats to a very high temperature and I ended up with ashes at the bottom of the oven.  Once it unlocked, I pulled the racks out and let it cool.  Then all I needed was a wet rag and everything wiped up!  No chemicals and Brillo pads required.

Marine Corps Ball ~ A Weekend Getaway

 

The first weekend of November, Les and I headed down to Carlsbad in northern San Diego county.  Les' dad, sister and brother-in-law flew in from Tennessee to attend the Marine Corps Ball with Leksi.  They arrived on Friday, just two days after Pops turned 92 and two days before Lisa turned 57.  It was a great weekend filled with family, food, fun and sunshine.  We met up at P.F. Chang's on Friday night for dinner:

 

Afterwards, we went to the Wearing's AirBnB for dessert.  Leksi got a birthday cake that said, "Happy B-Day Old Folks."

 

Les, of course, took his bike with him, so on Saturday morning he went for a bike ride, while I went for a run.  There's nothing better than a run along the coast!

We spent much of Saturday afternoon and evening all together again and were having such a great time that I didn't take a single picture!  Sunday morning, Les and I ran together:

The main event was Sunday evening.  Les and I were back at the Wearing's AirBnB as the official photographers!

I know this was a treat for Leksi being able to spend time with her parents.

A girl and her Gramps!

This is Pops' navy uniform from the Korean War.

The proud parents, looking quite sharp.

Les joined his dad and sister for a few shots:

Oooo Rah!  Our marine:

We had one final meal together on Monday morning before we all headed home.  Once again, I just enjoyed the time and didn't take a single picture.