For Scooter's birthday he took us all to Holland to see the annual flower parade. We had trouble finding a place to stay, that we could afford and decided to make it a day trip. We got up early and hit the road by 8:30 after a few stops, traffic issues, and missed exits we happened upon the parade route. We parked the car around 2pm and sat along the side of the road to watch the parade. The floats were beautiful! After that we hit Keukenhof Gardens. I had no idea that there were so many different types of tulips. It was a beautiful place, but I think I might return on a weekday without children. We were very lucky to have a "beautiful day." I think Ryleigh liked the flowers. Her favorite were the pink and purlple ones. "Because her favorite color is pink and purple". Jylian thinks she should lick the flowers not smell them, she is silly sometimes. Scooter bought his girls each a dozen tulips. We got to the car around 7:30 and drove the short four hour drive home. Holland and Belgium slowed us down with speed limits, but once we hit the Germany border we were able to make up some time. We were home by midnight and our day trip was over. It was by far my favorite of Scooter's birthdays to date. I loved every minute!
We learned a few lessons.
1. Gas is very expensive off base. (Our gas coupons are only good in Germany.)
2. Europeans don't have fast food off every exit. We must always travel with enough food to get us through the day.
3. A 4 hour drive without traffic is too far for a day trip.
4. A little preplanning wouldn't hurt.
