A visit from Grandpa Dave

March 20 - 25, 2003

Laura's Dad came to visit for a few days in March. After he rested on his day of arrival, the next day we headed for Keukenhof, Netherlands. Keukenhof is a beautiful garden with greenhouses, walking paths, playgrounds, and flowers galore! Since it was early in the season, the only bulb flowers that were blooming were the crocuses and daffodils. We were there on opening day and it was the first day of spring. Seemed very appropriate!

Keukenhof is a very Dutch experience. Will loved these gigantic wooden shoes. Ellen bought some plain wooden shoes that she can paint herself. The only downside to our visit was that the traffic and road construction was terrible and it was just too long a drive. Fortunately, we all kept up our spirits and showed a good sense of humor. At dinnertime on the way home we found ourselves in a Chinese restaurant with a server who only spoke Dutch and Chinese. Somehow we had a great dinner and a good laugh!

On Saturday we took Dad to Villers la Ville (see the Villers page). Then, on Sunday, we went to the Waterloo battlefield. The most prominent feature of the battlefield is the Butte du Lion. This is a memorial, which is a mound of dirt with a sculpture of a lion on top. We climbed up the Butte and enjoyed the view. Then we went to see the Panorama. This is a painting-in-the-round of the battle. It is about 100 years old and quite thought-provoking.

Above is the butte, with the Panorama building in the foregound. Below, Kevin and Will talk about the Panorama.

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