The Netherlands - Part 2

After visiting Amsterdam, the next day we took a tour through much of the farmland area where Adriaan Dalebout lived.  He is Dick's great-grandfather. 

Along the way, we stopped at the road sign for Daleboutsweg, which means Dalebouts Road.  I suppose it was named this because there were so many Dalebouts in that area.

We took a Dalebout family picture overlooking the area where Adriaan Dalebout's farm was.  It was destroyed in floods, so his house is not there, but there is land there now, along with a house on the land.  As a note, Billy and Amy weren't there because they were visiting with Amy's cousin and her family at that time.  We also took a tour of a museum which showed the devastation that came about on these Zeeland islands in 1953, when the dams broke.  It was a terrible thing for those people.

Here are some true Dalebouts.  Amy Dalebout Kimball, Matthew Jensen Dalebout, Ton Hanse (his grandmother was a Dalebout), Dick, and Jenny Dalebout Wood.

Here are my two beautiful daughters.  They are a joy to me.

That evening, we went to a windmill, owned by Tonny Hanse's brother.  He also runs a pancake house, "Pannenkoeken" House, and we were treated to the biggest thin pancakes I have ever seen.  They were delicious.  I wish I would have taken pictures of them, but I didn't.

We walked up the stairs to the area where we could walk outside around the windmill.  This is a picture of Michal, Ton's son.  You can see one of the windmill arms in the background.

Inside the windmill are machines that grind wheat with the power from the windmills.

Tonny Hanse, Ton Hanse, Michal Hanse, and Michal's three children.

On Sunday, we all went to church together in the Vlessingen Branch.  We took three cars to get there:  Ton's car, Ton's car that is used around the campground, and a rental car that Matt and Billy rented.  There were about 25 regular members of the church in the branch who were there.  We added 13 more with our tribe and the Hemmerts.  I was so impressed by the spirit that was at the meeting. They have wonderful people in that branch and great leadership.   This was the first time that Tonny had gone to an LDS Church.  I hope she felt the spirit.  Ton goes every other Sunday to the branch and then on the alternating Sundays, he goes with Tonny to the Dutch Reformed Church.  Ton knows the Gospel is true, He has read the Book of Mormon and knows it's true, but he also wants Tonny to learn about it.  One of the treats the women had was to hear the Relief Society lesson in English.  It was a wonderful lesson.

After Church, we went to leave, and the car that Billy drove was dead.  So, thanks to the Branch President, we got some jumper cables.  It took quite a while before the car would start, but it finally worked.

I loved this sign the Branch President displayed.

Here is a picture of Ton and Tonny Hanse, the Relief Society President, and the Branch President and his wife.

After church, we all went back to Ton's and Tonny's beautiful apartment and had lunch.  We sat around and talked and really enjoyed ourselves.  Joyce and Wynn Hemmert and their granddaughter, Emily.  Stacie (Matt's wife) is at the far back.

Matt, Stacie and the Hemmerts.

Scott Kimball, Amy and Billy Dalebout, Ryan in the back.

We opened a few gifts and then had a pleasant walk though a youth hostel that looks like a castle and then down the beach.  At that point, Matt and Stacie and Billy and Amy left and headed to Amsterdam, because Billy and Amy were flying out Monday morning, and Matt and Stacie were flying out Tuesday morning.  For me, I didn't quite have enough time visiting with them because we were on the go so much.  But, we enjoyed being with them and seeing them.  What great hosts Ton and Tonny were.  We love them and are glad they're a part of our family.

Trip to The Netherlands--Part One

Our long-awaited trip to The Netherlands finally arrived on May 28, 2013.  Dick and I and Jenny and Ryan left Salt Lake, flew to Chicago, Dublin and finally Amsterdam.  Ton Hanse (Dick's second cousin) and his son, Michal, were at the airport to meet us with cars to transport us to Duinoord Aan Zee, Ton's beach camping resort.  Amy and Scott Kimball flew in around the same time as we did, so we all got to drive with Ton (in one car) and Michal (in another car).

Time for a snapshot at the Dublin Airport.  We arrived in Dublin at 5:15 a.m. and flew out at 9:30 a,m.  LONG LAYOVER.

When we arrived in Dublin, Ryan was wearing his BYU Accounting shirt, and Jenny was wearing her "Y" sweatshirt.  A couple with a baby, who were coming off our flight, had attended BYU in the Accounting program.  We chatted with them for a few minutes.  They were on their way to Birmingham, England, as he had accepted a job there.

That evening, the six of us went to a Pizzaria in the little village where we stayed.  The pizza was great, and the gelato was even greater.

The next day, Ton took us to Rotterdam, where we saw the dock from which the three Dalebout brothers (in 1900) left to travel to the United States.  They were converted to the church and left Holland to go settle in Utah.  Above is a picture of Ton Hanse and Jenny.  Ton and Jenny have a very special relationship, as they have been communicating (via email) for about five years.

Here is a random picture of one of the houses in the village, Westenschowen. 

Billy and Amy had previously been in Germany and Austria, and Matt and Stacie had been in Paris and Bruge, Belgium.  They took the train and joined us in Rotterdam. 

That evening in the village of Westenschowen, Billy and Amy were having some fun. 

The next day, we went to Amsterdam.  We went to the Reich's Museum, where we saw some beautiful paitings.  I particularly like the above painting. 

Here is the famous "Night Watch."

The Reich's Museum

Jet lag is still hanging on.  Scott was sleeping.  Ryan was horsing around.

A picture I took of Scott and Amy in front of one of the houses in the village.  Aren't the hour-glass shutters cute.

These were the only tulips left, unfortunately.  They were at the museum.

Picture in front of the AMSTERDAM sign in front of Reich's Museum.

Amy, talking to Otto, who gave us a tour through the museum.  His wife is related to the Dalebouts.  I'm not sure how.

We went to the Ann Frank Museum--I didn't get pictures.  Then, we walked around Amsterdam.  Pretty canals.

Tons of people ride bikes all over Holland and Belgium, old, young, teenagers.  It's really fun to watch them ride all over.  We'd certainly be better off if we rode bikes instead of driving cars so much.  It was a fun day in Amsterdam.