It's "I Miss Nina" Week

She and her Girl Scout pals have signed up for Wacky Wizard session at Camp Tallchief this week.

Grand Tour, Day 20: Den Haag

On our last day in the Netherlands, our plan was to stay in the Hague with Pauli and Artur, so we got up late. Then everyone but Pablo and me took a long walk to a Columbian breakfast spot, while Pabi and I worked on his journal.

At some point, Mari realized that she had lost the credit card we had designated for use on this trip. Pauli called the Rijksmuseum to see if she had left it there, but no one had turned it in. When I called to notify the card company, they canceled her card and mine. We have several automatic charges linked to this card, and I spent some time trying to remember them and then logging into our accounts on their websites to make the necessary updates. Ugh. (This story ends concludes later in the summer when we get back to the States, and Mari finds the missing credit card tucked in her wallet!)

Artur, who rides his bike everywhere, brought home 5 bikes, so that all of us could ride with him to the beach, but I managed to convince him that Nina and Pablo were not ready for the streets of the Hague. I trusted Emilio to Artur's protection, though, and the two of them spent part of the morning practicing negotiating traffic in the neighborhood in anticipation of our outing.

In the afternoon, we headed to Scheveningen beach:  Artur and Emilio on bikes and the rest of us on the tram.

Mari ate some salted raw fish.

Artur joined the kids for a North Sea dip. The more sensible members of our party remained on the beach and took photos.

Pabi was the first to come to his senses and returned to the beach. Pauli promptly buried him in the sand. After he got up, Arthur did a more thorough job.

What's that hole for, Artur?

Cold water!

We had lunch at a beach-side restaurant: veggie and cheese croquets for the table, pasta for Nina, a smoothie for Emilio, and peanuts for Pablo (with a nap chaser).  Sleepy Pablo is a magnet for affectionate women.

Pauli's lap = Pablo's pillow.

After lunch, we went for a walk on the beachside boardwalk, which featured a number of sculptures. Emilio and Artur rode by us several times on their bikes. Mari paid for Emilio to climb a sideways rope ladder (he didn't make it across), and she bought churros for Emilio and Pablo.

Pablo and Nina and I  climbed a dune. When we got to the top of it, one of the members of our group experienced a sudden, urgent need to get to a bathroom. This member of our group was sweating bullets when we eventually got back down to the boardwalk and located one. I felt like I had just delivered an expectant mother to the delivery room. We made it in time. Just.

The sculpture behind Nina is by Igor Mataraj. It is called "Light of the Moon." Mitoraj is a Polish sculptor born in Germany in 1944. He died in 2014.

Pauli was three months pregnant with her first child when we visited. Yanua, a girl, would be born on November 30th. With parents like Artur and Pauli, she is a very lucky little girl.

Pauli and Artur gave me this "Panama" hat, which they got in Ecuador. Pauli was really eager for me to get a job teaching at a university in Ecuador.

Emilio and Artur rode their bikes home, while the rest of us took the tram.  When we got back home, we hit the showers, and Artur made delicious pierogis (filled dumplings) for supper.