The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

A long driving day!?

Well, not really. But the longest one for us in quite a while! We actually did 70 kms (42 miles) yesterday!

But because we take the back roads, and we stop to see what there is to see along the way it took us a couple of hours to get to where we were going. 

Again, it had rained quite a lot overnight. Of course we don't mind when it rains overnight. But it does make the ground a little squishy and these backroads are so narrow that when a vehicle comes the other way you both have to go onto the grass a certain extent. Makes me a little nervous that things might be too soft, but we were fine.

These sheep didn't even move when we drove through.

Narrow country roads.


We went through a few villages, but didn't stop.

Apparently this is a "thing" here.

We've seen several barns that have photograph portraits on the front of the barn. 

There's not really much to see up in this part of Netherlands. We think the only reason most people would come up here is to take the ferry to the islands. Otherwise, there is the main dyke, and some pumping stations... but the rest is all farmland.

We did stop at one of the ferry terminals just to have a look around.

Modern art (?) on top of the dyke.

The ferry leaves once per hour.

Eurasian Oystercatcher.

€17 ($25 CAD, $20 USD) per adult round trip.
The trip is 45 minutes each way.

Had it been earlier in the day, we might have gone. But there were a lot of people, and we also would have had to pay for parking Max until our return. Ultimately, we just weren't that interested.

There they go.

This is a ruddy turnstone.
Funny name for a bird!



We watched the birds for a while and then had some lunch before hitting the road again.

Back on the road.

Lots of farming.

Scenery along the way.

I had read of a nature area with a lot of parking, and the reviews said that overnight motorhome parking was "tolerated". Sure enough, it was a great spot and only one other motorhome that was parked far away from us. 

Max, parked up for the night at GPS 53.398083, 6.219772

Out for an evening walk.

Max, parked on the right.

No idea what this is.
You'd think it has something to do with water management, but the way it was situated didn't make any sense for that purpose. Maybe it's just some more modern art!

Ruth found a little toad.

We're going to go for a morning walk, then we will head into the city of Groningen. Our propane is getting low, and I figure we've got maybe five days left. There is a place that will refill it in Groningen for €30, but I have read there are bottle exchange places as well that might be cheaper. Our guy back at the dealership in Germany says that an 11 kg bottle exchange should be between €20 and €25 in Germany. But we are only a couple of days from re-entering Germany, so we may wait.

Yesterday's drive, 70 kms (42 miles).

Windy today, with a forecast high of 21C (70F) and a chance of an afternoon thunderstorm.

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All New Toshiba 4K Smart TV's. 43", 50", and 55". Great deal!

Same thing in Canada.

14 comments:

  1. Thank you once more for all the details and pictures in your blog! I enjoy reading it every morning! I'd like to know where you find all this information concerning far-out places,available parking spots and so on (you write : 'I had read ...' and 'the reviews said ...') and if there are similar sources for Canada and North America (USA and Mexico). Thanks!

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    1. So glad that you are enjoying our pictures and our post including all the details.

      Kevin will talk a bit in today's post about some of the apps that we use here in Europe.

      Canada, US and Mexico also have apps and websites you can use but there are just to many to mention. The one we like the best that is worldwide is the iOverlander app, we use that one here in Europe as well as Canada, the US, Mexico and even in Australia. A couple others we use back home in North America are https://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com/ website and app, and well as https://freecampsites.net.

      Hope that helps you out a bit and keep an eye out for today's post where Kevin will mention the ones that we are using here in Europe.

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    2. Thanks for the elaborate answer ! I'll check those apps and see what they can offer (over here, I mean) !

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    3. I hope that you will find them helpful. :-)

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  2. I think that weird structure may be the remnants of a bunker. They are all over NL's coastline. Some stored munitions, some were used for artillery, others communications. I couldn't find exactly the one you found near where you were parked to ID on google, though.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the suggestion but it is not an old bunker. It is a monument called "De Poort" or "The Gate" marking an area where more than 50 years ago, a dike between the Lauwers Sea and the Wadden Sea was closed forming the Lauwers Lake.

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  3. I'd have hopped right on the ferry to see an island. I love exploring out of the way places.

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    1. The problem is, this is not an out of the way place at this time of year. The islands are a huge summer vacation area so they are full of people and it is mostly about the beaches there, as Kevin has mention many times, we really aren't beach people. Had the island offered something different from what we are seeing already here in the Netherlands and it wasn't the high season for tourists there then we might have considered it, instead we will enjoy other parts of the Netherlands and save the money for something that we think will be more interesting.

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  4. You certainly know how to pick the most scenic routes! I'm with Rita, I would have gone to the islands for an overnight in a hotel or B&B.

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    1. The ferry was busy and we would have had to wear masks. The islands are also busy because it's high season and things would have been expensive. There isn't much to see there but sand and beach, and we're not really beach people. Not much appeal for us given the cost. Plus, we're on a budget and we've got a "vacation" to Canada coming up.

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  5. What beautiful scenery! I actually think farmland and farms can be lovely if they are green and picturesque like that area. And what a serene spot to park for the night.

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    1. Thanks Emily, I think it is pretty scenery as well, I think Kevin is really missing the mountain scenery and I really can't blame. I seem to enjoy just about any kind of scenery! :-)

      We enjoyed our nice quiet spot so much we stay for a second night.

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