Pain in the ash

Our annual spring trek back to America to open the house for summer rentals was supposed to be a quick in-and-out this year. With me starting a new job and Beth smack in the middle of a major rollout at her work, we thought that we'd save our vacation days for a more exotic excursion this fall.  But our plans were summarily dashed by the the volcanic ash cloud that engulfed Europe for the past two weeks.  We haven't felt so helpless since being snowed in by a 4 1/2 foot dumping six years ago that stranded us for a week in our house in Maryland.  Then, like now, there simply was nothing within our power that we could do to get out, so  after a few frantic hours of trying to get everything under control (dog, cats, flights, etc.), we settled in and made the best of a bad situation.  Here are a few pics from the adventure this time around.

On the lonely/lovely roads of western Maryland.

Our first order of business at the house was to FINALLY get the garage sided.  White Tyvek flapping in the breeze just doesn't cut it with an upscale rental market.  Between Beth's natural bossy tendency and my stubbornness, this little endeavor was an adventure in itself.

Even my parents were up for a little adventure this time around!

The night that our flight was canceled found us tucked in by a warm fire with snow flurries outside.  Many others, stuck in airports across the globe, weren't so lucky.

We decided to take advantage of our extra time by driving down to Cumberland, MD and renting some bikes for a romp on the Allegheny Highland trail to Frostburg.

This is a really fantastic converted rail-trail (loaded with redbud in the spring) that I would recommend to anyone passing through Cumberland.

The cliffs of The Narrows.

Scenic views from the trail.

With such a great trail, and such an inviting city, we thought that we'd explore a bit more...

...and discovered some of the best architecture we've seen in America.

But even with such charm, the city -- like most others, was completely gutted by surrounding strip plaza's and malls.  It was completely dead....such a shame, just like the Greensburg of my youth.  I really don't get it.   

Sitting on a terrace along the Potomac River with big grins on our faces when we heard the news that the first flights were finally resuming in Europe - Holland was the first to open up airspace, causing Beth to give a big "whoop" and garner some nasty looks from the locals.

The aftermath of the carnage in Frankfurt airport.  Even with our luck at hearing about the cancellation while still comfortably settled in the mountains, we ended up spending 28 hours "on the road"' to get back to Holland in time to pick up Sage from the kennel.  I can't imagine what the less fortunate folks who had to use these cots for 6 days felt like.

We got back home just in time for the annual flower parade in Haarlem.  The floats this year were extraordinary. 

This one was pretty cool, but I really put it on this blog for our ex-expat comrade Dave who is kicking off his racing season back in Wisconsin - good luck on this year's circuit!  BTW, the float was from Italy, so there's something in there for you too Rene.

Platteland

Spring has finally arrived!  We took advantage of the long weekend and got out into the Dutch countryside for some hiking.  Of course, one can not hike in Holland without first eating broodjes for lunch out of the trunk of your car...some things are sacred.

Then it was a mad dash into the woods!

While the woods were beautiful, the main attraction in this part of the country is the naturally occurring fields of heather.  A little brown this time of year, in August they will be brilliant purples and whites.

After a hearty day of hiking, we decided to take the short drive up to Zwolle, the capital of Gelderland.  This city was part of the Hanseatic League and has some rich history.

But I think that I'm really beginning to be spoiled over here.  Even with all of this history and fantastic architecture, Zwolle left me a bit disappointed.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but it felt een beetje platteland, or backwards/backwoods.  Well, at least the hot chocolate was good.