My big trip for the year was to be two weeks in the Netherlands with Mom and Mackenzie. We’ve been planning this trip for over a year, focused on some family reunion plans in the Netherlands that Mom really wanted to attend. It seemed like a great opportunity for me to spend some quality time with Mom and Mackenzie, and for me to meet some of our Dutch relatives that I have either not met, or not met since I was very small. I’m going to have a huge number of posts, as we had two full weeks and visited lots of cool places!

The Start of our Netherlands Adventure

I flew to Toronto from Vancouver on Sunday August 18th, in the morning. It was supposed to have been a direct flight, but Saturday evening I got a notification that my flight was cancelled and that I was rebooked on a later flight connecting through Calgary. This was not how I wanted the trip to start - but hopefully I was getting all the problems out of the way early, and Mom and Mackenzie will have smooth sailing. The flight went ok, but I was into Toronto quite a bit later than planned, and the airport was chaos. I have no idea why it was so busy, at this time of year. The arrivals area was jammed up, and it took Shawn ages to get through the traffic. Even the cell phone parking lock was apparently completely full. The weather was bad, but even on a busy day at Christmas it was never this backed up!

Shawn, Mom and Mackenzie came to pick me up, and eventually we fought through the craziness and got out of the airport. Things quickly returned to normal, and we headed home. We had a nice dinner - Leanne and Lane joined us at Mom’s and we had a very tasty chicken pot pie. It was nice to see everyone. Lisa and Ethan were supposed to be there as well, but Ethan got pneumonia and ended up in the hospital for a few days! It was sad to miss them, but glad they figured it out and got Ethan on the mend.

I was working from Mom’s place Monday to Wednesday, doing calls and trying to keep up with the insanity that is work right now. It was long days of being on calls and trying to wrap up a few last projects. Monday night I managed to get out to visit with Sandy and Tanya for the evening. It was good to catch up and hear how things are with them. Tuesday night Mom and I went out to visit with Uncle Stephen and Aunt Christine. I missed them the last time I was out this way, and so wanted to stop by for a visit. We had a good visit and got to see the work they’re doing on their place. They added a pool, which looks great and were mostly done with a 3 season addition that will be really nice when complete. Their gardens were looking particularly nice this time.

Wednesday was my last full day of work. After work, mom and I went for a walk through the Grange and stopped by Dads tree. The mosquitos were brutal, so there was no stopping! That evening we had dinner with Aunt Rosie. I try and see her every trip. She also had some work done at her place, having had a new walk and back patio put in. It also was a huge addition to her home. It turned out really well.

Thursday morning I was finally done work! I headed over to Osprey Valley, now named TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, and was able to walk on and play a round of golf. This is, to this point, my favourite golf course. Maybe the Maquerie on Islay supplants it, but this one holds a lot of memories over the years.

They have invested a huge amount of money in the course over the last few years. The new clubhouse is amazing, and the facilities are all top notch. It’s amazing to think that they will be hosting the Canadian Open here next year!

I was lucky enough to be able to play immediately, and even better that I was able to go out by myself and I had the course completely free around me. I generally prefer to play solo - so no one has to experience how bad I am. It’s nice as you can really work on your game - hit multiple shots, play extra balls and really enjoy the round.

One of the lovely par 3s on the Heathlands course.

What might be my favorite hole, on my favorite course.

It’s a great approach shot into the green.

It was a nice day and a great start to our vacation. The next phase did not go so well. We were scheduled to leave Toronto for Amsterdam at 8:45 pm. We were at the airport a bit early, and soon found out our flight was delayed. We didn’t end up leaving until almost 11 pm.

We had a long time to wait at the airport, before we were finally on our way!

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