Friday, March 4, 4:40 pm:

Dad and I left for the airport around 8 am this morning . Our flight to Amsterdam was on time, and we even scored exit seats. Once we arrived at Schiphol, we found Missy waiting for us at the red and white meeting cube. She arrived at 11 am from Minneapolis. We located our driver, and he brought us to our B & B/ farm, Hoeve Meerzicht. Dad loved talking to the male driver and asking him all sorts of questions. 

Hoeve Meerzicht is adorable. The rooms are clean and quaint, and the B and B is where the haystack used to be. We met Paula right away and she is super friendly. Milking time is at 6 pm, so Dad will probably hang out with Piet, Paula's husband. This is his family farm, and their sons also help run it. They have had the B and B for eight years. Hoeve means "farm" and "Meerzicht" means "view of the lake." 

Dad, Missy and I have had smooth arrivals here. I can't say the same for my brother, John. At 3:30 this morning I received a text that there was a big accident on I-94, so he was delayed on his airport shuttle by 90 minutes . He still had enough time, and I was relieved to hear when he was on the plane. The next text I received said he had been sitting on the plane for 2 hours and they hadn't taken off. I told him he still should be ok because he has a 4-hour layover in Istanbul. The last I checked, he has almost 90 minutes to make his connection, so I'm counting on him arriving this evening as planned. Poor guy. He isn't used to traveling alone, and those issues can cause anxiety and stress.  
 

10:51 pm: 
I took a walk this afternoon and took some photos of the countryside. The land is flat and there are dykes all over the place to control the water and potential flooding. I enjoyed how quaint and quiet it is. Paula then showed my Dad the milking area when they started at 6 pm. It was very impressive! Their new shed was built in September, and now they can milk 90 cows in about an hour. Dad has heard of the swing-over milking system, but has never seen it. I guess he had to come to the Netherlands! :) She also said milk prices have gone down to 30 cents a liter, when it used to be around 43 cents a liter. Dad could definitely relate to that. 

The three of us had a nice dinner in Monnickendam at Castello di Roma, Italian. The wild mushroom ravioli in cream sauce was delicious, as was the wine I had with it. Now, Dad and Missy went to sleep, and I am waiting up for John. It looks like his flight to Amsterdam was also a bit delayed, which is good in that he had enough time to make his connection, but bad in that it's another delay, and a very long travel day for him.  

The plan tomorrow is to head into Amsterdam and do some sight seeing. 
Thanks for following along! 
Jamie