Today was the final day of our adventure and as the saying goes, they saved the best for last. The itinerary is called "Tulips and Windmills" and boy did we see some tulips today! The good news is that I've got some great photos of the vibrant colors of the flowers (at least I think so); the bad news is that there really isn't a story to tell today......we were up by 7am. On the bus at 8:30 for an hour drive. As we approached the gardens we saw several fields of tulips, but two in particular caught my eye.....
Our "guide" - who didn't have to do much "guiding" today, a little narration on the way there and give us an orientation inside the gardens - pointed out (as we already knew) that when these tulips were "ready" they would have their "heads cut off" as they cut all the flower parts off and discard them. YES, that's right....pitch them all. The money is in the bulbs they dig up! Within minutes we turned into the drive, parked and walked from the bus to the main entrance of Kenkenhoff's. Lots of visitors there but we were told it was really that busy by the garden's standards. And...because of the "life" of the tulips, it's only open for eight weeks. Our guide did tell us that the difference from last week - the first week of the itinerary - to this week was dramatic, so we picked a good date to come! For the next two and a half hours we walked around admiring the colors and looking for photo ops.
Below the flower photos, two quick, short stories before we sign off on another amazing trip!
As you know, if you follow us, we are big hockey fans. And yesterday I mentioned we have one game left, which we get to go to after landing tomorrow. But last night two of the teams battling with us for the final two playoff spots both lost and so we are IN THE PLAYOFFS - very exciting for us....we love our Panthers! On January 1st we were nine points out of a playoff spot - a nearly impossible position to be in with only a quarter of the season remaining. AND we'd never won more than two in a row through the first 58 games. We needed in all likelihood to go 18-4-2 over the last 24 games, very unlikely and we were all but certain we'd miss the playoffs as we prepared for the trip. But our boys never gave up the fight and we're so happy.
The second story is that our transfer from the ship leaves here at 4 am, oh my. But the good news about that is we'll get back before 5:30 pm. Rather get going and head home than to wait around and get home at midnight. And we loved this adventure with our great friends Claudia & Gary. Already talking about the next adventure together!
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