Back to the Beach

If you thought Mr. Traveler and I would be resting, basking in the freedom of not having someone sleeping in the middle of our living room floor, you'd be sort of right. We've slept in more and enjoyed going to bed on our own schedules. We've had more time to work out and get back into our normal routines (even when that just means laying on the couch in the evening watching TV). However, with a little less than 3 months left in our international adventure, we don't feel like we can waste too much of our weekends just laying around and doing nothing, so when Mr. Traveler asked me what I'd like to do last weekend, I suggested we head back out to the beach.

Even though I'd already been with Mom and Dad the previous week, I felt like the beach was a perfect outing. Mr. Traveler hadn't been, it wasn't too hard to get to, and it didn't require the same type of attention/commitment as a visit to a museum. Plus, Mr. Traveler and I had talked for a while about how we wanted to visit Madurodam, and it was conveniently on the same tram line. We could knock out two of our must-see sights in one day with minimal effort.

First up was our stop at Madurodam, a miniature village consisting of famous and familiar sites from Dutch culture. (Okay, so it's a little like a museum but with more focus on entertainment and less on education.) It was fun to see the miniatures of sites we've already seen, as well as depictions of areas we haven't yet checked off our list.

Madurodam - They used shrubs to mimic trees.

After making it through the Madurodam maze (they have little arrows which point you on the desired path so you don't miss anything), we were ready to continue on to the beach.

The day was a little warmer than when Mom, Dad, and I went, so there were many more people soaking up the sun and even playing in the water.

Springtime at the Beach

In the background of the picture above, you'll notice a large circular building - a restaurant/casino. Behind that is a tall crane used for bungy jumping. When we first stepped onto the beach, we actually saw someone jump off; I can't imagine how anyone would trust the stability of the contraption after walking down the pier with rotting wood and rusting metal, but maybe the safety net of the water gives them that extra boost of confidence.

We walked down the beach in the opposite direction, taking care to avoid the many jellyfish, which had accumulated on the sand.

Jellyfish

My goal was to make it to the rocks (seen below as a dark line sticking out into the water), climb up on them, and see whatever could be seen from that vantage point.

The Beach (from a week before)

Along the way, we saw people preparing for surf lessons, kids digging in the sand, teenagers dashing out into the water, and a group of men flying kites.

Kites on the Beach

We sat down for a rest, just listening to the sounds of lapping water and laughing (and screaming) children. Had we sat down for much longer, I think I could have fallen asleep, so I suggested we move on towards the rocks.

As we got closer, I noticed that the rocks were much larger than they seemed, and they turned out to be a little bit of a challenge to climb with flip flops and an over-the-shoulder bag. Between the rocks was an entrance to the harbor, and we saw some interesting boats arriving, including what I deemed "the pirate ship".

Pirate Ship?

Looking Back from the Rocks

At this point, we were both getting hungry, which started the beginning of the what-to-eat-nothing-sounds-good crisis. We walked back on the promenade, which has a huge variety of restaurants. We chose one early on based on the tapas menu they displayed on their bulletin board. After we each ordered, the waitress advised us that one tapas order was designed for two people, so we revised our order to share. When our food came out, it was neither enough food nor very satisfying. By the time we got our check, we'd already decided that we needed "second dinner". It actually wasn't quite dinner time, though, so we wasted a little bit of time walking out on the bungy pier and further exploring the promenade.

As we walked past the Kurhaus, a giant resort hotel, we noticed a bunch of youngsters on the patio dressed in formal attire. I commented that it must be some sort of prom event. As we debated whether teenagers had proms in Europe, one of the kids commented quite loudly, "This is the best prom I've ever been to!" She was American, which left us with quite a few more questions.

When we started to look for restaurants for "second dinner", I realized that the variety in the restaurants was only superficial. They had different names, supposedly specialized in different food styles (Thai, French, American, Dutch), but they all had almost identical menus. After our not-so-great experience earlier, I wanted something that wouldn't disappoint.

We walked up and down the promenade, we explored the restaurants off the beach, and we both agreed on a sushi restaurant. It was pretty disappointing, then, when that restaurant was completely booked.
Finally, after a bit (okay, maybe a lot) of whining on my part, we gave up and picked a place that was sure to live up to our expectations... because our expectations were as low as they could get. We opted for the Tex-Mex restaurant. To truly appreciate this choice, you have to remember that we're both from Texas.

Anyway, the margaritas were good, the chicken fajitas were actually decent, and the rice and beans were edible. The only inedible thing we were served was the salsa... but, remember, we weren't expecting much.

Once we had eaten, we had regained just enough energy to make it back home. Even though our experience of choosing a place to have dinner didn't really fit into my picture of what a relaxing day at the beach should be, the rest of the day was quite enjoyable. The sun was out, the weather was warm, and for the most part, we were just able to relax and enjoy being near the water.