Gravel [grimmer + travel]: Lost & Found, Then Lost & Found, again and again….

Traveling in a caravan with three vehicles is tricky, especially when one of the vehicles is smaller and doesn’t have the horsepower like the other two.

We sped into The Netherlands to the city of Maastrich at about two o’clock in the afternoon. Again we hit traffic, because it’s the “sale week” in The Netherlands also. While stopped at a very long light, I jumped out of the car to point out the perfect bridge for our Netherland photos, and it’s a darn good thing, because trying to find a parking space is no easy task, especially for 2 huge vans by European standards. We were the lead car and at the last minute we saw a parking garage and had to jump a curb to make the entrance. The Olson’s made it….mom and dad did not. So, we parked, prepared ourselves for the drizzle and headed out, hoping Papa & Grammie would somehow find a parking spot and make it to the same bridge. We had a few pit stops on the way and finally were headed outside, when they found us! Miraculous because people were everywhere! We were all thrilled and relieved with the reunion. We then spent a delightful hour with our umbrellas, walking the streets, taking in the new sights and people, snapping photos, drooling some more over the sale window displays and deciding that we’d love to return to The Netherlands for a longer stay. The rhythm of the city was intoxicating. As we were meandering through town back to the parking garage we found a Belgium Waffle vendor, boasting to use the original Leige, Belgium Waffle recipe. We had to stop for a treat, because we were driving through Leige, Belgium that day. Absolutely delicious! In true Belgium waffles they use dough, not a batter, which makes the waffles turn out dense and chewy. Topped with powdered sugar they are simply perfect.

Note the bicycler.

Now note the bicycles.

We again loaded up, mom and Dad found us with their car in the parking garage and we were happily on our way to drive through Leige, Belgium, which is not only the birthplace of the Belgium Waffle, but also of the French Fry, then to Bastogne, Belgium for a little WWII history. The bliss ended quickly, when the Olsons and Grimmers made a left hand turn out of the parking garage and apparently, not seeing us, Papa & Grammie took a right. As we plugged into the traffic once again, we realized quickly that we had been separated. After waiting and hoping that they would emerge from the parking garage we finally realized that we had to continue on, especially for the youngest travelers’ fuses. We were sad and a bit stressed (especially me) as we knew we still had no cell phone service and that the chances of finding each other were super slim. We got turned around multiple times before we found the right autoroute. When at last we make it to Bastogne we decided to get some frites (French fries with a variety of difference sauces) then head to Reims, France to sleep for the night and hope to hook up with mom and dad somewhere. Still rather down, I decided to wait outside of the frite shop to watch the car and let Anthon stretch his legs, at that exact moment I saw my mom and dad driving by, but looking at the opposite side of the street from me. I started screaming and took off running after them waving my hands like an obnoxious American! They saw me, cheered and clapped and headed off down the street to find a parking spot. Funny thing, I’d spent all that time stewing and they had purchased a map and were just meandering on their way to Reims and decided to pull off in Bastogne to see the historical sights. They are the savy survival travelers, aren’t they?! We enjoyed our frites on the sidewalks of Bastogne making quite a spectacle of ourselves (of course two families with 9 children between them in Europe are already a spectacle enough) as we ate and the children danced around. Happy once again, we jammied the children and climbed back in the cars to make it to Reims tonight. This time, with map in hand mom and dad headed out before us. They prefer to take the roads of Europe at a more relaxed pace!