Birthday

This special day arrived at midnight, and I sang “Happy Birthday” to G. We stayed up late watching television together and had ice cream to celebrate.  At noon we woke up and rode the bicycles to the seaside of Noordwijk. We decided to make a local day and visit area monuments. While reading about the Netherlands, I came across Monumentendag (Monument Day). Once a year, most landmarks or public buildings are open to the public for visitation.

G recommended the lighthouse and water tower in town. We acquired the last two tickets for a tour in the late afternoon. During the two hour wait we had lunch at Zeemeeuw, a nice restaurant on the beach front. The weather was very windy, but the sun managed to sneak through here and there. Also, we took a ride down Wilhelmina Boulevard along the shore. G nerded  with the amateur radio group stationed outside the lighthouse. They have equipment up top and were listening to people from Tunisia through Italy.

The lighthouse was crowded and warm, but worth the visit. The view was beautiful and the water tower was even better. The view was open and wide from the top.  It was very humid outside due to the weather, so we returned home early evening. While we were relaxing, two overzealous schoolkids climbed onto the back fence, scaring me silly. At eight o’clock, we met up with G’s friend Roberto and his girlfriend. The four of us had dinner at friends, complete with a sparkler in a banana split. While we were eating, a huge thunderstorm caught our attention. G and I drove around watching the storm and passed the rest of his birthday “sightseeing”. We even passed through Amsterdam near the train station. After we got home, I started packing….