Europe 2019-Day 1

Our Air BnB in Haarlem behind us 

St. Bavo church in Grote Markt

The canal in front of our house

Two days into one! We left Saturday morning from Tucson and here we are on Sunday night in Amsterdam.  Dad took us to the airport where we flew to San Francisco and then Dublin and then Amsterdam. For those of you who recall other travel adventures with airports….Yes, we left from Tucson this time!  A highlight was running into John and Lil Reed in Frisco on their way to a wedding in Newberg where Hannah goes to school. Another highlight was sipping an Irish specialty in a pub in Dublin. Karl introduced me to Guinness when I swore I didn’t like dark beer.  Now it’s a favorite. Kids did well on all the flights… all those years of travel parenting have paid off because they’re experts now. I still surprised them with airplane candy at takeoff! Funny thing… We no longer line up for “airplane medicine” (aka Benadryl) before each flight.   

Schiphol Airport was easy to navigate and all went well with customs.  We opted to take the bus from the airport over to Haarlem. Thanks to Google maps we were able to navigate the cobblestone streets as we walked the mile to our AirBnb.  Bikes go faster than the cars here so you have to always be watching.

Our home is a former vegetable shop.  Three stories with steep steep stairs to the top bedroom.  We freshened up and had a tapas dinner along Grote Markt and St. Bavo church.  As we donned our windbreakers and opened the umbrella, the sprinkles turned to full on monsoon gusts.  Our clothes are now in the dryer as we wind down with a cup of Earl Grey.

Tomorrow we’ll head into the city knowing full well there will not be time for everything.  So much culture. Food. Beauty. People. Language. Our senses aren’t able to take it all in.  My trainer, Helen, challenged me to journal my food experiences. To make every bite count. That’s what this trip is about… savoring every bite.  Savoring every moment with my kids. Tonight’s morsel de resistance- mushrooms and chicken in a Pedro Ximenez sherry sauce and goat cheese croquettes…. We will sleep well tonight.  

Love the Lord your God.... and love your neighbor as yourself...

John and Lil Reed

Dublin Pub

Mason Adventures... that’s what we called this blog so long ago not realizing what those adventures would entail.  Not dreaming that “adventure” is sometimes a misleading word...

Here’s the definition:  an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity. 

I guess the last five years have been all of those things...  fortunately we’ve had more unusual or exciting things than hazardous things.  Here’s the Reader’s Digest version: 

Skylar started ASU in  15 and graduated ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism this month.
Meta got a new job teaching Old and New Testament at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy. 
Kody started PRCA as a 7th grader and just finished his freshman year- soccer & drumline 
Hannah graduated from PRCA in 17 and just finished her sophomore year in the nursing program at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. 
We bought a new home across from school and next door to the Fleming’s.
We sold our home on Como.
We sold our home on Copper Queen.
We built a home on Maple Lake in Minnesota. 

So much change.


This week marks the 5 year mark since Karl got sick.  That was the week we were supposed to be leaving on our biggest adventure yet... a week in England. A week in Netherlands. The rest of the summer in India. Previous posts tell that story.   That story

Now here we are. Travel adventure:  take 2.  

Kids and I flew out of Tucson this morning and are now in San Francisco waiting for our flight to Dublin. From there we will fly to Amsterdam. This is already further than we got the last time.  We’re ready for some new experiences. We’re ready for time together.  We’re ready for this adventure.  Always filled with Perpective. Gratitude. And trust.  

Ready or not... here we come!