Day 3: England

Stonehenge

Due to a child who has felt neglected by his mother (he won't let me get anything done). I only have time to post pictures with short descriptions. Maybe I'll fill more in later.
 

The town of Bath

Bath Abbey

Roman Baths

Downtown London

Buckingham Palace

Exchange of the guards

We love their street signs.

This was Devin's first Broadway show experience and it couldn't have been better. It was amazing.

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Before and After

Before and After

We experienced our first California Earthquake today. It happened just before noon. I was on my way to meet Devin for lunch when I got stopped at a red light. A few seconds later the car moved as if we had gone over a quick but big hill. I even thought for a second someone rear ended me. For over 20 seconds street signs, lights and all the cars started swaying. Crew was fast asleep in the back seat. I was scared but thankful I was in my car. The epicenter was in Chino Hills, about 30 miles east of L.A. Only a few miles away from our home and about one mile away from Devin's work site. Dev was in his job trailer when it hit. He jumped up from his desk to get away from the filing cabinets.  The quake was initially reported as a 5.8 magnitude but has been down grated to a 5.4. It was felt in San Diego, slightly in Las Vegas and into Tijuana and is the biggest earthquake since September 2004. More than a dozen aftershocks have happened. One which rattled my whole apartment about an hour ago. Fortunately, the only damage that I found when I came home was Crew's truck hanging of the self and my rod iron wall hanging, hanging away from the wall rather than against it. 

    

Day 1 & 2: AMSTERDAM

Devin and I completely fell in love with Amsterdam. The style and the architecture are ones you don't find in the US. Transportation is by bikes. They are everywhere! Which makes it nearly impossible to drive.  

My favorite thing about Europe was the history. There are so many amazing cathedrals and castles (which will come later in the trip).  

The next few pictures are of the row houses that were downtown. Devin's favorite part.

The Diary of  Anne Frank is the 2nd  (Bible the 1st) most published book in the world. The tour included the Opekta warehouse and offices and the Achterhuis. Some personal relics still remain. Movie star photographs glued to the wall by Anne and a section of wallpaper where the girls marked their growth.

The wooden shoe has been worn throughout Europe since The Dark Ages. (News to me I thought only the Dutch wore them)! People still wear them in Holland because of the swampy ground. 

This machine is used to carves out the shoes from a chunk of wood. 

We also visited the towns of Boxtel and Best. This is where my fathers family is from.

In 1808 a woman gave birth to a baby boy. Following the birth she took the baby to a ditch where she attempted to bury it. Shortly after a man was walking by when he heard, "a distinct sound from a ditch." After following the sounds he found a little foot sticking out of the dirt. The mother fled and was never found but it has recently been discovered who she was. The father is still unknown and the baby was raised by other families. He was given the name Petrus van der Sloot, (the first VanderSloot). The word Sloot means from the ditch. This is the gravesite of his sons wife. 

That is only the very short version of part of the story. There are so many important little details and segments that go into it. 

These are more pictures of homes and sites throughout Best and Boxtel

See you in a week!

Devin and I have been given the chance of a lifetime to go to Scotland, Holland and England. We'll travel over with some of my family to study and see where our ancestors lived. We GET to leave Crew behind with Gogo and Baba (Devin's parents). No worries there, it's his favorite place to be which will make the trip that much more pleasant. We filled out an 8 generation pedigree chart and have been reading up on all kinds of family members life sketches. Were so excited for this opportunity and will bring back lots of stories and pictures.