Big Shoes to Fill

After a cloudy start this morning, the blue skies prevailed at last. We drove to Pella for the annual Tulip Time celebration. We scouted out a cool spot out of the wind and planted our chairs between a huge tractor and a wagon full of spectators. The parade was complete with Dutch costumes, marching bands, awesome floats, and a martial arts entry complete with a broken leg. I didn't see it happen, but I did see a young man that landed on the ground after jumping to kick a board. His leg was bent between his knee and ankle. I was a bit squeamish at this sight. His fellow participants quickly picked him up and carried him away. Not sure if they should have moved him in such a manner. Within 10 minutes an ambulance was nearby and he was taken away for treatment. A few minutes later, we saw another ambulance picking up someone else. I bet the ER was busy today.

The Squirts each ate a corn dog and Cool Daddy-O and I had brats or Sinterclaas Sausages as they're called in Pella. For dessert we had funnel cakes and for a mid afternoon snack, the girls shared cotton candy.

After our snack, we set out on a 6 stage geocaching expedition. The clues took us to the stage on the town square, then to Central College, then to the VerMeer Mill (windmill), and finally toward Lake Red Rock. Cool Daddy-O spotted the cache and then gave the rest of us clues to find it. We found three other more simple caches today also. We found our first travel bug and will place it another cache soon to continue its travels. We found and logged our 21st cache today.

We enjoyed a delicious supper at Pizza Ranch in Pella. I think it's Big Squirt's favorite place to eat. She loves the chicken and mashed potatoes there.

The girls were asleep within a few minutes of hitting their pillows tonight. I think we'll all sleep well after spending the day in the fresh air.