Day 1: Amsterdam to Noordwijkerhuit, 34 miles

We hit the road at the crack of 2:30 due to some last minute chores that hung us up in town. Getting on the fully loaded bike after using the rental bike all week was scary. It felt weird and foriegn and wobbly. We all started feeling more comfortable on our reassembled bikes once we got out of town onto a sweet bike path towards Haarlam. After biking down highway 1 in CA, it was really nice to not be on the highway. We're following one of many numbered bike routes that criss cross the country, and are finding it well signed, and easy to follow through many parks and streets with dedicated bike lanes.
Around dinner time we emerged from a park, crossed a field on the paved bike path, and came upon the cutest Dutch countryside inn to have dinner at. Here we discovered another favorite beer: Konig Ludwig, and bitterballen: a "very Dutch" foor, according to our waitress. This fueled us for the remaining miles through the dunes to the campsite. The only pic I took with the blackberry this day was our victory beer at the restaurant at the campground.
It is kind of cool, everyone starts out speaking Dutch to us, and is surprised to find out we are from CA. We're off the beaten track.
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