August 03, 2003 : last day of vacation

At least we had a nice three weeks together! Today Eva and I tried to make the most of her last day at home. We've had biking plans scheduled into nice-days forever now, and have had the opportunity to take several trips along the way and today was no exception.

We got up when it became too hot to stay in bed, and prepared for a trip to Hoge Reilen. (spelled wrong) I was keen on some more berry picking and Eva was keen on avoiding the mere thought of tomorrow. (work)

We have managed to fill the entire weekend with concepts that keep us from thinking about tomorrow. One would think that I'd be ok with tomorrow and that it'd be Eva who was wound up about it, but truth be known, I'm not so keen on seeing her go.

We drove the van out toward Turnhout and wound our way to the nature reserve. We were nearly starving by the time we got to the town right next to it, and I'll have you know that Eva was the one to suggest fritjes. (not me!) We ordered a medium, a viandel to split, and a sparkling water. Spa Rode, by the way, is currently undergoing a huge media blitz over my favorite drink. The bottle for the bruisend water is no longer clear, but red! The lady at the frituur didn't give us enough mayo, and Eva had to go in to request another squirt. The squirt cost us 50 cents (which we don't have), drowned several fries, and put the frituur lady on Eva's black-list. :)

As it was a Sunday, blazingly hot, and apparently in a little-known and under-appreciated nature park, well it seemed we were the only people there. (the only people that weren't in charge of a big group of children/scouts) We managed to get lost a few times and vowed to return with our tents some weekend in the near future.

The highlight of our trip had to be two ducks. We had gone all the way back to the entrance of the park in order to find out where the "big body of water" was. Eva remembered it from childhood and I was just positive we had gone on every major path in the park. (well almost!) We spotted the "lake" and headed back in that direction. (at the second intersection, take a left) Well wouldn't you know it, there was a pond. :)

We sat down beside the water and rested for a bit. It was getting pretty late by this time, so we had ridden as fast as we could go in order to have this time to relax. Out in the middle we saw two ducks swimming in our direction. When they got to shore they started poking around for food (they weren't really fond of my berries) and soon were ready for a bit of shut-eye. We might as well have had them sleeping in our laps.!They came right up to Eva and I and nestled in for a nap. We couldn't believe it. I don't think I've ever been close enough to a duck to see how their webbing contours to the ground or how their eyelids blink more up than down.

We didn't want them to get too comfortable, as we knew we'd startle them when we headed back to our bikes, so we got up before we could hear the sound a duck makes when it snores. And as soon as we got to our bikes, we turned around and there they were coming after us! (not chasing, but like, "hey guys, where are you going? can we come along?") Of course Eva and I, being the women that we are, were touched and saddened to have A) nothing to give them B) leave.

But like I said, we'll be back.

Back at the apartment, we tidied up a bit and avoided, for the last few hours, the subject of tomorrow. I suppose this is where the phrases "live for the moment" and "live in the now" and even "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" come into play. We did our best, put our heads together for a couple of projects I'm working on, and turned in for the night wishing that we too could turn our heads 180 degrees and tuck them under a soft wing. (be a duck) Actually, first we'd do some flying and then we'd do the turn and tuck.
Regardless, I can actually say that Eva and I have used this time to the best of our budget and ability and come out it with only dreams of more.

Gotta play that lottery...

IN THE NEWS:
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said the U.S.-led war on terror has strengthened al-Qaida because Muslims have perceived the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as aggression against Islam and attempts to spread American influence. Duh! This is the same guy who we almost went to war with back when I was in the fourth grade. I can remember learning where Tripoli was on a map and where Libya was in respect to little ol' Fair Grove Missouri. I remember being in the fourth grade and being sortof scared about the war-word and not having any real idea about what was going on. I can only imagine what kids are thinking these days.