Hot and getting hotter

Sorry, no pictures tonight -- they refuse to load.

We have found our way accidentally into Belguim, it appears, and have high hopes of getting back to Holland tomorrow.

While our big campground last night had lots old fun amenities, we didn’t linger too long on the fun playground as we were hoping to get ahead of the day’s heat.

We found enough time to feed the local horses before heading down to Maastricht, where it was already hot.  We stopped to view the reliquaries at the local cathedral dating back to the third century, and appreciated some time in the quiet stillness before venturing back out and around.  Our plan was to get north to the first campground we knew of, which was only 20 miles downriver.  Sadly it was already too hot, and so we started with a quest for cold drinks and snacks.  For some reason, the only things that Belgians appear to drink are beer and soda pop, and we no longer can find any of the juices and things we survived on previously.  We scraped together sufficient snacks to get started, and headed north.  We knew that the route that the map had chosen was direct, which we thought was important for this day, but we were a little chagrined to find that we were basically riding along the shoulder of a fairly busy highway.  So, hot, tired, and loud through closed towns was the theme.  We found ways to stop at least every few miles to get something to keep us going and cool.

At one point we did see a single sign for the route that we intend to follow, so it is good to know that it is out there and we hope to join it tomorrow. Tonight’s campground is very simple, by the river, directly across from Holland, and in a stretch that is very smooth (which is why they are still waterskiing at 10:30 at night, I suspect).  We have gotten to see folks doing acrobatic multi person gymnastic skiing, which I didn’t think had been done since the 50s, but it would be fine if they stopped boating at this point.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another 10 degrees hotter, so we are shooting for a place that is only 15 miles away, on the water, and supposedly with big trees.  Also, there appear to be several other options very close by, so we will not be stuck.  It is hot, but not dangerous.  As always, we will see...

Dave