The Windmills of Your Mind

I awake to rain. I go back to sleep. I awake again. Rain. Rain. More rain. I am patient. The rain eases, and I decide to ride back to Lekkerkerk and sit in the library. It is too cold and wet to even heat water for hot chocolate, so I dress in layers and head off to town. It is wet and windy. Where is all this wind coming from? Duh, it's Holland. . .land of the windmills. . .I came to see windmills. . .remember? Oh yeah. Duh!

I head back to the small cafe where I had lunch. Gesloten! Hmm. I head for another cafe I had spied before. . .also gesloten. I find out later that on Tuesdays, many places are gesloten. I settle for a hot chocolate and a pastry from a small bakery that is not gesloten. It is now 10:30 and I go to the library - it IS open. . .but at noon, you guessed it, gesloten!

I walk about a bit as the rain has stopped. I find the best fruit bars I have ever had at the grocery store, and some Werthers butterscotch hard candy. By now, it is clear, but not sunny. I decide this would be a good time to head for Kinderdijk (the child dyke) and the windmills.

A two minute ferry and 80 cents and I have crossed the river and head 3 miles up the road. Kinderdijk is the site of 19 windmills, built in the late 19th century. There is still one working mill. These mills are quite fascinating. Each of the four "wings" has a wood frame and a canvas sail. The mill operator can change the width of the sails by rolling them out or in, to adjust the speed. The one working mill was going very fast. From inside, you can hear each wing as it passes the window. Woosh, woosh, woosh as the wooden gears turn and pump water up to the next level of dyke, and eventually empty into the river. I ride along the bike path and see the array of mills, then turn around and head back to the start, the ferry and Lekkerkerk.

I try two more bars/cafes. . .gesloten. Back to the grocery for more fruit bars, eggs for the morning, and food for dinner. The sun is just begining to peek through as I make a hamburger, rice and sugar snap peas. Dessert is an apple turnover from the bakery, and a nectarine.

A few adjustments are made to my bike, and then I get on the internet to catch up. Liz Warren is in Ireland teaching a summer storytelling course, and Laura Rutherford is there attending. I check both their blogs and see that they are having a great time. Cookie calls on Skype and we chat. It is always good to hear his voice. It is 10 pm and the sun is going down, so I guess it is time to turn in.