Where I'm walking this week: Dwingelderveld National Park

My parents-in-law celebrated 50 years of marriage this year and to mark the occasion they invited all of us (5 children, their partners, and 11 grandchildren) to Drenthe, a province located in the north-western part of the Netherlands. We stayed on the edge of Dwingelderveld National Park, an area perfect for outdoor activities such as biking and walking. Following the trend of this summer, we did experience a lot of rain throughout the week but I still managed to stay dry on one long walk and also during a few short ones.

I recruited my sister-in-law, Suzan, to join me on a 12.5 mile (20km) walk and she did great - especially considering she hasn't been training like I have been (trying to). Along the route she introduced me to "planking" a fad that involves lying flat on your stomach and having your picture taken. So, here I am making my photographic debut on this blog while planking on a log.

Dwingelderveld National Park has a landscape rich in diversity consisting of heavily wooded forests, marshland, and pastoral land for sheep, cattle and goats. We pretty much walked from one side of the park to the other during our walk, so we saw a bit of everything.

At the end of our walk, we met up with some of the group at an adorable little forest cafe called de Bospub, where the service was as good as the pannenkoeken (Dutch pancakes). I can't think of a better way to refuel after a long walk than eating pannenkoeken.

 

I received an email from Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure today reminding me that there are only 7 weeks left until the walk in Seattle. I really need to increase my mileage and I will try really hard to walk closer to 20 miles during my next walk. Finding the time necessary to train properly has definitely been my biggest challenge so far.

The other major component of this journey is, of course, the fundraising. I still have more than $600 to raise and any contribution would be greatly appreciated. :-) Click here to donate: http://www.the3day.org/goto/Saron

Tomorrow I will be heading back up to the northern part of the Netherlands to do a walk that I am very excited about. I will update upon my return!

This week's walk: 

Distance: 12.5 miles (20km)
Time: Just under 3 hours
Weeks Left: 7

Amount Left to Raise: $683