Yup, Spring is here!
Right now the sun is shining,
flowers are blooming,
skies are blue
and everybody is happy…
It was not like that the whole time.
Well, obviously the sun never stopped shining.
But this spring has still thrown some unpredictable weather at us.
We had our fair share of rain and a good few nights the temperature dropped to freezing.
Not an issue at all as long as you stay curled up in bed or cozy on the couch.
But that’s not our style. Well, not all the time at least 😉
And we were not alone.
Shawn welcomed me to her home in Missoula, Montana about 1,5 years ago.
And now I had the honour to show her around my home turf for a few days 🙂
Springtime also means baby-boom on the nearby farms,
first off were the goats.
Totally adorable.
We are lucky to have friends on farms nearby, so we were able to go back every time new life came around.
Tara’s favourites were the lambs.
And the rabbit, although not a baby, was pretty cool too.
It was easter, after all. 
Am I showing you too many baby-pictures yet?
I’m afraid it’s not going to stop any time soon…
Here we are at our lovely beach in Katwijk aan Zee.
We did not cycle there this time, but together with our friend Ronald we drove out there to enjoy the sand, the sun, the sea! 
Another first for Tara.
Very windy! And not all too warm yet. You might’ve guessed by the wooly hats and down jacket. 
Still a good spot to visit and, as we say in Dutch “even lekker uitwaaien” or “blowing out nicely”
… ok, I guess it doesn’t translate very well. 
Another highlight in the past few weeks was a real bicycle tour.
And not alone! 
Andrew & Friedel, you surely know from TravellingTwo, invited us to join them on a camping trip.
There’s a lot I can learn from them! 
As now they are four Travelling.
We are one cool looking parade of bicycles.
(If I may say so myself)
Even more so when Stijn joined the circus. He was an a trial-run for his upcoming trip in Greece.
You wouldn’t think, but in this set-up he managed to squeeze two extra blankets to ensure Tara & I didn’t freeze!
The temperature was around 0 degrees at night.
Which shouldn’t have surprised me as “April doet wat hij wil” (April does what he wants..)
A saying over here.
Friedel & Andrew had chosen a real nice place to camp. 
Where we could make a big fire.
We had a great weekend exploring the area.
Hopefully we’ll be able to repeat this again soon.
On our way home it was all blue skies and tailwinds.
A good taste for what’s to come!
-to be continued-
Cycling Dutch Girl 
So happy you are moving again!
What a great pare and what a wonderful kid. Great that you take here along at this young age..and she looking so happy…keep going and stay sharing your amazing life.
She is a cutie !!!
Great to have you back. Your photos are as full of life and warmth as ever. More please. :-). With warm regards and best wishes.
Full of love and energy… such a lovely post !
It’s so amazing to see you traveling on a bike with a baby!! You are such an inspiration to others, so proud of you!! Tara is getting big, going to be interesting to see her when she starts walking!! Keep living your dream and stay safe!!! Love from Michigan!!
Lovely!! Oh, the smiles!
I am Friedel’s roommate from university and after travelling the world I am now living back in Canada. I can’t wait until I too get my chance to cycle with the Travelling Four in the future! Thank you for the wonderful photo blog of your trip with them. I will be dreaming until I am in Holland again and am cycling along through such fantastic scenery. And that includes your beautiful baby!
Mariam and Tara you are a Breath of Fresh Air. You are living life the way we ALL SHOULD. Live your dreams and touch base with the reality of nature. I admire your spirit and energy. Stay the way you are, you are an inspiration to the world.
Mariam I am one of the Friendship Force members that was on the Bike and Barge with Shawn. I was the “Florida” girl.
That was a great presentation with world class photos, you are talented!
Your baby girl is absolutely thrilled.with her life. Thank you for the glimpse into the Netherlands. I love you Mirjam, and the trusting freedom you represent, you are a wonderful woman. I will be one more year till the sailboat is ready, it is coming along quite nicely. Your good friend, Keith.
Fabulous! And it’s Traveling Two! Very nice.
Mooie foto’s, Mirjam! Mooi zoals je je vrijheid blijft leven, ook met Tara.
You put a big smile on my face. Wonderful pictures!
Thank you for your pics full of substance = TARA + joy of living. Go on and share with us. With all my best wishes Nüket
Hey Mirjam so close next time have a coffee at our place… dat plekje langs de ijssel fietsen we ook vaak geweldig over de dijken en je was vlakbij Ruurlo da’s ook dichtbij ons we wonen op dit moment in Lichtenvoorde dus volgende keer kom maar een lekkere latte halen en fietsen we gezellig een stukje mee hier in de Achterhoek. Enjoy je lieve babytje het is een schatje een dikke knuffel en groetjes van Dory XXXX
I love everything about this! Here in Germany we love to cycle as well bringing along my toddler while we actively explore outdoors. Now is the perfect weather and time for it! Beautiful photos of your trip and your little ones!
Heeey, is that Walcheren?? I was living 35 years in dry Germany, and sometimes I drove 9 hours on Friday evening just to go to Walcheren for one day (!) and return on Sunday! Even that was fulfilling. I love Holland and especially Zeeland! …and love biking, too!
i like your cycle better than mine…
loved reading this and was so excited to see you with Freidel and Andrew. I have been following them for years but never managed to meet up yet. Love cycling in the Netherlands but we will stay in the UK this summer. Off cycle camping next week, yiphee!
mooi om te zien dat je na een korte onderbreking weer de draad opgenomen hebt en Tara geniet er niet zo van als jij
ik bedoelde wel dat ze er net zoals jij van geniet
Fab! Loved your Japan blog bits which helped when we took our boys, then 7 and 8 on six month trip the length of Japan last year.. but the wee steps that got us there over the previous years had been precious and equally memorable. We cut our teeth in Scottish islands, lovely for touring with tinies as tons of wildlife, history, scenery etc, can wild camp and island hop to maintain sense of adventure over baby sized distances.. happy to share any insights into practicalities if u ever tempted.. eg Orkney easy to get to for u.. ferry to Newcastle, train to Aberdeen, and evening ferry to Kirkwall.. chariots accepted on U.K. Trains without folding if u have the pushchair wheels.. and just say it’s a pushchair! Have fun enjoying all the little adventures .. love a quote from the Tao of parenting.. something like do not look for your children to be extraordinary, help them find the magic in the ordinary, and the extraordinary will take care of itself. Heidi x
Love Love Love ❤️
Cute pictures of Tara with the farm animals…precious!
You and Tara are so adventurous and I am super excited to follow along!
Your pictures are truly stunning and the babies are so cute! Excellent post!