Holland: Part 3, Castricum, Alkmaar

Then we drove 30 minutes from Zaanse Schans to Castricum, where our next Airbnb was located.  If you ever go to Amsterdam, definitely drive out of the city!  I was impressed that we got to see so much in just a day.  But of course, our kids wake up about 6am, so we always get an early start.

We arrived at our next Airbnb rental in the late afternoon and just hung out there for the rest of the day.  It was so fun!  These people built there house on an old chicken farm and renovated the old barn behind their new house into a rental.  They also had a trampoline, chickens, and a pond full of koi fish.  She let Maddie feed the fish and the chickens each day.  We all enjoyed the trampoline.  It was a beautiful setting.  And lucky for us (no sarcasm there), their internet didn't quite reach the rental, so it was actually very relaxing and felt like a real vacation.

The rental was behind me, their house is directly in front, then the chickens and their garage is to the right. 

We enjoyed baths in that tub.

The husband was a general contractor and renovated this whole barn into a rental.  It was lovely.

We ate dinner out on the patio every night.

We spent a couple mornings at the beach, just 10 minutes from our place.  It was pretty chilly, especially the water, but that didn't stop the kids from getting wet (of course).

The day before we left, we spent the morning at the beach, came back for naps, and then we were just hanging out at the house after.  We decided to drive about 15 minutes away to Alkmaar, another little town, for dinner.  It just so happened to be the local fair weekend.  We had so much fun walking around, going on a couple rides, and eating lots of popcorn.

First pony ride!!!!!  Dad was hesitant since no one had helmets.  She sat tall and proud on that little pony while he stayed close.

The next day, we drove 9 hours back home.  It was such a fun vacation that we'll never forget.  It's funny, if it had been just us, we probably would've stayed in Amsterdam to enjoy all the museums and city life, but I'll say it again, we had an amazing time exploring outside the city.  Traveling with kids can be really stressful and present you with lots of difficulties, but it can also force you to slow down and see or appreciate things you otherwise may not even notice.