Tuesday in Overhetfeld

Well, it should have been a nice relaxing day here at my Dad's. We did not have much on the agenda besides laundry, walking, visiting, and trying to hook up with my good friend Nicola. Well, it turned out to be a very crazy, scary day when Ben got lost in the woods. It all turned out well in the end... Praise the Lord!

We headed down to the Venekotensee, a small lake near here, where we always go for walks, runs, bike rides, swimming. My dad had one functional bike, and even though it was an adult size, Ben was most excited to ride it. So, the other 4 drove down to the lake in the car and I rode the bike down. so Ben could have it during our walk. It's only a couple of miles away.

It was a gorgeous day again and we regretted not having brought swim gear, but started out walking around the lake.

The Venekotensee

Making music on the "musical bridge"!

Another photo before the crisis!

 Ben would ride ahead a little, then wait for us or come back. It was no big deal. Well, at one point, he took a left turn along a different little trail and did not come back. At first we were angry, because he should not have gone so far without us, but after about 15 or 20 minutes had gone by and we had not found him, we started to worry. We split up, with my Dad stationed along one of the more major trails near where he got lost, Alex staying right at the lake near where we last saw him, Daryl and I circling the lake in opposite directions. Of course we were all of foot, with Ben having the only bike. I asked every passerby if they had seen a little boy on a big bike and every single one said no. This is when I panicked, jogging as much as I could, walking when I got exhausted, all the way around until I got back to where my Dad was -- no sign of Ben!
One nice lady on a bike said she'd help us look as I explained my 9 year old speaks no German, has no clue where he is at, has not phone number or address of where to go ... I was so scared for him. There are miles and miles of trails in those woods all the way to Holland with various lakes and creeks. We crossed paths with the nice lady again later when I checked in with Alex (still at his post) -the lady thought she had found the missing American child! By this time, her adult daughter was with her on a bike with a dog and agreed to help look, too. I ran/walked back to the entrance to the lake resort area, where there is a bike rental at the riding/tennis club. I told them I needed a bike to find my missing child and they gave me one for free. The lady also took my cellphone number and gave me hers and she called the park ranger. A few minutes later (I was already back to the lake path), she called and said she had spoken to the ranger, who felt if it had been over an hour (it was about 1 1/2 by this time!) we should notify the police. Just as she had gotten my consent to do so, I saw Ben sitting with my Dad ... Hallelujah!

I was so relieved I couldn't even be mad! Poor Ben had been pretty scared, too. He had gotten lost and after riding a while abandoned the bike and walked on. The younger lady with the dog had found him and asked "Are you Ben?", which he said scared him at first. She brought him back to where Alex was, then both of them to my Dad. I never even got to thank her!!! Thank the Lord for the kindness of strangers!

This was the last picture I took when Ben first got lost. I was actually waiting to take a photo of him on the bike, but we never did get that shot!!!

In fact, it took us another half hour after we found him to find the bike! He had left it in the middle of a trail somewhere ... I rode a few more miles looking for it! We finally headed for home, totally exhausted and sweaty, realizing it was 2:30 pm and we had not had lunch!

We actually returned to the lake a few hours later to swim. It had gotten cloudy and actually rained a little while we swam, but it was great. I did get a hold of my friend Nicola and we had a great dinner at a Greek restaurant in Brueggen. I also got 3 loads of laundry done, plus a load of all the dirty towels after we got back from our swim!!

I guess I could say I did a triathlon today in reverse order: First running, then biking, then swimming!