Catherine was an adventurous person who travelled throughout the world. Of all the places Catherine had visited, one was especially memorable.
One summer, Catherine visited Holland with her husband, Charlie. Veterans of the Second World War were travelling to Holland with their wives for the anniversary of Holland's liberation from Nazi Germany. Catherine and Charlie wanted to go because Charlie had served in Holland during the war.
Once the group arrived in Holland, Catherine noticed how welcoming the Dutch people were to their Canadian visitors. Catherine and Charlie met a very nice married couple. Once they realized that Catherine and Charlie were from Canada, the couple offered them a place to stay for a couple of weeks. It was the couple's way of saying thank you to all the Canadians who had fought and helped in the liberation of Holland.
Catherine was curious to see how Holland was different from Canada. The couple showed her and Charlie around Holland. Catherine said it was a great experience to see how the Dutch people lived and to discover what kinds of foods they ate. Catherine realized that the food was not very different from food in Canada.
As much as she enjoyed the sights and foods of Holland, Catherine's favourite part of the visit was seeing the dikes. Catherine found it interesting that the Dutch continued to use an ancient technology to control flooding caused by rising sea levels. Catherine and Charlie spent two weeks travelling around Holland, sightseeing, learning about the country, and getting to know the couple with whom they were staying.
Catherine, Charlie, and the couple became good friends. They often wrote letters back and forth and sometimes even phoned each other. In fact, two years after the trip to Holland, the couple came to Canada for a visit. Catherine and Charlie let their friends use the family motorhome, which was like a trailer. Their friends travelled around Ontario. They liked Niagara Falls the most because they loved the huge waterfalls. The couple had seen waterfalls before, but none as big as Niagara Falls. They also used the motorhome to visit Algonquin Park. Their friends stayed with Catherine's sister, who lived near the park. The couple enjoyed their trip to Canada and reuniting with their Canadian friends.
Overall, Catherine and Charlie's journey to Holland was an amazing experience. They made friends with whom they kept in touch, and Catherine learned about a new country. Their journey was also an emotional one. For Charlie, it was a trip that brought back many memories of when he fought in the war. For Catherine, it was an opportunity to see where her husband had fought and experienced such a life-changing event. She felt a deeper connection to him.