The Secret Society

When Americans are stationed overseas, there's bound to be security. Most of it is just common sense, so we really don't think too much about it. When a local base held a 4th of July celebration on Saturday, we decided to head over and check out the festivities. Seems simple enough, right? Not so much. They posted what was going to happen and when it will all take place, but they left out one important detail... where the heck is it? We wouldn't want the bad guys to know where all the Americans were going to be, right? We don't want the good ones to know either. That's right. We belong to a secret society. You didn't know just how cool I was until right now, did you? I'll give you a minute to calculate just how many cool points this gives me.

Last year, Jess went with us to the event, and she had the directions memorized. (We don't call her GPS Jess for nothing.) This year, however, we were meeting her there, so we were on our own. We had a general idea of the location, and that helped. We narrowed it down to the correct country, and we knew it was off of one of the roads off of a certain round about.

After a little driving around, we located the site. We exchanged the secret passwords and handshakes with the guards (OK, maybe we just showed our IDs) and were soon allowed access to the events.

There were lots of things going on there, but somehow the only thing I managed to take pictures of was the falconry exhibition. It was pretty impressive, so I can see how that happened. The kids had a great time. Their equally cool/secret friends were there as well. Fun was had by all. In a secret sort of way.

Falconry and Fun At The Wedelse Molen

This is the Wedelse Molen in Overpelt. When I had pictured a little pub in Europe, this is what I had in mind. This building dates back to the 1100's. It was a working, water driven grain (corn) mill from the 1200's until 1957. It was turned into a pub in 1974. There is a really great outdoor seating area out back. (Unfortunately, it was a little rainy today.) It's also where you will find the entrance to the pub. This is a glimpse inside the Wedelse Molen to the inner workings of the grain mill. Everything is still working today, and it's fascinating to watch all of the wheels spinning and connecting with each other. There are stairs to the left of this, and when you go upstairs, you can see where they put the grain in to be ground up.
In case you think this place is all about the history, you need to know the important facts as well. The owner is a very nice fellow, and he told me that they have QUITE the assortment of Belgium beer, both in bottles and on tap. This place has a great reputation for not only delicious beer, but great atmosphere as well. If you ever find yourself in Overpelt, be sure to stop by, check it out, and have a drink.

In the field next to the Wedelse Molen, there is a large field, and that's where the Valkerij & Plattelandsbeurs was taking place today. (That's Falconry- Rural & Exhibition for those of you who aren't up on their Nederlands yet.) All around the field were birds, tethered to little roosts in the ground. In the center of the field was the area where the shows and exhibitions were taking place. It was really fascinating, and I've never been this close to so many species of birds before.
This little fellow wins my first place prize for HOW CUTE IS HE??? It's hard to tell from this picture, but he was TINY!

This fellow was very impressive as well. He looked like he was ready for some serious flying.

Can you tell that I was really interested in the owls? I think I took the most pictures of them. Check out this do!

This owl was more than a little irritated by all of the attention he was getting. Then something caught HIS attention. A couple walking by had brought their little dog with them. He was really checking this little pooch out.
Then he fluffed all up. Now he was bigger than the dog he was checking out. The dog was more than a little intimidated by the whole thing, and they didn't stay very long. Owl-1, dog-0.
Coming from Alaska, I'm pretty used to seeing a lot of eagles. What I'm not used to, is seeing one kept as a pet. There were several eagles here, and they were all trained.
This falcon had the most beautiful coloring. Did I mention that they had a very wide assortment of birds on display? This one was a bit of a surprise to me. They had both vultures and buzzards. I had to end on a cute note, so here is another little fellow with quite the appeal. If you are curious about today's event, here is the link to their official website.
http://www.vepb.be/