June 12, 2021 in Leende. Laurens had finally convinced me (but not Joshua) to go camping with him and Annelyne. He swore that this was a "remote" spot with a lot of amenities (we could see the next set of campers through a thin line of trees). I was difficult to convince because camping for me meant not seeing any other people for days on end, to which Laurens always replied, "well we can't ALL have the privilege of camping in North America."

Still, I went, bringing a friend, Annet along as well. We hiked. We randomly walked into this intense hobby farm/visserij where Laurens hit it off with the owner while eating his ice cream. We were all impressed with the meerkats that had their own island and a little underground tunnel to get back inside their shelter. As we walked away we saw three expensive cars with the license plates of "Koi 1," "Koi 2," and "Koi 3." Maybe we should have become better friends with him.

Thanks for dragging me along, Laurens. I had fun, but you're right, camping in the Netherlands just can't compare to camping in the rugged North American wilderness.

When we talked about going on vacation together as two couples, I remember Laurens's number one goal was to "make memories" together in Norway. How little did I know that July 2023 would now hold such significance. The long conversations driving through Germany, holding our breath through never-ending Norwegian tunnels, collecting water, falling in mud trying to cross a riverbed, playing card games in the camper while we tried to stay sane with the rain, hitchhiking with a Norwegian man in his fancy car because it was getting late and it was a long walk, eating wild blueberries along hikes, us collectively discovering your dream job of becoming a viking... We fucking made some memories, Laurens. I wish we had made even more.