When feisty smart ladies of her age order a beer with lunch, that garners a thumbs up. 
First time she and Dad went to Europe (20-some years ago) every postcard I got from her said “great beer here!” What can I say - my mom likes beer.
Just chiming in to add that, yes, it was a great day. Thanks to twickster for organizing it, and to FairyChatMom got the restaurant suggestion. That was a great place, too.
It was fun meeting new people, and I’m glad the little What Exit kids didn’t fall in one of the various ponds or streams. I was sure one of them was gonna take a header and end up soaking wet.
(And for those of you – which was just about everyone, right? – who were clamoring to see some Holland pix, you can see some here.
That was a peace sign??? No wonder I couldn’t figure it out. Anyway, thanks for having me along. I had a good time. (And yes I do think I sat next to FCM at lunch.)
I walked right by that, I was busy looking at the Cupid’s Arrow heart.
Hey Ben – you don’t have to post those pix of me (nope, you definitely don’t) – but you could email them to me…
I’ll probably post my photos tonight. twickster, watch your mail server for a 1 MB file… and a price list. 
I missed the peace sign, too. Bit I was pretty pleased that I figured out the heart with the arrow. Some of the shrubs were beyond my comprehension.
I’ll have to wait till I go back to Mom’s to see her pics. With her crappy dial-up, there’s no way she’ll get any photos uploaded in our lifetime.
Or was it the Harp Seal?
Are you referring to the lyrebird? commasense shared the misapprehension that those were flippers, and not wings.
A Lyre-Bird! So that’s what it was! I somehow missed commasense’s explanation. How 'bout them seahorses…?
No, the lyrebird is twickster’s explanation. I thought they were seals. I never knew there was such a thing as a lyrebird until this moment. Obviously, the topiarist is making a visual pun. I saw the peace sign but missed the heart until I looked twice.
Hope this works! Here is my set of pictures…
Great photos, TwoTrouts! I like the one of the litttle What Exit kid in blue standing under the red Japanese arch. Nice color contrast.
Nice pix! I took the liberty of downloading a copy of “Japanese Snowballs.” I’ll have my people call your people if I decide to use it in the magazine.
Wow! 
I liked the juxtaposition of the white puffy globes of flowers against the white puffy clouds. I am growing one of these plants (Styrax japonica?) in a pot for eventual transplantation into my garden.
Well… Whatever plant I took the picture of is not “Japanese Snowballs” (actual name is Japanese SnowBell). Anyone know what it is?
I’d have guessed some kind of ridiculously early hydrangea, but I’m weak on bushes. (Despite the definitiveness of my azalea ID )
Reading the guide that they gave us when we entered (RTFM, what a nutty idea!), I see that the hat thingy in the topiary garden was supposed to be Churchill’s top hat, and that, in keeping with the Churchill theme, the “peace sign” was in fact a “victory sign.” But twickster is right about the lyrebirds and I was right about the rest: seahorses, heart, butterfly, etc.