Tulip bulbs are very tasty to a variety of animals. If your bulbs don't come back, most likely they have been eaten by squirrels, mice, voles, rabbits even deer. And Tulips normally last just a few years anyway if not been someone's snack. Daffs on the other hand can last and naturalize for eons. Planting your Tulips among Daffs which are distasteful to animals can help.

T = ...just another 4 months to go before we see these guys again...

Youngsters having fun about 6 years ago - messy day with chocolate syrup & sprinkles.

Not that many tourists tromp through the canals - most go to the beach bike path or boardwalk, and the bike path does get crowded, especially in the summer and August, when European tourists tend to visit. I used to ride my bike on the bike path after work almost every day, and I did get tired of the crowds - especially the tourists who would walk on the bike path instead of on the boardwalk. The bike path was clearly marked in the pavement "BIKES ONLY" but perhaps some of the tourists could not read English. The Japanese tourists were especially bad because they would walk on the bike path in groups and cause problems for bikers. The boardwalk was right next to the bike path, and so there was no reason for people to walk on the bike path. I never saw a lot of people at the canals - mostly just locals.