October 15--WINDY!!

It is higher and nobler to be kind.  --Mark Twain

    No rain yesterday! The wind more than made up for it. Such is life on the seacoast. 

    I started the day walking down toward the sea, but the combination of wind, cold, sea spray, and soggy sand turned me back to the hotel. After breakfast we loaded onto the bus to explore Cornwall. Our ultimate destination was the extreme southwest corner of England, Land's End. 

    Our first stop was St. Ives.We hiked down a very steep path to the area of shops and wandered around. We stopped into a restaurant where Lanie and I "took one for the team" and got half-pints so our foursome could use the restroom. Such sacrifices we make!! The other treat there was strawberry shortbread, which had the extra double bonus of cream cheese frosting on top. We paid to ride the shuttle back up to the top of the hill, where Lanie and I had another half-pint at St. Ives Brewing Company. We sat outside and enjoyed the view. The tide was out, so there is a large area where many boats are just sitting on the sand. 

Lego men in fudge...
"Play with your food..."

    Next we drove to the beach where we saw Mt. St. Michael. It's a former abbey on an island at high tide, but you can walk out there at low tide. Alas, we did not have time to walk out there. I did, however, have time to chat with a man sitting with his 3-yr-old female Golden Retriever named Sunny. It was a healing encounter for me.

    Then we headed to Land's End, where the Celtic Sea and English Channel meet at the very southwest tip of England. We had Cornish Cream Tea. It was tea and scones with jelly and clotted cream--a delicious traditional English treat. 

    After tea and scones, we waddled around the area enjoying the magnificent view. 

    After these adventures, I am assuredly not homesick for Kansas wind! I am pleased to report that there are plentiful wind turbines in Cornwall, as there should be!

    Supper was at the hotel. None of us were that hungry given the afternoon tea and scone.

    Our next couple of days take us to the Cotswolds. Stay tuned!

        Leta

Seen at a card shop...
There's some truth to that!

October 14--Lots of Rain

Go out and do for others what somebody did for you. --Randy Pausch

    Friday the 13th was another fine day in England. We left Bath and drove to Glastonbury. This is the new age, crystal-toting, psychic-reading, woowoo capital of the world. I'm into that sort of thing, but even this was a lot for me. The entire town smells like incense. We were there to tour the remains of the Glastonbury Abbey. It claims to be the site of the graves/tomb of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere.
    I had a lovely lunch of a broccoli and cheese turnover and chocolate chip shortbread (a new favorite I've discovered here). These were purchased at "Burns The Bread Bakery."
    We left Glastonbury. The English countryside is emerald green and beautiful. On our way to Lanhydrock, the bus driver put on the Beatles Greatest Hits, and at least six of us at the back of the bus had a great time singing along. Lanhydrock is a country estate home that you can tour, to see how the family lived and then the servants as well. Alas, it was raining fairly hard, and the walk to the house was steep, going down. Fortunately, after touring the grounds, there was a golf cart type ride back up to the coach park.
    We then drove to Newquay, where we are staying at the Esplanade Hotel with an awesome view of the sea. The water is very rough and it is windy like Kansas. From our hotel (loads of windows), we can see a castle-style hotel out on the point, with a golf course along the coast between us and that hotel. I plan to squeeze in a walk along the shoreline before we leave here.

    At dinner we saw a man with a t-shirt that says: My wife told me I have only two faults. 1) I don't listen 2) Something else. LOL!!!  
    Today we explore the Cornwall area and enjoy a Cornish Cream Tea. La-di-dah...
        Leta

Lady Chapel, Gastonbury Abbey

Lanhydrock

October 13--Grief and Guffawing

Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present.  --Albert Camus

    I am giving all to my grief over Dusty. Yesterday morning we set out on a walking tour of Bath, and ended up in short order at a wide open space where several dogs were playing. I have no idea what the guide was telling us. I was watching the dogs and crying. There was one who was excellent at retrieving and returning a ball, just like Dusty did so well. That did me in, especially since I slept so little the night before. 

    We roamed more of Bath and ended up at the Roman Baths, which I toured in a hurry. Old stone and yucky water. How much of that does one need to see? Part of the reason I went through so fast--there was an awesome street musician outside playing the trumpet. We found a little cafe and had very yummy hot chocolate and listened to his tunes. 

    Next Lanie and I roamed around the shops of Bath, and she bought me the coaster below as a birthday gift. There were others that were equally hysterical. We stopped in at The Old Green Tree pub and had a pint and a lovely conversation with the bartender. He gave us the recommendation for an Italian restaurant, Martini. 

    We went back to the hotel, and our foursome played Rummikub in the bar area for about three hours. 

    Then our foursome and our tour host, Greg Tamblyn, went out to eat at the recommended Italian restaurant. The meal and company were excellent. We laughed so much and so hard that our sides hurt. 

    Another great day! I was grateful for the game-playing and camaraderie of supper--both were very helpful in helping me with my grief. 

    Today we head to Glastonbury. 

        Leta

The Roman Baths

As it should be everywhere!

October 12--High and Low

While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.  --Chinua Achebe 

    What a day Wednesday was, including the highest high and lowest low. 

    We left London and drove to Salisbury. Our first stop was the Cathedral. It is huge and magnificent, of course. However, when we walked in, the choir was practicing Handel's Messiah, the Hallelujah Chorus. It was goose-bumping mystical and magical. Later we discovered that the singers were all young girls. It was amazing. 

    Our foursome wandered into Salisbury, which is an adorable English town. We found a pub (not hard to do) and had lunch. We window-shopped our way back to the bus. 

    Then it was off to visit Stonehenge, the reason I came on this trip. You can't get close to the stones, but that doesn't really matter. They are amazing and impressive, and you'll never convince me that ordinary ancient humans built it. There used to be even more huge stones than those resting there today. It's up on a chilly, windy hilltop, with many ancient burial mounds in the surrounding area. 

    We then drove to Bath to our hotel for the next two nights. We got settled in, I hooked up to wifi and my email, and I got the news. My son and his wife made the difficult decision and put down their Golden Retriever, 13-year-old Dusty. We had kept Dusty for a year while they were in Australia, so he's our dog, too. Tears, tears and more tears. Dusty is catching a Frisbee in dog heaven.

    We had supper at the hotel, then our host Greg Tamblyn played guitar and sang for us. It was a lovely end to the day. 

    Today we tour Bath. 

        Leta

Salisbury Cathedral

Many tons of stone

Our beloved Dusty

October 11--It's All Running Together Already!

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.  --Simone Weil

    I've had lots of paying-attention practice this week, what with our tour guide talking non-stop and an infinite number of places to trip over as we walk many miles each day.

    Yesterday we went to Buckingham Palace, quite the grand place. We did not see the big production of the changing of the guard, but we did see the horseback guard "parade." That's six guards on horseback riding in perfect rhythm down a wide avenue, and they do it every day. 

    Lanie and I managed to lose our group folks (unintentional!), and found a lovely little lunch spot where we could eat outside. We have been blessed with three glorious days of weather in London. We went back to our group meeting spot by Westminster Abbey. We were early for reconvening, so we asked a guard if we could go in to pray, and as my spectacular traveling charmed life would have it, there was a service about to start, and we were admitted. It was lovely. Lanie got to have communion in Westminster Abbey, what an awesome experience. I told her she may be the last living human to see me at a church service. I thoroughly enjoyed it as a time to let gratitude wash through me. 

    Then we walked to the Thames and did a boat tour, ending at the Tower of London. We heard lots of grisly stories about various forms of beheading (one swift blow or repeated hacking---yuck!!!). We saw the Crown Jewels, which were mostly crowns. We were all hoping to see some cool necklaces, bracelets, etc. but clearly this American is fairly clueless about the Crown Jewels. They are not insured, so I am told. A) too valuable and B) not sellable if they were stolen. We did see the world's largest diamond, and it's a doozy. My favorite thing in the Tower exploration is the dragon shown below. His claws are made with pistols. It's a very large, creative sculpture.

    We went back to the hotel on the bus, and trekked to a nearby pub that served Thai food. That is not a typo. It was great. I had a Fuller's ESB, one of my favorite beers at home. Alas, I finally ran into a not-so-cold beer. But I was so thirsty...

    Today, Stonehenge!!!

        Leta

The dragon in the White Tower

Lanie and I with a very friendly "Beefeater."
They are retired military with a minimum
of 22 years of service. There are 35 of them,
and 4 are women.

The horseback guard "parade"

October 10--I'm Not Sure It Can Get Any Better, But I'll Bet It Does

If you look for perfection, you'll never be content.  --Leo Tolstoy

    Monday in London. We had breakfast, then loaded onto the bus, wherein Lanie and I took our usual seats in the rear. We drove to Windsor and toured Windsor Castle. It is simply one jaw-dropping, gold-leaf-filled room after another. We couldn't take photos inside, so I can't offer any. 

    Then we came back to London and toured Westminster Abbey. You, too, along with approximately 3,000 others could be buried there, if you are deemed "important." My hopes are slim. Charles Dickens, I ain't. 

    Then the bus took us to Piccadilly Circus, which IS a circus and a lot like Times Square. You could either get off the bus and explore or go back to the hotel. We got off the bus. We walked and gawked. I asked a street vendor for directions to the nearest pub, and he pointed us up the street. We found O'Neils. We sat and gabbed and drank beer. Our server was a talkative dear, so we asked her for a recommendation for an Indian restaurant. She gave us two suggestions. We decided on Dishoom. While we were considering the way there, another server came up to us and offered to draw us a map on how to trek there. (see below) 

    We finished 1 1/2 pints of beer each, so we were ready for adventure. We took off following the map, and sure enough, we found Dishoom. There was an incredibly long line. The Indian family waiting just ahead of us, plus one of the outdoor diners near us, told us it was worth the wait, and so we waited. The folks in front of us gave us food recommendations. There was a solo man (Kyle) behind us in line who was getting the same suggestions simultaneously from a friend via his phone. We started talking, you know, friendly tourist stuff. It turns out he is from Fort Worth and in London on business. A hostess person came along the line and asked if we would be OK with a lower-height lounge table. We said yes, and asked Kyle if he would like to join us. He said yes, and "It's on me." "Holy cow" is an understatment. So we bypassed the line and were seated. We had Indian gimlets and a FABULOUS meal (butter chicken and daal--a lentil dish--and naan) and super conversation. And Kyle, true to his word, paid for it all and said, "You two are a cheap date." We took photos, hugged even, and parted ways. 

    Lanie and I planned to take the Tube back to our hotel, so we headed back to the Piccadilly Tube station. At the ticket place, we asked for help and learned that you can ride the tube most cheaply by simply using one's credit card at the turn style entering and exiting. He told us where to go and what train to take. We followed directions, returned easily to Hammersmith station, and walked the short distance to our hotel. 

    What are the chances?!?!?!? The Universe went over and above the call of duty into "triple cream cheese frosting" territory for this day and evening. 

    I can hardly wait to see what today brings! Stay tuned!!

        Leta

Our map

Leta, Lanie, Kyle at Dishoom

October 9--Precious Sleep

Try to learn to let what is unfair teach you.  --David Foster Wallace

    I got a wonderful night's sleep to make up for the nearly sleepless trip over here. I think I can get into a fairly consistent routine to write and post here. 

    I forgot the best part of the trans-Atlantic flight on Delta (other than safe arrival in England)--they gave us free alcohol, astounding for an airline, so I enjoyed a cocktail of Woodford Reserve whiskey (a personal favorite) and ginger ale. One of life's simple pleasures.

    I think we are headed to Windsor Castle today. 

    Stay tuned!

        Leta    

The hotel hallway carpet
makes me dizzy!