First let me say that I have discovered I am a computer junkie and I am not happy if I can't get on line. It has been 2 days since I was able to blog and I am going into shock. I am writing blogs in my head and can't get them printed so am not a happy camper. Thank goodness and thank the owner of our latest stop, she has lent me her internet access flash drive thingy and I am able to get to my blog. I really must look into getting one of these things for our travels.
Yesterday we were in mid-western England in a town called Morton-in-Marsh. Our night in the lovely B&B there was uneventful and relaxing even though I didn't sleep well. We had an English breakfast of sausage, egg, toast, potato cake, ham and tomato. (Ger wouldn't eat his tomato because it was hot and he hates hot tomatoes . . . except for me.) After breakfast we left our car at the B&B and walked the 2 minutes into town to the street fair. There were all sorts of booths selling all sorts of things and Ann and I did put a dent in our wallets. On our way into town Ann Marie fell when her knee gave out. She scrapped up her knee a bit but at least she managed to avoid rolling into the street in front of passing cars. She was fine and jumped back up but we did make a stop at the local drug store for some bandaids. After our adventures in town we headed back to the car and drove to another small Cotswold village named Chipping Campden. It was a beautiful town with the type of homes with thatched roofs that the Cotswold area is famous for. We parked and walked around for an hour or so taking all the same pictures. When we tired of that we returned to the car and started our journey north heading for the Lake District. The only problem was that the Cotswold area is off the beaten track and no where near the motorway that would get us north quickly. Ger was in the back seat with the maps, Ann was riding shot gun with all the travel books and Gretta II (the GPS) was spewing out directions about taking the third exit off the next round about. GOD BLESS DRUGS! I would have stopped the car in the middle of a freaking round about and walked away screaming "WHERE THE F--- ARE WE?" I am here to tell you that I stayed very calm even when I was on the M6 heading north when G told me to get off and we then got lost on back back roads for the next 3 hours. Later in the day he apologized for making a mistake. What you have to understand here is that all these years G has done the driving and I have been the navigator. I have had my share of screw ups so I am trying to remember how I felt when he was yelling "Tell me which way to go!" By 5PM we had once again found the M6 and were once again headed in the right direction driving 80 miles and hour on a straight road as opposed to driving 20 miles an hour on winding roads with sheep on them. BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
By now I was DONE and we stopped at a rest area to see if there was a tourist information that could direct us to an exit that might have a place for us to stay for the night. As we pulled into the parking lot there stood a Travel Inn . . . right there in front of us . . . in the parking lot of the rest area stood a HOTEL! We stayed there for the night and ate Burger King for dinner and I didn't give a damn. The room was quiet, clean, warm and wonderful. The only problem was the fire alarm that went off at 2AM and we had to evacuate the building. We think it was just a drill even though the fire department was there in the parking lot there was no evidence of smoke or fire. After 5 minutes we were allowed back into our room and I immediately fell sound asleep. Ann says she was up for an hour or so reading and Ger says he had trouble getting back to sleep but I was back asleep in minutes.
When we woke up this morning it was cloudy and much cooler that it had been. Up till now the weather has been unusually hot and sunny but I think we are now in for a change. We had breakfast in the rest area and then continued on up the motorway to an exit for the lake district. Once again we were on the tiny, winding back roads with stone walls lining them so that when a car comes toward you from the opposite direction you wonder which one of you is going into the wall in order to pass. Not the easiest driving in the world but I truly enjoy it! Especially when the roads are fairly empty and I don't have a line of cars on my butt. We found the lakes and along with them the hills and valleys of the area. We stopped in one town half way along Windermere Lake to take a short sight seeing boat ride in the rain and wind. Next we walked in and out of some shops and added more of our money to the English economy. We found a great little shop that had Hot Soup for lunch to warm us up before heading out again. We returned to the winding roads with hills on all sides dotted with sheep. We were now high in the hills are headed for a pass through the mountains. By the time we got to the top of the Kirkstone pass the clouds were blowing in all around us and we were going in and out of them. We stopped at every pull off we could find to take pictures of this area but I am sure they will never do justice to it. Luckily there were very few cars on the road so we didn't have to worry about only driving 10 miles an hour. We finally came out of this beautiful area and met up with the M6 once again for another 70 miles north to where we are tonight. We have chosen to take a scenic route to Edinburgh rather than come in on the major highways. We are now somewhere on our way to Edinburgh in the small town of Moffat, Scotland. It is adorable! We're staying in a hotel that is 3 stories high and as old as Moses. No elevator, just a huge winding stair case to the top floor where our rooms are. It's cold in here but the beds are piled high with down comforters and real woolen blankets. I can't wait to snuggle under the covers. We've had dinner at the Balmoral Hotel pub just down the street and we will have breakfast in our hotel in the morning. Our hostess has promised there will be a fire in the dining room for breakfast to "ward off the chill of the morning".
Tomorrow we hope to make it into Edinburgh without incident and find a tourist information. We plan on staying in that city for at least 2 nights with plans on taking a sight seeing bus up into the Scottish highlands. That way I can enjoy the sights also.
We are having a grand time and other than wanting to beat G with the map yesterday, we're all doing great. Hope to talk to you tomorrow . . .
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