The Journey North

We’ve had quite the day! We started off the morning, much to Jim’s dismay, by having breakfast in our room instead of hitting up the breakfast buffet. I just didn’t need all that this morning, and the hotel had a wonderful hotpot with which I could make a proper pot of English tea, not one of those coffee pots that we have in the States where you can boil water in it and then your tea tastes like coffee. Yuck! I had granola bars with us, so Jim had to settle for that, but he did eat the lemon cookies that came with the tea supplies (for breakfast!!). I knew we’d be having lunch in just two hours so that was all we needed.

After a quick stop at PC World to pick up a new router (or switch as they call it here) so we can both plug into the Internet, and a trip to Boots to get Jim a new Fusion razor because he forgot his and he wasn’t happy with my Venus one, we were on our way. Just to clarify both of those, we “smoked” the router we brought from home because it wasn’t dual voltage and the converter we used couldn’t handle the power. We knew there was that risk, but it was worth the try. We actually ordered the new one on line because we could save 7 GBP (pounds) but just doing in-store pick-up. Now we have a UK router which has the right plug and voltage. And on the other story, I was getting pretty tired of not shaving my legs just so Jim could have my razor without lady stubble on it!! So now we’re set on both things.

Once the errands were done, we were on our way to my second cousin, Kevin’s house in Langold. Now, let’s remember that I’d never met him before, but I knew he’d never married, that he was a nurse who had hurt his back and has been out on disability for five years, that he cares for his 91 year old mother and 55 year old mentally retarded sister, and that he has two dogs, a german shepherd and a cocker spaniel, and a bunch of birds. Am I setting the stage? We got there, and man, the smell of dog was overwhelming!! And let’s just say that Kevin isn’t much of a housekeeper either. Oh gosh, you all know me…..I couldn’t even sit on the furniture!! It was pretty disgusting. We stayed for lunch, which consisted of a slice of ham, two small boiled potatoes, a few shreds of lettuce, a tomato, and two slices of cucumber. Jim was really wishing then that I’d let him have the breakfast buffet!! I was just worried about eating off the plates. Meanwhile the dogs were barking and at our elbows during the meal, which we ate at the tiny table with the food-stained tablecloth in the kitchen. They were very nice people, don’t get me wrong, but let’s just say we won’t be going back anytime soon. I was very happy to leave!

We set off for our three hour journey to Carlisle, England, coming through the Lake District. Here are a few photos of our journey today. The nuclear power plant and a shot of the traffic coming in the other direction.

It was a beautiful ride, going through lots of farm fields full of sheep. At one farm we saw sheep, emus, llamas, and a two hump camel!! I did not come to England expecting to see a camel on the side of the road! Here there are stone walls stretching for miles and miles, where in southern England the walls between fields are hedgerows. You can see why Hadrian’s Wall was made…plenty of rock to make it with. We’ve also seen some other interesting sites: a tank crossing (a sign that said tank crossing with a picture of a tank! Like we’d have a deer crossing or horse crossing sign). Also, we learned that a “Diversion” sign isn’t a great thing….detour! And what is a “possible subsidence” sign for? We arrived at our B&B and for everything Kevin’s house wasn’t, this place is everything we could have wanted. It is the most beautiful home, built in 2004 over 18 months. John and Liz, the proprietors, have put so much love and hard work into their home. It is just gorgeous. I posted pictures of it in an earlier post, and they just don’t do it justice. The grounds are full of weeping willow trees and beautiful flowering bushes. There are pictures of the house building in progress and it’s just amazing. There are pilings driven into the ground 6 meters, and all the floors are concrete with radiant heat, even upstairs, then wood floors, marble tile, or carpet are laid down. The house is immaculate and our bathroom is all white and a luxurious. Liz and John made us an outstanding dinner tonight and I was grateful that breakfast and lunch were rather small and non-filling. (Oh wait, true confessions: I did have that Cadbury Fruit and Nut bar purchased at the rest area). For dinner, I had the roasted tomato and pepper soup while Jim had the antipasto starter, our main course was chicken stuffed with prosciutto, cheese, and rocket (a green, like dandelion), roasted potatoes, and carrots and green beans. Liz made homemade bread as well. For dessert, Jim had the tart lemon cheesecake and I had the warm apple cake, drizzled with Amaretto and served with homemade vanilla ice cream. Who thought the English food was awful??? Our dinner companions tonight were Peter and Kay, a retired couple from Herefordshire who are traveling up to Scotland to visit friends. They happened upon this place just as we had. We found it on the Internet, they in a guide book. It is the best kept secret. They have the decided advantage of coming back here next Monday night on their way home. We enjoyed our conversation with them, which lasted long after dinner and our post-meal cup of tea. We finally retired to our bedroom at almost midnight, and here I am, staying up way too late to finish this post. Oh, and in the morning, we’ve ordered the Scottish pancakes with bacon, fresh fruit, pastries, and yogurt. Jim is certain to make up for today’s meager breakfast. Here are some photos of the lodge:

This is our rental car, a Renault Scenic. very nice and quite comfortable for a small car. Here's the back of the car parked next to the Jaguar out in front of the lodge.

Tomorrow we’re off to Edinburgh. It should take us about 2 hours from here so we hope to arrive by noon, park at the hotel, and take the bus for a 20 minute ride into the heart of the city. Apparently, Edinburgh is a terrible place for parking so we’re not even going to attempt it.

Today’s interesting place names:
Newby
Scotch Corner
Snape (for all you HP fans out there)
Boston Spa
Crackenthorpe
Knock
Temple Sowerby

Now it’s off to bed because I need to get some sleep in order to keep up my mad eating frenzy!