Four go wild north of the border UPDATED 6/23 About This Page:

[SuperDave]

Plans are shaping up well. Glad it seems to work out with Mari for the most part regarding the reservation! The first class lunch on the steam train seems like it's going to be a great experience and glad you got it!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by pamcarey

How cool to visit Beatrix Potter's cottage!

That should be very neat. I'm curious to know what it will be like. I half expect to see a garden gate there that Peter Rabbit could squeeze under and a vegetable garden waiting for him!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Plans are shaping up well. Glad it seems to work out with Mari for the most part regarding the reservation! The first class lunch on the steam train seems like it's going to be a great experience and glad you got it!

So am I. I think that's one of the things I'm most looking forward to in this trip.

[Cam22]

I'm liking all the additions and revisions. I love the Beatrix Potter stories, and think about her Peter Rabbit almost every day as we have bunnies that set up residence under one of our large spruce trees every year.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Cam22

I'm liking all the additions and revisions. I love the Beatrix Potter stories, and think about her Peter Rabbit almost every day as we have bunnies that set up residence under one of our large spruce trees every year.

I would say "cute" but in fairness, I also know the damage they can cause in gardens. They're beautiful, cute and cuddly, but destructive too.

[chezp]

Pre-trip report – part six: “Lighthouse - bit of a journey but worth it”

Saturday 1 April

I didn’t add this at the time, but when I spoke to my parents last weekend, it was pretty clear that stopping off to see them to pick up our summer plants wouldn’t work. From what my dad said, they should really be going in the ground somewhere between the middle of May and early June. Ok… back to the drawing board then…

I went back to look at our plans from the point at which we leave Mari and Raleigh, and worked out that first night, I think we can drive further than I’d planned. We’re planning on going to the National Museum of Flight in the afternoon, and that closes at 5:00pm, so if we drove for a couple of hours, we’d still get to where we’re staying the night at a reasonable hour, and while it’s still light. I therefore started to look at various places nearer to Darlington, and drew up a short list.

Now the next day had been my stumbling block the whole way along, as I really didn’t know what to do that day. I eventually decided to ask Mark and I got the answer I expected. He wanted to visit the National Railway Museum in York, which is fine with me. We’ve been together 20 years, and we’ve never visited it together. I think I may have last gone there in the early 1990s, and I’m sure it’s changed beyond belief since then…

Our idea of crossing the Humber Bridge can now also be incorporated into our route, so we’ll be doing that. Is it wrong to be excited about the idea of just crossing a bridge?

Our destination is Lincoln, which I’ve wanted to visit for age, and we’ve just never made it. It’s supposed to be a beautiful city, complete with cathedral, and castle, and the reason we’ve never been there is because it’s quite out of the way. It’s located along the east coast, and every time I look at going there, it seems to be hours from anywhere, but this time it’s worked out. I am so pleased that we’ll finally get to visit. I just hope that it lives up to my expectations, as the last time we visited somewhere I was keen to see and had heard great things about was Durham, in the north east of England. We stopped off there on the way back from seeing Hazel and her family in Scotland, and I was so looking forward to it. While I liked it, I just didn’t love it, and I thought I’d really love it.

The next morning, we’ll head down to Maureen, and we visited her today. I tell you what, for an 83 year old, she looks amazing. As Mark said, she still looks like someone in her 60s. I hope I look that good, if I reach that age of course… We decided that we’ll go and visit the Paradise Wildlife Park, which I’d never heard of. Thank goodness for TripAdvisor, as I was looking for some inspiration, and that’s where I found out about this place. It never ceases to amaze me how many amazing visitor attractions there can be that you just know nothing about. At least the Internet is now allowing us to find out about some of them…

I then started to go through our itinerary, having a blitz on it, which for me means adding in all the addresses of all the places we’re going to be visiting, making it easier to add them into the sat nav on the day. It’s one of the silly jobs it’s very easy to overlook, so I always like to ensure I get it done plenty of time ahead of our journey. I’m also starting to look at ideas for evening meals, as I think I will ensure we have dinner booked each night near to where we’re staying, so we don’t have to worry about that at the end of a long day out exploring. At least then we’ll also have a rough idea of what it’s likely to cost each day and I can factor that into our calculations for spending money while we’re away too.

It was a useful exercise to start doing this, as much as I’d have loved to have visited the Mull of Kintyre, I started to do a bit of research and realised it just wasn’t going to work out. I found a review on TripAdvsior, headlined: “Lighthouse - bit of a journey but worth it” and it went on to say this: It struck me as a good idea to go and see the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse recently. As I headed out of Campbeltown it was well sign-posted. I hadn't realised that the last 6 or 7 miles would be on a single track road nor that the last mile must be done on foot.

Now by this point, I was thinking this didn’t sound like a good plan. I don’t like single track roads at the best of times, and not for that long! However, it got better… you then have to walk a mile down to the lighthouse on a narrow, bendy road (which technically shouldn’t have any traffic on it, but you can drive down it to get to the lighthouse) and the descent is about 1,000 feet. Ok, now I’m really out! The review did go on to say that the views from there are amazing, and you can enjoy it in silence (I’m not surprised, given how hard it is to get there… ) but for me, I figured we’d hopefully see some good views from driving along the nice A-road (where you have more than enough room for one car/lorry going one way and another going the other way), so I nixed the idea of the Mull of Kintyre. Thank goodness I looked into that, otherwise we’d have had a heck of a shock on the day!

Sunday 2 April

I finally remembered to email Mari today about our lunch on the steam train. When I booked it, I got my email confirmation, which said that you had to pre-order your meal. I just kept forgetting about it, and didn’t want to show up, for them to say “you have no lunch”, or whatever they’d do if I didn’t complete it… After leaving messages in massive letters all over a couple of documents to remind me, I finally got the message! When I hear back from Mari, we’ll make our selections, and send them through, and then that’s something else done…

I’ve also done some more work on our itinerary, again adding in addresses, and the further I get through the itinerary, also looking for places to have dinner, as I seemed to have got through the first week, and then stopped. Goodness knows why… maybe I got bored?

Thursday 6 April

I heard back from Mari about the menu for lunch on the steam train. Apparently it’s not a good idea to send her an email when she’s having a ball in Disneyland as she forgets to reply to emails. Well, that I can completely understand! She’ll have a look and come back to me. I took the opportunity to send her the list of places I plan on eating dinner at, as I want to check they’re happy with it, before I book anything. I just want to have a guaranteed seat for dinner each night, as we’ll have been on the road all day.

Her mind is obviously on the Scotland trip again, given she also posted on Facebook today. Visit Scotland had posted some photos from the Isle of Skye, which we’ll be visiting, and one of them was of Portree. She posted that she’d like to see it, but obviously then checked our itinerary, and realised we would be! I guess now she knows why I wanted to go there… and hopefully you’ll understand why as well when you see the photo:



Friday 7 April

I heard back from Mari with details of what they want for lunch on the steam train, so that’s another thing done. Our order is in… I can’t wait!

It was so funny, as I emailed her to say at some point I’ll probably send her a list of wines I can get at the local grocery store. Now, here I need to explain something. Mari and Raleigh really know their wine, and I mean really know it. They’ve been to John Lassetter’s vineyard, that’s how into it they are. Anyway, I told them that and said we’d ensure we have some water with us as well, along with some snacks, as that’s how we always do road trips. I loved her reply:

Water? What is water? We've been in a drought. So in order to conserve that other wet stuff, we've gone to wine (me) and beer (R). Just doing our part as responsible citizens. I trust you on wines. For us, not really sweet, slightly dry. R likes reds I like white but also reds. Does that help or just confound?!?

Heck, it left me more confused… as good grief, like I say, they’re the experts!

Next: the “greatest rail journey in the world”

[purplegal]

The picture of Portree is beautiful I can see why you would want to visit it. Your plans are coming along great.

[disney_duke]

It's Ok to be excited about a bridge. Sometimes it's the little things.
Yes it's a good thing for reviews on TripAdvisor! You have to read a lot to get a fair idea, but that one in particular was very important. 1000 ft descent?! What goes up must come down.... or vice versa. No thank you. I may be a runner, but that doesn't sound good to me either on vacation!

I like how Mari and Raleigh are helping the water situation - just drink wine.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

It's Ok to be excited about a bridge. Sometimes it's the little things.
Yes it's a good thing for reviews on TripAdvisor! You have to read a lot to get a fair idea, but that one in particular was very important. 1000 ft descent?! What goes up must come down.... or vice versa. No thank you. I may be a runner, but that doesn't sound good to me either on vacation!

Nor me!

I like how Mari and Raleigh are helping the water situation - just drink wine.

That kind of attitude I can go with!

[SuperDave]

Plans are shaping up and glad you've got your meal selections done for your train journey! Hope it's a good menu! That was funny with Mari regarding what they are doing to conserve water!

[Colexis Mom]

You've certainly been busy planning!! Glad the National Trust is good in Scotland, and that you'll be able to stop off at your parents!!

[Cam22]

All the plans are sounding fun. I can't wait to hear all of the plan work out, too. : )

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Cam22

All the plans are sounding fun. I can't wait to hear all of the plan work out, too. : )

Well, I know where we are with them now, but I hope they work out in reality.

[chezp]

Pre-trip report – part seven: the “greatest rail journey in the world”

Saturday 8 April

Although not specifically linked to this vacation, I spent some of today sorting our annual travel insurance. We always get annual insurance, given how many different vacations we take. The funny thing is travel insurance has changed a lot over the last few years. We always ensure that we have travel insurance that covers us for pre-existing medical conditions. There have been too many scare stories over the years about people not having such cover, and then falling ill on holiday, and the travel insurance companies have bailed out, as the individuals didn’t declare their pre-existing medical conditions.

For a few years, you’ve had to go to specialist companies to get this cover, and it’s very much been a niche market. However, now nearly every company is offering this type of cover, and frankly about time. Let me give you an example of one of the questions they ask – it’s along the lines of “has anyone in your party been to a doctor’s or hospital over the last two years for any medical condition?” I suspect the vast majority of people would be answering to that one…

Sunday 9 April

Well, we finally have our travel insurance sorted for another year, so that’s another thing done. The price wasn’t too bad, less than we paid last year with a specialist company, with the cover I’d expect.

I also messaged Mari tonight to ask if she could bring some factor 100 sunscreen over with her. I had looked at getting some on our September trip, but I figured as we were a good few months off our summer and even further from our return to Florida (January 2018), I wouldn’t bother, as I know these things don’t keep forever. However, today it was pretty warm – we were into the mid 70s, which is almost unheard of for this early in April, and I figured I needed to use some of my remaining supplies. It turns out I had less than I thought… oops! Oh well, I know Mari can pick some more easily enough for me, so hopefully that won’t be a problem…

Anyway, on the subject of where we went today, I thought I’d share a few photos. We headed up to Down House with our friends. It was where Charles Darwin lived from three years after his wedding until his death. I didn’t know much more than that before our visit, but it was a beautiful place:



You could only take photos in Charles and Emma’s bedroom, as this was the only room that English Heritage (who now own the property) owns all the furniture in the room. It was certainly sumptuous:



I learnt so much from going around the house. I had no idea about the story of Darwin, and how he set out on a two-year round the voyage. It was on a tiny boat, and apparently he got exceptionally seasick. Having seen a model of it, I could understand why. Anyway, two years turned into five years, and that’s where he collected all his specimens and started to devise his theories that he refined over the next two decades. The dedication he put into this was amazing, and I came away with much more admiration for the man than before I visited.

Everything in the garden was used by Darwin in his theories. Apparently his wife Emma planted it out, and he told her to stick with the plants that attracted the most bees. Once again, fascinating, and the gardens looked beautiful on this stunning spring day…









So there you go, that was our day out. If only we get some weather during our Scotland trip that’s as beautiful as today’s was, then I’ll be very happy!

When I spoke to my mum this evening, I asked again what they were planning on doing for their golden wedding anniversary. Ironically, this is now the only part of the whole holiday that isn’t planned! I don’t mind what we do, as it’s their day, but I want to ensure they do something special, as heck, they’ve been married 50 years, and that’s a pretty impressive achievement by anyone’s standards. We’ve got as far as they want to go out for dinner at a French restaurant that we’ve been to before, and it is superb there, but as for what to do during the day? Goodness only knows!

My mother was asking me, yet they’re the ones who live there… I threw out various ideas, although I ended up telling her that we err towards National Trust or English Heritage properties, as we have memberships at both. I did a bit of research while I was on the phone to her, and I told her I liked the look of Lyme. It might have had something to do with this page I found on the National Trust website… grazing at Lyme… now are they cute or what? Ok, that’s it – that gets my vote!

Monday 10 April

I heard back from Mari, and she asked if I wanted one or two of each of the suntan lotion? Well, I’m happy with just one of each to keep me going through our summer. I shouldn’t need to use too much of it, as I’m sure our summer won’t be that hot. You do realise now that these will be the “famous last words”, and we’ll probably now have the hottest summer on record!

She also told me again that they’ll only be bringing one case, and two carry-ons for a seven week holiday. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before so forgive me if I have. They’re going to be on the transatlantic crossing on the Magic, which is two weeks, then I know they’re off to Ireland for something like 10 days, then it’s our two weeks together, so that still leaves two weeks unaccounted for. Hmmm… I honestly have no idea what they’re doing during that time. Maybe they’re hanging out in Florida before they set out on the cruise? Anyway, it sounds amazing to me, and even more amazing that they’re planning on so little luggage. As I said to her, we’re planning on one car, and a carry-on each just for this two week trip!

I told her not to worry, as our car boot (trunk) can handle a heck of a lot of luggage, more than any car we’ve ever found in the States. We’ve had four cases and two carry-ons in it before now.. I offer you this as evidence, although this is only three cases and two carry-ons, but I still think it’s pretty impressive…



Friday 14 April

Yet again, we’ve found a TV programme about a destination we’ll be visiting on this trip, this one called Grand Tours of Scotland, and the one we watched was all about Fort William to Mallaig and then the Isle of Skye, all of which we’ll be doing. Mark got very excited when he saw the steam train heading from Fort William to Mallaig, which has been called the “greatest rail journey in the world”. It passes over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which I have down on our itinerary. I have to say seeing their footage of a steam train passing over the viaduct was very neat, so I found the official website, and worked out when the steam train might be going over it, and now I have those times in our itinerary. Of course, it may not work out on the day, but at least we have the details…

When the presenter got to the Isle of Skye, he pointed out how all the road signs are in Gallic and English, then tried to find someone to try his Gallic guidebook out on, and failed miserably. Oh well, I guess we won’t have any language problems then!

I did end up adding something into our day on Skye as a result of the programme, and that was the Skye Museum of Island Life. It doesn’t look as if there’s that much there, but it does have cottages from the Victorian era, and gives you an idea of how life would have been on the island over 100 years ago, so we’ll give it a go.

Next: they’ve got fairly widespread snow!

[disney_duke]

What a beautiful garden! I sure hope you get a few nice days like that in Scotland too.
Yes, they do pack lightly. Impressive Mari and Raleigh! Or she's thinking like I do sometimes - I'll buy more clothes while I'm there.... But it's usually just shirts and sweatshirts I end up with!

My parents celebrated their 50th last year, and we didn't do much either. Of course she wasn't feeling well, but we managed just a family get together for dinner. Oh well! We surprised them with a big party for their 40th, so perhaps we did that backwards... Congrats to your parents upcoming big number!