Aloha

2 August – Thursday

This is it – the final day of our holiday! The time in Hawaii has been good, we have really done very little but have enjoyed relaxing. It is going to be quite a shock to the system to have to not only get our own breakfast, but actually start cooking meals again. However, not living out of a suitcase will be good.

The food in Hawaii has been much healthier than that in Anaheim. We have been able to have fruit and salads with our meals here – so much different to the carbohydrate heavy diet of the Californians.

A quiet morning today, with a visit to the Iolani Palace and the Mission Houses, then some final shopping before the task of trying to fit everything into our suitcases. Thank goodness for trolley cases!!!

Hanauma Bay

1 August – Wednesday

This morning we took the bus to Hanauma Bay – the bay is the remains of a volcano that collapsed into the sea. The actual bay is very beautiful, with a coral reef, palm fringed beach and tourists, of course. The bus route took us through some nice housing areas, different to the usual areas that public buses transverse. We also followed the shore line for quite a while as well.

This southern area of the island is very volcanic in nature, with very little vegetation and a volcanic shoreline – quite stunning in its on way and completely different from the lush rain forest on the sharp-ridged mountains of the eastern side. For those of you who remember the television series “Magnum PI,” Rabbit Island (which featured in the series) is in this area. Just after we arrived at Hanauma Bay, an air raid siren sounded for a few minutes – it certainly left the tourists standing and wondering! One of the locals told us the sirens are tested at the beginning of every month and they are sounded in the event of something “major.”

Tonight we finally had my birthday dinner at a lovely restaurant right on the beach, no windows, beachside table, palm trees, glorious sunset (be prepared for sunset photos!) and a beautiful meal. Les has crab stuffed mahi mahi (local fish) and I ordered Hawaiian sea bass coated with macadamia nuts and bananas. Unfortunately, when it can it was absolutely smothered in chopped up capsicum. The nice waiter was very understanding, returned it to the kitchen and the chef cooked me another meal without the capsicum.

Polynesian Cultural Centre

31 July – Tuesday

Today was a full day and evening getting to and at the Polynesian Cultural Centre, situated at the north of the island. The Cultural Centre is run by the Mormon Church and “attached” to Brigham Young University, therefore, is staffed both by students and professionals. Each of the Polynesian countries has their own “village” and events, as well as taking part in the main evening show. The complex is very well laid out, with many tropical plants and water. Also, being on the windward (or rainy) side of the island, not only was the weather extremely hot but extremely humid!

The bus trip from Waikiki involves a change of buses at Ala Moana Centre and takes approximately 2 hours in total. The trip home was a little quicker as there were less passengers and less traffic. When we boarded the return bus, there were 2 teenage girls (about 14) already on board and one of them was very busy applying her make-up and the other texting. They kept this up virtually all the way to Ala Moana – Les was absolutely intrigued that so much make-up could be applied to one face and that it could take so long! I just admired the girl’s ability to apply on a bouncing bus, not only mascara but eyeliner without getting it all over her face or taking out an eye. Of course, once we changed buses for the 10 minute ride to Waikiki, the make-up had to be touched up! We wondered if their parents knew they were nightclubbing in Waikiki.

Hotels and Things

30 July – Monday

Some degree of excitement last night with what appeared to be a drugs bust directly opposite the hotel. It ended up with 10 police and 3 police cars in attendance before 2 males and a female were handcuffed, searched and taken away. One of the men was very vocal and agitated, and the girl didn’t appear to want to be searched and wouldn’t spread her legs. The female officer searched her upper body in the street and removed a couple of small packages from her pocket and bra before taking her into Denny’s and then into the police car.

Whilst the hotel is perfectly okay and the street it is on is all hotels, restaurants and shops, there is a nightclub directly opposite which is extremely noisy from midnight to 5.00am as people stand outside smoking, talking, yelling, fighting, etc. The police seem to attend every night and the hotel here say they are sick of complaining, but nothing gets done. There also seem to be quite a few “ladies” working the block as well. However, the area isn’t seedy or feel unsafe.

Today we made use of the free shuttle to Hilo Hatties, not so much to go shopping here but so Leslie could visit the large hardware store opposite! On the return journey the shuttle dropped us off at the Aloha Towers, some lovely views of the harbour from the top of the tower and some really nice shops to look at without hordes of people.

Pearl Harbour

29 July – Sunday

In case anyone may have been worried, a man in the International Marketplace became ill and required medical assistance - not us!

Set out bright and early before it got too hot and to beat the crowds, arrived at the Arizona Memorial before 10.00am only to be told we would have to wait until 12.30pm to get in. As we have visited the Memorial previously, we decided to catch the next bus and continue to the market at Aloha Stadium. This was even hotter, so once we had bought our souvenir t-shirts, we returned to Waikiki.

Dior

28 July – Saturday

Another hot day but a bit windy – certainly made the surfers at the Waikiki Long Board Surfing Championships happy. It was the first time I have actually seen any waves remotely resembling surf at Waikiki. The mornings excitement was provided by a visit to the actual Dior shop for a bottle of perfume, actually a bit cheaper than at Macys! What a wonderful experience to be the only customer in a shop with two people to look after me! My bottle of perfume was placed in a lovely Dior carry bag, of course, with some free samples of perfume as well. When the poor girl realised I was carry a supermarket type plastic bag (complete with $5 souvenir teatowel!), she nearly had a fit and immediately gave me a large Dior carry bag to hide my cheap shopping! It also gave Les a heart attack when I walked into the hotel carrying TWO Dior bags!!!

Emergency medical assistance in the USA is a little different to Australia. In an emergency, the fire engine is dispatched (the great big fire engine, complete with very long ladder and man at the end to control it!) as the paramedics are attached to the fire departments. If the patients needs to be transported to hospital, then an ambulance is called. It does seem a bit strange to us.

This afternoon involved a visit to a Spa for a massage each –how quickly 90 minutes disappeared. This was followed by dinner and watching the sun set – not much cloud about so not as spectacular as some nights.

Shopoholics

27 July – Friday

A BIG shopping day today – Leslie is starting to think like a true shopper; not how much did it cost but how much did he save! We spent 2 ½ hours each way on TheBus to get to the Outlet Shopping Centre, and it was worth the hypothermia (one WILL be airconditioned on the bus!). It is unbelievable that designers like Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hiflinger, Oshkosh, etc can sell their stock so much cheaper than in the stores and soooo much cheaper than in Australia. We arrived back at our hotel with quite a few bags – Les does like shirts! We had dinner on the terrace of a different hotel tonight and I ended up with a gecko on my dinner place after he ran up my arm. The waitress said I was very brave not to scream.

Waikiki

26 July – Thursday

Another hot day in paradise! A quiet day with a walk along Waikiki Beach after breakfast, a short wander through the shops then to the Ala Moana Shopping Centre for a few hours. A big disappointment for Les when he discovered that Old Navy didn’t have any caps and the standard wasn’t as good as he remembered. The remainder of the Centre has gone far more upmarket than it was last time we visited. Dinner tonight was on a terrace on the edge of Waikiki Beach, with the moon shining through the palm trees on to the water.

Farewell LAX

25 July – Wednesday

Farewell to Anaheim – the shuttle was even early! Check-in at LAX took over an hour. After having our bags weighed, and making a compulsory donation to American Airlines (we have learnt by now and only have one case overweight!) we had to take our cases to security screening. Because we had them locked, we were allowed to wait while they were x-rayed. That way, we could unlock them if necessary and not risk having our locks cut off. No problems. We haven’t had any problems with using American Airlines’ Admirals Club Lounges and just go to the departure lounge 30 minutes prior to the flight. Unfortunately, AA were having trouble with mechanical problems on a number of planes and kept delaying our flight by 30 minutes at a time – we eventually took off 2½ late.

I have had one worse flight (as far as fellow passengers are concerned) and that was from Bangkok to Melbourne. Again it was the same Mediterranean people causing the noise and being very annoying. It was a looong 5 hours!

We arrived in Honolulu to a beautiful, balmy evening – a very pleasant 25 degrees, and the taxi driver spoke English!

Universal Studios

24 July – Tuesday

Very hot very early and the day did not get off to a good start – the hotel forget to tell us the pick up for Universal Studios was at a different hotel! After some “discussion,” we were put in a taxi to be taken to the bus depot and the bus waited for us. Not happy, Jan!

Anyway, Universal Studios was great and the infrastructure for keeping people cool was tremendous. Not only were the queue areas under cover, there were also misting systems operating over the areas as well as throughout the whole complex. Large cooling mist fans were also scattered about and the outdoor stadium had sails overhead. The various shows were saw were all fantastic – Shrek, Terminator, Backdraft, Special Effects and the Studio Tour. Backdraft was very realistic in that we were shown some of the fire special effects – complete with very real fire and explosions. On the whole, we felt that the whole complex was really suitable for children under 10 – much to scary and realistic. Unfortunately, we again didn’t meet the height requirements for the Jurassic Park and Revenge of the Mummy rides!!! WaterWorld was an action packed show bases on the movie, lots of water, noise, explosions and stunts.

The Studio Tour around the front and back lots took us through the sound stages and the outdoor lots which have been used for many movies and television shows, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Psycho and Jaws (Jaws still rises in an attempt to eat tourists!). Filming was actually taking place on Wisteria Lane as we went past – Wisteria Lane actually only has ONE house! And no, we didn’t see any of the girls.

The day finished with a tour of Hollywood, a wander along Sunset Boulevard to look at the stars and Grauman’s Theatre, where the hand and footprints are in concrete. Then it was to Rodeo Drive and what a bummer, the shops were shut! The drive back along the freeway came to a halt when all the cars slowed to a crawl to look at a large fire in a warehouse and all the firemen up their long ladders with their hoses. Very dramatic and real, with lots of news helicopters hovering overhead.

Shamu

23 July – Monday

Seaworld at San Diego today – over 10 hours in all. At last we got to see some orcas, even if they were in captivity – also some pilot whales for the first time as well. Seaworld consists of various shows, plus water rides which ensure that all participants get very wet! We watched the orcas, dolphins, sealions and otter, plus a performance titled Cirque de Mer (human acrobats over water). They were all very good, especially the orcas – hard to believe that killer whales could be so gentle and look as though they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The weather was extremely hot, which was not helped by the complete lack of shade at Seaworld. Whilst the place has some very good shows, the infrastructure certainly hasn’t kept pace with the amount of people who attend. The individual stadiums would hold between two and four thousand people but there would only be two exits. The whole place was very, very crowded because people were just trying to move from stadium to stadium and there simply wasn’t enough room.

We passed through San Juan Capistrano on the way to San Diego but there were no swallows – they only appear in March and October. We also passed an nuclear power station and I was surprised at how small it was. San Diego is home to both a large naval base and a marine camp and today it was the turn of the US Navy planes to provide the aerial entertainment.

At Rest

22 July – Sunday

A quiet, rest day today as the last two were very long and the next two will be. We visited one of the local shopping plazas – turned out to be a Westfield, complete with toy kangaroos in the children’s play area! This evening we caught up with one of our Insight passengers, Sherry, met her husband and had dinner together. As I haven’t any photos from today, I will include one of Belle. Don’t we all wish…

Lights!

Saturday Continued

The evening was spent back at California Adventure to watch the after dark Electric Light Parade. The was absolutely fantastic – such a large number of floats completely covered in small lights. All the old favourites were there – Mickey and Minnie, Goofy, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Peter Pan and Captain Hook, Alice in Wonderland, lots of bugs, a dragon, circus train with Dumbo and, of course, the American Eagle. Following the parade, we just had to stay and watch the fireworks again!

Californian Adventure

21 July – Saturday

Another clear, hot day. Today was spent at the other Disneyland Park – Californian Adventure, which wasn’t nearly as busy. There were some wonder rides/shows, especially Monsters Inc, a 3D film of the Muppets and a very realistic 3D film of A Bug’s Life. Not inspect spraying, stink bug smells, fly spray, spider attacks and creepy crawlies runny over us!

By far the best show of the last two days was the Aladdin spectacular – a full stage production of the film. I have never really thought of the Genie as being gay! Another amazing show was an interactive “film” with the turtle from “Nemo.” Whilst it was obviously a computer generated scene with the turtle, Crush spoke to members of the audience and answered their questions, with appropriate facial expressions – incredible! There were also quite a few rides with height restrictions which we didn’t meet (especially when we knelt down!).

We also met a few Disney characters here as well – Mary Poppins, Cinderella, Woody, Cars and, of course, Mickey. Even though the weather is very hot and sunny, we are amazed at how few people wear hats – especially children and babies! Some of the littlies really seem to be feeling the sun.

The Magic Kingdom

20 July – Friday

Disneyland – all day from 8.30am to 10.00pm. We very quickly made the decision this morning we wouldn’t bother with the breakfast supplied by the motel but would eat elsewhere (the brightly coloured fruit loops helped with this decision!). We couldn’t believe how many people were at Disneyland so early, but at least we didn’t have to queue as long for a little while, however we had to queue for everything, even an icecream. At 7.45pm, the queue to see Nemo was still 1¾ hours long (we didn’t bother!).

Favourite rides early in the day were the Teacups and It’s a Small World, still just as wonderful 20 years later. Photo opportunities with Mickey and Goofy presented themselves before our “thrill” ride of the day on Thunder Mountain. Neither Les nor I really saw very much of the ride!!! As well as a trip on the Mark Twain, we also paddled an Indian canoe around the same river. The Haunted House, Pirates of the Caribbean, Winnie the Pooh, Jungle Ride and Star Tours were all visited before the Grand Parade and a rest sitting in the gutter.

I had some photos taken with some very beautiful princesses before watching the Aladdin show. The evening kicked off with a swing band and dancing (we watched) before some more rides now that the queues weren’t quite as long. Buzz Lightyear was great fun – we had laser guns to shoot at targets during the ride. One guess who achieved the highest score!!! The 3D screening of “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” was a scream, quite literally. Very realistic, even to mice running over our feet, the floor shaking after we had been “shrunk” and the moisture spray when the dog sneezed.

The day finished with a spectacular fireworks display which lasted for more than 20 minutes. Tinkerbell even “flew” among the fireworks (that’s was the effect was) – a wonderful way to end the day.

LAX

19 July – Thursday

Departed a cold and wet Vancouver early this morning, flying with Alaskan Airlines to Los Angeles. We went through US Customs and Immigration before we left Vancouver, which certainly saved time on arrival. All visitors to the USA are now photographed and fingerprinted each time they enter the country – fortunately we stilled looked the same as we did when we arrived at Boston! Security varies from airport to airport – whilst we had to remove coats, jumpers and shoes, carriage of liquids and gels obviously wasn’t considered a problem. Anyway, it was a good flight, plenty of legroom and two runs with the drinks cart during the 3 hour flight. Anaheim is clear and hot, beautiful weather! Our motel is okay, not very far to walk to Disneyland, has a pool, spa and LAUNDRY. In fact, it is just around the corner from where we stayed in 1988 – that hotel is still there too.

Vancouver

18 July – Wednesday

A cold, wet and miserable day in Vancouver. Started the day with a lovely pendant from Les and some nice emails before breakfast in the Irish Pub connected to this hotel. A big comedown from the hotel at Victoria – no strawberries, blueberries, pancakes, poached eggs or bacon. It was self serve cornflakes, muffins, toast, bagels and waffles. At least the coffee was in a mug, not a plastic cup!

As the weather was so bad, we decided to forego the delights of Grouse Mountain and settled for the hop on hop off bus tour, which was okay during the morning as the bus was covered in but the afternoon trip was on a half covered bus and we were in the open for quite a while – NOT PLEASANT!!! We spent most of the day at the Vancouver Aquarium, along with all the other tourists in Vancouver. However, we did get to stand in the rain for a fair while and watch the beluga whales (they smile just like dolphins!), the Pacific white-sided dolphins and the sea otters.

Vancouver hasn’t been one of our favourite places and, of course, the weather hasn’t helped. As well as some nice areas, there are lots of VERY sleazy and seedy areas where a lot of hotels (including ours) are. There is a “lady” with bright pink hair, a very short skirt and extremely high heels standing on the corner (I held Les’ hand very tightly as we walked past!), lots of peep shows (25 cents) adult video shops, tattoo shops and some very “interesting looking” people one doesn’t actually look at whilst passing.

Whales or Wails

16 July – Monday

Whale watching day – the least said about it the better! What a disappointment, nothing like the advertising which implied that orcas are resident in the area and these are what we go looking for. Once underway on a smallish boat, we are told there have been sightings of a humpback whale the last couple of days and this is what we will be looking for. Despite most of the 17 passengers wanting to see orcas, we spent over 2 hours looking for a small, solitary humpback whale who wasn’t very interested in entertaining boat loads of tourists. We have seen bigger whales, more of them and good displays of fluking at Ulverstone! Of course, what goes out to sea must return to land and fortunately it was fairly calm (someone doesn’t like boats and is not a good sailor!). The most exciting part of the day was watching the seaplanes land and take off. Breakfast was the BEST part!

Remainder of the day was spent shopping and someone is having a birthday soon. Les had a busy afternoon as he had to buy a new suitcase to replace the one that American Airlines tried their best to remove the handle.

Flowers and Ferries

15 July – Sunday

Started the day with breakfast, overlooking the harbour. Breakfast was even more impressive than dinner last night – does it get better than pancakes, maple syrup and fresh fruit? I certainly couldn’t manage toast!

The tourist events of the day began with a visit to a butterfly garden; certainly different butterflies to the ones we see in Australia, and some lovely orchids as well. Then it was to the Butchartd Gardens, a few acres of beautifully landscaped gardens which also utilise a disused quarry. Being summer, the flowers were in full bloom – truly spectacular. It was interesting to see the different way plants were used; geraniums and heliotrope (cherry pie) being used as bedding (or annual) plants in massed displays were quite different to what we would normally see in Australia.

After returning to Victoria, we went for a harbour cruise on one of the small harbour ferries. These would only hold 12 people at a squeeze and the captain kept up a commentary the whole time. We even saw some seaplanes take off, plus a seal.

Victoria

14 July – Saturday

Hope is surrounded by very close mountains and contains some outstanding chainsaw sculptures but apart from these, Hope just seems to be a nondescript, small town. The waitress last night committed the biggest faux pas when she asked us if we “used cutlery wherever it was we came from!” I think it came out the wrong way, or I hope it did.

Today we returned the car to Alamo in Vancouver – what a difference to Europcar!!! Very simple, no problems. Then it was off to Victoria on Vancouver Island using the bus and ferry service – 1 hour 35 minutes on the water, fortunately dead calm. A small thrill was being buzzed by a bald eagle whilst sailing between two islands. Whilst it was rather hazy, we were able to see the snow capped mountains behind Vancouver, as well as a large volcano shaped mountain to the south – I presume this may be Mt St Helens in Washington.

The Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel is quite impressive and beautifully situated right on the harbour and complete with spa and indoor pool.

Farewell Jasper

13 July – Friday

Departed Jasper bright and early for the long drive to Hope, which will leave us a short drive into Vancouver on Saturday morning. The most amazing sight as we left – Jasper has two sets of traffic lights and the resident herd of elk were using the traffic lights to cross the road! Elk in the middle of the crossing, not in a hurry to go anywhere and cars everywhere. When tourists see any sort of an animal they just stop immediately to look and locals get frustrated and try to drive around. Another beautiful day, clear blue skies, no wind and hot again. Excitement early on with another black bear sighted close to the road. Unfortunately, he who was driving refused to stop, so there are no photos of a bear. Shortly afterwards, a moose strolled across the road in front of us, stopped in the middle of the road for a look, then wandered off into the forest. Once again, superb scenery, stunning mountains and a close look at Mt Robson, the highest mountain in the Rockies.

Lunch stop was at Kamloops in 39 degree heat before heading down through more mountains to Hope. What we thought was just a small town is actually famous as the setting for a number of movies, including Rambo, Shoot to Kill, Fire With Fire and K-2, to name a few.

Jasper

12 July – Thursday

A rest day today – I spent the morning wandering around the commercial district while Les “rested.” The weather is very hot (about 35 degrees) so we decided to give the Edith Cavell area a miss as there is no vegetation, only rock in this part of the Jasper National Park. Instead, we decided to visit the local “beach” at a nearby lake – water temperature is a mild 6 degrees, before driving to the Miette Hot Springs for another thermal soak. Whilst it was very hot, both in and out of the water, it was still a very enjoyable past time.

BIG BLACK BEARS!

11 July – Continued

Tonight it was the big bear hunt and we saw some BIG black bears. Strangely enough, we saw the first bear on the outskirts of the town – and it isn’t a very big town!!! Following the bear, we saw a herd of female elks with calves, then an osprey in its nest on top of a tree, then a bald eagle (how majestic he looked!), a litter of three coyote pups (how cute they looked, but the guide didn’t recommend getting out of the vehicle to get closer, something about their mum probably not liking it), a couple of mule tailed deer, some more elk, a male elk complete with rack and best of all – two black bears right beside the road!!! One of them was HUGE, even the guide said it was very big for a black bear. It has been the most wonderful evening.

Lake Maligne

11 July – Wednesday

Another glorious day in the Rocky Mountains, clear blue skies and hot! Today we headed for Lake Maligne, stopping on the way at Maligne Canyon, a 50 metre deep, narrow canyon with water thundering down it. There were many photo stops on the way to the lake, especially at the beautiful Medicine Lake. The scenery is so breathtaking it is impossible to describe. At Lake Maligne we boarded a boat for a cruise to the other end of this beautiful lake with its spectacular scenery. The cruise company boats are the only motorised craft allowed on the lake, apart from the warden (ranger) and the warden and his family are the only residents. Camping is permitted (allowing for the bears!) and campsites can only be reached by hiking or canoe. During winter the lake is covered by ice 3 metres thick with another 3 metres of snow on top! Once at the end of the lake, we were able to disembark to take photos of Spirit Island, seen on many postcards. Evidently we were very lucky with the weather, as the lake was glassy and it was so warm.

On the return journey to Jasper we encountered a small herd of mountain goats in the middle of the road – a large number of other cars we also stopped in the middle of the road, including quite a few tourists from Asia. Their small children were just running around amid all the cars and wild animals, with cameras being utilised at a very quick pace!

Tonight, we are going on a bear hunt!!!

Glaciers

10 July – Tuesday

Today it was MOUNTAINS – big mountains and lots of them. The scenery is just breathtaking – I never would have believed there could be so many glaciers in one small area. At one time we stopped the car and could see five! The roads are excellent, very wide and straight, although the signposting could be better. Lake Louise was not signposted at all and we had to do a bit of backtracking, but it was certainly worth the effort. The lake wasn’t as big as the impression we get from television, but very, very beautiful, and the people! So many of them!

All the lakes are a beautiful milky blue or aqua colour, as are the rivers. Probably the highlight of the day was a trip onto a glacier in specially built buses. We actually drove out onto the middle of the glacier and could get out and walk around. One had to be careful, it was a little bit slippery but quite wet and it was easy to step through the ice into water.

The wildlife deserves a mention – today we have seen white tailed deer, a coyote (wow, what a thrill that was!), ground squirrels (these seem to have the same suicidal tendencies as possums), mountain goats, and tonight – an elk cow and calf right beside the road. The mozzies also deserve a special mention – they are more dangerous than the bears! They are absolutely ferocious – and there are so many of them. French perfume has been replaced by insect repellent!!!

Driving on the wrong side of the road is getting better, although we are still very wary. Les is still trying to remember which side of the car the steering wheel is – he got into it this morning and then discovered there was no steering wheel!

Rocky Mountain High

9 July – Monday

Departed a cold and wet Calgary after finally getting our hire car. Alamo seemed much more relaxed than Europcar – the man couldn’t understand why I wanted every scratch, chip, dent and mark recorded! First time in a left hand car for driver Les, who handled the change well and only strayed a couple of times. Calgary was much bigger than first impressions, with many new subdivisions to the west. The road crossed the prairie (so wide and open) before reaching the foothills of the Rockies, such immense mountains still with snow in places. I spotted a white tail deer as we drove into town. We found our accommodation in Banff without any dramas, left the car and walked to downtown. This town exists for tourism, both in summer in winter. It is such a beautiful town, so different to the dirtiness of Calgary, completely surrounded by mountains and with a snow fed river running through the town.

The afternoon’s first trip was to the Bow Falls just out of town, overlooked by the Fairmont Hotel (what a hotel!!!). Again, magnificent views of mountains and water. Then it was a gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain for even more spectacular views (be prepared for photos!) Big horn sheep and golden ground squirrels provided photo opportunities for the tourists. To recuperate from the overload of mountain scenery, we spent some time languishing in the hot thermal pool on the mountain, while we enjoyed even more mountain scenery! As we were leaving, we spotted another deer sitting on the edge of the forest, only a short distance from where we were standing. Evidently we have to be careful of bears (grizzly and black), moose, elk, cougars, wolverines, mountain goats, big horn sheep and deer. Bushwalking is completely different in this country – possums wouldn’t be considered a worry at all.

Stampede

8 July – Sunday

Calgary – Stampede day! First port of call this morning was to Fort Calgary and a look at the history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in this area and the development of Calgary from the original fort. Then it was off to the Stampede and 12 solid hours of entertainment. It was HUGE – the nearest way to describe the grounds would be the Royal Easter Show plus Agfest plus plus plus and then probably 5 times as big! The amount of sideshows was unbelievable, considering they were mostly the same. There was also the worst extreme ride I have ever seen; Les and I both agreed neither of us wanted to go on it! We didn’t watch any rodeo events but spent the afternoon watching the World Championship Six Horse Hitch, which was just fantastic – complete with music supplied by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for an hour and a half (wonder if Shan has ever considered playing for a horse show???; cattle penning with the most amazing horses and scatty heifers; stock dog (ie sheep dog) trials. The chuck wagon racing was thrilling, once we worked out what was going on but the concert afterwards was a little on the noisy side. A very full-on and enjoyable day.

Hello Canada

7 July – Saturday

Goodbye Boston, Hello Calgary. After a short $50 problem with overweight luggage, we had a long day travelling as we had to travel via Dallas/Fort Worth to get to Calgary. Again, American Airlines had plenty of leg room, even on their domestic flight. We have also been able to access the American Airlines Admirals Club Lounges without any trouble – so much different to British Airways! Dallas was SOOOO flat and large, very spread out but with lots of large freeways. After leaving the built up area, the countryside was all agricultural, with the circular irrigation systems making wonderful patterns across the landscape.

Our arrival in Calgary coincided with another three international flights, so immigration was a bit slow. However, after clearing customs we were greeted by a cowboy band – the airport was really buzzing with Stampede volunteers helping direct the crowds. The Ramada Hotel Downtown is very nice and it would appear we wont have any trouble finding our way to the Stampede Grounds.

Pilgrims

6 July – Friday

Our hotel is situated in the theatre district of Boston (the Wang Theatre is directly opposite) and the theatre next door to the hotel are featuring Riverdance, so we decided to attend last night’s performance. Whilst we were very high up (looking down on the chandelier!) we did have a very good view and were quite close to the stage. The show was just so good (bit of American there), not just the Irish dancing/tapping, but also included some ballet, flamenco, classic singing and music.

The day started with someone discovering he had lost all his shorts! Thinks they might be in Paris! So someone had to wear long trousers in today’s heat and go shopping later in the day. Our travels today took us to Plymouth, home of the Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II (a replica of the original Mayflower). Set in a beautiful bay, Plymouth Rock is simply a large rock about 2 metres by 1 metre sitting on the sand with a large portico over it, protected by the National Parks Service. We also visited a place called Plimoth Plantation, a recreated Pilgrim village and Indian village, with actors playing the parts of Pilgrams in 1620 (always speak in character) and Indians talking about the way of life at the time. It was great to talk to the Pilgrams, especially one fellow who did not draw breath, he even handled our homeland of Terra Australis Incognito without batting an eyelid!

Bewitched

5 July – Thursday

Previous evening was spent on a harbour cruise to watch the Independence Day fireworks and of course, it rained! We actually watched two different lots of fireworks, one down the harbour and then the major ones at Boston. It was incredible to sit in the middle of the harbour and watch all the fireworks in the distance, as every town has their own display. I would have to say the major ones we watched were the most spectacular I have seen. Of course, the colours of red, white and blue dominated and it is the first time I have actually seen shapes like smiley faces and five pointed stars made with fireworks.

Today was a bus tour to Salem, the town famous for the 17th Century witch trials. On the way we called into Marblehead, the birthplace of the American Navy and the current home of some fairly well-to-do citizens. All the housing in the area is of weatherboard and a similar style, even the new houses. It is the type of housing portrayed on so many television programmes.

Salem was the city where “Bewitched” was filmed and there is a statue of Elizabeth Montgomery, but not in the old part of town, as she is not considered a proper witch. The witch theme is a tad overdone, however, we did go through the main witch museum where we heard about the witch trials. We were also told about famous witches in history, literature and movies and whilst the witches from "The Wizard of Oz" were talked about, no mention was made of Harry Potter! Perhaps because he is English???

Schools are on holiday here and summer camps are very popular – with the parents most likely, so instead of school groups we encountered camp groups! Salem was also the busiest port in America for about 25 years after independence.

Yankee Doodle Dandee

4 July – Wednesday

The flight with American Airlines went well, taking off from Heathrow during a spectacular thunderstorm and landing at Boston at 8.00pm local time. We had an incredible amount of leg room, although the movies were definitely not up to the Qantas standard. The service and food were also good. I would definitely rate AA as being much better than British Airways.

Independence Day in Boston – the Americans do patriotism very well! Started the day like true Americans and went to the flag raising ceremony, complete with fife band, then followed the parade to the Granary Cemetery to lay wreaths on the graves of Samuel Adams, John Hancock and a couple of others, then on to Faneuill Hall for the reading of the Declaration of Independence. The crowds weren’t huge and it was possible to get up close to the action – in all, it just had a really great “feel.” Afterwards, it was the hop on, hop off bus tour, a wander through Quincey Market among the buskers before a walk to the Boston Common and a ride on the swan boats. The whole city has an incredible holiday feeling to it and the majority of people are wearing their red, white and blue. We even found the grave for Mother Goose! To make the day even better – THE SUN IS SHINING!!!

Tonight we have a harbour cruise planned to watch the fireworks. The Boston Pops conduct a free concert, with fireworks, alongside the Charles River, but we would have had to be there about 9.00am this morning and just sit about all day on the grass waiting for the concert to commence at 7.00pm.

Farewell to England

3 July - Tuesday

The sun was actually shining this morning, periodically anyway, and as we had a few hours to fill in, decided on a 20 miles drive to Henley-on-Thames. First disaster of the day - the Henley Regatta starts tomorrow and everyone who wasn't at Wimbledon was heading to Henley! Took an hour and a half to drive the 20 miles, so returned via the motorway. Next disaster was returning the car to Europcar. We will NEVER NEVER NEVER use Europcar again. After all the problems we had in Edinburgh, Heathrow was even worse. There were two scuff marks (would you believe???) on the wheels and they wanted us to pay them 600 pounds in damages!!! Lots of discussions took place, stomach acid and plood pressures increased and we eventually had to pay them $55. Would never ever recommend them to anyone ever!

Checked in at Heathrow without event, although it took over half an hour to just get through security. Following the recent terrorism events, security is much tighter and the police presence is incredible. Police everywhere, carrying sub-machine guns, and not being at all discreet about standing over and watching people who they consider may be suspicious looking. We have no worries about all the security procedures, although one does feel a bit uncomfortable in crowds.

Our lasting impressions of the United Kingdom: rain, roundabouts, rain, hedges, rain, hanging baskets, rain, beautiful flowers -both garden and wild, rain, toilets which don't flush and rain!

A Royal Experience

2 July - Monday

Today was spent at Windsor, particularly at Windsor Castle. This was magnificent and we were able to go into all the State Rooms which are used by the royal family on a regular basis for official functions. The rooms which were destroyed by fire in 1992 have all be rebuilt and/or restored to their former glory. The paintings on display in the rooms were just breathtaking - Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyke, Holbein and Da Vince, to name a few. It was also wonderful to stand in St George's Chapel, which we see on television every Christmas. Unfortunately, the Queen was not in residence.

Following the visit to Windsor Castle, it was a cruise on the Thames (fortunately it stopped raining for this) and then a walk along Eton High Stret to Eton College. One thing we will remember about Windsor is the parting - it cost us more than 10 pounds for 5 hours!

Fete Accompli

1 July - Sunday

Rained heavily during the night and still raining when we departed Cornwall. Drove via Darmoor moors - all misty and gloomy with some unusual rock formations and the famour Darmoor ponies. We also drove part Darmoor prison. A few days previously we had been told that the little villages in Dorset were the prettiest in the country - all chocolate box villages, so we decided to drive throug the narrow lanes and find a few of these villages. The roads got narrower, the hedges got higher, the tension rose and there were a few discussions about navigation skills! However, we ded und up where I had planned, although we didn't find any of the pretty villages.

As we were going through the village of Frampton, noticed that the Village Fete had just started, so stopped for a look. It was just like the television shows - coconut shies (Les tried and failed!), tombola, jumble sales and afternoon tea. What we know as Devonshire teas are called cream teas here. The weather had cleared by the time we had driven through the New Forest and reached Windsor and our B & B, at a small village only a couple of miles from Windsor - very English with cricket being played on the village green even. The area around Windsor does seem a very pleasant place to live and Ascot is just down the road too.

Lands End

30 June – Saturday

The worst day of our trip, weatherwise. Thick fog all day, rain all day, wind and quite cool. We decided very quickly to give all the picturesque fishing villages a miss – bit hard to see in the weather. Ditto to the Eden Project – too wet to walk about outside in the rain, even with raincoats! Therefore, our first stop was at St Ives, a fishing village/town. The tide was out (as it is wherever we go!) but the harbour did have sand. The coast must have amazing tides, because the water obviously comes right into the seawall along the edge of the roadway. Then it was the “scenic” route through the fog via many old Cornish mining villages and farms to Lands End, which is quite tacky with a large amusement centre built right on the point. It was blowing a gale and hailing, so it was a quick photo stop and back into the car and off to Penzance. Again, we didn’t even stop here as the weather was so unpleasant. By this time the traffic was really building up and we travelled rather slowly back to our accommodation.

Mythical People

29 June – Friday

And the rains came down! It absolutely poured during the morning on our drive to Cornwall, but fortunately had cleared by the time we reached Clovelly, although a “brisk” wind was blowing. Clovelly is a small (touristy) fishing village at the bottom of a 400 metre walk down a cliff on a very rough cobbled street. We discovered that this was where Charles Kingsley, poet and novelist, lived – his house is open to the public. Very pretty village, but very steep, plus the tide was out! Merlin is supposed to be buried in a cave on the beach. We chickened out on the walk back up (someone was having trouble with his knees!!!) and paid for the Landrover drive up the hill. Worth every penny.

Then it was in to Boscastle and Tingatel, where the ruins are supposedly King Arthur’s castle. They are situated on a narrow headland and as it was rather windy, we decided against a closer look. After that it was into Port Isaac, the setting for the television series “Doc Martin.” A beautiful fishing village, much easier to access, readily recognisable and LOTS of people.

Our accommodation tonight is at a B & B in the country, with squirrels running around and a beautiful stream at the bottom of the garden.

Salisbury Plains

28 June – Thursday

Headed out for Salisbury and Stonehenge, weather cloudy and cool. Soon discovered that we would be going through Midsomer, which turned out to be rather unlike the Midsomer we know from the television series. We avoided the main highways and kept to the small country lanes as much as possible (as we have always done) and travelled through the most beautiful and quaint villages, stone buildings, thatched roofs, roses, flowers – everything we imagine an English cottage to be! A stop at a small Norman church was a real delight, the door was unlocked and we could wander inside.

First major stop of the day was a Stonehenge, along with a large number of other tourists. Whilst the stone circle wasn’t as big as we had imagined, it was still a wonderful experience to see something we have seen so many times in the media. No one was allowed to walk among the stones, but the path was very well set out so that photos could be taken without crowds in the backgrounds.

Then it was on to Winton House, the private home of Lord Pembroke. A lovely house designed by Inigo Jones and with a magnificent art collection, especially van Dykes. The grounds were in keeping with the house. Whilst the earl was at home, we didn’t actually get to meet him.

In to Salisbury and the cathedral before travelling on to Old Sarum. This site dates from the Neolithic period and has the ruins of a 12th century castle on the top. Our journey back to Saltford was again through the backroads, with their wonderful villages, even a local pony club riding down the main street.

The British armed forces once again provided entertainment – during the drive across the Salisbury Plains we stopped to watch some tanks playing games, then a helicopter seemed to follow us for a couple of hours before the Air Force jets took to the air.

Family Ties

27 June – Wednesday

Off to Bristol and the Records Office to search for Joseph Barrett and his family. Success, with the discovery of another brother and sister, plus his parents. We found the marriage records for Joseph’s parents, as well as the baptism records of all seven children. Unfortunately, time restraints prevented further research into the family, especially Joseph’s siblings.

Late in the day we decided on a quick trip to Cardiff in Wales, only about 30 miles away. It was a rather unspectacular drive, with Bristol, Newport and Cardiff being very industrialised and with large ports. However, the bridge across the Severn was pretty remarkable, even if we found out once on the bridge, there was a toll of more than 5 pounds! At least it was a little warmer today (actually unzipped the jacket!!!) and we only had rain whilst in the car.

Bath Time

26 June – Tuesday

Woke to weak sunshine and to discover that many places in England had suffered major flooding, many districts that we had been in only days ago. The country is very flat and waterlogged already so it is easy to understand how quickly floods can occur. Today was mostly fine, with just a short shower mid-morning.

Discovered today that the long barrow we saw yesterday was a burial mound 3700 years old and what we thought was a hill fort is actually a mound nearly 5000 years old. Amazing to think they have survived development and bulldozers!

Bath was our first visit today, with the Roman Baths high on our list of “must sees.” Bath University were holding their graduation ceremonies in the Abbey today, so the city was full of students in full cap and gown, plus parents-in-tow. The Roman Baths were much more comprehensive than imagined – the actual swimming pool would be about the size of the Kingston pool. However, the excavations of the site are quite extensive, with parts of the temple (walls, altar, columns, steps, etc) and a number of pools, including the sacred pool (the actual hot spring) and various plunge pools. The drains and lead pipes are clearly visible and still in use draining the hot water from the spring to the main pool and then to the outside. The Romans even centrally heated their buildings! The spa water (warm) was available for us to try, but we did forego the pleasure.

A visit to the Jane Austen Centre was also very enjoyable and informative. Whilst not the actual house Jane lived in whilst in Bath, it was only a few doors away. Lunch was at the Regency Tearooms in this house, with Mr Darcy watching from above the fireplace. Following which we had a short walk to The Circus – a complete circle of terrace houses, all identical and with acorn decorations along the roof line – and the Royal Crescent. In fact, Bath architecture is all Georgian terrace houses, many of which are showing the ravages of coal fires. Bath would have to be the most difficult place we have found for driving and finding our way about. Not only are the streets narrow, the don’t seem to have been set out in any sort of order and signposting isn’t the best.

Decided to drive out to the southern Cotswold district, especially once we found out Prince Charles lived nearby at Tedbury. Took the scenic route through Badminton, home of the famous horse trials. Very pretty village and a large estate which we discovered belonged to the Duke of Beaufort. We couldn’t drive onto his property but could walk onto it, so had a little walk past his foxhound kennels and onto his parkland where the horse trials happen. Continued on through an obviously prosperous (and definitely horsy) region to Tedbury, passing a property with very high walls and notices warning about security, so perhaps this was Highgrove? Tedbury was a very old village with lots of small shops in the High Street, and the odd tourist bus! Returned to Saltford via many more similar villages, all made from Cotswold stone (similar colour to sandstone), many of the houses with the typical English cottage garden.

Blenheim Palace

25 June – Monday

The morning was spent in Woodstock at Blenheim Palace, a huge estate and palace given to the first Duke of Marlborough by Queen Anne and the birthplace of Winston Churchill. Such a magnificent building and grounds, privately owned and maintained by the current Duke. The gardens were designed by Capability Brown and contain a very large lake and the most enormous lawns, all weed free and looking like velvet! Of course, the rain came down!!!

Departed early afternoon for Bath, via the scenic route. Unfortunately, the rain just got heavier and then the fog came down as well, the temperature sitting on about 11 degrees. After a short time on a motorway, the weather cleared so it was back to the scenic route, just in time as it worked out. We came across the small village of Avebury, chock full of prehistoric stone circles, with a barrow (very large, long mound) on the outskirts, along with a large mound which we took to be a hill fort. Needless to say, the place was also full of tourists and cars. We also came across another chalk white horse carved into a hillside. This one we could see quite easily from the road.

Bath proved to be very frustrating looking for a B & B – no luck so continued towards Bristol, did a few about turns and finally found a nice house at Saltford. The bathroom is magnificent, certainly makes up for the last couple of nights. We will stay here at least three nights, maybe four.

White Horse

24 June – Sunday

Overcast and drizzling, so spent the morning wandering the village of Woodstock. Justin and Simon collected us at lunchtime and we drove on narrow, winding country lanes through the Oxfordshire Cotswalds to the White Horse, first for lunch in a local thatched inn, then for a look at the chalk horse carved into the hillside. Unfortunately, the rain absolutely bucketed down so our walk through the sheep paddock was curtailed somewhat. We returned to Woodstock via more villages – the Oxfordshire Cotswald houses are made from the local cream coloured stone, with local slate roofs.

After the boys left, the weather cleared somewhat so we decided to take Max for a drive through the northern Cotswalds, first to Stow-on-Wold then to the beautiful village of Lower Slaughter. The gardens in the area are gorgeous, typical English country gardens of hollyhocks, foxgloves and climbing roses.

It's Just Academic

23 June – Saturday

Left Stratford-on-Avon bound for Oxford, with a search for accommodation on the way (Oxford was very heavily booked for the weekend). Found a place at Woodstock, just around the corner from Blenheim Palace – a visit here is planned for Monday morning. Continued into Oxford and met Justin and Simon. Spent the remainder of the day on a personal walking tour of Oxford, courtesy of Justin. Unfortunately we were not able to actually enter any of the college buildings due to Commemoration Week activities, however Simon did get us entry into the quadrangle of Christ College and its cathedral. We were able to view the dining hall (aka Hogwarts dining hall) from the outside only. Then the rain came!!! We ended our tour at the Ashmolean Museum. What a surprise for me, as this museum contains the collection of John Tradescent, who I have recently read about. It was just wonderful to actually see some of his items, especially the cloak from America.

Woodstock is a lovely village, very old, lots of people obviously come here to stay and our B & B is in an 18th century townhouse – just right for Les to rest his weary legs!

Shakespeare in the Rain

22 June – Friday

Stratford-on-Avon, and it is pouring! At least it is not cold. After a short drive to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage – it is absolutely amazing to stand in a house 500 years old which still has the original furniture! The cottage also had the most beautiful garden, with flowers, vegetables and orchard. We then decided to give Maxwell (Smart) the day off and walked into the centre of the city and did all the touristy things like visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace and the house where he spent his final years. The city centre was lovely, all quaint old buildings, market square, canal with boats, and LOTS of tourists.

Decided to have a quiet afternoon, and we both found hairdressers and will probably live on bread rolls for the remainder of the holiday!

Wales & Wellington

21 June – Thursday

The longest day, and a long drive today. Left Chester and headed for Wales, with the first stop at Bangor. The tide was out and the mud just went on forever! It would have been at least 2 miles of mud from Bangor to the sea – incredible! Then through Caernarfon to the Snowdonia region and Mt Snowdon. How quickly the scenery changes from coastal farmlands to the most incredible slate mountain and then the bare grass and heather covered rocky mountains. Once through the pass, the countryside was much softer, very green and woodlands and lakes.

Back into England and on to Shrewsbury and then to Wellington, home of my great great great grandmother, Mary Dodd. Wellington dates back to the 1200s and was, and still is, a market town. We had a wander through the small, narrow and twisty streets, with many half timbered buildings and old public houses. (I’m sure Mary must have visited at least one of them!) The church was build c1790 and was probably where Mary was christened.

After this, it was the battle of the roundabouts, with a few circuits of some of them before finding the correct exit. Whilst we have found all the rounds to be well signed, for some reason this area wasn’t quite up to the national standard. Anyway, we arrived at Stratford-on-Avon and found a lovely B & B without any problems and will stay here for 2 nights.

The wildflowers have been absolutely lovely the entire trip. The fields are incredibly green (something to do with rain!), some are covered with buttercups, boggy areas have yellow irises growing in them, the hawthorn hedges have briar roses and honeysuckle, fox gloves, rhododendrons, the heather is starting to flower and the red (Flanders) poppies are just gorgeous. Whilst they are probably considered a weed, great swathes of red poppies across the fields is breathtaking – no wonder Monet painted them!

20 Degrees

20 June – Wednesday

At last, we reached the magical 20 degrees! A frustrating day, traffic wise, with the final 30 miles taking 2 hours. First stop today was at Sherwood Forest, home of Robin Hood, although he decided to stay hidden. However, we did see an old, big oak tree. Sherwood Forest seemed to be mainly composed of birch trees, not the oaks as expected.

Next, it was to Bosnover (or something like that) Castle, which was really interesting despite being partly in ruins. The inside of the castle was decorated with painted ceilings and wall panels – really beautiful, and a fountain in the grounds, whilst innocent looking above ground, was rather rude below ground. Les went away with his ego rather deflated! In fact, we spent over 2 hours there. We passed a number of large coal-fired electricity plants, at one time we could see 3 at once. Following the castle, it was a slow drive to Chester, via Chesterfield, with its twisted, leaning church spire, and the Peak District – wooded hills on one side and moors on the other.

We arrived at Chester about 6.00pm, much later than planned and couldn’t find a B & B on any of the main roads. So, as soon as we spotted a couple of Best Western hotels, decided to treat ourselves. The first, at 65 pounds, was full and they sent us across the road to their sister hotel. Being 4 star, they wanted 89 pounds but when I asked if they could give us a better rate, it dropped to 75 including full English breakfasts. Internet was also included! Chester city centre is all half-timbered (black and white buildings) surrounded by a city wall. Very pretty, but felt a bit uncomfortable at 7.00pm, with beggars about.

Fog

19 June – Tuesday

The best bed and breakfast so far, I wish I had the bathroom at home! Breakfast was wonderful as well, fresh strawberries and blueberries were only part of the menu.

Fog, and plenty of it! The sea fog was still thick and masked the whole coast. A short drive to the promenade revealed nothing but more fog, so a quick visit to James Cook and the whalebone jaws before moving on to Whitby Abbey, also shrouded in fog. An amazing place, even though in ruins. The view would have been absolutely stunning, if it wasn’t for the fog! Continued to Robin Hoods Bay, supposedly the most beautiful fishing village in Yorkshire. Unfortunately – fog!!! However, we did park the car and walk down the very steep hill to the village and all its tiny, narrow and twisting streets – very picturesque.

Next stop, Scarborough, and our first real impression of the British public on holiday at the seaside. Unbelievable, just like the movies!!! A very long promenade lined with mainly amusement arcades of pinball machines, fish and chip shops, fairy floss shops and the occasional souvenir shop with t-shirts. The holiday makers were all dressed in their coats, with the toddlers in their pushchairs wrapped up against the cold (and the compulsory dummy in the mouth!), but at least there wasn’t a hanky covered head in sight! The beach was sand, although it was only visible when the tide was out. Of course, there were people everyone on the beach, children with their pails and spades building sandcastles, people sitting on rugs or in chairs and even some hardy souls were swimming (the temperature was about 14 degrees). Of course, there were also the donkeys and the small amusement parks with their merry-go-rounds and boat swings (just like in Girls Own). But wait, there’s more! The chalets for hire at 8 pounds per day, so one could have a little hut complete with table, electric kettle (to mek a coop of tee) and deck chairs, so one could enjoy the seaside (definitely not the beach) without getting wet or sandy feet.

On to York for the night and a walk around the medieval city centre, a climb to the top of Clifford’s Tower (first built by William the Conqueror), a look at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall and, of course, York Minster.

Make Believe

18 June – Monday

Time to visit Peter Rabbit and the home of his author, Beatrix Potter. Fortunately we arrived at Hill Top Farm before opening time as the number of visitors has increased dramatically since the release of the film Miss Potter. The house and surrounding countryside were used in a number of her illustrations and were highlighted throughout the house. The nearby gallery in Hawkshead is situated in the offices of Beatrix’s husband and contains a number of her original artworks.

Then it was off to the Yorkshire Dales via the town of Thirsk, the Darrowby in James Herriott’s All Creatures Great and Small television series. The Dales were very different from the Lake District, bare hills, lots of shaggy sheep with black faces and houses and farm buildings constructed of the local stone – a browny grey colour. Much drabber than the drystone, slate and white buildings of the previous day. The really interesting Dales were the second ones, closer to the coast, much more like the ones we see on television programmes. Speaking of which, a detour to the village of Goathland, otherwise known as Aidensfield, brought back many memories of Heartbeat. Skripp’s Garage, the Aidensfield Arms and the village shop were all there, as was the station. The station also featured as Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter films. The railway viaduct was spotted from a distance as well. The weather had cleared to be sunny and warm, which just made the village look even better, even the sheep grazing in the High Street!

Then on to Whitby for the night. A lovely fishing village and the home of James Cook. Unfortunately, a sea fog came in and shrouded the ancient abbey on the cliffs, but hopefully it will have cleared by tomorrow.

Lake District

17 June – Sunday

Started the day with a visit to the Gretna Green Blacksmith, the site is still used for weddings and there are three different style rooms available, each with the Gretna Green blacksmith’s anvil! Evidently, Gretna Green is still very popular for weddings. Then it was off to the Lake District via the long route. Just when we were starting to think we would be seeing nothing but farming land, the countryside changed to mountains and windy, narrow roads. It was the most amazing country – and road. I think every car in a 100 km radius suddenly decided to travel on this one lane, stone fenced lined “highway” and those who weren’t actually driving were parked in every nook and cranny they could find. I have never seen so many hikers (or are they trekkers in England?), the majority would have been over 55 and I’m sure they were having a jolly good time trudging along with their walking poles through the rain. The hills/mountains were very similar to Scotland, very steep, covered with bracken and grass, and quite rocky in places. We even watched, for a short while, a mountain rescue actually taking place quite high up. The poor little car had quite a struggle to get up over the mountain in the pouring rain and the gradient on the down side was 25%.

Keswick, for lunch in the middle of the afternoon, was really buzzing with people and all the shops were open. Again, I have never seen so many outdoor gear shops! In the summer season the District would be absolutely crawling with walkers.

Then it was on to Windermere to the night. What a beautiful village! A cruise on Lake Windermere completed the day, along with our walk in the Lake District – from Windermere to Bowness and return.

Stone Circles

16 June – Saturday

Breakfast, and Les was convinced to try haggis – vegetarian haggis, which isn’t haggis at all! Haggis is the sheep’s stomach stuffed with the offal (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, brains, etc), oatmeal, onions and spices.

A short drive and we came across some standing stones in a field beside the road, then a walk through the field of sheep, sheep poo, midges and mud to another field containing two stone circles – one a standing circle, the other even older. It was absolutely wonderful, even if Jamie didn’t appear! It was a very cold, wet and dreary day, which added to the mysticism. Then on to Loch Lomond in the rain and mist before driving around the outskirts of Glasgow and on to Ayr for lunch. Ayrshire is very different to the highlands – is very prosperous looking dairy and sheep country.

We had a short detour to Stair, the place Douglas Downie lived before emigrating to Launceston. Not very much in Stair, a few very old, little houses, a nice looking pub and a very old church and graveyard. As we were driving along we came across another castle sign and just decided to have a look (getting to the stage of seen one, seen them all!). What a surprise, not a ruined castle but more like a palace and definitely lived in. The nice lady at the gate wanted 7 pounds each, so we took a photo and left. The gatekeepers lodge was on the banks of a beautiful trout stream. Then it was on to Gretna Green for the night and a nice B & B one block from the Blacksmith!

Bonnie Prince Charlie

14 June – Thursday

First stop this morning was the battlefield of Culloden and a history lesson on Bonnie Prince Charlie. Discovered that my ancestors, the Downie family, are part of the clan Lindsay – bit spooky, given my father’s name. Then it was of to the Isle of Skye with a stop at the Glen Ord Whiskey Distillery for a guided tour (we were the only people on the tour!) and a “free” sample of a wee dram. Evidently the whiskey passed the taste test. Some spectacular highland scenery on the way, with the green, bare mountains, lochs, burns, old stone buildings and some forest, with lots of wild rhododendrons foxgloves. A fly fisherman would absolutely love this country!!! A bit of entertainment was provided by the Royal Air Force practising their low level flying through the valleys and over the hills. The Isle of Skye was very similar and the weather was glorious – sunny and clear, with the temperature reaching about 17 degrees today. Returned to Inverness, with a magnificent view of the Castle of Eilean Donan and then drove along the bank of Loch Ness, which is much larger than I imagined. Despite all the road signs warning of deer, we have not seen a single one.

15 June – Friday

Left Inverness, bound for Oban. First stop was at Loch Ness for a boat ride and hopefully a glimpse of the monster. Unfortunately, Nessie decided to sleep in this morning. We had a short stop at Fort Augustus (at the end of Loch Ness) and watched a yacht move through the series of locks. Then on to Fort William at the base of Ben Nevis. This town was really buzzing with tourists, and is also a winter base for skiers. A short detour to Glencoe, the sight of a MacDonald massacre, and the most amazing highland scenery imaginable. A film crew were filming while we were there – a gentlemen in full highland dress was walking through the grass followed closely by his piper, piping. The area is obviously well used, as there was a helipad at the end of the car park.

After this, the day went downhill slightly. The coastal scenery on the way to Oban was just beautiful and Oban was the most marvellous old harbourside town, but the traffic! All the B & Bs were full (at 4.00pm!) except for those in terrace houses along the edge of a road with no parking on the street or at the rear. Thinking we may find something on the other edge of town, we kept driving (didn’t even get a photo) for nearly 2 hours before we found somewhere at a place called Kilmartin. Kilmartin is evidently the stone (circle, standing and cup) capital of Europe.

I saw two folds of heiland coos today, but HE wouldn’t stop the car for me to take a photo – kept mumbling something about cars behind us and no where to pull over!!! There is also a big brown owl flying around outside the house we are staying in.

Balmoral Castle

13 June – Wednesday

The day did not start at all well; our hire car had been booked nearly nine months ago (and been paid for!) to be picked up at 9.00am. Our plan was to collect the car, return to our hotel for the luggage and check out, then proceed north to Inverness via Balmoral Castle. Europcar did their best to make sure that didn’t happen – our car was in the process of being brought in from the airport and would be available in 40 minutes. TWO HOURS later, we took delivery of our car – a Smart Car which absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke. Not happy Jan!!! Europcar customer service centre will definitely be contacted tomorrow!

Anyway, it was off to Balmoral Castle via Perth and Scone, a lovely little village. Braemar was also quaint and obviously a centre for hikers, as we saw plenty in this area – all aged about 60 and most suitably dresses, the men wearing deerstalkers! We had some Scottish sunshine (mizzle) at Balmoral and it was freezing cold, about 8 degrees – didn’t get above 10 all day. Balmoral was lovely, the grounds were beautiful and we were allowed into the ballroom. The River Dee looked like it was just waiting for a fly fisherman!

Then it was over the Craigorm Mountains to Inverness. These mountains were typical of what we think of Scottish mountains, heather covered and no trees. The heather is just starting to flower in sheltered places and will look marvellous in a couple of weeks. Lots of sheep with shaggy wool, black faces and horns. I got so excited at seeing some heiland coos (Scottish for highland cows) that Les thought something was wrong and nearly ran off the road. The poor little car really struggled over the hills.

We found a lovely bed and breakfast in Inverness – very clean, smells wonderful (not like Edinburgh!) and a very friendly couple of owners. We have decided to stay two nights here. Went for a walk after dinner and there were a couple of fishermen standing in the middle of the Ness River, and it was bitterly cold even though the sun was shining. The sun sets about 10.15pm and rises 4.15am.

Scotland the Brave

12 June – Tuesday

Haggis was on the breakfast menu, but we both declined! A definite change in the weather from Paris – it is FREEZING!!! Once again, another medieval city and also part built about the 16th – 17th centuries. The Castle was amazing, perched on its big rock, although the Tattoo Parade Ground probably wasn’t as big in real life! After a few hours at the Castle, it was another “stroll” down the Royal Mile, with all its souvenir shops, to Holyroodhouse Palace, the official Scottish residence of the Queen. The gardens were really lovely and was hard to imagine that one was in the middle of a large city.

Walking back to our hotel and commenting how similar to Sussex Gardens (in London) the street was, when we met a lady and her granddaughter who had been on our European tour and were now doing a tour of the UK. They had just arrived in Edinburgh and their tour was staying at a hotel three doors away from ours! We sat at talked to them for about an hour – it was great to meet someone we actually knew.