Time to go!

It seems to be customary that Bruce is up late the night before, and this time is no exception. It’s been kind of hectic. We moved to our house in NH on Saturday the 20th and have been pretty well engaged in sorting and organizing and the like ever since. Back in February when we started planning this adventure we had no idea that the entanglements of (not) selling (and finally renting) our house in Maryland would keep us there so long.

Bruce had to make a lightning trip back to Maryland this past Monday for a bunch of unexpected maintenance jobs. The requirements for a rental license include an inspection against an extraordinarily picky checklist of things that go well beyond the building code, none of which we had to deal with when we last rented the house, in the early 80s. Fortunately none of the jobs was too difficult, and he got them all done in good time. The drive back on Wednesday, however, was one of the longest on record, due in large part to a terrible accident that closed I-287 in NJ for well over an hour.

It was also a chance for a visit with Karin and Dan. They had been out of town when we left, so it was especially nice to spend a bit more time with them.

The other complicator? Income tax! But it’s not April. No, but if you file an extension in April then you have to file your return by October 15th, and we’ll be in England then. Seems to me that this was something that I did the night before our Italy trip last year too. Maybe I’ll get my act together next year and really do it in April.

OK, on with the blog about our trip. Sue Anne and I will fly out of Manchester (NH) to Chicago a bit after noontime. Yes, that's a strange route to take. It was cheap. And even better, Chicago is right down the street from Aimée and Steve in Wisconsin. Well, almost right down the street. They’ll take a bus to O’Hare, we’ll meet up there, and then we’ll all fly across together, ending up in Manchester (England) on Sunday morning. Rent a car there and head to York.

Here’s a quick summary of what we’ll be doing:

     Sunday - Drive to York. Interesting city. Nice scenery along the way.

     Monday & Tuesday - Edinburgh. Another interesting city. A likely excursion would be to St. Andrews, the home of golf.

     Wednesday & Thursday - Helensborough, near Glasgow. Home territory of Bruce’s mother’s family. Loch Lomond is nearby.

     Friday - The walled Roman city of Chester. (All the -chester, -cester, -caster cities are of Roman background. It comes from the word for ‘camp’ in Latin. The other thing in England that tells you the Romans have been there is straight roads!) Chester has grown well beyond the walls by now, of course, but our hotel is on the inside.

     Saturday - Drive to Ledbury in the Malvern Hills, where we’ve rented a cottage (across the street from the pub) for a week. Lots of side trips. North Wales, Cotswold villages, visit friends and favorite pubs in Cheltenham. Do laundry too. Aimée and Steve will head in to London for a couple of days while Sue Anne and Bruce stay out in the countryside.

     Saturday the 18th - Fly home!

Stay tuned.