We had a lot of full sea days at the end of the cruise, but that worked out pretty well for us since Nathan and I were both battling a cold. We got to rest and soak in the hot tub. We really got attached to some of the delightful staff on the Emerald Princess who took care of us every day and it was a treat to get to know them. We also became acquainted with an older Filipino couple from San Francisco and we enjoyed our dinner conversations with them.
Our last stop on the cruise was Greenock, Scotland, which is the port for Glasgow. When we visited Scotland in 2019, we took a day trip to Glasgow from Edinburgh and really enjoyed it. We also stopped in Greenock on a previous cruise, but we were on an excursion that took us up into the highlands. This time, we decided to stay in town, so after stocking up on cold medicine and snacks at the grocery store, we did a long hike into the hills above the port. It was a real treat as it was a beautiful day and that area turned out to have a cool historic site called the Greenock Cut. There is a system of reservoirs for storing water and the cut was an aqueduct built to provide clean water for the town and create energy for the many factories and mills that were in the town in the 1820s. It was a good day.
We returned to England via Southampton, where we picked up a car and started another journey. We started in Portsmouth, where we strolled around the historic dockyard. We saw Admiral Nelson’s ship, the HMS Victory, as well as several other ships. We then went to our accommodation near the village of Pensford.
We spent a delightful day in Bath, where we took the city’s free walking tour. We also visited the Roman Bath museum, which was very well done. At the end, you get to drink some of the mineral-rich water, just like people have been doing there for thousands of years. Maybe that’s why we’re feeling better? Anyway, it’s a gorgeous town and it’s easy to see why the rich and famous wanted to visit and why it inspired authors and artists.
We popped down to the city of Wells to visit their beautiful cathedral. We had a tour from a sweet lady volunteer. She really knew her history of the church and the building, so we learned a lot. Then we spent the rest of the day in Bristol, walking around the town sites and strolling the harbor. We saw lots of ships and the adorable bright rows of houses on the hill. Our seafood dinner was delicious and we saw some good comedy.
We had a bit of a drive today, but we broke it up by stopping at the stone circle in Avebury. It’s bigger and older than Stonehenge and the town is built in and around the stones. It’s a cool plae. Unlike Stonehenge, you can get right up next to the stones and it’s not nearly as crowded. We also stopped in at a pub in Ascot for lunch. Now we are in the city of Hastings with a sliver of a sea view from our Airbnb. There’s a piano here, so Nathan is having a good time! We’ll be exploring this corner of England this week before returning to London. Have a good one!
Back to MO
Just a quick post this week. We hunkered down in Ohio/West Virginia and took refuge from the cold. We did lots of cozy things with the grandkids. We took a trip to the library to play and choose a big pile of books. Huck is a little reader now, so it’s fun to find stories that he can read. We spent A LOT of time reading those books–at the library, on the couch, and in a blanket fort. We also did crafts and built lots of Lego. We went with the kids to the children’s museum for a special STEAM class and then hours of play and building after that. We also took the older two out for a special lunch date. It was a great week! We are now back in St. Louis and excited to spend time with the other grandkids! Have a good week!
Back to the Fun
We slowed down a bit this week, but there was some birthday fun and I have details on our trip through the Mississippi Delta and on to Ohio. This is a long post, covering almost three weeks of a busy road trip, so if you just want the bullet points, read the first bit. For the down and dirty details, read on.
From the Big Easy to Music City
Hi! This is just a quick check in from the road. We spent the week on the move. We started in New Orleans, then we drove up through the Mississippi Delta on the Blues Highway. We stopped at lots of smaller places along the way to visit museums and check out the history of the blues and our country. Then we cut across to Alabama to visit Muscle Shoals to tour the recording studio and to see the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. Then from there it was north to Nashville, Tennessee. We are here to visit a friend (Adam Overacker) and to enjoy some more music. See you next week from an old classic, Marietta, Ohio. Hopefully I’ll have time this next week to fill in the details from a very eventful road trip! Enjoy your week!
It all looks so beautiful!! You may not feel well, but you both look great. 😊
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