HURRICANE ALLEY.....RAPID FIRE

While we were in the beautiful Cotwalds of England, the weather here for our “home exchange” friends was not the best while we had beautiful weather. Like I've said, I believe our trip was the best three week trip we could have ever imagined.
It's a good thing that we had time to relax, because after our return things escalated to the nth degree. First with my aunt in critical condition following a basic surgery and hurricanes, one after the other for about 4 weeks. Bonnie was the first and mandated rapid preparations to prevent possible damages from high winds. Shortly after that, Charley made himself known. Then that was closely followed by Frances and ultimately Ivan.
In order to prepare for something like this, windows needed to be boarded, yard things need to be picked up and put away..and elderly neighbors must be assisted. In the coastal areas, boats must be secured and removed from the water if at all possible.
Doug and his brother came here to me in Georgia with their two dogs to hunker down for Frances. We had a bit of rain and some wind. Nothing serious other than pruning of some of the 300 year old oak trees in the yard. Several of the tall Georgia pines lost a few limbs too. Our neighbors here did not fair quite as well as a downed oak tree filled the front yard.
Charley was not that much of a threat here, Bonnie missed us in coastal Georgia completely. Ivan served to fell the loosened limbs from Frances.
Frances managed to rid Doug of his screen around his pool and deck. Happy not to have it repaired before Ivan marched through.
Been speaking with Doug about a trip to Orlando while he is there on business. Looks like Universal Studios is a target... More later

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AUGUST 20 AND 21, 2004 HOMEWARD BOUND

August 20 started like most other days...this time a bit earlier. The first time the alarm had been used the entire trip to ensure that we were up and at 'em at five a.m. No one should have to get up that early while on vacation, but in order to beat the traffic into London, Gatwick Airport, we were told by "THOSE IN THE KNOW" that's what we should do. Guess what....go on guess----Nope, we were actually up before the alarm sounded, but when it sounded it alarmed me. I had removed the sheets on both beds and was remaking one when it went off. Remember the low ceilings...well, my head remembers them quite well. It even has a few souveniers! Of the 7 low beams and three low ceiling lights...times 2, plus 5 extra...yep, 25 knots (the last five while hurrying to get finished up before leaving. Does that mean I'm a slow learner...or just in for head banging good time???

Well, while attempting to dry some linens that we put in to wash before bed, the dryer malfunctioned....first the tires, my head way too many times, and now the dryer (we discovered on the morning we were trying to leave) and now it was pouring down rain...I knew we were just at the beginning of another lovely day! My pain was eased a bit as we discovered the traffic much lighter than expected and we made excellent time to Gatwick. Less than 2 hours,in fact. Now of the two terminals, which one...North or South? We see the sign for air cargo at the North so we choose South. We drove around the indoor garage for what seemed like 45 minutes before we saw a car pulling out of an end spot that would be easy to find upon return. But oh no...it figures...it was a wee bit too tight and as things rang true to course, a large concrete pylon made contact with the side of the car. You know the sound of scraping, crushing metal? To me it was like an explosion. Anyway, we reversed out of that spot and searched for another with plenty of room. There was a bit of white paint from the pylon on the finish, and a scratch about mid door. The paint buffed off with a little elbow grease and saliva soaked tissues (and a tad of scraping with what little finger nails the both of us could muster). It didn't look too bad...but then again..it wasn't scratched before we had charge of the car. Knowing we would have to tell Kevin about the incident made us both a bit ill as we were hoping he would want to exchange with us again. It had put a cloud over the entire trip and our moods darkened as we made our way into the terminal.

English is spoken in England, of course, but signage and directions for the weary traveller are too few and often unclear..with arrows pointing vaguely in a direction of which is difficult to discern when there are three possible corridors in that general direction. Upon asking a couple of questions, we found that our flight left from(I know you'll believe this when I tell you), that's right, the North Terminal. So off we go scurring around the corner and down two escalators with luggage in tow to catch the monorail to the North Terminal. I didn't feel so badly as there were many, many, many others that found themselves in the same situation as we all crammed into the 3 car train. The rest of the check in process was uneventful. We had no luggage to check so we began looking for a bite to eat. We don't do well without breakfast and that morning cup ...pot of coffee. We found a couple of places from which to choose..the Cuban Cafe was ruled out..no offense to anyone...Starbucks (while the coffee is good...we needed more than a pastry). And a "French" Cafe with outrageous prices, even for England. I don't have the pound sign on my keyboard here, but 11.90 later (remember multiply this by $1.85) we went trodding to the gate with much lighter pockets but satisfied bellies.The time was now 10 am. So, even without traffic, to prepare for this flight and make the "one hour prior to boarding @ the boarding gate" we actually did need to leave at five a.m. to make it. The stress of this now over...the stress of the damaged auto loomed over us like a black cloud.

Sitting in Zone 9, we were of the last called to board. Fortuantely there was overhead for the large bags, the little ones under the seat..and lots of leg room in the Exit Row...downside, it was the front exit row, so our seat back did not recline. 8.5 hours later we touched down in Atlanta on schedule...and for Delta that's a feat in itself.

Customs and Immigration, while tight for other nationalities was a breeze for us, especially as we had no checked baggage. The only real baggage we carried was the scarred auto. And the weight of that was weighing on each of us more than the other knew.

There must have been an A.C. problem in the Atlanta airport, because it was hot, humid and muggy. It was a miserable 2 hour wait for our final destination flight.

A lady with a wheel chair asked would I mind her bags while she was gone for a minute or two..and without thinking about what I was doing (my brain was still on vacation) I said yes. There is a reason we're asked not to do that sort of thing for anyone...but the word "Sure" jumped out of my mouth before I realized it. As it got closer to boarding time, and over 40 minutes later, I was beginning to worry that I had really gotten myelf into even more trouble. About 5 minutes before boarding, the lady gimped back, thanked me, apologized for taking so long....made me feel like a bit of a mule for doubting...and "No problem" seemed to come out in a sigh of relief.

Doug's parents met us at the airport in West Palm Beach after a quiet uneventful flight (thank goodness). I established right away that I was hungry and would love to have KFC. We found it, I went in to purchase a bucket with sides and came back out to the car. Trouble was, I couldn't remember what kind of car it was..or the color..so I walked halfway around the store before I realized there were no cars there...and went back to square one. The car was a lone one with the lights one in the corner of the lot. Relief..at last..inside the house...the big reunion! A happy excited dog can lift the spirits of the most forlorn on most ocassions..and this was one of those. But with not only one dog, but four of the happiest, excited and licky pups I've seen in quite a while. A cold-nosed furr ball pushed all the drama to the background and made our homecoming the best part of the trip.

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August 18, 2004 SHAFTESBURY AND WARDOR CASTLE

On the way to Poole, we went through a small town that we liked and wanted to explore further, so we headed on for Shaftesbury. The point of interest here was Gold Hill. It is a cobblestone street that has not been changed or modernized since the founding of the town. Other things have sprung up around it, but this one street was like going back in time.

We walked through the market area and down a footpath that led us basicly into nowhere..and of course we had to walk back up again to get back into the town centre. The wind was blowing and there was a distinct chill in the air. Took some great photos of Gold Hill (I hope) and headed back to the cottage. Along the way we passed a sign for Wadour Castle and made the turn to get to it. Wouldn't you know it.. and single track road with pull offs dotting both sides at interval along the way. We finally made it to the castle without passing anyone. Took a couple of photos there and made our way back. This time we passed several cars along the way..one I had to back up about 100 yards to get to a pull off.

Opps, somewhere along the way we must have made a wrong turn because we were admittedly lost. Up ahead I could catch glimpes of a thatched roof, so we continued on to find ourselves in the middle of a village of nothing but thatch roofed cottages. It was very picturesque...so maybe the wrong turn was not so bad after all.Finally made it home, a good bit later that expected..but hey...we're on vacation....and enjoying every minute of it.

I am making a formal apology here to some friends... you know who you are...that actually own a Smart Car that I spoke of in an earlier newsletter. The record has been set straight...and while the car may look like it has been chopped off and only half of a Pinto and other similar cars, it is quite roomy for two and that I would not have to wrap my legs around my neck to sit in it. That was nice to learn..seeing as this car is coming to the states in the very near future. That said, it's time to draw this vacation to a close. All things must end, it seems, but why does it always seem that be best of things ends too soon? So we have to be out of the cottage and on the road by 5 am. We're not happy about that..no not one bit!

I will get the developed pictures posted on the website and will notify you when there are done.
This trip and the sights are too fantastic not to share..One thing to ponder...and a question I've asked since being here: You see pigeons everywhere all seemingly fully grown. Has anyone ever seen a baby pigeon? That's it for now...stay safe and remember...that's right... you are always on our minds.

August 17, 2004 POOLE

A great day to explore Pool. This is port city on the southern penninsula. The extensive beach front drive was scenic, but the town overall was not what we expected. We walked through the market area, had a coffee at a local coffee shop. Burger King, McDonalds and KFC were here...saddened to say. Again we found the bustling city to be overcrowded, overly commercialized and lacking in the warmth, character and atmosphere of the smaller villages. I guess that's true whereever you go.

We drove back through the New Forest. Tired from two days of driving before, we made it a quick day and returned to the Old Manor Cottage. We flipped on the television, and shortly heard a news broadcast that stunned us. A village that we had visitied earlier in this trip, Boscastle, was virtually destroyed by a flash flood. The water came rushing down the mainstreet of the village washing over a 100 cars into the sea. Helicopters from the Army, Navy and Coast Guard rescued on 150 persons from rooftops and windows. Several of the older buidlings were washed away as well. This village not far from the village we visited the day before, Linton and Lynmouth.

So, that brings us to now...our last day to tour...what will we do..where will we go...what will we find???? Questions and more questions...Until next time, please stay safe...and remember that you are always on our minds.

August 13, 2004 EXEMOOR COASTLINE

So much for getting up early for an early start. Wouldn't you just expect it...a flat tire! Already had two flat tires which I didn't want to relate. So, now you all know. On our first day while driving from Heathrow Airport to this quaint little cottage, we did experience not one, but two flats on the same side of the car (Audi A6, 2.5 TDI Station Wagon). Fortunately for us, this happened near a tire service center. So about £450 and 4 hours later, we were back on the road.

Yesterday, while at the supermarket (TESCO is kind of like a Wal-Mart Super Store), I noticed that a tire was low, so I pulled in to air it up after refueling (another £50...ouch). Then this morning it was flat...but only on one side! So, we got out the conventional spare and the other necessary things and changed out the tire. About an hour later, we were on the way. It's a joyful time, when there were no wrong turns and no honks! But it did rain on us a good bit. We drove to the north coast of the peninsula in the Exmoor region of England. We thought we had taken in some fantastic sights, but parts of this area took our breath away. There was a scenic route toll road (we didn't take it), but we chose to drive the higher, larger road. By larger I mean that two cars could pass...sometimes. We topped a hill and what we saw...we pulled over at the first available spot. Crossed the road into a seemingly endless field of lilacs in full bloom. As we went further we witnessed the field of purple yield into the greenest green field I've ever seen. But as if that weren't enough to impress us, the green gave way to the ocean beyond! Spectacular..doesn't even come close! The purple flowers lightly scenting the air,the cool breeze, and the vista combined totally overwhelmed the senses. Pictures have been taken as well as a video. We hope that they capture the visual adequately..but as none of the others have been able to do so, it is unlikely these will be different. I think this may just be one of those things that one must experience on their own. It really began to rain..the light sprinkle quickly became a torrent..so we ducked back to the car. Just as quickly as it started, the rain let up.Up ahead, just before the village of Porlock, we encountered another great viewing area and stopped the car. As we approached the roadside with our trusty cameras in hand, sheep began rounding a corner into the field in front of us. There must have been hundreds of them bleating their way into the field. Tagging along at the rear, was the herder on a 4-wheeler pulling a trailer with 3 lambs in it..and of course the loyal and trusted sheep herding dog proudly doing what we're sure he does best! The coastline is rocky and cliff-like. The waves white washing the shore. We pressed on.The road grew more narrow as we progressed to Porlock. A nice little fishing village with several spots to eat, but several of them closed Monday. After walking the village length and back, we chose a place. Service was slow, but we were hungry and the average food tasted pretty good. There were a couple of dogs, a black lab and a chocolate lab there. They begged food at our table, so of course, we obliged. The tail wag won us over..and we even got a kiss or two to boot. Further on, the roadway became more twisty and steep. But it was worth the trip. Here we found Lynton and Lynmouth. This little fishing village was right on the ocean. In fact it is as they describe it "where Exmoor meets the sea". It was spectacular and obviously a tourist attraction. It had begun pouring down rain again, but it stopped no one from enjoying the shops, dining and activities that were offered there. Because it was raining, getting late and both of us tired, we started home. We side tracked into Brandon. Now most of the time, these impulsive things are great....most of the time being the operative phrase here. The road was single lane with pullovers scattered sparsely along it to allow cars to pass. With no warning, after 5 or more miles, we reached the extremely small village and a dead end. Oh no! Now we have to drive back that narrow little trail to get back to the other secondary main road we had been on at first. Threw us way off and behind. No worse for the wear (at least not visibly), we made it back to this cottage we are calling home for 3 more days.

We have learned a bit more about the White Horses on the mountain sides. I said earlier that there are 3. That was incorrect. There are 7 of them. These hillsides are white clay. The horses were a tribute to a general. I'll give more details at a later date.Tomorrow we are off to the southern coast of the peninsula. Poole, Plymouth and who knows what else we'll get into.

Until next time, stay safe and always remember that you are on our minds

August 13, 2004 SOUTH WALES

After several suggestions from our “friends in the know”, we headed out this morning for South Wales...a little seaside village and resort area called Rhosili. The drive there was uneventful, no round about turn arounds, no honks...nothing out of the ordinary except the toll to cross the bridge from England into Wales. We were warned well ahead of time of the impending toll collection, but not the cost of crossing until it was too late to do anything else. Figures, doesn't it? To cross cost 8 pounds (mulitply this by $1.85). From what we could see so far, it was not worth the cost of fuel, toll or time...but we kept on.

As we got close to the little village, the road narrowed and the coastline improved immensely from the basic industrial portion of South Wales that we traversed to here.
Finally at the seaside village, a walk out onto the cliff-side moors was breathtaking and well worth the voyage to get there. Green pastures with grazing sheep, and free range sheep nestled into the sunny spots along the cliffs. We had never seen a sheep “bowing“ or kneeling on its front legs before, but we saw several of them here. The beach was beautiful with the white crested waves crashing shoreside. The were a few bathers, many surfers and some just wading in the surf. A bit too cold for my tastes..and the breeze was invigorating. We had a bite to eat at one of the sea side shacks, expensive, not very tasty, but the beachy atmosphere was great.
We headed for home, much in need of a good nights sleep. We made it back about 5 hours later. Seems we embarked on a diversion that was one of those that we'd rather not experienced mostly because we were too tired to enjoy it.

We decided to take the weekend off and stay close to the cottage because the last few days would be kept full of driving and walking to take in all the sights we could.
Still to see are the Exemoor Coastline on the northern part of the penninsula and the southern penninsula city of Poole.

Digital camera malfunction, so the pictures from here had to be developed before posting. But when they are posted a link for them will be included in the posting.

I am happy to report that the pictures of Rhosili (row c lee) are now available.

Please stay safe and remember that you are always on our minds.

August 6,7,11 2004...REST AND PREPARATIONS FOR FRIENDS

Many of our friends living here in England are to begin arriving this evening. We did get out for a bit, close by..Bourton-on-the-Water. It was nice, but a bit too commercialized for us. Cars that seem so out of place were everywhere. Could barely walk for them. We did have a fish-n-chips lunch and walked back and forth through the village. The point of interest here was the miniature of the village set up in a square on the east end. We payed to get a look and walk through the minature. The detail was so great, the pews were in the churches, and there was a mini of the mini village included. I did have some pictures and have posted them to the photo album. I still don't think photos do justice to the beauty we find, but we do the best we can do with what we have!

This is a combined posting. Our friends did begin arriving Friday evening. The remainder were due to arrive Saturday evening and Sunday noon. So we went to Bath with our first arrivals on Saturday. We walked and walked from end to end. The Royal Crescent (under construction) was not a big deal..and the old Roman Baths were interesting. I think the most unusual thing we saw here was the living statue. All in bronze make up..looking very statue-like..he would move, change positions and reach out to unsuspecting passers by. Funny..

We took the remainder of the weekend off and stayed close to our little cottage. We cooked out, swam in the lap pool, enjoyed the steam sauna, and even managed a game or two of badmitton. We believe we still should have had Croquet..the yard was perfect for it!

We ended up having 11 adults, 3 children and 1 infant all under one roof! It was great..and around the dining table, it was sort of like Christmas and Thanksgiving at meal time. Everyone left Tuesday before noon, and we were all alone. Seemed funny for things to be so quiet..
We rested the remainder of the day in preparation for a trip to Tintagel (the home of King Arthur and the legendary Knights of the Round Table) and Boscastle.
We walked all the way to the top of the cliff where the remains of the Castle look out over the sea. Beautiful view spoiled only by the new resort hotel erected on the opposing cliff.
Then back up to Boscastle. This little village, sorry to say, glorifies witches and wizards. They even have a museum dedicated to the subject. A quick tour into the museum made me feel uneasy even though the claim they are not evil. The scripts of chants praising the dark one and things for revenge demonstrate just the opposite. I felt very eerie and left quickly, but not before getting off a few photos. Make sure you check out the “moles feet“ used in spells of revenge.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gblakesmith3/album?.dir=/6f5d&.src=ph&.tok=phWLY3BBqulDaK8y

This link connects to pics of all the spots mentioned in this post. Enjoy them...

Please stay safe and remember that you are always on our minds!

The Bear of Bradford on Avon

Dick, Jackie and Blake on a side street in Bradford on Avon

Bradford on Avon

River Front of Bradford on Avon

Church on the Square in Bath

Real Doggie in the Window in Bradford

Cathedral on the Square in Bath

Living Statue

Royal Crescent with Jackie and with their backs to us Dick and Doug

The Swan in Bath

Miniature Village in Bourton on the Water

Miniature Village

Miniature Village

Cottage in Bourton-on-the-Water

Part of the Boscastle left side of the bay

Boscastle Youth Hostel of the right side of the bay

Witches Potions in Boscastle Witches Museum

Moles feet top right..got to get out of here now!

August 5, 2004 STONEHENGE AND EDINGTON

05 August 04 started out once again with grey skies, overcast and hazy. The perfect day for a trip to Stonehenge. I did a bit of research about this place...found nothing concrete...the place was believed to be used in rituals, burials and somethings that only occured during the summer solstice..anyway...regardless, as you will see Stonehenge is a configuration of massive rocks stacked neatly and precisely in formations the create a circle of sorts..The rest of the day we walked through local villages and visited the Edington Priory.. that was after the sun came out and the skies cleared. We also drove through Westbury to find the White Horse..and we did...it was on the moutain side and if you check the picture there is a white horse not only on the mountain side, but also rolling on his back in the pasture. We are enjoying the house located in Edington and the local village people are very friendly. Now the pictures....until next time...

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gblakesmith3/album?.dir=/d50a&.src=ph&.tok=phYd6kBBJjMJjtgN

Pictures here include the cottages in Edington and Warminster..more on Warminster and the White Horse coming up.

Please stay safe and remember...you are always on our minds

Introduction to Stonehenge

Information 1

Information 2

Information 3

Information 4

Information 5

Stonehenge Formations

Stonehenge Formations 1

Stonehenge Formations 2

Stonehenge Formations from Behind

Doug in front of Stonehenge

The White Horse of Warminster

White Horse of Warminster and the Field

White Horse of Warminster and White Horse rolling in the field

AUGUST 4, 2004 LANDS END

Travel update for 8/4/04. Awoke this morning to grey skies and drizzle, so decided it would be a great time to get an eerie picture at Stonehenge. Fortunately, however, the sun came out before we made the 10 miles to Stonehenge, so that plan was temporarily scrapped and we headed for Land's End, the most extreme south western spot in England. Since we were unprepared to the spur of the moment change of plans, we stopped along the way for lunch. Snapped a quick photo of the pub on the way out and completed the trek to our destination. On our return we stopped in for the afternoon cream tea at a quaint little spot. The fresh baked scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream were the best ever!! Anyway we finally made our way back home and arrived around 9:30 pm. I've attached pics taken along the way. The country side here is unbeatable and with all the driving today....no billboards and no trash along the roads. I just felt like something was missing...ah ha.. very few to almost no fast food places like Mcdonalds...or KFC. Nice!!!

Hope you enjoy the pictures... and more to come..here is the link for these pics.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gblakesmith3/album?.dir=/575c&.src=ph&.tok=phpb6kBBSxpGEYvj

The first two in this album are of Castle Combe..the rest are Lands End and enroute to and from.

Stay safe and remember that you are always on our minds.

Pub Lunch enroute to Lands End

View enroute to Lands End

Scenic View enroute to Lands End 2

View at Lands End

St. Michaels at Marazion

My personal favorite of all pictures on this blog. Returning from Lands End, the clouds, the pasture and the fence and the rays breaking through the clouds was a breathtaking view.

Returning View 2

Returning View 3

August 3, 2004 Abbey at LaCock and Castle Combe

Today we awoke to grey skies and impending rain, so we decided to stay close to home. We ventured out as far as the Abbey at Lacock (about 10 miles away) where parts of Harry Potter were filmed. The village there was exactly what you would expect it to be...very old and unchanged...cars looking very out of place. We walked through the village and looked in the Village Church. Gravesites there dating back as far as 1600. Next we went to Castle Comb a very small neat little village about 10 miles further on. I have attached pics of the village. Very neat tidy little village with the old 14 and 15th century building lining the roadway. Cars, again, look very out of place here. After viewing the pics myself, they don't do the place justice. The antiquity of the buildings is not as apparent in the pics as in the real. On to Bath..the spa town...and the ruins of the old Roman baths. Began raining here...traffic was overwhelming...no pics..sorry. We will go back another day.That catches you up to date..

Click the link below to view pics.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gblakesmith3/album?.dir=/575c&.src=ph&.tok=phpb6kBBSxpGEYvj

Stay safe and remember that you are always on our minds.

Doug Entering Castle Combe

Doug walking into the village of Castle Combe

July 31 and August 2, 2004 Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon

This was our trip to Warwick and Stratford. It was so crowded that we opted to return Monday, August 2, 2004. This turned out to be a wise decision. We started at Warwick, in particular, Warwick Castle. This was a spectacular palace. The interiors were renovated properly to the times and excellent was figures that looked remarkably real. The cost to enter was a bit steep, or so we thought. At 15 pounds each..times 1.85 U.S. dollars we thought way to expensive. We had always thought of castles being cold and drafty...wrong assumption. We did manage a few nice pictures, and left around mid day for Stratford...William Shakespere's birthplace.
Stratford was way too commercialized and extremely overly crowded as well. We took a photo op in front of the birthplace and decided to head back to our little sanctuary in the country.

Here is a link to the photo album for the pictures we took today..Hope you enjoy them..

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gblakesmith3/album?.dir=/7fe4&.src=ph&.tok=ph5a6kBBvRP3d4jJ

Please continue to stay safe and remember that you are always on our minds.

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