Rocks and Docs

     Upon leaving London we found ourselves quickly in the countryside.  Our first stop this Palm Sunday morning was church, Winchester Cathedral to be exact. This impressive building was the site of the coronation of many English kings including William the Conqueror.  As with all of the cathedrals we have visited, this one housed the graves of prominent local citizens. With due respect to the church leaders and nobles buried there I was anxious to find the resting place of a favorite author. In an unassuming location in the floor was the grave of Jane Austen.

Later her brother had a plaque placed in the wall to acknowledge her literary contributions

    Visiting this enormous Gothic church really works up an appetite so after we saw all  we could from chapel to crypt we went into the town in search of lunch.  As we walked through the cathedral grounds we noticed two things:  gravestones were scattered on the land around the church and people were hanging out next to them. They were picnicking, playing with their kids or just sitting in the sun. It seemed disrespectful at first be we realized that it was more of an acceptance of death as a part of life.

    We continued into town and found a place to sit outside  for lunch. The Slug and Lettuce https://www.slugandlettuce.co.uk/  provided the perfect place to eat and people watch before we continued to explore the town.       

     There was as usual too much to see and not enough time so after only a few hours we moved on to Salisbury and our first actual bed and breakfast accommodation, Avonlea House.​ http://www.avonleahouse.co.uk/.  I can't say enough how friendly John and Jackie were, the room was beautiful and the breakfast was delicious. This is a must stay place for anyone in the area.  Dinner that night was at the Haunch of Venison a very old traditional pub that served….. Venison.  We had a room to ourselves upstairs to enjoy venison stew for me and a venison combo plate for John.

 The next morning we were off to one of England's most famous sites, Stonehenge. The giant stone circle was impressive. But since we prefer our history to be more based on fact than speculation, we didn't spend all day there

    We were anxious to go to the Salisbury Cathedral. Not only is this another impressive church, but it also has one of the 5 surviving copies of the Magna Carta. It is handwritten on lambskin parchment and displayed in a covered area in a special room. We weren't allowed to take pictures but we did get to see it up close. Another special thing about this cathedral; it has the oldest working clock in the world.

Two days was not enough time in this area of England, but the next morning we were off to our next destination.

Left is Right

     Leaving London and public transportation behind brought us to our next challenge,( and by us I mean John). It was time to get our car for the next three months. We took our last ride on the tube early Sunday morning back to Heathrow and the car rental lot.

    Originally, we had booked a manual transmission but caution and wisdom prevailed. We decided driving on the wrong side of the road would be challenging enough so we changed to an automatic. At first the price was 4 times that of the manual, but John persuaded the manager to let us have the car for considerably less than that. We went from a small two doors Fiat to a four door, Vauxhall Astra turbo .

    This was a good decision. Driving in a foreign country is always a challenge, even when you speak the language. We have had the car for over a week now and still have to remember which side of the road to be on. Like the continent, rotaries are commonly used at intersections and like the continent they are often confusing. Sometimes the roads are two lanes but often, especially in the country there is only one. Traffic goes both ways on these. The rule is first car to a wide spot pulls over and lets the other car pass.  The lanes are narrow even in the best areas, so watch those side mirrors!

    Parking is allowed in any direction on either side of the road, even those with barely room for one car to get through. The sidewalk is an option if there is one.  Sometimes you get lucky and find a real parking lot or a field.

    So far we have found very few roads that we would consider to be a highway. When we have the slow lane is to the left, another thing to remember It is getting easier but of course, I'm not the one driving.

London- And All of its Diversions

Miss Lucy Steele, Jane Austen's conniving character in Sense and Sensibility was right. There are so many sides of London that after one week we barely scratched the  surface. Our time was spent as both tourist and resident in an attempt to get the true flavor of this great city.

  Our flat was in a great location; near an underground station, next to Harrods, and a short walk to Hyde Park. Unfortunately, it had no TV or radio, no wifi and promptly a 9 pm construction on the street began and lasted until 4am. But we didn't come to London to sit inside and thankfully the bedroom was away from the street facing window.

   We saw most of the expected things: Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Kensington palace and gardens,the tower of London. But we also did the unexpected. We sat in on the supreme Court as they heard a case and talked to a cabbie during a demonstration against Uber. Shopped in the Borough market and popped on and off the tube during rush hour.

    And we walked. Averaging about 7 miles a day, we walked not only through London but also through history. From the Victoria and Albert museum to Churchill's war bunker, Covent Garden to the Bloody tower. Each day was filled with places and experiences.  So much to see but so much still to be seen. This is a place we will return to.

Crossing the Pond

   And we are off.Our next adventure takes us to Britain for the next three and a half months.  This one begins as all must; at the beginning. Which translates to the airport. LAX to be specific, or rather the shuttle to LAX. Leaving from the Anaheim Hills area meant two things: we were the first ones picked up and we were sitting in the front. Since the shuttle driver apparently had an aversion to soap and water this proximity was less than desirable

  Although our flight was not until five pm  we arrived at eleven am. This was intentional since we wanted to see the final four games and we had a credit card that promised us access to the first class lounges. The first complication arose right away, air New Zealand did not begin bag check-in until 1 and we could not go through security until our bags were checked. Thankfully there was a place to sit and watch games on TV until check in time.

  With only small backpacks we entered the TSA gauntlet. It went fairly smooth,most people were able to follow the simple instructions. I even managed to get a badge sticker from the agent checking passports.

  Misinformation is worse than no information. I don't know who said that but I have almost always found that to be true. We had been told that once our credit card was registered it would get us into the first class lounges. It seems that in reality we need a special card so no free food and comfortable chairs for us. Happily we found a place to split a sandwich and watch some golf and the first half of the Gonzaga/ South Carolina game.

  Boarding the plane was easy, they had two doors available to move people along. We settled into our seats and found a pillow, blanket and headphones. Each seat had a screen and access to current and classic movies for free. I watched LaLa Land, Fantastic Beasts and Casablanca. John saw Lion and Manchester by the Sea. Dinner was acceptable but not exceptional. We tried to sleep but without much success. Sometime around 2am L.A time the cabin lights came on so we could have breakfast. Landing was delayed due to traffic but we were on the ground around 11:30 London time.

   The last obstacles were still to be met; British immigration check which meant an hour standing in line, then baggage claim, walk to the underground station and find our flat. This was accomplished within a few hours but our bodies still on PST had been up for almost 24 hours,(minus catnaps on the plane) We found the entrance to our flat tucked away between a Rolex shop and an L.K.Bennet store about a block up the street from Harrods. Our relief at arriving fizzled away when we realized our place was on the fourth floor, a mere 86 steps up- no elevator.

But it doesn't matter. We are here, in the land of The Bard and the Beatles, Jane Austen and Austin Powers. I am excited to start exploring the land of my ancestors. Well, maybe after a nap.

Man Does Not Live By Baseball Alone

     A full month of baseball? For some a dream, for others a nightmare. For those of you who don't know a baseball from a costume ball (and don't care) there is plenty to do here in the Valley of the Sun. We discovered great activities for almost everyone here in the greater Phoenix area.

The Museum of Musical Instruments https://mim.org/ was an absolute delight, especially their exhibit, Dragons and Vines. This special exhibit explained the modern development and  artistry of guitar  and banjo inlay.

     The permanent exhibits had instruments from virtually every country in the world with video clips showing them being played. They also had an area for various artists from the area and genres of music.  Plan on 4-5 hours for this one.

    Another day, another adventure. This time we went to Butterfly Wonderland- Americas largest butterfly conservatory. http://butterflywonderland.com/  After a brief movie on the migration of monarch butterfly you go into an enclosed pavillion filled with tropical plants and hundreds of butterflies.  I foolishly left my  phone/camera in the car but trust me it was awesome!

   If you prefer bigger animals and some action, head over to Turf Paradise racetrack http://www.turfparadise.com/. Even if you don't know anything about Thoroughbred racing, it is a fun day to sit in the sun or shade and bet a dollar on your favorite horse. Pick a color, pick a number, pick a name, you don't need to spend hours studying a racing form to have fun at the track.

L

     Like many other places in the country the Phoenix area has very nice Casinos on Native American land. After a ball game we went to the Talking Stick Resort Casino  https://www.talkingstickresort.com/to watch the last of the NCAA elite eight games and to play the penny slots. We did not spend/lose a lot of money but we did have a lot of fun.

     One of my favorite things about about this area is the amount of public art that is visible everywhere. Even something as utilitarian as the walls along the freeways are decorated with southwest motifs. I especially liked a sculpture in Scottsdale called the Doors. It was designed so that you could go inside and have the impression of being in a kaleidoscope. Very cool.  There are so many things to enjoy here. Even without baseball we know we will be back.

Fake Plants and Live Glue

    Plants have never been my friends. I have been known to kill air ferns- simple plants that do not need soil, water or anything. I still managed to turn a lovely, green, living thing into a brown, dry, dead compost candidate. I do however, love the look of plants, especially if they have flowers or interesting leaf patterns or colors.
   As we move from place to place we have encountered both real and fake plants.  I definitely notice them but rarely do more than find our if they are real or fake.  There have been more than a few instances where I watered a fake plant to disastrous results or killed a real plant before I knew it was actually alive. In general I leave plant care to John who has a very green thumb and the ability to determine real from fake.
   Here in Scottsdale we have the usual rental place fake plants: small ficus by the front door, flower arrangements in the bedrooms and a small cactus in the kitchen. Experience has taught me that fake plants tend to look more real than real plants in many cases, especially cacti and other succulents.But there was something about that little cactus. Every night as I did the dishes it seemed to call to me "water, water". I was not to be taken in. I have watered a fake cactus before and watched it disintegrate into a green mess.  Before I gave into the siren voice coming from the tiny pot I decided to find out for sure if this plant was real or fake. So I reached over and squeezed the top.
   

   As you can see, there does not appear to be any spikes or needles growing out of this cactus. But I guess it is like a baby rattlesnake, more dangerous because it is small. in any case both my finger and thumb suddenly felt on fire as tiny barbs entered and stayed under my skin.

   I tried to use tweezers to remove the needles but they were so small and light in color that they were virtually invisible. So I consulted the greatest source of Medical Knowledge Known to Mankind - The Internet.  Most sources advised the use of tweezers (really?) and many said what not to do, (it never occurred to me to hold my fingers over fire and burn the spikes out). I finally found a solution that made sense and I confirmed it with two other sources. The answer was glue.

   Anyone who has taught a class or even had children who did crafts know this fact; kids like to play with glue.  They will pour it on their hands, wait for it to dry then rub it off into little glue balls that make a mess.  This is why glue sticks were invented.  The problem was glue stick would dry out if not capped properly or if they were just sitting in a storage closet over summer break. Invariably, the glue sticks were gone before the projects were done leaving slower kids or later classes with the need for staples and tape to complete their assignments.

   My solution to this dilemma was to forego the glue sticks and do projects old school with good old fashioned Elmer's glue. I had a large jug of the stuff in my classroom. When students were   ready to glue they brought me a scrap of paper and I carefully poured a small amount of the precious liquid onto the scrap; enough to use but not enough to play with.  We called it live glue as it would run all over if not carried carefully. "Watch your hair Marissa, there is live glue behind you"and "Don't let the live glue get on your notebook Jason". We respected the power of the live glue to go where it did not belong and for over 30 years never had a classroom incident. In fact the same kids who like to rub glue all over their hands did not want to put glue on one finger to apply it to the project.

    Ok back to my problem. According to Dr Internet, apply a thin coat of glue over the affected area, let it dry for 30 minutes then peel off the glue and Voila. The spikes will be pulled out. This sounds right so off I went to the store to buy some glue which was easier said than done. Three stores later I discovered many glue sticks but no liquid glue. The burning of the spikes hastened my decision and I went for the biggest glue stick I could find.

   After three applications of gluestick, wait and wash  most of the barbs were out, The last few came out through repeated washing but as I type this I think there may still be a few more in my finger. The lesson here is be sure the plant is fake before you touch it and always carry live glue.

Baseball, Bikes,Scots and Hikes

     The primary reason we are in Arizona in March is to see Spring training baseball of course. We bought some tickets in advance, some once we arrived and for others we are checking StubHub for good seats at good prices. The Cubs are asking $100.00 for a seat  which is ridiculous for any game but especially for an exhibition game that doesn't count. So far we have been to three games, had good to great seats and did not pay anywhere near that price.
   Our first game was on Wednesday March 1 and of course it was the Angels in Tempe Diablo Stadium. We were happy to see the boys deliver a victory over division rival Texas. I know it does not matter if you win in Spring but it is definitely better than losing.

home away from home

a beautiful day for a ballgame

   Friday we went to Talking Stick Stadium here in Scottsdale to see the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks in another division rivalry. This is one of the newer stadiums, shared by Colorado and Arizona.  For lunch we had a sandwich named for former D-back star Luis Gonzalez- the Gonzo chicken sandwich; fried chicken, bacon, and ham.Of course it was delicious!

We like to arrive at the games early to watch the players warm-up. on this day we were rewarded with a chance to watch the starting battery for the D-backs former Angels Zack Grienke and Jeff Mathis.

                           



     Our condo came with two beach cruiser bikes so we have been exploring the many paths on non game days. Sunday we discovered the Giants training facility which is about a half mile from the stadium where they play games. We paused in our ride to watch veterans and minor leaguers alike work on fundamental drills.

one of many fields

evaluating the talent

      As we continued our ride we discovered how close we were to Old Town Scottsdale and the Giants stadium there. So for our game today, Monday, we rode our bikes to the field. It is about three-four miles one way on a bike path that goes along a golf course. No parking problem, charge or crowd. This is the way to get to a game.

  We saw the Indians vs the Giants in  our first inter-league game. Scottsdale has always been a nice stadium but today there was a bonus, former players were there selling autographed items  George Foster, Darrel Evans, Gaylord Perry and the Cucamonga Kid himself- Rollie Fingers. We purchased a signed ball  from Fingers for Johns collection.  We split a cheesesteak sandwich and garlic fries before watching the home team once again claim the victory.

If it is San Francisco, it must be garlic Fries

Great Mustaches

  Not every day has been about baseball. As we were driving in we saw billboards about music festivals that were taking place over the weekend. Upon research and listening to the bands we decided instead to go to the Scottish festival and Highland games being held in Phoenix on Saturday. We had a great time listening to pipe, folk and Celtic bands.The Wicked Tinkers were a special favorite.  We met some great people, happy to share their knowledge of Scotland and the games.

British cars on display

Practicing for their competition

the horn is on a stand

    As I mentioned before there are trails all around our condo.  Most of them we have seen so far go along a golf course or through a park. We did a 3 mile  hike Friday morning before the game and saw many snowbirds- Canadian Geese are everywhere. I know many people do not consider walking a paved area in a downtown setting a hike but it is close enough for me. Besides, it rhymes with bikes.

Bucket List in the Valley of the Sun

     "I will be out on Friday, I have a Dr Appointment" . That statement meant one thing to my friends at work; I was skipping out to go to spring training in Arizona. In fact we used to add that the appointment was with Dr. Scott Sdale.  We would come out on an extended weekend, or for a few days midweek if spring break was at the right time. We came alone or with family members and each time said, "When we retire let's spend a month here for spring training."
    So here we are in a condo in Scottsdale until March 28  to watch games, and enjoy the warm weather. We have been here for a week now, I will share our adventures so far on a later post. Right now it's time to head out for a game.

living room

dinning room

kitchen is small but functional

patio is in the front

master bedroom

guest bedroom

Transitions

     February has always been a transition month for us. February was the month John proposed, beginning our transition from the single life to being a permanent couple  Most years it was simply the month between the end of football season and the return of baseball.We often referred to it as our theater season as the presidential holidays provided us three or four day weekends in which to attend a concert or a play or see a movie or two. Last year the days of February were filled with preparation for what has become our greatest transition to date, our nomadic lifestyle.
     When we sold and stored and cleaned and cleared out our possessions we thought it would only be until July. The plan was to find a place to rent until we decided where we wanted to buy our next home. But a funny thing happened. Instead of being exhausted by the travel, we were exhilarated. We started to ask ourselves "What If"?  What if  we don't buy a house right now? What if we leave our stuff in storage? What if we go where and when we want, without worrying about our "stuff"?
     And so here we are. one year later and just as excited about our next adventure as we were about our last. Thankfully our parents have guest rooms in both of their homes so we can stay with them
as we pause, pack and prepare for the year ahead.

Monday Monday

     As cozy as our cottage is a person can only stay inside for so long. Today we drove into town for lunch. John found us a terrific place called Baird's on B https://www.bairdsonb.com/ for lunch. I had an Autumn Chicken Cobb salad but John went for seafood.  His chippino was full of local clams, shrimp and Dungeness crab..

Before

After

After lunch we went for a walk along the Willamette river at George Rogers park Although the temperature is the same as in Victoria, it feels much colder here so we did not walk for long.

 

After our walk we drove around the town for a while before returning to the cottage.