The last post for our UK 2018 trip!
May 12, 2018 It is a long flight, but luckily for us, there was a nonstop from London to Portland.
Last views of the British Isles
Northern Canada – lots of pretty ice to look down upon.
The Rocky Mountains come into view,
Our own volcanic mountains pop up under the wing, and finally, the Columbia River and Mt St Helens and we are home.
Mt Adams, Mt Rainier and the Goat Rocks
Mt St Helens, Mt Adams, the Columbia River
My favorite memories from the trip, as I am writing this 11 months later, are many.
The Jane Austen locations are at the top of the list – her portrait in London, her home and the big house in Chawton, the Quilt!, the Cobb in Lyme Regis, and then wandering around Bath, knowing that many of these sights were in her daily view while she lived there.
I enjoyed knowing my way around London for our brief stop there, revisiting some locations we had previously enjoyed, and also seeing the Natural Science Museum and Portrait Gallery.
It is always about the landscape! I love British literature, and have seen many of these locations or similar places on film, but there is nothing like boots on the ground for really feeling a place. Thus, the chalk cliffs, the Jurassic cliffs of Charmouth, the downs, the hedgerow counterpanes and Dartmoor ponies on the moors, the blue water of Cornwall; the old castles and cottages juxtaposed with modern buildings, and then the Roman baths and Georgian Crescents in Bath – all fill in my minds eye where imagination leaves off, and I feel richer for the experience. I can see hobbits on the moors, Winnie the Pooh in the woods, mole and water rat on the river.
I would love to spend more time in Cornwall, and we have on our list another trip to Scotland. New Zealand, the Alps, and other destinations also call. This year we will remain stateside for reunions, weddings and graduations…exploration of new places are part of those plans as well. I feel very lucky to be able to travel with my husband on these fabulous adventures!
Margaret Quilts 