An Ending and a Beginning

This week was more touring than we have accomplished yet.  On Monday we stopped at the largest of the Hebrides, who are part of Scotland. Its named Lewis and Harris island, which is a double island, the larger north island is Lewis, and the smaller rockier Harris island includes the southern sections.  We visited the town of Stornoway.  I thought the teapots that decorated the window of this tea store were fun.

The night before we'd heard the news about Biden. And saw it here on the island on newsstands in the stores. 

We did some shopping in town.  The Heuers and Moes had spent the morning on a tour.  They went to see early houses on the Island, called black houses, because they burned peat in them, with a hole in the top to let out the rising smoke, that in the meantime blackened the walls.  When they got back we all headed into this town.

These cute kids were plying for donations.

Fun picture ops as you see.

and us in front of the harbor.

Back on ship, while waiting for the dining room to opened, I watched a giant Jenga tower competition between the crew and the passengers.

This gal was amazing ... but when another ship employee in hard hat took over, it fell the first time he actually touch it.  I know, exciting stuff.

Here's Robin with a favorite dessert, a chocolate something, something, that was only served in one dining room at one time per day .... yep, we ate there several times.

Getting ready for our last formal night, the day after our stop in Scotland, Dad is all read to go as I finish up dressing, I just thought he looked too cute not to make a memory of it.

Here's out first shot at a picture of our matching Scottish togs. 

We had seen this Scottish man on board on an earlier formal night, I had hoped we would see him this day. So fun to visit, and oh so nice.  We asked if they'd been to Lewis and Harris before, which is the third largest of the British Isles, and he said that they had some 40 years before.

He even loaned his purse to Scott for the picture.

First formal shot.  The Scottish guy said that a real kilt has 8 yards of fabric.  I measured Dad's, sort of, with the waist to hem measurement being the 'width', so maybe like 20" wide, which meant the length of the clothe used was about 6 yards. 

Here I am at one of our shows, saving seats and reading with the flashlight of my phone.

This is my main reading posture, since there are no recliners available, but really it's about the same, right?

On Wednesday, the local town, Falmouth,  sent a ferry as a tender for us to ride to the shore.  BTW I am wearing a dress I got at a discount store in Stornoway the day before.

Here's the crew, yep, the captain drove the boat, and he did everything else.  I thought the rebel flag was a great match for the Dixie Bell.

We met a local councilman on board walk.

After a bus ride into town, Dad had a chance to test his strength on this iron fence.  Way to go Dad.

This monument was inside the fenced area, and it is unknown as to why it was placed.  Hmmmm.

In the Maritime Museum gift shop we found lots of fun and quirky gifts, like this wheeled fish.

and a fishy tie.

We stopped and visited with some Jehovah Witnesses for a bit.  It was nice to be able to tell them that I work with a gal of the same persuasion and that we share bits about our religions. They were both born and bred to their religion, just like us.  Their names are Esther and Alister. 

Here is a street in Falmouth.

I just love the pennants.

A lovely old church in town.

with the obligatory photo op. 

It was beautiful and had a plaque inside to a former enslaved person who was married a local girl here.  His story is that he was abducted to be a slave in South America, and his master realized he was very bright, and educated him.  He became a very talented musician, and eventually was sent to Europe where he was part of an well known symphony before being kidnapped, and shanghaied on a ship where he played the violin for the men.  The captain allowed him to leave the ship, after a year, in Falmouth, where he married this girl and lived a normal life after that. 

The whole church.

On the way back it started to rain like made, and by the time we got to the line for the bus back to the tender, we were soaked. 

The next day we went into Weymouth, and were greeted by some fun crocheted street art.  We'd seen some around Finland, so we sort of 'got it' but these were much more elaborate. 

Turning a protective post into an icecream cone.

Another bike

We went into several charity shops there.  It's funny, because we'd had a bit of debacle, when we found out that our luggage limit for our flight to Florida was not the 55 pounds each that we had thought, but 33 pounds each.  Yikes.  We bought very little, and it was light.  Fortunately, when we made the discovery the day before Barb and Randy came to our rescue. They took our huge suitcases, with our excess poundage in one, and loaned us their small suitcases.  

Later when we were headed to the flight for Florida, and we were pulling these small suitcases,  knowing that Barb and Randy had taken on the burden of our behemoth cases, and would be wrangling them through the airport, though no guilt of their own, but ours, it made me think of the burden our Savior has taken on for us, in similar circumstances, we had made mistakes in our planning, and they had stepped in and made up the difference for us.  I still get tears in my eyes, in gratitude for their generosity and kindness, and it helps me better understand what the Savior did for me, because of His great goodness and infinite love. 

I bought an small 1800's Wedgwood pitcher with a metal top, I collect them, and was thrilled to pay just 15 pounds for the treasure.  The clerk is wrapping it, and I loved her fingernails, so I got a shot to remember the happifying moment.

Here the oldest Pub in Weymouth, founded in the 1200s.

Here is the King's bathing machine.

And the top of the monument to him in honor of his coming to Weymouth to take 'the waters', as these watering spots were thought to be healthy, and he had been ill.  His doctor suggested the visit, which resulted in the towns popularity and prosperity.  The monument was built some 25 years later on the 50th anniversary of his Kinghood. 

Instead of changing stalls, they have potty stalls.

More classic English shots from Weymoth,

Its a book exchange.

and running into the Elders, while I was in the charity shop where I bought the wedgwood pitcher.

Spencer et all at the airport

Their farewell committee at the airport too.

It's a beautiful town. 

Here's a church that Dad liked.

And just as we leave town we see another crocheted dandy on top of the post box.

Back on ship for lunch they had sushi.  How fancy is this. Unfortunately, we're pretty sure they made the sushi the day before. 

In one of the fathering areas that night, people were wearing paper hats, for no apparent reason. I put one on Robin's head for a quick photo.  If only it were green, she could be Robinhood!

Final dessert of the cruise, baked Alaska. 

The next morning their were Olympics cakes around the ship, as we had breakfast and disembarked.

Here we are at breakfast. 

The Heuers had gone directly to London to spend an extra day there, as it was their first trip there.  The Moes arranged for a rental car, and we drove to London, via some Jane Austen sites, and one of the most charming towns I have ever seen. (Randy researched the coastal towns, and this was number one for tourists!  I agree!) 

Here we are at our first stop, Winchester Cathedral built in the 1200.  Jane Austen came to Winchester for medical help, two months before passing away in 1817, and was buried inside the chapel, under the floor, as were many others.

 Here I am by a plaque place a hundred years ago by descendants of Jane Austen.

I am standing at the top of her marker here in Winchester Cathedral, she is buried beneath the marker. 

Local Janites have placed a marker as part of a Dog appreciation activity.  The Brits we saw in the coastal towns had so many, many beautiful dogs.

This is one of a couple of older ladies who come in weekly to dust. 

She showed me this beautiful chapel where the oldest burials are. 

The mortuary cases under the arches hold the bones of kings and nobles from the 1200s.

Walking around in Winchester we saw this cute pit of street art. 

Here we are with the church that Jane Austen attended in Chawton.  It is on the same property with the mansion that her brother lived in. 

Barb takes a picture of a statue of Jane Austen.

Inside the church.

In Chawton Cottage, we see the actually small table that she used for the writing and revising of her novels. 

I was thrilled to see the quilt that Jane and her sister saved scraps for and put together.

Jane's sister and mother graves at the church next to Edward Austen Knights manor house. 

Here we are learning some history outside the Chawton Cottage.

Here Dad and I read from a copy of Emma, with Jane Austen's father's desk behind us.  It was made in the 1700's.

Love the look on Randy's face as he offers us the book. I am sure he has as little interest in Jane Austen as Dad does, and we are so grateful to him for putting together an itinerary for the day that indulge my inner Janite.

Barb checks out the millinery. 

and did you know that the 10 pound note has Jane Austen on one side and Queen Elizabeth the second on the other side?  Yep, a price item for my junk journal, right?

Stopping for fish and chips at a local pub.

We stopped for local fish and chips.

and ate outside the public house in a large tent.

I loved the happy face of a pansy growing in the cracks of these stairs, just like at my house. 

Driving through the countryside were so many beautiful houses, cottages and churches.

These road side Hollyhocks but be 10 feet tall.

Its hard to believe, and the plants were even taller than shown here.

Our lasts touristy site is a love town called  He is Dad just inside the entrance to the castle ground in front of the hydrangeas which are said to have grown like crazy this year. I'd say.  Some of the blooms are the size of Dad's head, and its not a small head. 

A museum across from the castle shows this farmer's smock.

And a picture of an old farmer in a much simpler, and likely much newer version. 

This is the entrance to St. Nicholas' church, which is actually attached to part of the castle, or at least has an entry through the grounds from the castle through the massive walls directly into the castle. At the point of this entrance is a Catholic Chapel into this Anglican church.  The castle and church date from the 1200s, when William the Conquerer gave land grants to his trusted friends and associated fairly evenly spaced along the shore, across which he had conquered England, where they built huge castles fortresses to defend William's new country.  There was later, much later a Victorian house built for comfort inside the grounds.  The tour was 2 and a half hours, which we didn't have, so we'll tuck that hope away for another trip to England. 

Here's a side view of the church.

Here's a window in St. Nicholas' church.

This candle stick in St. Nicolas' is likely 5 feet tall.

Down the street a bit is this magnificent Catholic church. The man who built it, in the 1800's in Anglican England, bought the land from the Anglican church but didn't mention that his intent was to build a church that would outstrip the glory of St. Nicolas' church.  It is St. Peters and is named for a Saint, who as a man, was born Catholic, and raised during the reign of Henry the 8th, thus becoming Anglican.  He was untrue to his wife, who was always solidly behind him, but when he heard a convincing speech about the truth of Catholicism, he converted, and stood by his wife, becoming an imprisoned martyr, who eventually gave his life for the cause. 

Here are the spires of the imposing church.

There were several of these colorful owls around Arundel

So fun

Here's one of the doors to the castle enclosure. 

And an owl by St. Peter's that mimics the huge rosette window. 

Walking back I was very good and did not go into any antique stores, until Barb told me too.  But I knew I was at my luggage weight limit. 

Barb presents Robin with a Jane Austen duck she bought at the Austen Gift Shop, after we meet up with the Heuers our hotel in London.  Robin brought a hundred rubber ducks that she hit on board the ship during the cruise as a part of a cruise ship fad, for children on board to collect.  She was also the master mind of the Jane Austen apparel we all wore for a couple of formal nights on board, so it seems like the perfect souvenir. 

In our hotel room in London, which is attached to the airport, and made things much easier the next morning, we watched part of the Olympics opening ceremony.

I thought it was stunning.

So beautiful 

and fun to see the Romney's there the next morning on Insta

We were off first thing, as our flight was 2 hours earlier than the Moes flight and the Heuers were leaving the next day. 

Here we go, I guess these stewardesses were staying at one of the attached hotels as well.  How cute are they?!  

This gentleman is a flight attendant for Norse, and as it turned out he was on our flight.  He full Norwegian. 

And right there in the airport was our final crocheted project siting. 

Now here are some pictures of what was happening at home.  Last Sunday Becca hosted a birthday party for Spencer and a farewell party for his family.  Here they walk the walk of waving sparklers, as they are big good bye 

Spencer's birthday Pinata.

And here's a siting when they arrived in India, by of all people a friend of Eva's.

A fun post from Barb on Insta in reference to my post.

Jeff, upon arriving at their flight today, received an award for flying 1,000,000 miles with Delta.

And they got a tour of the cockpit too.

After arriving in Florida we went to Dave's family hotel room to crash ... Then out to dinner at the local mall,  Bri caught this shot of us walking with Elias. 

Adi is almost as tall as me.

How perfect it this shot, sitting on the cement bollards at the mall. 

Here are some favorite portraits from the ship.

And here is our breakfast in bed this morning.  It was actually delicious, and we plan to do it at home.  Healthy too. 

Sorry about the unedited state of the post.  We are on board the ship and are not paying for phone service this week.  If you need to contact us, get in touch with one of our kids, who can contact our son who has service.