Bucket list trip coming in September. I’ll keep this updated. Sydney, Ayres Rock, Cairns (glass bottom boat, William. Somehow I don’t see me snorkeling), Melbourne.
Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!
OBX
Spent the week at Corolla, NC with my sisters, nieces and nephews. The weather was absolutely perfect – mid 80s and not a single drop of rain. We like to tempt fate and go in early September (at least until the grand-niblings are old enough for school) and we hit it perfectly this time.
We were in one of those huge houses, right on the beach. 18 of us, but the house had nine bedrooms and ten bathrooms. Lots of fish; lots of beer, and even a pinball or two at the Sunset Grille
I came back in one drive, but on my way down stayed in downtown Fredericksburg, VA. Nice town with some really good breweries. Red Dragon was excellent but I think I liked Water’s End best, if only for the name of their flagship beer – Damn Beer. I got to say ‘Gimme a Damn beer!’, and I’m sure I was only the 4,382nd person to do so. This year.
London
So took the train down from Edinburgh to London. Because of a whole bunch of AmEx points and a good offer, I was staying at L’Oscar London. This is not my usual type of hotel. And I probably wouldn’t do it again. But it was a fun thing to do once. Turndown service and all that.
The reason I picked this hotel is that it’s smack in the middle of London, right around everywhere you read about in books. Half a mile from the Charles Dickens Museum; quarter mile to the British Museum;
two blocks from the John Soane. Short walk to the Thames:
St. Paul’s:
and right next to the neighborhoods you always read about in London: The West End:
Soho:
The best thing about this? My first trip to the UK in 1994 was to Brighton, for the UK Data General conference. Back when I was a young boy. With this game I have now officially played the silver ball from Soho down to Brighton.
My favorite, though, was the London Science Museum. Everything from Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ to
It wasn’t in walking distance – but I have an Oyster Card, and the tube is simply wonderful.
Oh, yeah. I went to a pub or two. 🙂
Fantastic trip, and I will be going back. I flew Delta First, but the flight was actually run by Virgin Atlantic, so I got to take advantage of their lounge at Heathrow. This will give you an idea.
Scotland
Had a wonderful time. Flew into London two days before the coronation, but luckily my London time was at the end of this trip. Got on the Edinburgh Express. 400 miles from London to Edinburgh and the train takes less than five hours. I love travelling by train!
Spent five days in Edinburgh
walking around things like this:
And no, there was no escalator up to the top. I looked.
And there was whisky, of course. I am now an official member of the Scotch Whisky Appreciation Society, which I believe entitles me to 10% off a bottle I couldn’t afford anyway. But it was fun.
Drank a beer or two. I was amazed at the amount of cask ale in Scotland. My first visit, nearly 30 years ago, you couldn’t find any.
But even after 30 years, some things never change.
From there I rented a car at the airport and drove up to Inverness, at the top of Loch Ness. I’ve driven in the UK before. It isn’t relaxing – I keep trying to scrunch to the left, and on Scotland back roads there’s either a mountain or a loch on your left. I got through it OK. Hertz cooperated by giving me a Volvo, so I didn’t have to learn any new controls. The most common road sign was this, which made me nervous. Tell them not to do that!
But it was breathtakingly gorgeous. Pictures don’t do it justice, because you can’t stop and take them where it’s really stunning.
I took the long way up so I could stop at Bannockburn and Glencoe. Stopped at the Claddach Inn in Glencoe, per Doug’s suggestion. I’m a MacDonald (my paternal grandmother), so I appreciated this:
Did a Loch Ness tour, and got to go to Urquhart Castle.
Drove the ‘easy’ way back to Edinburgh, dropped off the car, and hopped the train back to London.
Next trip
Scotland in May. Doug is jealous. Five days in Edinburgh, then driving around the highlands for another three, then four days in London proper. Details to follow. But there will be scotch and beer involved somewhere.
Wilde at heart
My great-grandfather’s first child – my great-uncle – was born in southeastern Ohio in January 1884. In 1882, the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde made his famous America tour, with stops in Columbus and Cleveland.
I have no definite proof that my great-grandfather saw him – but his first child was named Oscar Wylde Price.
Here’s Wilde:
And here’s my great-uncle in 1905:
I think he has the look down. Anyway, fast forward to 2021 and my nephew Seth and his wife Hannah have a child, and name him Oscar – because they like the name and the family connection.
On my latest trip to England, they put me in this room:
England – getting there was *not* half the fun.
Flight was from Cleveland to Minneapolis to Heathrow. Cleveland to Minneapolis, no problem. Minneapolis to Heathrow…
We were supposed to leave Minneapolis at 5:20PM, and arrive at 7:05 AM. The weather was bad on the 3rd but it had cleared up by Wednesday.
Then we weren’t going at all. The second co-pilot had to turn back on his flight, so we were short a crew member.
But wait! You only need three if the flight is over eight hours! They were frantically making calls to Atlanta, and finally got permission to go. We boarded around 10PM. It was snowy and icy, so they towed us out to be de-iced.
And the towbar broke. And they’re rushing around to get a replacement. And they find one. I am sitting wondering if the FAA rules are eight hours in flight, or eight hours in the plane.
A half hour later, I find out. It’s eight hours in the plane. They taxi back, unload us all, and we go find hotel rooms.
In Delta’s defense – and as opposed to Southwest – they paid for the hotel, paid for food, and then gave us a $1,750 voucher. My next vacation flight is free! I have to use it this year, so I’m looking now.
So got to England, and there was a train strike. Because of course. Trains were leaving, but they were sporadic and full. I made a decision. I took a taxi.
This is the exact equivalent (well, 30 miles closer) of taking a taxi from Pittsburgh to Washington. And cost $500. But at that point I was heavily into ‘screw it; I just want to get started!’ mode. It was worth every penny. I slept in the back for the four hours it took to get there.
And on the way back. Got into JFK at 7:30PM for a 8:59 flight. From there it’s a two hour flight to Cleveland – piece of cake. Except, of course, for the thunderstorms over Boston, which delayed all flights. OK, taxied out at 10:30.
‘Um, this is your pilot speaking. Due to the weather issues, there’s a backup for takeoff. We are number 25 out of 25’.
Got back to Hopkins around 1AM and went out to the shuttle bus to parking. I’ve been parking at Park Place in Cleveland since the days it had Monopoly names for the rows. Asked for F54 and the driver gave me this… look. I was on the wrong bus. There’s Park Place, and there’s Park ‘N Fly. I was on the Park ‘N Fly shuttle. I was majorly screwed.
He drove me over to the Park Place. The lovely lady in the booth let me stay inside until the bus picked me up. The driver dropped me off and stayed until he was sure my car started.
My faith in humanity was restored by parking lot attendants and drivers. Â
Got home a little after 3AM.
The only saving grace is that Delta made good with the voucher, and thanks to my AmEx card I had lounge privileges everywhere. I estimate I spent 12 hours sitting in lounges this flight.
And the more I read this – the more I think that this is what my family calls a ‘first world problem’. Oh, no! I’m flying first class; it was delayed by 24 hours; they paid for my hotel and meals. And then gave me a voucher for $1,750. I ate and drank at their lounge for free for two days, and then I had to spend 0.003% of my retirement fund to get to where I wanted. Whatever shall I do?? I guess I’ll get over this… eventually. Life is rough.
England part 2
And then to Oxford, and in one of the luckiest things I’ve ever done – school was out! No students means that pubs that I was never able to get near before were now empty, and I took full advantage. Places like the White Horse, which has like four tables and is in great demand because it’s next door to Blackwell’s, my favorite bookstore in the world.
I was staying just a few hundred feet from Christ Church, the largest college in Oxford
It’s one of the newer colleges – Henry VIII founded it. Oxford has 39 colleges scattered around the town. I was a half mile from the city center, which meant that I could go to places like the Ashmolean Museum and the Bodleian Library with ease.
Most places look like something out of Harry Potter
Mostly because they are something out of Harry Potter – parts of the films were filmed here.
Great time, and it’s good to be home and plan my next big trip – which I have to take this year. See next post.
England part 1
Back from England! Had an absolutely amazing time, and the weather was pretty darn good. High 40s/low 50s all week. Yeah; it rained some, but – England.
Trembling Madness apartment was marvelous. Literally across the street from York Minister – I could see it out my window.
Amazing cathedral dating from the Norman times, and called ‘minister’ rather than ‘cathedral’ because it predates the word ‘cathedral’. That’s one of the things I love about Great Britain – the casual ‘oh, yeah; that’s from the late 1400s’ In the U.S., if it’s more than 50 years old we slap an ‘antique’ label on it.
The apartment was exactly what I expected – steep narrow steps, lousy shower, and perfectly weird. I loved it.
Lots of pubs with interesting and exotic beers.
One pub chain – Samuel Smith, which I’ve loved forever – has an interesting approach. Their pints are cheap, around $3.60 a pint – which, remember, is about 20 ounces. And the reason they’re not constantly filled with 18-year-olds is this:
Who’s on first?
Getting ready for the York trip January 4th. So I checked the Delta site to make sure all was well, and it offered to upgrade me to First on the trip over for $550.
Hm. Fully reclining seats; decent food – sure, why not. I went for it.
It then offered to upgrade me to First for the trip back.
$3,926?? Um. No. I don’t care how tired I am coming back.