Elkhart, IN 6-18 thru 25-09

Our plane landed at 10:30 am on June 18. Unbelievably, my cousin Julie, and her daughter, Rachel, were waiting outside the terminal for us. They took us to our Jeep, which Julie and Joe had taken care of while we were away. They really did so much to make our trip easier. We drove to Mishawaka, IN and stayed at the Residence Inn there, thanks to Erin, again. The next day we picked up our coach at Mandalay. What a surprise! They had replaced the carpet, GPS/back-up camera, mirrors, most of the blinds, and much more. We feel like we have a new RV and that the life of it has been extended another 3 years.

During the week we stayed in Elkhart, near Mishawaka, we restocked the refrigerator, moved our stuff from storage, slept, had a delicious dinner with friends, Jan and Fred, got hair cuts, etc. Indiana was green, lush, and beautiful. We spent one day driving the Heritage Trail using a CD commentary. The trail took us through some beautiful Amish countryside. We respected the Amish wish not have photos taken. The photo above is part of a quilt garden. The county has lots of them along with many quilt murals. Quilting friends, this was way cool.

One stop on the trail was this mill that had a horizontal water wheel beneath the mill. That was state of the art in the mid 1800s. It was much more efficient.

The towns of Middlebury and Goshen were both really well preserved and very cute. Real estate is a great value. We could live here if we hadn't lived in Indiana before and know all too well how hot the summers are and how cold the winters are. This was a police bunker to protect the bank across the street from the likes of Dillinger et al.

One day Ted ran errands and prepared the coach for the road, so I went to Plymouth, IN to look for my dad's ancestors. The Marshall County Historical Museum was awesome. Karin greeted me at the door and spent two hours finding me document after document about my family. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

I found the cemetery where my gg grandparents on the Nichols branch are buried. I didn't find their stones, but now I know where they are. On the drive back to Elkhart, I drove through Bourbon, Indiana where my Grandfather Nichols was born. It is a pretty place with lots of trees. The main street is shown below. My g grandfather worked for the prominent lumber company here and moved to Greencastle, IN, when the owner of the lumber company did.

Genealogy combined with travel makes my ancestors come alive and helps me understand how I got to be who I am. My GG Grandmother Nichols came from Brethren roots. Glad the family liberalized over the generations.

I have seen these for years in the midwest and wondered why these winter road salt storage units are this shape. It took a tour in Belfast, Northern Ireland to give me the answer. They have these units there, too. The tour guide told us that this shape keeps the moisture regulated.

We are now outside Somerset, PA. It is beautiful rolling hills. We are going to enjoy a day of relaxation tomorrow. It is cool enough to have the windows open with the fan going. Life is good.

Hampton Court, England - Last day in UK 6-17-09

We took a local bus to Hampton Court on The Thames. It wasn't far from Twickenham and we really enjoy traveling with the locals and seeing the little towns along the way. This palace was a favorite of King Henry VIII. The day we arrived actors were re-enacting the wedding day of Henry and Kathryn Parr, his 6th and final wife. This was also the home of William of Orange, who's actions began the Troubles in Ireland.

This is an interior courtyard near the kitchens. The wear on the bricks was amazing to see.

I wish that I had stood in the hearth to give it the perspective needed. The curators have done a good job with sound and smell effects.

We were joined in the courtyard by Henry VIII. The gentleman who portrayed him was excellent. Several school children who were there asked him questions, some quite difficult to explain. His answers were very much in character. I have read a lot about Henry VIII and finally got an explanation that made sense for why a male heir was so important.

We found Henry in the Clock Court, named for this ornate timepiece which he had installed. He was very interested in science.

This actor was playing Jane Seymour's brother, a rather self-absorbed poppinjay who claimed to be in love with Kateryn Parr.

Here is Kateryn Parr in her wedding finery. We watched her don the top several layers required for dress of that day. I now realize how they could have such elaborate looking gowns with limited sewing technology.

This is part of the beautiful and well-tended formal gardens behind the castle. We thought of Brent when we saw these.

Some more of the formal garden. There was also a fun little garden shop with beautifully crafted ornamental gardening tools, scented soaps, gardening how-to books, and more. The bus ride home was the perfect ending to our trip. There were six middle-school girls sitting near us going through their drama. It was the perfect way to celebrate 2 years of retirement.

Last day in London Centre 6-16-09

We greeted our last day in Central London with mixed emotions. We're both tired and our feet hurt, but there were things we still wanted to see. This is Royal Albert Hall. It has a full venue of star performers. Currently, the King and I is being performed. Neil Sedaka comes in the last of the month followed by Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang performing Rhapsody in Blue with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Across the street from Royal Albert Hall is, you guessed it, the Prince Albert Monument.

This is the garden behind Kensington Palace where Princess Diana lived with Prince Charles and continued to live after they separated. Near this garden is the Princess Diana Memorial Playground where there is a large playground replica of a sailing ship for children. It was being well used when we were there.

This is the Orangery at Kensington, so named because this was where the orange trees were brought in to overwinter. It was and still is an events center. It is now also a restaurant renowned for their teas.

On the way to Soho, we passed Selfridge's department store. It was founded by Ripon, Wisconsin native H. Gordon Selfridge. He is widely credited with originating the phrase "The customer is always right" while he worked for Marshall Fields. Founded in 1909, the store is one of the largest in the world containing 540,000 square feet. This store held a special interest for us because of Penny's dad's career in the clothing business.

London Again 6-15-09

One of the things we definitely wanted to see was the Globe Theater. This is the third iteration of the Globe. Due to the tireless efforts and fundraising of Sam Wannamaker, it was rebuilt a little over 400 years after the puritanical Oliver Cromwell had the second one destroyed. The first was destroyed by fire. It was fun reading the pavers to see the names of famous people who had contributed to its reconstruction. Most, but not all were entertainers. They ranged from Lauren Bacall to John Cleese.

The workmen were changing the set in The Globe Theater from Romeo and Juliet to As You Like It.

This is the Millineum Bridge across the Thames. St. Paul Cathedral is in the background. The wings on the bridge deflect wind from the pedestrians.

This photo was taken from the Millineum Bridge. The Tower Bridge is in the background.

The Tate Modern Art Gallery is next door to the Globe. The photo of the Millineum Bridge was taken from the second floor of the Tate. We saw one more version of Monet's Water-Lily Pond. Viewing evolution of Monet's rendering of this theme has been fascinating. This one is much more abstract than the others we saw.

There were several of these butt and gum receptacles around downtown London. Good idea.

I wanted to see "Old Bailey", London's Central Criminal Court. For my fellow lovers of English mystery shows, here it is.

This statue is Newton, although when I first saw it, I was reminded more of Euclid. It is in front of the British Library. We especially wanted to see some of the "Treasures of the British Library". These included the Magna Carta, an original journal of Dr. Samuel Johnson, several technical drawings of Leonardo DaVinci, an original score of Handel's "Messiah", the original handwritten Alice and Wonderland and many more breathtaking exhibits written in the hand of the original masters. We both got goose bumps seeing so many originals.

This sculpture intends to signify that knowledge is captured in books. Once learned it cannot be unlearned. The sculptor, however, lamented that we have a great deal of difficulty applying the lessons that knowledge has taught us.

I loved the name of this cafe outside the British Library. On this day, the Queen was not at home in Buckingham Palace. You can tell because the Union Jack is flying rather than her family banner. Ascot is now running, so we suspect that she is staying at Windsor Castle which is close to the track. We enjoyed seeing all of the gentlemen in top hats and tails and the ladies in showy, usually plumed, hats at Waterloo station preparing to catch the train to Ascot.

Kew Gardens, London, England

I've read and heard about the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, since my first botany class so I wanted to give Penny the day off and take charge of the blog. This is the Victoria Gate. The sign to the left indicates that this year is Kew's 250th anniversary.

One of the first things that strikes you when you walk through the gate is the international flavor of this place. Here you see a pagoda marking the entrance to the Japanese pavilion in the background. In the foreground is a branch of a Cedar of Lebanon, native to Lebanon, Turkey, and Syria.

This is an English Oak, one of the things that made the British Empire an international power. They were selected, pruned, and cultured to make the strong beams and ribs of English sailing ships. Another thing that is clear is the history. This is the temperate glasshouse. It was constructed between 1864 and 1869.

It has nothing on the palm house shown here. It was designed and constructed between 1844 and 1846. And I thought I had to work in an old greenhouse when I was a graduate student at Purdue.

Through their collections, you can envision yourself anywhere in the world. Here you're in the tree fern forest of Australia.

Now you're in a tropical rain forest. I've never seen so many different types of cycads in one place.A few more steps and you're in the Sonoran Desert. Note the small saguaro to the left. There is a prickly pear in bloom in the rear.

There were many gardens with different themes. This one was beside a small lake.

This is the Duke's Garden. It makes fabulous use of rocks and water. In the background is a laboratory building. One of the Kew's Missions is to preserve 25% of the botanical gene pool by 2020.

Here is the Queen's Garden. The white breaks in the hedge you see in the background are statues.

Even things that are out of place are beautiful. This little poppy has bravely fought its way through a lilac bed.

This is Kew Palace with the Queen's Garden in the foreground. It was a residence of George III, King during the American Revolution.

One of the most outstanding things about Kew Gardens is their emphasis on education. That is the education building in the background.

Another educational piece is this fabulous tree top walk. It has several educational plaques and gives visitors a view of the upper canopy of many of the large old trees here. This is the Evolution House. It takes you on a trip back through time as illustrated by the evolving flora. In the forground are mosses and liverworts, giving way to ferns, cycads, and increasingly advanced plants. I've never seen evolution illustrated so well using the plant kingdom.

Richmond, England 6-13-09

Today was absolutely a beautiful Saturday and everyone in this part of London came out to enjoy it. It was the Queen's official birthday so we avoided going into London. We watched the military parade on television with a lot more interest than we would have before this visit. This photo is a cricket game on the green in Richmond, England, two bus stops from Twickenham. Richmond is rich in King Henry VIII history, but we definitely felt like the people we saw were locals, not tourists.

The street across from the green was lined with these townhouses. We got to the green through a very narrow street lined with fun shops. One had fabulous chocolates, another, wonderful ice cream.

After exploring the shopping area in Richmond, we joined all these people and watched people boating, kids playing, a rowing team practicing, and bikers enjoying the Thames River path. We caught the bus back to Twickenham, got some food for dinner and breakfast at the local supermarket and caught another bus back to the hotel. Next time we will do more meals this way, especially when the room has a refrigerator. I got to eat something with flavor. We also tried a treacle tart. It is kind of like a brown sugar pie. The banana milk was not bad. We like trying local fare and seeing what the residents are buying. After almost five weeks in the UK, we feel quite at home.

This is the view of Twickenham from our room.