East or West, Home Is Best

Tuesday was my first day on my own. Facing several hours of travel sans navigator, I was up late the night before documenting every turn. As I would soon find out, 'turn right' loses all meaning as you’re circling a roundabout at the junction of six different roads. (Don't miss this excerpt from European Vacation.) More than once I just kept driving around and around until I finally decided which way I wanted to go.

One of the draws of this trip for me was the chance to visit the Peaks District. It was here that much of the Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice (the one we watch over and over) was filmed. But my first visit in the area was to Eyam Village, the scene of a tragic tale from the 1600s. When a shipment of cloth arrived from London carrying the bubonic plague, the village quarantined itself for 14 months, suffering the loss of 260 villagers but sparing countless others from neighboring communities. While visiting the local museum, I was surprised to see that Eyam was the setting of Year of Wonders, which Chad and I read years ago with our couples book club in Seattle. I walked out to the stone where villagers left coins immersed in vinegar in exchange for goods delivered by members of neighboring communities, then hiked up above the village before circling back through the church yard. Here I found a Celtic cross dating back to 800AD, but only a few markers designating plague victims as most were buried in their own gardens due to the danger of infection.

Leaving Eyam I changed my plans at the last minute, trading a visit to the opulent Chatsworth (Mr. Darcy’s impressive Pemberly estate) for a tour of Haddon Hall. This is the site of Darbyshire’s Rose & Crab (also Pride & Prejudice) as well as several scenes from The Princess Bride. It didn’t take long for me to appreciate my choice. Haddon Hall was constructed from the 12th to the 17th centuries, and escaped major renovations due to its being abandoned until the 1920s. I loved the medieval feel and the simplicity of the furnishings. The 12th-century chapel with its intricate stained glass infused me with its solemn aura. I tried to imagine 40-50 people living in the great hall that served also as banqueting room. And the grounds – how I fell in love with the English gardens there.

My last adventure for the day was meant to be a carefree romp through the moors. I started down the trail past a few British tourists (we ran into very few visitors from other countries on this trip) who were captivated by the sheep. I walked down the trail thinking deep thoughts and enjoying the atmosphere of heather, grasses, and ferns with outcroppings of massive rocks. Before long raindrops began to fall and I realized I would soon be completely soaked. Spotting an overhang off the trail, I decided to take shelter until the worst of the storm passed. Alas, I underestimated the difficulty of getting there. I felt like Jane Eyre trudging through thick moor vegetation, getting soaked by the droplets clinging to the plants as much as by the faint ‘trail’ I’d chosen which turned out to resemble a creek bed. Finally I scrambled up to a narrow ledge and waited out the worst of the storm. After a beautiful return trip to the car and an hour dealing with roundabouts I climbed out of my soggy clothes and enjoyed a nice dinner with Chad. His own adventures for the day included doing a great job on his presentation - the whole purpose for this trip. (Oh yeah, that's right.)

Monday morning we fueled up on the traditional Welsh breakfast at our B&B before heading to Llamberis Pass. Rather than tons of parking we encountered bus stops all through the area. Given how late it was in the season, we had the trail mostly to ourselves. The hills were scattered with sheep, and I got a kick out of watching them leap across the trail. We were even lucky enough to stumble upon a shepherd with a very thick Welsh accent and three trusty dogs. We went as far as where we could see the base of Snodon, referred to by our hostess as “our mountain”. At 3560 feet, it is the tallest mountain in Wales.

After our hike we took to the motorway, headed for Leeds and Chad’s conference. We felt a bit sad leaving not only Wales but the dual-language highway signs sporting slogans such as “Araf” (Slow) and “Gyrrwch yn olafus” (Please drive carefully). But our sorrow was short-lived as we maneuvered our way through Leeds to find the Royal Armories. There we stood mesmerized looking up at the Hall of Steel, four stories of weaponry surrounded by a circular staircase. Where before I’d been impressed by a single suit of armor, here were scads of them including models for children and – Chad’s personal favorite – for elephants. (Personally, I liked the exhibit on the potential dangers of weapons today.) Chad even got to try his hand at shooting an automatic rifle.

Sunday morning started with services with 25 other Church members in a community center. Being in Wales, I was amused but not shocked when the greeter extended her hand with a “Hello, I’m Sister Jones”. I replied with “Hello, I’m Sister Jones too.” The branch there is so small they hold only two of the traditional three Sunday meetings. We enjoyed hearing personal affirmations of faith from our brothers and sisters from another part of the world.

Our afternoon driving stint took us past several beautiful castles and pushed my stress level up a notch. As designated driver, I was destined to experience driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the car and of the road while shifting with my left hand, some of the time on roads barely wide enough to maneuver our tiny rental car on. All the while Chad was combing our British atlas for the best route through a million tiny roads crossing the Lleyn Peninsula. But we finally made it to the bluff walk at Porthor. Our hike overlooking the Caernarfon Bay took us to the ever-present herd of sheep we learned to watch for on every outdoor excursion. Down on the beach, nicknamed Whistling Sands, we shuffled our feet in hopes of hearing the legendary squeaking sound. (No such luck.)

From Porthor we headed to Caernarfon for a look at what is arguably the most impressive castle in Wales. I was amazed at its scale, intricacy, and condition. A few interesting facts: attackers to the castle had to pass through five gates and six portcullises and would have had boiling oil dumped on them through the murder holes. Like Conwy, Caernarfon was a part of the Iron Ring built in the 13th century by Edward I of England to dominate the Welsh. The surrounding town, while once a government seat, now sports far fewer quaint shops than the more happening Conwy.

Continuing our quest for local cuisine, Chad had fish and chips (a whole fish) while I tried lamb and rosemary sausages with mint sauce and leek mashed potatoes. Yum! We wrapped up the evening with a performance by the Cor Meibion Bro Aled, a 30-member traditional Welsh men’s choir, at the Betws y Coed choir festival.

Last spring as we were in the throes of orchestrating an insanely active summer, Chad learned of an opportunity to present at a conference in England in early September. Always game for a bit more insanity as long as it involves international travel, I threw my name in the ring. Before we knew it we were the proud owners of two bargain tickets to Manchester.

Lucky for us Chad’s mom rearranged her packed schedule to feed, chauffeur, hug, kiss, and prod Gavin and Arwen through their second week at a new school. What a difference it made for all of us having her here. In addition to keeping things running at home, in a feat of role reversal she managed to get the kids in front of the webcam three afternoons in a row so we didn’t miss them too horribly much. Many thanks also to Tricia and Brad for taking the kids through the holiday weekend. They had a blast!

We arrived far enough in advance of the conference to spend a couple of days in Wales. We managed to get enough sleep on the plane Friday night to fuel a trip to Conwy on Saturday. The castle there is the best preserved I had ever seen. We meandered in and out of the various rooms and scaled narrow, winding staircases in its towers, wondering what it would have been like to live there when it was built 800 years ago.

Our next stop in the village was Plas Mawr, the residence of the influential 1500s merchant Robert Wynn. The self-guided recorded tour dramatized life in the Wynn household, walking us proudly through its many rooms and pointing out the careful craftsmanship and many opulent furnishings. My favorite was the kitchen, the first glimpse of which elicited a gasp of glee. There were bunches of dried herbs, baskets for breads, and a massive fireplace. The dark form at the top of the photo is a retractable cage for keeping rats (and little boys) out of breads and cakes.

After walking most of the way around the village along the top of the city walls, we stopped at George & Dragon for some local fare. On our way to our B&B we drove through Llandwrst where some of Chad’s ancestors came from. While ringing up my purchases, the grocery store clerk looked at me like I had two heads upon discovering I didn’t have my own bag. How we enjoyed our Welsh shortbread!

Once Chad and I returned from England (which you'll hear about soon) and had bid Grandma a fond farewell, we started into our autumn rhythm. That included several new activities for all of us:

In his latest role as family chauffeur, Chad is enjoying some additional time with Gavin and Arwen on the way to school each morning. As is common at the beginning of fall semester, he’s caught up in teaching his courses and serving on various committees at school. Yesterday he earned hero status in our house for sponsoring a trip to Wendy’s and an allowance-spending spree at Toys R Us.

After some pretty loose practicing the past several months, Gavin is now back in piano lessons. Working on his Wolf requirements for Cub Scouts keeps him busy too. He is enjoying reading time with Arwen and me after school and does his best to grab an hour to play Legos or shoot his bow in the afternoons. He’s doing a great job with his new schedule, homework, and reading.

Arwen has taken to kindergarten like I never imagined she would. Between reading stories, going on walking tours, scaling the climbing wall on the playground, eating school lunch in the cafeteria, and making new friends, she’s drinking it all in. The other day she brought home her first reading book and is counting the minutes until she gets another new book to practice.

These days I’m making a place for myself on campus with Chad, taking a course on the history of women and gender in America and serving on the school’s committee on the status of faculty women. Once a week I join story/activity time with Arwen’s class, and I’m collaborating with Gavin’s Spanish teacher on incorporating some musical instruments into their daily 15-minute language sessions.

Fall has included some familiar events for the whole family, including a trip to the free-ride hour at the Ledyard Fair, participating in our church’s annual walkathon to benefit the local food bank, and harvesting some of our own bounty from this year’s garden.

For me, the most memorable family event of the past couple of weeks was back-to-school night. Arwen’s teacher put on a typical 'morning meeting' with the students (who are referred to as 'friends') to show us how they start their day. As she was wrapping things up, she asked if any of the parents and caregivers had any questions. One grandmother raised her hand and said, “I hope I can do this without crying in front of the children. I just want to say, God bless the Magnet School.” She wasn’t the only one touched by the power of the social curriculum and the compassionate way these educators carry it out.

Feeling some nostalgia over the passing of the summer, we were happy to spend an evening last weekend around the campfire with good friends, and we managed to get out for a short Saturday hike together. As fun as it is to get back into a rhythm, we’ll hang onto those last remnants of summer as long as we can.

The last week of summer – time to get down to business. At Gavin and Arwen’s new school that includes goal-setting conferences. What must seem routine after the first year was a flurry of navigation and activity – finding the kids’ classrooms, meeting their teachers, and discussing (starting with the kids) our respective goals for the coming year. Arwen surprised us by actually saying a few words to her teacher! (True to her feelings about new people and places she had vowed not to say a single word her first day of school.)

I also figured we should get in a little school shopping before the big day. On the first of five errands, we managed to lose the car keys. Chad was in the field unable to hear his phone, and we spent some (not so) quality time at the pet store and on the phone trying to figure out what to do. Finally, one of Chad’s colleagues rescued us and we continued our quest for exciting items like socks, underwear, and the illusive perfect shoes. We managed to finish the day with everything we needed, only a couple of hours behind schedule and in time to catch a few numbers from Nancy’s new ensemble on the way home.

Our final flings of summer included a visit to Mystic, the site of Arwen’s and my dates during Gavin’s nature classes two summers ago. She jumped back on the whale, so much bigger than she was last time we strolled the neighborhood. The reason for our visit was a book signing by Darren Farrell, author and illustrator of Doug Dennis and the Flyaway Fib. It was Gavin and Arwen’s first time hearing a book read by the author, and they came home with a custom-sketched drawing of Doug Dennis in a scene designed by Gavin.

Meanwhile Chad was off rock climbing with some guys from church:

That afternoon we all spent a few leisurely hours celebrating Madeline’s birthday. The day was gorgeous. The kids played croquet and made their own drums out of board frames and packing tape. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful and exciting summer.

Chad finished the week off with a game night with the guys, test driving Agricola, a new acquisition for his birthday.

Before we knew it, the big day arrived. The kids snapped to the new routine and were out the door with Chad just after 8:00. Notice Arwen’s choice of outfit for the day – knowing she was feeling a bit nervous I encouraged her to pick something that would help her feel comfortable. Before I knew it, they were home again with all kinds of “first day” stories.

With Gavin’s big week behind us, we still had a few days with Chad’s parents. In search of a fun outing, we stumbled across Plimoth Plantation not far from Boston, commemorating the Pilgrims’ original settlement. What a fascinating place!

After watching a brief video at the visitors center, we were off to the Wampanoag home site, where descendants of the native people introduced us to logs being burned into canoes, stew simmering over open fires, and dolls being fashioned from natural materials. We visited a summer home with removable mats to let in the breeze and a winter home covered snugly with bark and stocked with animal pelts. It was fascinating contemplating how the people lived completely off the land all year round.

Then we moved on to the Plantation, such a contrast to the home site in terms of structures, clothing, and lifestyle. Guides playing roles of actual members of the settlement chatted with us, telling us what life had been like in the short years since they’d arrived in the new world. My favorite was a young man who, questioned about his apparel, shared his own thoughts about that of the visitor: “Completely impractical – being so exposed you are constantly bitten by mosquitoes and have to bathe too frequently.”

The kitchen gardens and herb bundles and garlic braids hanging in the cottages caught my eye, as did the community bake ovens. We climbed to the top of the stockade and looked out over the community and onto the ocean. Our visit ended with a visit to the craft center where workers today recreate furnishings and pottery typical to the Plantation era. What a great experience!

From the Plantation we drove to nearby Plymouth for a visit to the famous rock. It’s been moved and dissected so many times over the years we saw only a fraction of the original. On board Mayflower II we marveled that so many people could cross the ocean in so small a space. I hadn’t considered before that they traveled that way not because they didn’t have funds for a comfortable passenger vessel but because there was no reason for such vessels to be invented before then. How times have changed!

The next day we took Grandma and Grandpa out for some time on the water. The kids had a blast swimming while Chad took his mom exploring the far reaches of the cove near our house.

Our final night with Grandma and Grandpa was Gavin’s first Cub Scout meeting. He had worked hard to memorize the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack so he could earn his Bobcat right away. He is having a great time in Scouts!

Many thanks to both sets of grandparents for a wonderful time celebrating Gavin’s birthday and baptism. We appreciate their willingness to travel so far and to be of so much help while they were here. We love you!