Last leg of the journey--and golf

Well, we said goodbye to Meadows Smithy Cottage this morning at 7 a.m. After an 8-hour drive, we arrived at Jessie and Alec’s house. We’ll stay here until Monday morning when we leave for Manchester Airport and ultimately, Toronto.

For Christmas, I ordered a pair of “plus fours” for Don for Christmas (I’d call them knickers, but that means underwear in Great Britain, so I’d better not). I assumed he’d encounter all sorts of chaps wearing these on the golf courses over here, but there wasn’t a pair to be found. Therefore, Don was reluctant to don them! However, he didn’t want to offend me since I’d ordered them from the States, so half way around the course, with no one behind us, he slipped behind a bush and changed into a proper golf costume. He did a bit of modelling for me, ran behind the bush and changed, and no one was the wiser. Here’s the result:



Before arriving at Jessie’s place, we did a quick run through the Lake District. 28 years ago we’d cycled around Ullswater (a huge lake), walking our bikes over a monstrous hill before we could get back to our campground. This time we sat comfortably in Wonder Car and drove past fabulous scenery until reaching our favourite pub, The Kirkstone Inn. It’s nestled between two hills and was full of hikers, cyclists, and a few dogs. We managed to get a table and had our last sticky toffee pudding of the trip.



Tomorrow we’ll be meeting Ewan, my cousin Jessie’s one-year-old grandson. Ewan’s parents, Neil and Megan, and the four of us will be having one last meal together tomorrow night. On Monday morning, we’ll be leaving for home.
It’s been a wonderful holiday--restful, interesting, and timely. I really needed to recharge my batteries. Don learned to tame the North Sea winds so that he could score in the mid-70s while golfing, and I got a little bit better at golf, even though it will be a long time before I’m able to score in the double digits!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my blog, and I look forward to seeing you all soon!