Geo: 51.855, -2.55054We left the farm and headed north towards the Cotswolds to the home of Charles and Helen, our next Airbnb stay. First we headed a little south to Portsmouth, home of the British Navy. They've restored the old Dockyards and have several old ships there. The first one we saw was The Warrior the first iron-clad steam powered and sailing ship. Also there was Admiral Nelson's ship, the HMS Victory. We didn't have time to see Henry VIII's ship, the Mary Rose. The lines were too long into the building where it's kept. It sunk in 1545 and brought up in 1982, so is kept protected. We did go into a naval history museum at the Dockyards but, again, wished we'd had more time to fully explore the whole area. Then, back on the ... read more

Geo: 50.8917, -0.959415 Still haven't caught up. Oh well. On Monday we had a long drive down from the Leeds area to our next stay – at a farm at Rowland's Castle, which is near Portsmouth at the very southern part of England. Most of our day was spent on the Motorways – Britain's interstate highways. One nice thing is that they periodically have "Service" areas, a sort of rest area/truck stop, but with food, gas, etc. - like they have on the interstates and turnpikes in some parts of the Northeast. They even had Burger King and Krispy Creme donuts (we resisted). On the way down we took a short detour to Oxford. Given our time restraints we got on a hop-on hop-off tour bus, and hopped off at Christ Church College, which dates from ... read more

Geo: 55.9503, -3.18761 2 blogs today (maybe – it's getting late, and we're exhausted). We got in too late last night to send anything out. We left the Highlands today. Back past Ben Nevis and the gorgeous and wild Highland mountains and glens. We're on our way to Edinburgh for the Military Tattoo – no we're not getting ink. It's a spectacle of music and dance with the Edinburgh Castle in the background. There are performances by military bagpipe and drum bands, Scottish dancers, and other groups from around the world. This year performance included groups from South Korea, Mexico, Mongolia and New Zealand. Incredible! On the way we stopped at the Falkirk Wheel. This is a one of a kind rotating boat lift, joining the top canal with the bottom one (100' feet apart) without ... read more

Geo: 56.4104, -5.46972Glasgow to ObanPicked up a rental car in Glasgow. Aaacckk! Driving on the left side of the road! It seems strange sitting in the passenger side of the car on the left. Charlie's still getting used to driving on that side, and Mary is white-knuckled.We're on our way to Oban, where we'll attend some "Highland Games.” Oban is on the west coast of Scotland – in the Highlands. It was a lovely drive there with many stops (Loch Lomond) and a long detour when a road was closed. Actually, the detour turned out to be beautiful – through moors, past Ben Nevis – the highest mountain in Great Britain. Highland Games are like a fair, but with lots of competitions. If you've seen Braveheart, you might remember when Wallace came back to his home ... read more

Geo: 29.8847, -97.6697Well, the day has finally come. We still have some packing and last minute things to do, but it's time to stop reading and researching and begin our vacation. I have to tell you, I'm a little intimidated writing this blog. Our "followers" have high hopes for it! But here goes...... read more