Sunday, April 11, 2010
Preparing for my fifth trip to England! Having hoped to be able to do this once, I never imagined doing it five years in a row. It has been a very trying year filled with frustration, new challenges and health issues. New equipment has been purchased to supplement the old tried and true. The big question, again this year, will my bike still be there? One can only hope that for the fifth year my bike will have survived the winter and vandals. My bag this year consists of a new pair of panniers that will hold everything and stay under 50 lbs. At this point they weigh in at 41 lbs and need to be unpacked and packed again to make sure everything is inside. The last item that will be needed is a new Deuter backpack which I’ll purchase with my REI dividend and 20% off coupon.
This will allow me to carry on some of my stuff thus reducing the weight in the panniers. It may allow me some extra room to bring my Hobson bike seat. As tax season comes to an end the want to be riding my bike increases. My friend Mark will be coming over again this year for a three week stint. Tickets have been purchased costing more than any previous trip. Finding a ticket for under $800 was not to be this year. We will be flying a combination of Delta and KLM going through Detroit and for the first time landing in Heathrow. I’m thinking about taking the National bus to Salisbury as I’ve not done that in a few years and it costs less money. Money could be an issue this year, but I’ll not know that until the end of April.
Somewhere on one of my computers is an equipment list that I had intended to post this year. So I’ll have to have to head home and see if it can be found. I also just realized that I have not finished my posts from last year, especially the most exciting part. So maybe I’ll work on that tonight also.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Scottsdale AZ again for more doctor’s meetings, more information plus and ultrasound to see how the baby is doing. Ha-ha!
Going to be busy right up to when I leave. Teeth cleaning, getting the house ready for my being away, another test, end of season dinner with the Block gang, finals, and putting in grades for my classes. All stuffed into 11 days, however I’m packed. Everything is stuffed into two panniers and a back pack. I have less weight than last year only 41 pounds hope I’m not forgetting anything. Maybe I should repack just to make sure.
This is when the stress starts to build up! Will I forget anything, will I make the plane, and will my bags get to where I’m going and on and on. It all goes away when I get on the plane and am in the air. Then it is time to sit back and relax forget about all the stuff going on in my world and focus on the here and now. Enjoy the ride to Detroit which is the first time I’ll be landing in that airport that I can remember. Three hour layover then it’s off to England and Heathrow again a first. Prior trips have taken me to Gatwick a less hectic airport.
I’m excited to go this year as this is the first time I actually have an agenda for part of the trip. So this will be a new experience to deal with. Past trips have been willie nillie where I am there I am no plans kind of thing.
Arriving at the hospital promptly at 5:30am I’m checked in and then follow a nurse to the surgery suite. They keep saying surgery I keep saying “no surgery, Test, no surgery.” They smile “it’s just a term we use.” Not smiling I retort “I don’t like your saying!” They take pleasure in that by using the S word more than necessary. “Take off your close and put the gown on with the open facing the back.” Gee you think!
I’m sitting on the gurney and Nurse Betty comes in. All the cute young nurses are assigned to other patient’s, life us just not fare. ‘You have any valuables, money, wallet, jewelry?” Not being quick on my feet I answer in the affirmative. “I’ll get the guard to lock them up!” My wallet contains my passport which as not left my sight for three days. You’ll have to arm wrestle me to get it I think, but she looks like she could take me. “I get the guard.” Say’s she.
She comes back guard in tow along with several forms to fill out “So your stuff will be safe.” “I don’t want my stuff locked up I didn’t have to do that the last time why do I have to do it this time?” So round we go until she finally gives my “valuables” stay with me as I’m wheeled off to the “surgery.” Later I’m told that there is not reoccurrence of cancer in that area of my body.
Time to leave! Up at 5am ready to go, packed, as usual nervous about getting to the airport on time. Always worry that the road will be closed, the car break down, or some such rot. My son Kevin will take us to the airport, I’ve already woken Mark up. We will pick him up a tad earlier then he expected, but we’ll be there on time.
On the plane we end up sitting together along with seat mate Caroline who is returning from an Erikson Hypnotherapy workshop. Pleasant conversation al we sit on the runway awaiting departure. Packed flight heading to Detroit were we will connect with our plane to England. Now that we are in the plane I begin to relax allowing the world of work and illness slip to the back of my mind for now. I’ll let my unconscious dwell on the aspects of both for awhile.
Oh sitting at the airport I pull up the urologist’s telephone number and there is a like to a blog written by someone in Kingman. He was the same age, and the Doctor involved is the same as the doctor I saw in Scottsdale. The gentlemen in Kingman had the same treatment that has been prescribed for me. The doctor told me that everything would work just fine after the treatment. This fellow in Kingman writes that he is cured of cancer however the Package does not work correctly, and continues not to work after four years. I’ll do a little more checking.
We are off to England and Marks seat assignment has gone a rye. After much hassling he has, unhappily found himself in a middle seat in the middle row far from the seat he had booked. After watching a few movies it is time to get a few winks hopefully waking up in England.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Arrive at Heathrow.
After standing on long lines to get through customs I am again faced with the feeling of being home. It washes over me after stepping through the customs gate. Thank the baggage gods that our stuff arrived alone with us. Off to the bus station to pick up a ticket to Salisbury and after a three hour wait we’re on the way. The bus offers a better view of the English country side which is quite refreshing. From the bus stop in Salisbury it is a short walk to the YHA were I have started my trip from for the past five years.
After settling in at the YHA it is time to take a walk to the train station to see if the bikes have survived another year. As happened before I cannot find the bikes on the first look see. And them for the fifth year in a row my bike is waiting at the station for me. Marks bike is waiting for him also this will be his second year.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Around Salisbury
Today was spent at several stores picking up some things to get the bike ready for a nice long ride from Salisbury to Lyndhurst in the New Forest. After another trip to the Pound store the bikes are ready to go. So we take a 12 mile ride to the Upper Woodford and back. I had to stop a few times to adjust my seat which seems to be a rather precise undertaking. After several stops the thing is still not adjusted correctly, this is going to take time. (Posted 5/16/2010)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Around Salisbury: Part II
So I talked to Liz today who told me, sadly, she will not be at the YHA next year. She is getting married and will be teaching French to school children. The place will not be the same without her lovely smile. We have dinner at the Cathedral Hotel then down to the local movie house to catch Iron Man 2. Mark is a bit taken aback by the smallness of the screens at this movie and we were in the main theater. We hung around today to catch the Village market only to find out there was none until Saturday.
After doing not much of anything it was all in all a very relaxing day. I’ve not spent a lot of time thinking about whether to have surgery or radiation when I return. Just letting it run around in the back of my head. It does come to the forefront every time I take the medication to slow the growth of the cancer. I hate taking the medication, but it is a necessary evil for now.
My daughter calls or text’s me daily as if it were local calls. Remember when you could only call with in your area or it was long distance. Well there is no more of that via cellular except when you’re out of the country. Oh well its only money. Miss my kids.
Friday, May 14, 2010
It is time for the first ride of 2010 to the New Forest then on to Portsmouth. I’ve picked a new route which looks more direct and will shave off some miles. Told Mark that it will still be more than the 10 mile limit he talked about prior to our leaving. He tells me this is O.K. so off we go avoiding major roads as much as possible. However the map lied and we are heading to a road I’ve tried to avoid riding on for many years. Funny the way life works when you try to avoid riding on some road and then you find yourself on it anyway. Then you find out the road was not as bad as your head fanaticized it to be. Such it is with this road which turns out to have a very nice path along side it so you don’t actually have to ride on it.
I can think of a few times that I found the nice path rather than ride out in the middle of the road. But, there are times, due to lack of wisdom, I’ve chosen the harder ride down the road, rather than the easy one. It is my hope that those days are no more and some of this wisdom can be passed on. We’ll see! As we ride the hills become more packed together and steeper. Another dictum from Mark was “NO HILLS” So now he says “O.K.” So we ride down and then walk up the hills several times. We are heading for Lyndhurst where there is a campground I’ve stayed at before.
The new panniers I’ve spent $129 on flew off the bike because the hooks bent. My $120 saddle is not working and my butt is getting sore. Other than that all is well. Upon arriving we find a nice little café to have lunch and decide our next move. I leave to go to a store to pick up a pair of pliers to fix the new panniers. Upon my return Mark informs me that he has lost his phone. He wants to ride back to a place where he thinks it was dropped. Now I’ve been down this route before. I too once when in search of a lost phone which was never found. But, if he wants to go look we’ll go look.
Outside the café he says “You stay here and watch the stuff I’ll ride back.” I spy a bench across the street, but Mark is already somewhere else. I call to him as a bus is going by and I make a face at the noise the bus is making. The next thing Mark is screaming at the top of his lungs at me. Now I know that this is because he is upset about the lost phone. However, I don’t like people screaming at me so I walk across the street and say with a smile “I’ll wait here.”
About an hour later he returns no phone in hand. Arriving at the campground, which is really a farm, we are told that it is not open for the season yet. So we ride on to see what we can see. We find another campground, but you must have your own toilet to stay there. I offer up a green garbage bag but it is not acceptable. So Mark spies a path leading off into the wood which we follow until there is a spot that looks as good as any to camp in.
We make dinner, and then eat while being eaten alive by nasty little bugs, than it is time to turn in.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
I have a quick breakfast as the bugs are after us again. After a short ride we arrive at the town of Beaulieu which is a nice little tow with narrow streets, cottages, and sitting on the edge of a lake. Mark did not get to make breakfast so we hunt down a place to eat which is part of a nursery. Mark has a nice breakfast while I have coffee. Our next stop will be Brockenhurst where we’ll get a train to Portsmouth.
Upon reaching Brockenhurst we check out the local bike shop then head for the train station. We find out that the train for Portsmouth is on the next platform. So we have to unload the bikes drag everything including the bikes up one set of stairs and down another. We arrive in Portsmouth and Mark wants to keep going. So we head for the ferry and book our passage. It is 2 pm and we do not leave until 11 pm. We snagged a little lunch then work on the bikes at the ferry port. Met a fellow who tells me about how miserable it was to live in England especially with the new government. He tells me about his home in Spain and how it is going there with everything collapses. He has a well and stream along with several aches of fertile ground. That way he can grow his own food and make his own drink and believes he will do just fine. Guess he missed the special about folks from England buying land in Spain then having the government sell it right out from under them once it’s been improved. Hope is dream comes true. He scoffs when I tell him I’d love to find that in England.
We board the ferry at around 10 pm after waiting about ½ hour on the open wharf with the wind blowing at us. Upon boarding I find this ferry is far different from the one I took two years ago. It seems to be a smaller ship so there are new things to figure out. I had told Mark where to go, but there were no seats like I had on the last crossing. There is no Wi-Fi, nor are there electrical outlets for the computer. Mark wants to upgrade to a sleeping room which has a reclining seat then share it each sleeping half the night in it. I pass.
I blow up my sleeping mat, slid into my sleeping bag and out for the night. I awake in the morning about an hour from docking in Le Havre plenty of time for breakfast and get ready to disembark. We have breakfast and after docking we disembark and ride into Le Havre.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Le Havre to Villequier:
I tell him which way we are going and why and off we ride toward the campground in Villequier. This is not the same campground as the one two years ago. It is one that I saw the next day which was much nicer. We ride and I am able to retrace the route I used two years ago without the getting lost part. It is a pleasant ride through small villages, on fairly empty roads. The weather is cool, but the sun is bright with puffs of white and gray clouds in the sky. When the sun disappears behind a cloud it is pretty darn cool so the jacket comes off, the goes back on, then… 
After about 20 miles we arrive at Villequier and finally find the campground I’d seen. It is very nice and the people who run it go out of their way to make sure our stay is pleasant. We set up our tents then head to the dining room for a very nice dinner. Not understanding the menu we ask the wife what some of the items are. She runs into the kitchen and brings out cans or frozen meat to show us what is on the menu. The meal is ordered along with drinks. Mark has a Coke, but I have something called and orangeina. I am hooked! Sadly we do not have this drink in the U. S. nor do I think they have it in the U. K., but I love this stuff.
Dinner is done and I glance to my right and see a small girl head in my direction. She walks up to puts her arm on my back and her head on my shoulder. I am amazed at the gesture and she picks up the place mat which has games on the other side which she points to. So we play the games and she giggles and laughs as we play. We then play tic tack toe which I let her win. She makes up a game we all play which Mark wins much to her dismay. Mark excuses himself as Orialmarie and I continue to play.
Mark comes back with a Grover puppet in hand and the little girls giggles with glee. The girl’s parents watch from behind the bar as we spend time together. She reminds me of my granddaughter Elizabeth and I begin to miss her and my family. and we ask if there is WiFi around. Low and behold the campground has WiFi for sale so we buy and happily tap away.
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