Some summer flowers

Just a few shots of our Foxgloves, Irises, and Daisies:

Danny and I have mostly recuperated from our jetlag and getting back into our routines.  I'm back at the gym working off all that ice cream, beer, and other goodies. 

Trip photos

Photos from our trip to Michigan

A month in Michigan

Arrived home yesterday after nearly a month in Michigan with my family. 


I haven't sorted through all the photos yet, but when I do they will all be uploaded here:  Photos from Michigan holiday 2012


Family

• Arrived just a few days before my beautiful niece's (Kristin) fabulous wedding to an awesome guy - Jeff! We had a fantastic time at the wedding and reception and enjoyed seeing many relatives and friends that we rarely get to see. 
• On June 1st, the day before the wedding, my nephew's wife, Angie, gave birth to their second child, a beautiful girl.  Angie was supposed to be a bridesmaid but her new daughter thought differently.  
• On one Saturday we took my oldest granddaughter (nearly 7), Haylee, to see my niece (Grace) compete in horse shows.  She enjoyed having a day out with us - although it was a very hot day.  An ice cream cone on the way home helped both her and I cool off!
• Went with son (Patrick) and his family (wife-Robyn, Jesse, Haylee & Allyson) to Greenfield Village.  Lost track of how many times Haylee rode on the carousel! Her wee sister Allyson (nearly 2) went twice.
• The day after that Haylee and her dad and Danny and I visited the Toledo zoo.  The rain stopped about an hour after we arrived so was more enjoyable after that.  Time ran short though as we needed to get back for my nephew Ben's high school graduation.
• A couple of days before we came home my son's family, Danny and I went to the cinema to see the animated film 'Brave'.  Loved it!

Haylee and I in a Model T in the village

South Haven & Kal-Haven bike trip

Danny and I spent two nights in South Haven, MI. The main purpose of the trip was to bike the 34 mile Kal-Haven trail. 

  

The Kal-Haven Trail is one of the many rails-to-trails projects in Michigan.  The trail itself is well-maintained and is mainly a finely ground gravel trail with a mile or two being tarred.  The majority of the trail is through woodland and is shaded.  Some of the trail goes through open farmland and in a few spots it crosses the road in a small town.  There were very few places to stop for lunch but several grocery stores were convenient.  We decided not to stop at all though and ate our snack bars and bananas.  Along the trail there are several water pumps and outhouses.  The ride is mainly flat so quite easy – it just got VERY long after about 25 miles. 

Covered bridge on the trail

We rented our bikes from Rock 'n Road in South Haven and rode about a mile to the beginning of the trail where we met the shuttle.  We took the 2 Valleys Shuttle to the other end of the trail in Kalamazoo and rode back to South Haven. 

Danny pumping the water on the Kal-Haven trail

South Haven was quite a pleasant, clean town with many charming homes and buildings.  I especially loved all the big porches.  The marina, beaches, and layout of the town with many nice shops, along with the sunny and not-too-hot weather made our visit quite pleasant. 

Our hotel, Lake Bluff Inn and My Tripadvisor review which was not positive. It was 2 miles from town which was convenient, the grounds were nice and the breakfast was fantastic. But I would not stay there again.


Sleeping Bear Dunes - Empire/Glen Arbor


Danny, my sister and I spent a week in a rented house in Empire in NW Michigan. This area was voted the most beautiful place in America by Good Morning America viewers last year.  This is the house we rented and were extremely pleased with it:  Bjorn Hus from Leelanau Vacation Rentals

Sister, Cathy, and I

While there we climbed the big dunes, took a ferry to South Manitou Island, canoed down the lower Platte River, and toured Glen Haven.  Lots of beach time and walks as well.  Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

South Manitou lighthouse

My sister bought the lifetime National Park pass for those over 62 and which is also valid at SBD National Lakeshore.  A great deal!!  When Danny and I do a tour of some US parks in a few years I'll get a pass as well.
See senior pass


Future trips


Our next trip is for two nights when Danny and I finally attend the spectacular Edinburgh Military Tattoo in August.

After hearing my brother describe his trip to Israel with his son (a graduation gift), both Danny and I want to visit.  So we've added this to our long list of future trips.

We loved visiting Michigan in the summer and will be skipping our usual Christmas trip (though will be sad to miss) and making our annual sojourns during summertime.  Next big trip is Uganda in January to see our 'daughter' Doreen graduate from university and to visit other friends there.

Paradise!

For the last 5 days we have had absolutely perfect weather in west Scotland (and most of the UK)!  Perfect = sunshine and temps in the mid 70'sF all the way up to 80F.  (23-27C)  This is supposed to last until Tuesday when it cools off quite a bit.

A few recent pics

The Vic 32, coal powered steam boat

Vic 32 going past our house

Supermoon - but a few hours early

Magnolia tree and azaleas in our garden

Grandson!

Danny's daughter Kathleen gave birth to a wee boy over the weekend.  This is Danny's first (biological) grandchild.  The darling's name is Mason and he's gorgeous!

While visiting we took some nice walks around the city centre.

Visit to Stirling

Danny and I celebrated our 12th anniversary by an overnight trip to Glasgow followed by a trip to Stirling the next day.  We hadn't been to this ancient town for quite a few years.  Since we pay zero for the buses and are members of Historic Scotland, the trip was fairly low cost.  The benefits of being a pensioner in Scotland!

Some links:
Stirling Castle

Argyll's Lodging near the castle

My photo album of Stirling

An old home in Stirling

Tapestry

Argyll's Lodging

Stirling Castle

A Stirling church

A collage of some of the ceiling carvings in royal palace

Flowers and French

Took a wee walk around the garden today to see what was blooming.  Here's a few of them.

Dicentra spectabilis - Bleeding Hearts

Dicentra spectabilis - Bleeding Hearts

Kerria

Tulip

Trillium

I've been working on learning French by using the Rosetta Stone programme.  It teaches based on the idea that learning a language like a child does is the best way.  You learn by listening and seeing photos and figuring out the meanings intuitively, like a child.  

This was fine in the beginning of the programme, but I figured out later on, I'm not going to learn like a young child.  I'm going to learn like an adult.  I need to know the grammar rules, etc as I'm going to be comparing this language to my native language.  So I'm supplementing my Rosetta Stone (which is completely in French) with some online lessons and a grammar book.  

I hope to practice what French I've learned on a trip to France next spring.  Good incentive!  I'm hoping to spend a week at Plum Village Buddhist community near Bordeaux, and then spend a week exploring Dordogne with Danny afterward. Looks totally charming!  It would be very rewarding to be able to communicate effectively in French whilst there!

London

Photo albums here

Danny and I just returned from spending 4 nights in London.  My favourite city.  We were able to find a good train fare with our Senior Railcards so travelled first class.  We booked Virgin Trains and were offered complimentary food and drink on a frequent basis.

On Thursday night we attended a sold-out appearance by Zen Buddhism Master, Thich Nhat Hanh, at Southbank Centre.  It was a long evening but we both enjoyed listening to this very wise man.  I especially enjoyed the chanting which took place later in the evening.  TNH who is known as Thay (teacher) is a lovely, vibrant man and it's difficult to believe he is 86.  About Thich Nhat Hanh   Although he is soft-spoken he has a magnificent energy and presence which filled the auditorium.  I've been tossing around the idea of attending a retreat at Thay's community in France and feel I'm long overdue and am planning on booking one for next spring or summer.  Plum Village

Friday morning we went on a walk not far from our hotel to the Smithfield area to find the plaque which commemorates the execution of Sir William Wallace (Braveheart), Scotland's national hero.  Smithfield Meat Market was built in the 1850's and has beautiful ironwork.

Smithfield Market

Smithfield Market

Later we visited Danny's old school - Ayland's in Enfield.  We stayed all afternoon and into the evening and very much enjoyed our visit with dear friends.

Lovely daughter of our friends Roni and Bill - Lucy and her hyperactive puppy, Bingo:

Saturday we wandered around different areas of London taking photos and in the afternoon I attended a group meditation and talk held by Thich Nhat Hanh in Trafalgar Square.  Even though it was very cold and cloudy I truly enjoyed being there.

Sunday we returned to Southbank Centre for Bach St Matthew Passion concert which took about 3 hours in total.   The performances were spectacular and emotional.  We had a two hour lunch break and many of those attending brought picnic lunches.  This concert is one which Danny attended almost every Palm Sunday while he lived in London.

Typical tourist photos.....

Our hotel

We stayed in a new hotel - Tune - which is a 5 or 10 minute walk from Liverpool Street Station which is located in The City.  I found good reviews from previous customers and with such a good price and location we decided to chance it.

Tune Hotel - London Liverpool Street

• Double room
• Comfortable bed although the mattress was a bit too firm for me
• Good shower
• Clean
• Very small but we spent little time in the room
• No closets, cupboards or dresser, however there was sufficient room for clothing and bits and bobs and there was a rod with 5 or 6 hangers for clothing.  The bathroom had a long shelf with plenty of room for toiletries.
• Our room was in the basement with no windows which is a much cheaper rate.

Price:  the price fluctuates with the time of year and March is off-peak.  We paid 43 GBP per night but also paid 7 GBP per night for a package which included towels and toiletries, wifi, satellite tv and a hairdryer.  There are no tea/coffee making facilities in the room.

So for a total of just over 200 GBP we spent 4 nights in an ideal location in the centre of London.  The neighbourhood was quite nice with refurbished flats on the narrow, cobbled road our hotel was on.  This was an off-peak rate and summer rates will be much higher, but still lower than other hotels.

Trip to Uganda

Our Ugandan daughter, Doreen, will finish university this May/June.  We are very proud of her.  Her graduation ceremony will be held 16 Jan 2013.  We are keeping an eye on the price of Emirates tickets in the hope they decrease a bit.  Our plans are to spend 3+ weeks in Uganda visiting friends, taking Doreen to the national parks, etc.  

Our dear friend Mushabe has offered to drive us around or let us use his car.  

We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone again and visiting our second home!  

Our girl in London 2010