It's nice to be here, given there

We were off to the usual late start, not due to planning but due to misdirection. The instructions I received for Budget said the car rental was in Terminal 1. Kim and I looked all over Terminal 1 and found nothing. Finally, Kim asked the man at "Disabled Services" (seemed logical), if he could tell us where the care hire was. Well, about three weeks ago (which is after I made the reservation) they moved the car rentals off site to the Car Hire Village. We needed to take a bus. So, we waited for the bus and then took a long bus ride to the Village. As we walked in the door, I heard Anhgus' voice. She and Kim chatted while I got the car. With keys in hand, we loaded up, aimed north and hit the motorway. We had very little trouble finding the Lake District.

It was a joy to see Barbara and Nick again. They oriented us to the cottage, as we got caught up on things. After chatting for a bit, we set out for a walk to the next village over for lunch. We walked along a small river, transporting the fallen leaves of autumn trees. We wandered through some meadows for grazing, being sure to close the gates behind us. There are so many black sheep here. Now I know where they all go! Being called a black sheep here probably means that you're just like everyone else.

We enjoyed an extended lunch at Chester's, by the water, then retraced our steps to Elterwater, where we will be staying for a few days. Anhgus and Kim immediately took a nap, and Barbara didn't surrender to the sandman until a bit later. I stayed up with Nick and did some reading, until it was time to eat again. We walked a hundred paces to the pub and devoured a chicken and leek pie. When we returned to the cottage, we ate a mountain of cake, literally. Barbara had a cake made with seven hikers on the summit. Unfortunately, Jim and Matt couldn't make it, but we ate enough for them too.

Big cheers to us! Five years ago today we made the summit of Kilimanjaro together. We all agreed that we were happy to have done it...once!Read more