Return from the UK

Before beginning the retirement project blogs in earnest, I want to spend some time recording my thoughts and impressions of a 12 day trip to the UK that I just completed, with sons Robert and Harry.  We had such a full itinerary that already I'm forgetting details that need to be preserved for future reflection and enjoyment .  Robert has recorded the days and sequence of our trip in his Deamondeaconinlondon blog, which is linked below.  I will not try to repeat that, but will fill in details from my perspective. 

Although jet lag and the horrible exchange rate between the dollar and the pound have left me depleted both physically and financially, the notion of a "next trip" is already stirring.   My limited travel experience has confirmed two things:  The extraordinary beauty of our planet and the strong cord that binds me to others who inhabit its surface now and in times gone by. 

It came to me as I was standing on top of Edinburgh Castle, looking out over the medieval city built on volcanic rock, cascading down to the buildings of the Georgian New Town and continuing on out to the shore of the Firth of Forth, framed by mountains reminiscent of the Blue Ridge. I was overcome by the realization that our planet is truly a gorgeous, magnificent home.   I resolved then and there to take advantage of every opportunity to travel and to see and experience more of it. 

As we explored the city of London on our night of arrival, wandering through Piccadilly Circus and pausing at Trafalgar Square to mingle with the crowd to take in the breathless views of the Thames and of Big Ben and Parliament rising into the evening sky, gilded by the rays of the setting sun; as we visited the Tower of London and the Globe Theater next day and tried to imagine the total devastation of the fire of 1666 on an already overcrowded city; as we snapped pictures of the the statue of a dying Thomas a Becket in the gardens of St. Paul's  Cathedral and overheard a British mother helping her son make sense of the event by explaining that the "the king was very cross with his best friend and had him killed"; I was stirred by the connection that I felt to all humanity both present and past who had visited those sites for the first time as I was doing, and experienced the wonder and excitement of discovery that I felt in those moments. 

All that being said, I was equally excited when Robert and I boarded United Airways Flight 733, bound for Charlotte on August 15.  Touching down safely at Charlotte Douglas International after a 9 hour flight, we hurried to get our baggage, find our car in long term parking, and head up I-77 to Winston-Salem.  When we finally crossed the Yadkin River, passed by Clemmons, and spotted the Silas Creek exit, I remembered that there really is no place like home. 

More details and pictures of the trip to follow.