Kristine and Barb visit!

Kristine and Barb visited us for about ten days in early April.  Traveling has become more difficult for Barb, but with Kristine's guidance and support, they did quite well on the long trip over.    The only snafu arose because of Meade's resourcefulness and frugality.  We had just bought a new tent for our upcoming 5-week camping trip from REI that Kristine agreed to bring to us.  However, rather than paying to check the tent, which weighed 30 lbs, Kristine agreed to bring it as a carry on since it had "backpack" straps - really just one inch webbing.  Unfortunately, the layover in Chicago required a nearly 1 mile walk between terminals which, with a fairly slow-walking Barb, took nearly an hour.  Kristine might have easily forgiven the abrasions and lacerations she incurred to her shoulder and back had the cab we arranged to pick them up at Heathrow been there when they arrived.

During their visit we spent the weekend in Kent, the south-easternmost corner of England that juts out into the English Channel.   We spent two nights in a farmhouse bed and breakfast just outside Canterbury that was surrounded as far as the eye could see by apple orchards.  Each morning the lovely proprietor, who coincidentally was the daughter of one of our neighbors in Englefield Green, brought us fresh bread, and fresh honey and jam from beehives and berry bushes from the farm next door.  It was our first time really experiencing rural England and it was truly lovely!  While in Kent we visited Canterbury Cathedral, the endpoint of the pilgrimage described in the Cantebury Tales, visited Dover Castle, a spectacularly iconic Castle overlooking the English Channel, and spent some time playing on the beach near Dover.

Back at home, we explored Great Windsor Park, an absolutely beautiful place in the spring, spent a day (just Kristine and I) in London, while Barb spent the day with Meade at school, and enjoyed the warm spring days playing in the garden.