Skydiving into 40

When Dean turned 40 in January, his birthday wish was to go skydiving. We all went in on making that wish come true, and Dean was gracious enough to wait six months for his flight, so we could be there to watch.

Sunday was the big day, and we all got up and out early to join him, Jen and the kids at an airfield near Salisbury.

Dean was excited! His family was a lot more nervous than he was.

It was a tandem jump, of course, and the instructors helped with the final preparations.

Their plane took off, and soon after, the drizzle started. Over the loudspeakers, we heard the announcement that the plane would be landing with the jumpers on board, because of the weather.

Oh no!

And another couple of minutes later, the word changed again, and the tandem teams began appearing through the grey. The pilot went higher, to 15,000 feet, and found a clear patch above the clouds.

It was great watching the skydivers, trying to figure out which was Dean.

We were so fortunate he made it onto that flight - many others were waiting for the next set of flights, and the deteriorating weather cancelled them.

Dean said he loved it; the only downside was the ice crystals whacking his face like shrapnel as he went through the clouds.

After, it was time for a hot chocolate in a little corner of the reception room.

Later in the day, we went to the Halfway House for Sunday lunch. After eating, we checked out the pond out back.

(Wet) Wells Adventures

We woke up Friday to a wet, cloudy forecast, and didn't have big plans for the day. After spending much of it inside, Stace could take no more. He decided he was going out, and maybe some of us could join him.

Cora and I got ready to go along for the ride, while Violet opted to stay home with Nan and Pop.

Since Cora loved her tour of Gloucester Cathedral, we took her to Wells, which boasts one of two cathedrals in Somerset. It was drizzly when we arrived, so we didn't get a great view of the beautiful, ancient homes near the cathedral.

But no matter. The cathedral was still beautiful (and dry) and its cloisters were gorgeous and bright.

Look at that architecture!

We were incredibly blessed to visit the cathedral while the choir was rehearsing. If you look very closely, you can see the choir director through the open doorway below.

While we admired the stained glass images of Christ, their voices rose to sing Handel's Messiah. What a moment!

This clock is absolutely amazing. Dating from 1390, it's the second-oldest working clock in the world. Above it is a display of knights jousting, which runs every quarter hour. I imagine 650 years of awestruck children waiting for, and then watching, this marvel of ancient technology.

In the cathedral gift shop, Cora found the most amazing souvenir. She always looks sadly through the personalized gifts in shops, not finding her own less-than-typical name.

Here, though, was the personalized pen for her: "They Don't Have Your Name. Clearly a unique individual."

When we left, we found the rain had upped its game on us.

Seriously.

We were soaked through by the time we reached the car; Stace drove home with his sopping-wet jeans in the boot. Good thing we weren't stopped on the way home.

We still enjoyed our adventure, though!

Cotswold

Stace and his parents worked out a nice surprise for me, with a night away in the Cotswolds village of Blockley. We stayed in the Crown Hotel, a 16th Century coaching inn.

The Cotswolds area is pretty pricey, so Stace was happy to find an affordable option. Humorously, though, he didn't read the fine print, and our room had two narrow twin beds.

We went down to the restaurant to have dinner, where the food was tasty. We then took a nice walk around the beautiful village.

On Wednesday morning, we stopped off at the visitor information center in Moreton on Marsh to find out which highlights we should be sure to see.

Based on recommendations there, we made Stow on the Wold our next stop. Seeing an inn with "970 AD" on the sign was mind-blowing!

We carried on exploring, and then found a tea room to share a cream tea. When we left, the rain had begun, spoiling our plans to walk from the village to the next sweet place, Lower Slaughter.

We drove to Lower Slaughter and had a wander; thankfully the rain had stopped.

Such a pretty place! Many of the villages have water streaming through.

See the mill behind us, on the left?

We don't know what this stately home was, but it was beautiful. Notice the old dry stone wall in the foreground.

We stopped at Bourton on the Water next, known as the Venice of the Cotswolds because of the river through town.

It was a great town to walk around, though we were a bit surprised at how many tourists were everywhere. Buses would drop off loads of visitors, of all nationalities. (Hey, I thought we'd be the only tourists on a July afternoon!)

We bought a loaf of bread and a lump of cheese, and enjoyed a snack on the bank. (Stace is enjoying the moment, despite the look on his face.)

Our next big stop on our way home was Cirencester, the largest town we stopped in. Cirencester is a Roman town, and we made our way to the museum to learn more about that history.

The museum was well done; here we're admiring a 4th Century mosaic found on the floor of a Roman townhouse, with a hare in the center.

We picked up dinner and started making our way back to Somerset. Such a lovely day, exploring new areas with my love!

Warwick, Part II

Our day at Warwick Castle on Tuesday was excellent all around. The castle is over 1,000 years old, and the current operators do a great job of telling its fascinating history through a number of interactive exhibits.









And, when you're not busy inside learning, you can battle other children on the castle grounds with the wooden swords you purchased.

We met up with this family earlier in the morning while packing up our belongings in the tent. They are from Texas.

Here's one of the interactive, informative tours, taking you through the preparations going on in the castle before a big battle.

When the men had downtime, they might have filled it with arm wrestling.

This area at the entrance was fascinating - it looks like a recreation, but it's real!

Cora guards the town idiots... photo by Violet.

Just outside the walls, the people behind Horrible Histories created a history maze, with various areas teaching "horrible" facts about different eras. Here, Violet stamps her passport book to show we found this part of the maze.

After the maze, Sue and Gord took Cora and Violet on toward home, while Stace and I stayed longer. We were now hungry, and what more authentic (and protein-packed) snack to have than a turkey leg?

We did the last few exhibits on our own - this one involved walking up and then down hundreds of short, winding stairs.

But the view was so worth it! We were so blessed to have warm, sunny weather.

What a great day out! Educational and fun, for all of us.














 And speaking of fun, here is a comparison shot, our first trip in 2001, and this time around: