London Ale

when i was in 4th grade we started studying geography. there was a book that had children from all over the world and each chapter was about a different child in their culture. i remember the boy from norway that skied to school and the pigmy children from africa. it gave me this yearning to travel and see all these cultures. unfortunately, i came from a family that thought home was the best place to be. no one in my family traveled away from illinois/kentucy except for my dad going to war. when i moved to seattle they had to start coming there.. the joke in my family is that mom always said..."it's just as nice in illinois".

so now i travel a lot and i have passed on the yearning to my kids. above is three generations in london, all drinking beer (before you call protective services, jake is drinking ginger beer.) jake's favorite thing to say was "london, baby"..

i don't have any other pictures because the kids took them all and haven't sent them yet. i will post them as soon as they get over their jet lag and send them to me.

we had an amazing time. my grandkids are 24 and 6 years old. to have them and mariah here was such a blessing. i wear a little fitbit that tells me how many steps and miles i walk in a day. one day we did 10 miles and jake still ran up the stairs of the tube on the way home. he danced and laughed at the end of every day and he never complained.

the museums have little scavenger hunts for kids and that became a great thing for jake. he loved the museums and loved showing us things. his favorite thing was the Tower of London. he loved all the armor. allie (the 24 year old) got to go to oxford for a concert and did it all on her own. she is so independent and ready to tackle anything. so different than i was at her age, of course, she has been traveling alone to seattle since she was 5.

the most amazing thing we did was go to a play. we went to see Billy Elliott and it's a musical with lots of dancing. jake never looked away from the stage. to sit there and see my kids loving the theater in london was such a highlight for me. giving them the joy of traveling is something i have always wanted to pass down.

we have been here in our house for three weeks. friends, josie and hannah were here the first week. we had a really good time walking and seeing lots of textiles (joise and i love fabrics and hannah was nice not to complain.) i hope they send pictures. i am going to have to start taking pictures.

connie and i are on our own for a while. we are getting used to the house and neighborhood. connie is working hard on a grant and her topic for her sabbatical. i am getting us settled and planning which things to see next. i don't think i will run out.

 

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Comments

[grace]

It's a really really great photo....THANKS!
and it made me smile, remember when you were a little
leary of retiring?????

[Linda]

yes, now i cant imagine having to go to work.
might be different when i get home, but i do love having lots of time to do what i want.

[Susan N]

So happy to see you are having an incredible time in London!! Great that the kids and grandkids could visit and have enjoyed it so much... and nice that Josie and Hannah were there too! Enjoy every moment! :) Hugs, Susan

[jude]

cheers!

[Nancy]

Oh yes...that feeling of watching a loved one enjoying something you treasure so much is amazing. And wishing for them the love of and ability to travel...and then have it happen...so great! It's funny how we always want better for our children.