Christmas is coming ....!
Instead of my usual Christmas letter, I have decided to do a blog post this year, more pictures, less paper, so here goes:
It's been a busy year one way and another. After Christmas spent with Caitlin and Dave mostly doing lots of horsey stuff, I spent New Year at Derwentwater Hostel in Borrowdale in the Lakes. I managed to get the year off to a good start by walking round Derwentwater, in the company of my friend Ellen, and bagging my first (and I think only) Wainwright of the year.
I haven't done as much walking as usual this year as I've been having problems with my knee and hip. Apparently it's arthritis. Medication is helping and I've been told to keep walking to strengthen the muscles. The best walks of the spring were around Grasmere taking in a slightly icy Loughrigg Fell and the limestone pavements of Farleton Fell.
Sadly I lost both cats this year. The young cat, Mischief, who was Midge's replacement crossed the road at the wrong time and Mollie, my elderly cat who had been on thyroid medicine for a couple of years, seemed to really miss her and went down hill until it was obvious the time had come to say goodbye. They were both such different characters and are much missed.
A few weeks later, I set off for the States to visit Alex and Cat in Raleigh, North Carolina. By American standards, Raleigh is a small city. Alex works for RedHat who have an office downtown. He works from home most of the time only going into the office when necessary. It's very nice working environment with a decent restaurant, break out areas and a gym for staff not to mention the views over the city. We explored around the downtown area of Raleigh, which has a couple of nice museums and the usual quotas of eateries, and also visited neighbouring Durham which has a refurbished factory area - founded on the tobacco industry - where Alex beat Catherine and I at a giant game of outdoor chess! Sport is big in America. At the time I was there, it was ice hockey season so a trip to watch the Caroline Hurricanes was a must. Very exciting and, as with all American Sport, surrounded by razzmatazz which adds to the fun. The Canes had a good run this year I believe.
The weather was lovely, just the right temperature and the bugs hadn't yet come out. The blossom trees were in full bloom everywhere, I particularly liked the purple ones. It was really very pleasant. I wouldn't get on well in the summer though when it is hot and humid and you can keep the hurricanes though Raleigh is far enough inland to escape the worst most of the time.
Alex was able to take some time off work and we took two very memorable trips. Raleigh is in the rural centre of North Carolina. 300 ish miles one way you have the mountains which border South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia and, in the other direction, the sea with the Outer Banks being a major holiday destination as well as the first place to be evacuated when a hurricane threatens - having seen them, I can understand why! SO many great memories from both trips even though it was so early in the season and a lot of the State Parks in the Mountains were still closed.
Our main target was the Blue Ridge Parkway taking in the Great Smokey Mountains via a road called the Tail of the Dragon on the way! The T of the D is where Bikers and people with performance cars go to play. I was a bit nervous about it but actually it was OK (yes Alexander, I did say that). Other highlights of that day included Alex talking his way out of a speeding fine, the Goats on the Roof (really!) and a visit to the Forest Hydrology Research Station at Coweeta (closed as it was a Sunday).
The BRP is pretty amazing. It runs the length of the mountains (469 miles) across North Carolina up into Virginia. The highest point on the parkway (near Mount Pisgah in North Carolina) is 6,053 feet (1,845 m) above sea level and most of the section we travelled is over 3000ft! The views along the way are very samey but very different at the same time. Mountains as far as the eye could see in the southern section but a bit more rural as we headed north. It was early in the year so we encountered snow in the Great Smokies and Ice cascades along the road side in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We didn't have time to do the full length but managed to visit Mount Michell (6,684 ft), the highest mountain east of the Rockies ( it's hardly a climb as you can drive up most of it), walk a (very) small section of the Appalachian Trail and stayed overnight in Asheville and further north in a beautiful log cabin. So much to see it's hard to pack it all into a few words (and pictures).
At this point we headed back to Raleigh to collect Catherine and Archie before heading for the coast. We stayed at Kill Devil Hills which is very close to the Wright Brother's First Flight Memorial at Kitty Hawk. Hard to believe the first powered flight only happened in 1903, covered 120 feet and lasted 12 seconds! The Outer Banks are only just above sea level and all the houses are built on stilts to protect them against storm surges. The beaches are amazing and as it was so early in the season, Archie was able to really enjoy them, running for miles along the sand! We headed along the island chain as far as Cape Hatteras. The Outer Banks are known for their lighthouses which all have unique patterns to make them recognisable from the sea. We had intended to get the ferry back to the mainland from Cape Hatteras but it being early in the season we missed the last one. This turned out to be a good thing as we headed for the beach instead and watched Brown Pelicans diving and dolphins playing in the waves. A great end to a memorable trip.
Going home would have been very flat if it hadn't been for two exciting events. Firstly, two new cats joined the household. Misty is black and white and Magic is black. They are brother and sister and are RSPCA rescues. Even after 8 months they are still quite nervous of loud noises, sudden movements and strangers.
The second event was the arrival of Dobby my tiny camper van. I'd been thinking about getting one for a while as I'm finding camping more difficult due to my knee and hip problem. We've had quite a lot of adventures this year and hope to have more next year. We've spent several weekends in the Lakes (of course) but we've also been to the Peak District for our annual visit taking in Chatsworth Flower show, Tatton Park Flower show and a weekend in Dumfries and Galloway visiting the Botanical gardens and the Mull of Galloway with its rip tides as well as exploring the locations from the Lord Peter Whimsey book 'Five Red Herrings'. Its a lovely area and very quiet.
The garden has featured large this year. It's only small but I grow lots of plants in pots. I'm getting short on space so am now working out ways to go upwards. My challenge was to build a pond. I didn't really know what I was doing so I'm going to have rebuild it next year and the big plan is to add a water feature and maybe some fish. Both cats have managed to fall in - not completely but enough to get very soggy!
Here in the North West, we didn't have the glorious summer enjoyed by the rest of the country however Easter was lovely and Caitlin, Dave and I managed a warm and sunny campfire on the shore of Wastwater as well as a voyage on the Ullswater Steamer. I spent a couple of hot sunny weekends with them in the South doing horsey things including a sponsored ride around Windsor Park and a beach-ride at Littlehampton (Caitlin not me). I also managed to make the most of the few sunny days we had to get some walks in including doing the walk across Morecambe Bay twice, both times in good conditions. The first time early in the season was the first walk guided by the new Queens Guide to the sands - a historic event - although the retiring guide, Cedric Robinson, was on hand to keep an eye on proceedings!
Well I did say its been a busy year but I didn't realise how busy. I've enjoyed writing this, its brought memories I'd forgotten. It's time to start planning for next year - more adventures with Dobby, another trip to the US and who knows what else. Happy New Year.