Sherry | June 28, 2008
The travelers have returned! Two full days on planes and in airports made the vision of our PDX transporters, Pete and Linsey, even more sweet. We feel successful, in that we accomplished the goal of experiencing The Iona Community to the full and broadening our world view. We were blessed with good health, good weather, [...]
Sherry | June 25, 2008
Every trip needs some drama and we had ours this morning. We had a hint last night when we bought the petrol and our credit card was rejected. Rejected! Thankfully we had enough currency to pay for it. We decided to think optimistic thoughts until we needed to buy train tickets to London. Here’s the [...]
Sherry | June 24, 2008
We altered our plan a bit and took a scenic drive through the Peak District. The guidebook I’ve been hauling around finally became useful by providing the route that led to roads like this.
And towns like this.
Note the satellite dishes!
Along the way we gazed upward to watch a flock of hang gliders overhead.
The goal for [...]
Sherry | June 23, 2008
I’m happy to report I didn’t kill us on the road today as I drove us from Windermere to York via the Yorkshire Dales. We hoped to make good enough time that we could settle in our hotel room and catch a bus to town. So we didn’t dawdle, while still enjoying scenery like this [...]
Sherry | June 22, 2008
We are SO NOT slick travelers. We manage to get by, but we just feel our way along. This morning we bought day bus passes again rather than try to figure out transfers that require exact change—on a Sunday morning. While dragging our luggage down Princes Street toward the bus stop, I snapped this final [...]
Sherry | June 21, 2008
We’d planned all along to attend the Royal Highland Show (similar to the state fair) today but at the last minute decided to just see what we could see of the city. We concur that was the right choice (but, then, whoever knows what kind of adventures we miss with our choices). We bought day-long [...]
Sherry | June 20, 2008
This morning we bid farewell to the Iona Community. But not before Mauri had one more early-morning crack at spotting a corncrake. He was the talk of the community after he not only saw but photographed one in the field by the Abbey. Just in case he doesn’t post his picture, I will.
Can you see [...]
Sherry | June 19, 2008
Not much time for stories today. The pictures will have to talk for me.
A ground-level view of the cloister. Our second-floor room looks down on the center.
Not everyone was totally engaged in the topic…but for the most part we were. [I type this at a computer next to the instructor, with whom I shared this [...]
Sherry | June 18, 2008
People! We set aside our introverted tendencies to take opportunity for chats with people such as Sister Ann, who has come to Iona every summer since 1973. Back then the ferry was a little boat, and there were no cars (only tractors) on the island. She’ll soon be 85, yet she continues to meet the [...]
Sherry | June 16, 2008
We’ve settled in now and are meeting interesting people from all over, but mostly Britain. Twelve people from Traverse City, Michigan, make up the biggest group. The rest of us came in ones and twos. There’s a mother/son here from Salem, Oregon! Before we arrived I had mused the possible irony of traveling all the [...]