It's really hard to summarize oneself for the general public. I mean, really, what does the public want to know about me? Am I married? Yes. Do I have children. Yes, three, and they're all grown thank God. (By that I mean parenting is HARD. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I'm really glad our offspring have all reached adulthood.) Do I have pets? Yup. Two dogs. Since the kids are all grown, you'll read more about my dogs than my kids. Because that's what happens when you get old like me. I have three grand kids, too, so you'll read about them as well. But the dogs live with me and, when I am desperate for blog topics, they usually help me out.
It’s Fall. My favorite time of year. The air is cool and the landscape is colorful. Notice I didn’t just say trees? The grasses and other ground plants change, too, which just makes for an even more-dramatic landscape.
Have I mentioned that I love Fall?
I planned a ride for Saturday. Hubby planned yesterday’s ride.
He’d mentioned on Friday that he wanted to go to Flint Hill for brunch on Sunday at Griffin Tavern and Restaurant, our go-to restaurant in that area.
I knew I wanted to go to Syria, which isn’t too far from Sperryville, so I thought we could eat at the Thornton River Grille. It’s got a 4-star Yelp! rating and we’ve never eaten there, so I figured it was about time.
Unfortunately, I forgot to factor in the leaf peepers. I also didn’t consider the Graves’ Mountain Apple Harvest Festival in Syria. (Only because I didn’t know of it.) We were mired in traffic in Syria for a bit as a result. Sperryville is very close to Shenandoah National Park, and was quite congested. And the Thornton River Grille was way too crowded (there was at least a 30-minute wait for a table), so we went to nearby Headmaster’s Pub, which has a 3.5-star Yelp! rating.
It was busy, too, but much smaller, so we thought we’d be okay. The food was good, but we had to wait a REALLY long time (about an hour after arriving) for our meal. Since we’d gotten so delayed, we nixed the second half of the route I’d planned, but did take the scenic route home.
Anyway… it was still a nice ride. Here are my favorite pics from around Syria, a lovely little spot just outside of Shenandoah National Park (SNP). For those who don’t know, SNP is the home of Skyline Drive, which is always extra-crowded at this time of year.
CR-643/Etlan Road in-between Syria and Etlan, VA
CR-643/Etlan Road in-between Syria and Etlan, VA
CR-643/Etlan Road in-between Syria and Etlan, VA
CR-643/Etlan Road in-between Syria and Etlan, VA
See why I wanted to go to Syria? It really is a pretty spot, especially in the Fall.
VA-231/F.T. Valley Road, headed north toward Sperryille, VA
Unknown location, but very pretty.
Sorry, but I can’t remember where that shot was taken. At one point, I started snapping pics with my point-and-shoot while riding.
Those pics are all from Saturday.
On Sunday, Hubby took the lead, so I decided to wear my helmet cam. Lucky for me, I’d remembered to charge the battery (for a change).
Here’s a slideshow for you. I added music, which you may or may not like, so be sure to check your volume before clicking play.
If I’m being honest, his route was nicer. Plus, we got to stop at the Griffin Tavern in Flint Hill for brunch.
Now I need to get rolling on today’s new, long, solo adventure.
Early Americans may have been courageous travelers, but they were sure unimaginative when it came to naming places. I’ve been to Gloucester, Massachusetts and Gloucester, Vurginia. Now I can say I’ve been to Gloucester in South West England, too. It’s near the River Severn — when we lived in Maryland, we were close to the Severn River — and has a really big cathedral.
How big?
I couldn’t fit the whole thing into a frame.
Gloucester Cathedral
Building of the cathedral began in 1089, but “Gloucester has been a place of Christian worship continuously for over 1300 years, since Osric, an Anglo-Saxon prince, founded a religious house here in 678-9 AD.” (If you’d like to learn more of the history, visit the cathedral’s Web site.)
It was VERY cool.
King Edward’s Gate
Here are some pics of the exterior, which itself is impressive.
Statues/sculptures over door.
Interesting support structure.
Statue (builder?)
Cloister Garth (courtyard surrounded by cloisters)
Looking up at the tower from the courtyard.
Spooky tower shot.
Interesting sculpted accent.
Supports sculpted as if riveted.
LOVE the detail. (click on pic)
As grand as the place is on the outside, it’s even more amazing inside.
Fan-vaulted Cloister
Stunning, intricate cloister ceiling.
Cool walkway.Interesting arches.
Lovely stained glass.
More lovely stained glass.
Harry Potter movies were filmed partly at Gloucester.
Stained Glass Collage (click on pic for bigger image)
Really big window.
Closer look at sculpture below window.
Ceiling Detail
It’s a big place.
That’s what I call architectural detail.
More sculpture.
Painted ceiling (the whole room was painted like that).
Hubby admiring some of the monuments/tombs/memorials.
Very interesting arches.
Collage of memorials. (click on pic for larger view)
More memorials. (click on pic for larger view)
I am no historian. Sorry. You can take a virtual tour if you like.
And that was our visit to Gloucester Cathedral.
We roamed around, admiring its splendour for hours. I saw this road sign after leaving the cathedral grounds. It was near where we’d parked.
Some folks were surprised to read that I’d agreed to take the back seat for our recent road trip. So many people yearn to transition from passenger to rider. Going from rider to passenger just sounds backwards.
But it was cool. Really.
One thing for sure, being a motorcycle passenger adds a whole ‘nother element to that letting your mind wander thing that motorcyclists enjoy.
All I had to do, literally, was sit still and enjoy the ride. And announce, every now and then, that I needed to pee.
Do you know what that husband of mine actually had the nerve to say to me on Sunday?
“We should have hooked you up with a pavement wetter.”
For you non-riders, that’s a tube apparatus that long distance male riders affix to their, um, works, that runs down the leg of their pants and hangs out below their foot. So they don’t need to stop for pee breaks as often. He didn’t say it because I had to stop a lot. He said it because he’s a smart-ass and knew it would make me laugh.
It did. We laughed a lot during our short little road trip, the plan for which was actually hatched innocently enough during a conversation we were having over beers in Belgium.
The number of beers may have something to do with how clearly I remember this chat, which went something like…
“I’d be willing to test the backseat. We could do a little trial run when we get home.”
“Where to?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Niagara Falls?” I said. Because it was the first thing that popped into my head.
I’d been wanting to see the falls, and didn’t think it was all that far away.
That’s why, shortly after our two-week trip to Europe, we were off on another adventure.
It was raining when we left on Friday. We could have taken the car, but that would have been boring. Besides, that’s why they make rain gear for motorcyclists, right?
The rain only lasted for the first two hours or so. It remained cloudy and overcast, but at least it was relatively dry.
Cloudy sky and wet road didn’t dampen our spirits.
Hubby admitted that the roads would have been more fun if dry — riding a motorcycle on wet roads requires extra caution — but we both still enjoyed the scenery. It had been several years since we’d seen that part of Pennsylvania.
Nice country road in Pennsylvania.
Curve!
Since we had to take it a bit slower on the wet roads, we ended up riding later into the evening than we’d anticipated. We were thinking we’d stay in Punxsutawney, but couldn’t find a hotel or motel. I don’t know where all the media and groundhog watchers stay in February when then crowd around to see Phil the Groundhog emerge from his hole. So we continued on to Brookville, Pennsylvania, which is where we happened upon the Gold Eagle Inn.
Gold Eagle Inn in Brookville, Pennsylvania
I love quirky lodging, especially when it is clean and lovingly maintained. Yes, it was old. Yes, there were pink fixtures in the bathroom. But it was very clean, inexpensive, had a restaurant attached that served good food AND beer… what more did we need?
Lucky for us, when we woke up on Saturday, it was sunny. After a quick breakfast at a nearby McDonalds, we continued north.
Our view from the room on Saturday morning.
The further north we got, the more colorful the leaves were. Temps were moderate, in the 50 to 60 F range (10-16 C), which was fine thanks to our gear.
All in all, it was a lovely day for a ride.
Snowmobile road?
I’m surprised I was able to capture enough decent pics to share. Not because of the weather, but because of the weird electrocatastrophalytic “thing” that dogged me all weekend.
My old point-and-shoot camera, which I was wearing on a lanyard around my neck, ate through batteries like you wouldn’t believe (10 AAs in two days) and kept dying on me.
Saturday it was dry enough to carry my fancy-schmancy NEW point-and-shoot camera on the lanyard, but it died before we had even reached New York. And by DIED, I don’t mean a simple loss of battery power. No. It completely stopped working. I can’t even get the thing to power up.
My older model iPhone has always sucked when it comes to battery life. Plus, I just knew I’d drop the thing getting it out of and back into my pocket as we rode. Sigh…
But I persevered, and managed to snag some decent pics for y’all.
You folks who like seeing the foliage in this area should enjoy these…
Buffalo is bigger than I expected. I’d show you a pic, but I have other images that are better. Like this Niagara Falls collage.
Niagara Falls is a giant megapolis. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.
There’s Niagara Falls, NY, USA. There’s also Niagara Falls, ON, Canada. Oh, and there’re these three waterfalls known as Niagara Falls. It all combines to form a crazy, chaotic, over-commercialized blight on the map.
Everyone always says the Canada side is better, so we chose to go to Canada.
Hubby had done the planning. At one point he’d mentioned something about it being off-peak season. Little did we know it was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. LOL.
Rainbow in the mist above Horseshoe Falls (Canada).
American Falls (US)
Horseshoe Falls was my favorite.
Infamous boat ride.
I’m glad I finally got to see the falls, but as a whole found the area far too built up for my tastes. It’s sorta sad, really. The falls are quite majestic. But they are surrounded by stuff.
Funny Sign
I’m a nature girl. A natural wonder like that should be surrounded by nature. Not a gazillion hotels, chain restaurants, casinos, and every other kind of kitschy attraction/distraction under the sun. And I like kitsch. Love it, really, just not next to and practically on top of a set of waterfalls like that.
Don’t get me wrong, we had fun. Lots of fun.
But I won’t be going back.
The ride was awesome, though. And the trip as a whole was a cool little impromptu adventure.
Here’s proof that we enjoyed ourselves.
We look like we’re having fun, right?
Goofing Around
The ride home was a bit odd. We experienced some of the weirdest weather conditions ever.
Remember that funny sign I showed you? The one that mentioned mist?
Clouds of mist, from the waterfalls.
It was serious. So much mist rises from the falls and into the air that it forms clouds. Big ones. Sunday morning, it was raining in Niagara Falls, Canada, but only near the falls. And it was 38 degrees Fahrenheit (just over 3 C) at around 7:00 a.m. as we were leaving. I figured it would warm up as we rode inland.
As we made our way around to Niagara Falls, NY, something in the air caught my eye.
The morning sun had turned the mist cloud pink.
That’s a totally lucky capture of the moon above the cloud of pink mist. Shot with my OLD, slow point-and-shoot, from the back of a moving motorcycle.
Shadow Capture
My theory about it warming up was flawed. It got colder. Temps hovered very close to 32 F (0 C) for the first two hours.
Thank God the “Barcalounger” (Dar, that cracked me up) has heated seats.
Little wisp of fog. See the frost on the ground?
A little while later, we hit what I thought was a small patch of mountain fog.
Into the fog.
We rode through that thick, wet, heavy fog for at least 45 minutes.
The McDonalds in Salamanca, NY was truly an oasis. For real.
We lingered at that McDs for about an hour, having breakfast, drinking coffee, and warming up. By the time we left, temps had crested the 40 degree mark.
You don’t realize just how warm 45 degrees (7 C) feels until you’ve ridden through the low- to mid-30s for a while.
The rest of the ride home was long, but uneventful. It was pretty, and relaxing. You’d think it would have felt unpleasantly long, but it didn’t. And we arrived at our house right around 5:00 p.m.
I’m not going to make a habit of being a passenger, but I’ll do it again.
Are you itching to see more pics from Europe? Sorry, but that trip report is being interrupted.
It — and me — are taking the back seat for now.
Can you guess why? Maybe these pics will help…
Meg
K
Belle
Hubby
Three unhappy dogs and one happy husband. Have you guessed yet?
Road trip!
And I’ll be riding on the back seat of Hubby’s bike. Because every man enjoys having his hot wife behind him, sharing his ride. Even if “hot,” in my case, just means perpetually overheated.
That Hubby of mine has been looking forward to long road trips on that shiny, new, big-ass cruiser of his. This trip is a test.
I’ll do my best to post pics from the road. Wherever it may be taking us…
After an all-too-brief-visit to Bourton-on-the-Water, we headed off to nearby Stow-on-the-Wold. Stow is larger, older (I think), and its sits atop a hill.
Helpful Map
This is the town I remember from pictures my friend Janet shared when she visited in late 2013. Janet had been in England for an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint gathering. When she heard I’d be in Stow-on-the-Wold, she said, “You have to stop by and say hello to my friend, Jenny.”
My shy Hubby gets annoyed when I say we have to meet people I know on our journeys, so I figured that if we saw this shop Janet mentioned and had time that I’d pop in to say hello to her friend. Mainly because I knew it would make Janet’s day.
Ivy-covered Inn
Stow was just as lovely as Bourton, with its limestone buildings and narrow, winding streets. It’s bigger and full of cute little shops.
We parked at the lower end of town and made our way uphill toward the market square. When we passed this restaurant, I marked it, mentally, as a place we should consider for lunch. Especially since Hubby loves old stuff.
Old (still operational) Restaurant
Tiny Street
Market Cross
I hadn’t read a ton about Stow, but I did know I wanted to see St. Edward’s Church.
St. Edward’s Church (built between the 11th and the 15th centuries)
The north door of the church is said to have been JRR Tolkien’s inspiration for his drawing of the Gates of Moria in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
North door of St. Edward’s Church
Inside St. Edward’s Church
South Door of St. Edward’s Church
St. Edward’s is much smaller than the grand cathedrals we’ve visited, but it was still quite beautiful in its own right.
Beautiful Stained Glass
Interior carved plaque (I suspect this is not original to the church).
Exterior adornment, crumbling.
Weathered Grave Markers
We spent more time in and around St. Edwards’ than I’d anticipated we would have. It was lovely, really. But we had places to go, and we were both getting hungry, so we made our way back toward where we’d parked.
Side-street Shops
Police Station in Cotswold Stone
Interesting Nippled Glass
Very Cool (my opinion) Old Stone Barn, Mid-town
Pretty Flowers
We actually did eat at The Porch House. It’s over a thousand years old, how could we not?
The Porch House photo collage.
The food was delicious, the atmosphere was quaint… it was a win-win.
After lunch, we continued toward the car.
Since we actually had to pass Jenny’s shop (Janet’s friend), I went in.
The funny thing is, I often like to visit ASCP stores when I travel. Because they’re all quite different. Vintage & Paint is truly unique. I think it’s my favorite, too.
ToadMama with the Vintage & Paint Mannequin
I absolutely LOVED the shop.
Part of Jenny’s GI Joe collection.
Jenny had actually run out to grab lunch, so I hung around for a bit and Hubby went to wait in the car.
GI Joe
She even had Elvis.
Mind the Slope!
Annie Sloan apron-wearing mannequin.
Happy Postman Statue
Fun boar’s head and more GI Joes.
I really did love the store. It’s me, right?
And I actually did get to meet Jenny, too, albeit briefly.
Hubby had been waiting for a while by the time she returned. And the shop was rather busy. Jenny was disappointed that I hadn’t called ahead so we could have scheduled a cup of coffee. I tried to explain that we were avoiding adhering to any sort of agenda. It’s a shame, though, because I believe a sit-down with Jenny would have been fun.
I’m sad I didn’t get a picture with Jenny, but she had customers to tend to.
When I told Jenny how much I liked her shop and how radically different it is from Janet’s, she admitted that she was a bit embarrassed when Janet showed up unexpectedly at her door.They’d only met for the first time at that ASCP conference I mentioned.
She’d gotten the impression that Janet’s shop was a bit more girly and frilly than Vintage & Paint, and she was afraid Janet may have been appalled at her eclectic, unusual collection. I assured her that, while many of her wares are not Janet’s cup of tea, I’m sure Janet, who is not uppity at all, enjoyed seeing Jenny’s unique, fun, expressive, and funky shop.
As I was leaving, I told Jenny I liked her mannequin. She said to me, with the dry British sense of humor and accent that I truly enjoy, “She’s a bit under-dressed today. She was wearing a coat yesterday, but someone bought it.” LOL.
And that wraps up our too-short visit to Stow-on-the-Wold.
Next up, Gloucester Cathedral. Be sure to check back, especially if you liked seeing my post from Canterbury. Gloucester Cathedral is absolutely amazing.
If you’ve been following along, you know that we stopped for an overnight on Monday in the Cotswold town of Bourton-on-the-Water.
Monday had been a long, but wonderful day. We had a lot of ground to cover on Tuesday, so, instead of lingering abed, I got up early to explore the quaint little town.
Our hotel — The Dial House — was an absolutely charming place, built in 1698.
The Dial House Hotel & Restaurant
The River Windrush flows right through town.
Old garden wall along the river.
Our glasses were still on the table from the night before .
Village buildings fashioned from Cotswold limestone.
Motoring Museum
Classic red phone booth.
Ivy-covered cottage.
It was a very picturesque place.
I really wanted to bring that big sheep home.
Rear garden path at The Dial House.
Sitting room inside The Dial House.
Cocktail bar inside The Dial House.
Front garden at The Dial House.
Building along the river.
I’m really glad I took the time for that stroll. It was a lovely, peaceful place.
I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to find coffee that early in the land of tea, but I actually found a news agent’s shop that was open — yay!! — and the nice man at the counter served me a delicious coffee, which I drank during my stroll.
Later, I returned to the same shop to get a coffee for my sweet Hubby.
By then I figured he’d had time to wake up and shower.
Not long after that we were on our way.
Our first stop on Tuesday was to be Stow-on-the-Wold, a the nearby, larger Cotswold village that I’d seen in my friend Janet’s pictures from a trip she’d taken the previous Fall.
Stow-on-the-Wold, which I’ll share in my next post, was just as lovely as I’d expected.
