On a vacation

Yes I have returned!!! However, I do not like to think of it as a return home but a return to temporary residence (aka. vacation). England was fabulous and Scotland even more so! Wales was an interesting place....it was a place that reminded me of the grey town in C.S. Lewis's, "The Great Divorce". But I did not let that taint any of the other experiences I had! We saw 3 castles (4 if walking around the out side of Cardiff castle counts), Edinburgh castle, Warwick (pronounced=Warick) castle, and the Tower of London where the crown jewels are held. Each as breath taking as the last!

We landed in Heathrow, London on a Wednesday morning. The flight was approximately 9 hours, and let me tell ya...flying loses its magic after about the 3rd hour! It was weird to literally be flying into the future. We left at about 10:30am our time and landed in London right at dawn! The sunrise from the plane was incredible! A friend and I put it a little poetically by titling the journey "In to the dawn." When I first stepped out of the plane and into the London air I was initially hit with the briskness of the air! It felt wonderfully refreshing and was definitely a step in the right direction for the rest of the trip.

From there we caught three different trains in order to get to Oxford....ah the name of that place brings about a wonderful feeling!!! Oxford was by far the most enchanting....The colleges were gorgeous, especially Christ Church, and the garden of St. Johns College. I got to actually step into the courtyard of Jesus College where Sheldon Vanauken studied during he and Davy's time there! One could literally feel the history in that place! Christ church however, had to be the high light of the Oxford trip. It is a church and college all rolled into one. The garden and the meadow were beautiful while the inside of the buildings are artistically enthralling. We spent a whole day in Oxford meandering around checking out different colleges and shops....One shop that was most excellent and that I will be returning to someday in the future was Ben's Cookies!!! I have never tasted a cookie quite like that before!

Another highlight was eating at The Eagle and Child pub where C.S. Lewis met once a week with J.R.R Tolkien for their Inklings club. It was so cool to think that it was there that Narnia and The Lord of the Rings were actually conceived.
There was so much more that we experienced and saw....far too much for me to put down in blog form. I will say in passing that Scotland was more than I expected whilst Oxford met all of my expectations. Which is better I cannot say, but both were thoroughly enjoyed! I think I will end with a poem that I conjured up while on the trip sort of recapping what we did. Let me forewarn you that I am no poet and am not sure how the whole stanza and pulse thing works but I decided I would give it a shot anyways!

We've experienced sunshine rain and snow
and visited history up front and personal

The rolling hills protrude with color
making ones heart beat for no other

England has been a trip of return
a land full of beauty for its sake alone
a plethora of colors with every turn
However fleeting are the chances to
gaze and behold as I am prone

Expectations mounting
fantasies embellished are surmounting
Arriving at the spot where fairytales were conjured
and manuscripts gone asunder

My head is splitting attempting
to turn it all to logic
Suffering from a headache that has become quite chronic

Stepping onto the campus stepping in to the pub
I realized something unexpected...
All is not above, all is not bellow,
All is not myth and all was not unforetold
My expectations were dashed and my ideas absurd
Yet not for loss (for I am better for it) because reality
has become what it once was, what it now is, and what it will be.

Where my journey will lead next I cannot tell
But inkling I have and that is well.