Fall Leaves in Vermont

Our primary destination in this fall trip was the state of Vermont where we hoped to see the fall colors in their prime. We were not disappointed! Our hostess in Norwich, VT was Heidi Webster, a good friend from KL days. Heidi not only provided us a place to stay, but also took lots of tine to drive us around on back roads to see some of the most beautiful scenes.

Heidi was in KL for just one year and lived in our building at Hampstead Rise. While we were with her she showed us the site for her new modular house which she hoped to occupy by Christmas. As we left Vermont for our journey back to D.C. we were blessed with great weather and spectacular scenes. - rw

Late September / East Coast

After flying back to D.C. in late September, we rented a car and drove north, stopping first at Ft. McHenry in the outskirts of Baltimore -- the site where our national anthem was written during the War of 1812. From there we drove to Philly to see Phil & Barb DeHart,

our good friends from KL Days. It was great to see them again and be recipients of their generous hospitality. - rw

September in Silver Spring

Shortly after Nancy returned from her "Walk Across England" we flew again to D.C. just in time for many Saturday soccer matches for all three grandsons (Micah pictured). We had lots of fun in fine fall weather, including a trip to the ballpark to see the Washington Nationals produce a convincing win.

Another fine adventure was the car trip north to "Sugarloaf Mountain" were we all hiked to the top and had some scenic views of the countryside below. - rw

Home, at Last!

I drove to the Portland airport on Friday, September 6th, to pick up Nancy and Kathy Haney after their long Delta non-stop flight from Amsterdam. So ... Nancy is in good shape -- with blisters healing -- and jet-lag being dealt-with.

My sister Elaine, and her daughter Michele Loecken, arrived two days before Nancy and have spent time with Mother at Friendsview. The picture (above) shows them, with Tasha, at a Saturday evening bar-b-que out on the patio. - rw

Day 21, Thurs. Sept, 5

Bus and Train to Manchester. Hotel by Airport (pix of Robin Hood's Bay)

Epilogue. After a nice dinner, repacking our suitcases, and early to bed we awoke to another lovely day in the UK. We had an elegant breakfast and walked about the town a bit. We decided to take an earlier bus to Scarborough to get our train to Manchester. Kathy had purchased our tickets online and we had to redeem them at the train station. The ticket agent said our train that was to leave in an hour had been cancelled and she said to get on the train that was leaving in 2 to 3 minutes. We boarded the train and it was off. That meant that we got to Manchester a bit earlier which was nice. As for reflections on the trip ... it already seems like my body is recovering, The blisters on my feet are happy for less walking today and they don't hurt at all when wearing sandals. I have a sizable hard red knot on my neck from the bee sting but it will get better each day. I think one of the reasons why the hike was harder than expected was the elevation gains and losses. We ascended and descended over 17,000 feet in the 200 miles. As I've written in my blog postings, the trails are not switch back ones. They are steep. I was reflecting last night and think this was the hardest physical challenge I have ever done. Some of our hikes in Nepal and Peru, and backpack trips in the Sierras were at much higher elevations. The sleeping was in tents or primitive "tea houses". The meals were freeze-dried or very basic fare. The difference was that the trips were shorter and I was younger. My feet were in good shape for the first 10 days of this trip. I think it was the cumulative effect of wear and tear on the feet and body that made this a harder physical challenge for me. Yes, I want to keep hiking but I think hikes of 200 miles are no longer on my agenda. Everywhere we are in the UK the Brits speak about how wonderful the weather has been for the past few weeks. They speak of last summer and how much rain there was. This was the right weather-year for this venture. Rain is forecast for tomorrow across all of the UK. I will be very happy to get to Oregon tomorrow. But I am still glad that I attempted and succeeded in walking across England. - Nancy (another pix of Robin Hood's Bay)

Day 20, Wed. Sept. 4, The Villa Robin Hoods Bay

Hiked 4.5 miles, 192 miles down, none to go, Finish!

Doug's Birthday - Happy birthday to him. I called him after we had finished our walk. I told him except for the day he was born this might have been the most eventful September 4th for me. Yes, we finished and on a glorious day. We left our B&B this morning at 8:30 am and were throwing our pebbles into the North Sea at 11 am.

We did all of the traditional things - threw our pebbles from St. Bees into the North Sea (truth declaration for me - I couldn't find mine so had to pretend), dipped our hiking boots which had now been exchanged for sandals into the North Sea, took lots of pictures, stopped at the Wainwright Bar in the Bay Hotel

to sign the Coast 2 Coast registry and have a lemonade (tradition calls for glass of ale), and just reveled in the fact that we had completed the entire walk. The official trail guide says it is 192 miles; our guide book says it is a little over 200 miles, and my GPS said I walked 237.7 miles since we started in St. Bees. My feet and Kathy's survived and now we can give them a rest. Robin Hoods Bay is a small coastal town. (pix at bottom of blog) The old town is down by the dock and dates to 17th century and the upper part of the town dates from the Victorian age. The B&B where we are staying was built in 1892. Of course our room is on the third floor so we can get some more exercise. How does it feel to be done? Mainly I feel relieved. Except for my feet I feel strong and healthy. I also feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment. It was a great effort to do this. Neither of us ever considered quitting. We knew our limits and managed to work within them. Would I do it again?

Never, but I am glad I took on the challenge and succeeded. Next is a nice celebration dinner tonight. Tomorrow we take the bus and the train to Manchester to be ready to board our flight home early Friday morning. Normally I dread long flights but sitting on a plane for 12 hours, watching movies, snoozing, eating, and reading sounds wonderful after walking for so long. Thanks to all of you who followed our journey on our blogs. Love to all - Nancy

Day 19, Tuesday Sept. 3, York House, High Hawsker

Hiked 11 miles, 187.5 Down, 4.5 to go

(View of North Sea!) Almost there. We both walked in hiking sandals today since our feet were rejecting the idea of wearing boots. Today could be called the "B" day for me. The first B's are blisters and bandages. Each morning I rummage through all moleskin, bandaids, compeeds (a very expensive British blister product) and have an elaborate system to try to get set for hiking.

(The cow seemed to invite a picture!) The second B's for today for me are bee sting and Benadryl. A bee stung me on my neck as we hiked in this morning. I quickly took 2 Benadryl since I have had allergic reactions to bee stings in the past. Kathy said to me if she took two Benadryl she would be asleep on the trail. It had the opposite reaction for me. When the drug kicked in it gave me an adrenaline rush. I think for the first time on the entire trip Kathy said she had to work a bit to keep up with me. I am usually trying to keep up with her. Too bad I didn't figure this out sooner. I could have become a regular addict and hiked faster. The last B is for blessings. I have been blessed to have a good hiking partner. When we were hiking down the steep scary sections Kathy would call back to me, "Almost there. You're doing great." In the first days of the hike people would ask us where we were headed and I would say we are trying to get to Robin Hoods Bay. Kathy would say,"We are going to Robin Hoods Bay." Her can-do-attitude has been fantastic. We have been blessed with good health and even though we write about blisters and sore feet we have stayed well and had no accidents, injuries, or illnesses that effected our hike. We have been blessed with fantastic weather.

(Also the scenery!) It only rained hard on us our second day of hiking, The other day it rained hard was a layover day for us. Only one other day did we hike in the rain and that was only for about 2 hours. It has not been too hot and we have had good breezes when needed. We have been blessed by those of you who have read our blog postings. Comments and emails of encouragement have been special for us. I am especially blessed that Ron has posted my notes and pictures that I email to him each day. I had lots of issues trying to post and this is what worked. Today we hiked again through some beautiful country. We hiked through a wooded protected area and even stopped at a little cafe for scones.

Finally I got my scones on the trail. We walked across low moors and once again the trail description was classic, "Look for solitary leaning tree that appears in the middle of the moor and aim for that."

Tonight we are at High Hawsker which is actually on the North Sea. We are 2 miles by road and 4&1/2 miles by the trail that follows the sea coast to our destination of Robin Hoods Bay. We are looking forward to a nice, beautiful, short hike tomorrow. - Nancy

Day 18, Monday, Sept. 2, Gaell Gallery, Grosmont

Hiked 13.75 miles, 176.5 miles down, 15.5 miles to go

Today I thought it is now whatever-it-takes to get to Robin Hoods Bay on two legs and sore feet on Wednesday.

(a view of the North Sea again!) I knew the trail was going to be some road walking so I decided to wear my Tevas and carry my hiking boots in my day pack. After hiking about 3.5 miles the trail was quite rocky so I put on my boots. My feet protested but I wore them for several miles and then switched back to my Tevas. I made it to our B&B in fairly good shape. My ETA today was 4 pm and we arrived at our B&B at 3:15 pm. The day was so gorgeous. It was a day to enjoy the Coast 2 Coast walk.

The moorlands are so vast and the heather is in bloom. It was windy again but not cold. As we dropped into the valley we enjoyed scenes of green fields and quaint English villages tucked into the valley. One portion of the trail was through a peaceful woods by a stream. Whenever the trail is on a road or a rocky track hikers try to find softer options so there are paths along the side of the paved road or the rocky path. Today about a mile of the trail was through a woods. The path had large flat stones laid out but walkers had paths on both sides of the stones. Since it was dry it was nice to take the softer paths. It is obvious that in rainy weather one would have to walk on the stones,

One interesting thing we've noticed is how dogs are welcome in pubs and people sit around with them on the floor as they eat. I think the Brits like their dogs. Tomorrow is another full day of hiking and then Wednesday we will be at the end of the trail. - Nancy

Day 17, Sunday Sept. 1, Lion Inn Blakey Ridge

Hiked 8.75 Miles, 162.75 miles down, 29.25 miles to go

Each day I read the trail description and know the miles we need to walk. In my mind I figure an estimated time of arrival (ETA) for each day. Yesterday I figured an ETA of 4 pm and we arrived at 5:45 pm. Today I was hoping for an ETA of 2 pm and we arrived at 1:15 pm. That included a snack and lunch stop. We were both pleased to arrive early and get settled into our room. In fact we arrived before our luggage arrived but it came shortly and we get our baths and are now relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. Our feet are enjoying the rest. Today's hike, after one steep climb at the beginning of the day, was mostly on a wide track that was used by the former Rosedale Ironstone Railway to serve the nearby mines a century and a half ago. The wind was whipping across the moors all day. At times it seemed to push us sideways. At least the wind was always blowing into our right side or into our backs. Coats were needed all day. Kathy wore a headband to cover her ears and gloves some of the day. Blakey Ridge only has the Lion Inn where we are staying.

It is the 4th highest inn in Britain. It dates back to 1553. It seems to be quite the destination for a Sunday outing. It is a hub of activity today. We are snug in our room on the second floor. It had the narrowest staircase so getting our suitcases up was a bit of a challenge. Today while we were walking I thought about who would excel on this hike. the first person I thought of is Tasha. She has great balance and takes on steep trails like a mountain goat. Marta would also do very well. I just keep plugging along. We are truly getting closer to our goal. Today was cloudy and very windy but still good hiking weather. It feels like the crispness of fall up on the moorlands. - Nancy