The Daily Dump

On this blog we hope to capture the daily doings of the trip - no deep thoughts - no essays, just what we did and some pics.

December 27th 2014 - Montalcino, Italy - Day 132

Today we needed a down day. With all of the activities of the holidays and Lea's birthday we thought a day where we took it pretty easy would be a good idea. We really only had one thing on the agenda and that was to hike to the Abbey of Sant'Antimo.

The Abby is still functioning and has year round monks who live there. The hike is about 6 miles one way, which was more than we wanted to tackle, so we drove about half way and then walked the rest. When we arrived it was only a few minutes before the next prayer, which meant if we hung around for a short time we would be able to hear the monks chant.

We took shelter from the biting wind inside the abby and within 10 minutes the monks filtered in and began their prayer. It was peaceful to hear and we all enjoyed the moment, but were ready to go after a couple of prayers.

As we walked back a light rain started to fall so we picked up the pace a little. We made it back to the car about two hours after we left cold and ready for a relaxing evening. We had a good meal and went to bed pretty early. A very simple last day in Montalcino.

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December 26th 2014, Montalcino, Italy - Lea's Birthday - Day 131

We had agreed early in the trip that we would not do gifts on any of our birthdays. Since we all had a birthday while on the trip we would all be in the same boat and the trip itself was intended to be the present. This had worked well for everyone and we tried to make the day great without presents. Stacie visited some gardens, Peter had a great day on safari and I went to Montepulciano and Pienza - for Lea we decided to surprise her with a visit to a natural hot spring about a half hour away.

First when she woke up we tried to recreate the morning she loves so much when we are at the cabin for her birthday. We decorated the tree with balloons, put some paper hats on top and on the stairs and tried to make the place festive. We typically head out to the Pancake House in McCall, Idaho and she gets pigs in a blanket. We could not find all we needed, but we did produce a really good french toast with pancetta lardons - both Peter and Lea loved it.

After breakfast we got ready and headed out to Fosso Bianco, a natural hot spring near the tiny town of Bagni San Fillipo. It was an easy 30 min drive, and a nice sunny day, but it was cold and a little windy. We parked and then headed down about a short trail to the hot springs. T

hese are completely undeveloped and there are really no rules, so we found Italians all over the trail trying to find the right spot. There was not a lot of really hot water so you kind of has to work to find a good area. Our first was under a hot waterfall, which was nice but the beating you took got old after about 15 to 20 mins.

After that we wandered back up stream and found the best spot on the creek empty and waiting for us. WE jumped in and had a great soak in the mineral water.

We stayed there for about 30 mins and then decided to head home. The walk back was cold and we were frozen by the time we made it to the car, but we still had fun getting there.

Once back at the ranch we has a little down time and then Stacie and I started preparing Lea's birthday dinner. We made meatballs the night before in anticipation of a busy day, so all we had to do was to make some mashed potatoes and some pasta to complete the meal. Spaghetti and meatballs with mashed potatoes is a little bit of a strange combination, but they are Lea's favorites and on your birthday you get your favorites, especially when you are this far away from home.

While we were waiting for dinner we gave Lea her cards. Peter, Stacie and I had written notes on one, which prompted Lea to give out hugs, even one to her brother, which is rare, but I got it on film!

Then Stacie gave Lea the best present she could have - a card from all of her friends. Thinking ahead is not my strong suit, but thank heaven I have an amazing wife who does think ahead. A week prior Stacie had emailed the mothers of all of Lea's closest friends asking them to send back a note from each girl with birthday wishes for Lea. She collected all of them and then transcribed them on to a card from her friends. It was so sweet and meant everything to Lea, leading to a very long and special hug.

After the cards and a wonderful dinner came the best part of the meal. Stacie had made a cheesecake, (again Lea's favorite) for desert. We were not sure how it would turn out because she had to make it all from scratch, including the crust, but I can safely say it was the best cheesecake I have ever eaten - and everyone agreed.

All in all a very special day for a very special teenager! Happy 13th buggy.

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December 25th 2014 - Montalcino, Italy - Day 130

Christmas day in Italy was a largely fantastic. I say largely because the holidays certainly made all of us a little more homesick than normal. We did a few things to offset the homesickness, like trying to stick to our traditions and we even bought a Christmas tree, but the holidays are usually a time for family and friends and being far away certainly made this Christmas different. we all agreed to try to make it special so we could look back on our holiday in Italy with fond memories.

The day started with hot chocolate and monkey bread for the kids and hot coffee for the adults.

We then ran up and started a fire and opened our "stockings". In this case these were are real stockings - or socks as we call them.

We all got great stocking stuffers and then we agreed to wait on the actual gifts until after breakfast.

We decided about two weeks before to use a secret santa system since we could not do many gifts (no room in the backpacks), but the secret part only lasted a couple of days. Because we used secrect santa, each of us only had one or two gifts and we wanted to drag the day out a bit.

After a wonderful breakfast we scurried back upstairs to open the gifts. The idea that we only got one or two gifts and each person had a firm budget actually made the buying and giving much more meaningful and enjoyable. We all tried really hard and the gifts were fantastic.

After the gifts we decided it was movie time so we cranked up Fred Claus, and had a good laugh.

We lounged around for the rest of the afternoon and then in the evening went out to try to find the Panatone Games. Apparently this involves throwing a cake at a table to see who can get the cake closest to the edge. Unfortunately we could not find the games, but we did find an amazing sunset and a lovely town we were lucky enough to spend the holiday in.

When we got home we had our own Panatone cake, which was delicious, and then played some charades before bed. My personal opinion is this will be a christmas we will always remember.

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December 24th 2014 - Siena, Italy - Day 129

Christmas Eve brought us back to Siena for one last shopping push. While Stacie and I were here on the 22nd she decided to get Lea a phone case with a picture of her friends on the back as a Christmas gift. We ordered it on the 22nd, but they could not complete it the same day so we had to go back to pick it up. Stacie had completed all her shopping the last time we were here, but Peter, Lea and I all had more to do.

We went for a long hike in the morning and then got ready quickly and were out the door by 11:45. Most shops in Italy close between 1 and 4, so by the time we arrived in Siena, parked and walked into the shopping district we only had about 45 minutes left. Lea and I took off on a mission and within 45 mins we had most of our work done. We headed back to our arranged meeting spot (a little restaurant we wanted to try) and met Stacie and Peter along the way.

They had some success, but Peter still had more to do (as did I). We went in to the restaurant and had a wonderful lunch. I had Pinci pasta with a meat sauce which was phenomenal. Pinci is a really fat spaghetti which is a speciality here in Tuscany and we have all fallen for it.

Enjoying our Christmas Eve lunch

After lunch we decided the remainder of the shopping could be done in Montalcino, so we headed home. Peter and I both went out for a while and the girls got ready for the evening. When we returned all of us were set for gifts and we started Christmas Eve in earnest.

The town was having a Christmas Eve celebration in their main square and we wanted to go see what was happening. We wandered up the street and found lots of kids and parents mulling around chatting along with free hot chocolate.

Piazza de Popolo on Christmas Eve

The kids went and got some and were enjoying it when the guy who was serving it walked up to Stacie and I and handed us our cups, which was very kind. The hot chocolate here is literally thick hot chocolate, its incredibly rich, but you can't drink too much.

Chicolata Calda

On the way back home we found carolers singing White Christmas in Italian in front of the town nativity scene - it was the kind of magical experience you always hope for.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas - in Italian

We had decided to have Lasagna on Christmas Eve, so Stacie and I worked on that while the kids hung out in the kitchen with us and enjoyed a Christmas Eve tradition - the Grinch Drink. We did not have all the ingredients so we had to improvise, but the kids loved it.

The Grinch Drink

Once the lasagna was in the oven we decided it was time for a new Christmas tradition - the white elephant gift. The process was fun and the gifts were great, we had plato, a multicolor pen, a fan keychain and a Pinoccho yoyo and top.

Once the white elephant was over we had dinner (which was incredible) and then went upstairs for another Gombert Christmas tradition, watching Elf on Christmas Eve.

The day was long, but we accomplished all that we wanted to and were all feeling very much in the Christmas spirit as we nestled into our beds.

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December 23rd 2014, Florence, Italy - Day 128

Today we headed to Florence for the day. We left the house around 8:30 with a two hour ride in front of us. The travel was easy and we found our parking spot with no major issues. Stacie found a walking tour of the city that started at 11:00 and we made it to the meeting point in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. Our guide was great and we spent the next two hours strolling the streets of the city learning about Florence in the Medieval and Renaissance times.

After the tour we were all starving so we headed to the lunch spot Stacie had found. Peter, Lea and I all had sausage calzone's which were amazing. Stacie had a bowl of Ribollta, tuscan bean soup, which was also great.

After lunch it was off to the Acadamia to see the David. We had to wait in line for a while, but nothing like in summer. The Acadamia is great if you are not much for museums. You get to see an incredible piece of art, and then leave without feeling too guilty for a hit and run museum visit. It is really small and there are not a ton of other pieces of art worth spending a lot of time, so after the David, we followed the route out and were back on the street 10 mins later.

After our cultural enlightenment we strolled the streets of Florence looking for some Christmas gifts and just taking in the wonder of a city like Florence all dressed up for the holidays.

Once we made it all the way across the Ponte Vecchio we were spent and still had a two hour drive home.

We walked back to the car and dropped a sticker along the way. The drive home was just as easy and we were safe and sound in our quiet town of Montalcino by 9:00. A great quick trip to Florence.

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December 22nd 2014 - Siena, Italy - Day 127

Siena at Christmas

Today was a day for errands. With Christmas coming quickly Stacie and I decided we needed to head back to Siena for a proper grocery store and some better shopping. After our regular morning and our new hike down and up the hill a couple of times, we jumped and the car and headed back to Siena. We wandered around the streets for a few hours and got a couple things done and decided to have a quick bite to eat. I saw a little shop and proposed we grab something to eat there - big mistake. We should have turned around and walked out as soon as we walked in, but something made us stay. The food was mediocre, but that was not what made the experience terrible, it was the ambiance, or lack thereof. We ate at a formica booth, off of cafeteria plates with terrible 80's music being broadcast from a 50 inch plasma over Stacie's head. In a town as quaint and charming as Siena I had somehow found the cheesiest cafeteria on the planet. We ate quickly and headed out the door with me wishing I had never opened my mouth.

After lunch we needed to shop a little more and then head to the grocery store Stacie had found online before we left the apartment. We found it pretty quickly and then proceeded to spend the next hour and a half gathering the ingredients we needed for meals for the next five days. Everything in a foreign country is just a little bit harder than back home, but grocery shopping is much harder, especially when you want to really cook. Ingredients we take for granted like vanilla, brown sugar and baking powder just don't exist. Others exist, but are completely different and can be found in places you would never expect. The entire process is really exhausting and at the end of 90 minutes we were both spent. The trip was largely successful though and we felt good heading home pretty well stocked.

When we got home we made a quick dinner and just took it easy. It amazes me how just getting through a day like this can completely exhaust you - and I thought a day of work was hard - ha!

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DECEMBER 21st 2014 - Montalcino, Italy - Day 126

Today was a pretty slow day on the tour. We hung around Montalcino all day and night in order to get caught up on schoolwork and other various chores. Stacie and I discovered a good hike just out our back door that will give us a pretty decent work out. Montalcino is a hilltop down, so you are always either walking up or down no matter where you are going.

Abandoned church we found on a hike

Very late in the evening (for us anyway) we headed out to see some gospel singers in the main church. The Chicago High Spirits we singing and we thought it might be fun to go see them, even though they did not start until 9:30.

The Chicago High Spirits

It seemed like the entire town turned out for the event and it was wonderful to everyone greeting one another and catching up. The culture here is very warm and friendly and you can tell how much people love to see their friends and family.

We did not stay long at the gospel show because its not really our thing, but it was fun to go out for an event while on the road.

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December 20th 2014 - Montepulciano / Pienza, Italy - Day 125

The birthday boy with my monkeys

Today was my birthday, and I was thrilled to spend it here in Tuscany. We had a nice slow morning capped with a long hike and then after lunch we headed out to Montepulciano. We were excited to head make it over to Montepulciano because they are one of the few towns that has a Christmas market every day during December.

Montepulciano Christmas Market

However, once we made it there we were a little disappointed in the market and in the town. We walked around the Piazza Grande and wandered through the quaint village streets, but after about 20 minutes we were all wondering where the rest of the town was. So we headed back up to the Christmas Market and the kids got some WAY overpriced hot chocolate (which Peter lathered all over his face)

and then we headed back to the car - defeated.

Donkey ride anyone?

However, on the way back to the car Stacie and I were talking and remembered we felt the same way about this town when we visited in 2007. We also remembered how much we loved Pienza and we decided to stop there on the way home.

View from Pienza

Pienza was fantastic and we were so happy to wander down it's main streets ducking into and out of their beautiful shops. We stopped and bought some aged Pecorino (amazing), some dinner supplies, and took a bunch of pictures before heading back to Montalcino.

Pienza is the home of Pecorino - the whole town smells amazing

We prepared our simple pasta dinner and enjoyed the Brunello we had opened before we left. When the dinner was almost done, Lea and Peter told us they needed to go run an errand and so they hurried out the door into the streets of Montalcino. They were back just as we were putting the plates on the table. As we finished dinner they scurried upstairs to "go to the bathroom" and came back downstairs with a wonderful birthday cake from the bakery just around the corner. They had even managed to find 4 and 3 candles to decorate the top. It was the perfect end to a wonderful birthday.

Beautiful Pienza

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December 19th - Montalcino, Italy - Day 124

Today was market day in Montalcino. The day began with one of the most magical sunrises I have ever seen. The picture above does it no justice whatsoever. On market day this sleepy little village comes to life and about 100 vendors set up in the winding streets selling everything from dish soap and underwear to Christmas lights and Pecorino cheese.

We decided to have a slow morning of studying and working and then head out for a stroll around town around 10:00. We split up with Lea and I heading out on our own while Peter and Stacie went their own way. We strolled up and down the streets, just browsing to see if we might stumble upon a Christmas gift (no luck) and then wandered into a cafe for a chicolate calda and a cappuccino. Nearing the end of my cap I made a bad move and spilled the last 1/4 of my drink right into my lap. Lea got a big kick out of that and as we were laughing about it Peter and Stacie walked up.

The kids needed to study so they went back to the apartment and Stacie and I headed back to the market to gather some supplies for diner and to buy our Christmas tree. Once we were back I headed out again to gather up some more ingredients and decorations while Stacie went back to paint nails with Lea. Lea has become quite the nail artist on the trip and their Christmas theme was my favorite yet.

When I got back we trimmed the tree and then I started cooking bruschetta as a starter and chicken and mushroom risotto for our main. I had never made risotto before, so I was a little nervous, but it turned out great.

All in all a pretty typical day on the trip, nothing amazing happened, just a simple day in Tuscany.

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December 18th 2014 - Siena, Italy - Day 123

Piazza del Campo - Siena

Today we spent the morning in our normal routines with the kids studying (Stacie helping them) and I was writing and updating the site. Then after lunch (and a short nap) we headed over to Siena for the evening. We typically do our sightseeing in the mornings so it felt a little strange to be heading out around 3:00, but we wanted to see Siena at night with all of their Christmas decorations up.

We arrived easily (only one wrong turn) and found our parking place near the Duomo quickly and easily. Our first order of business was to find the PhotoSmart so Lea could print some pictures of her friends for a frame she has been carrying with her for a few weeks. We walked all through town and finally found the PhotoSmart, submitted our order and were told to come back around 5:30 to pick them up. Since we had some time to burn we wandered around the streets of Siena - it was beautiful as you can see below.

Once we made it back to the PhotoSmart at 5:30 we learned we had not followed the instructions completely (which was not a big surprise) and had missed the step where you had to pay before they would print. So we paid our 1.50 euro and then received a new time of 6:15 to pick up the pictures.

Piazza del Campo glowing after dark

With another 45 mins to burn we decided to find our restaurant so we would not have to hunt it down later. On our way we found a street vendor selling chestnuts roasting on an open fire and could not resist - so we purchased a bag. I wish I could say they were wonderful, they were not, but they were good and the experience was great.

Holiday decorations everywhere around town

We wandered all the way back across town and found the restaurant Stacie had identified through TripAdvisor. We made a quick reservation and then headed back to the PhotoSmart where the pictures were finally done.

Our major goal complete we slowly walked back to our restaurant and had a wonderful meal to cap off a wonderful evening in Siena. This is a magical town when it is all dressed up for Christmas, I would highly recommend a visit.

The view just outside our resturant

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December 17th 2014 - Montalcino, Italy - Day 122

The view from the terrace of our apartment in the morning

Yesterday was a nice mix of activity and relaxation. We had a pretty slow morning with everyone doing their own thing. Stacie and I ran up to the co-op for some groceries and then after lunch we decided to go on a two hour hike right from our apartment. In 2007 we came to Montalcino for our 10th anniversary and stayed in a farmhouse just outside the city down a REALLY steep hill. We decided to hike down to the house to see if we could find it and show the kids since they were 7 and 5 and do not remember much. We made the trek down and found the farmhouse, but could not get that close since it is private property. We hiked around a bit and then started the steep climb back into town. It was a nice hike on a beautiful winter day (about 50 degrees and sunny) here in Tuscany.

When we got back Stacie and Lea started studying again, Peter worked on school and I started cooking some Stuffed Peppers for dinner. We had a nice evening which included some dancing to Christmas music in the kitchen and a great discussion at dinner about the things we are all struggling with while being on the road.

After dinner we decided to start watching a new series (to us) because we finally finished Downton Abby. We decided on Newsroom with Jeff Daniels (without Lea's approval) and all enjoyed the first episode.

Another nice mellow day on the road.

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December 16th 2014 - Montalcino, Italy - Day 121

Peter captured this long exposure of the fire that warmed us all day.

Yesterday was a recovery day for all of us. After 28 hours of travel and arriving to an apartment with no heat we all needed a down day. The fact that we had no heat actually made it a little bit fun to bundle up in the living room with a fire and take it easy. In the morning we all just hung out and then in the afternoon Stacie worked with Lea on her upcoming Science Final while Peter did school and I read the end of All The Light We Cannot See and worked with Mauro to get the heat up and running again.

Late in the afternoon Peter and I went for a walk around town just to get a feel for where we were. The town is absolutely charming and it feels like we have it all to ourselves. There are no signs of tourists, just the locals getting ready for the holidays.

Our afternoon walk through a very quiet town.

In the evening we headed out for dinner around 6:00. We arrived at Re di Macchia, a recommended local favorite, after a short ten minute walk, unfortunately they did not open until 7:00. We called an audible and went and grabbed a bottle of Rosso di Montalcino and went back to the apartment for an appetizer. After 45 minutes or so we headed back to the restaurant. It is a casual little place where the husband is the waiter and the wife is the cook. Our food was fantastic, especially the Bruschetta and the Zuppa di Faggoli. The dinner was also our first sip of Brunello since we arrived. This is my favorite wine in the world, so I was in heaven.

After dinner we were all very tired and although the kids wanted to watch a movie we decided bed and some reading was a better option. All in all a great recovery day - and the heat got fixed so we are warm and toasty this morning!

The view from our appartment

Lea:

We didn't ALL decide that going to bed would be a better option, you guys decided that you guys wanted to go to bed and read, and we of course had to do the same :).

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December 14/15th 2014 - Travel Day - Days 119/120

On December 14th we departed South Africa headed for Italy where we will be spending Christmas. The morning of the 14th was pretty normal other than packing our bags. We have become really good at the packing up routine, so this was not a big deal. Peter wanted to head down and surf one last time, so Stacie and I went along with him in hopes of getting a couple of last photos. Unfortunately the swell was up, so it was a rough go for him. This break is not particularly well suited for beginners so we both struggled, but Peter stuck with it and kept trying, even after breaking a board, which I thought was great.

After surfing we packed up and left our wonderful house around noon for a 4:30 flight. We still needed to return our wetsuit and stop by the Green Room to place our sticker. We loved this place and thought it would be the perfect place for our sticker.

After our errands we headed to the airport. We took a few wrong turns, refilled our rental and still made it to the airport well in advance of when we needed to be there. I resolved to always leave early on travel days in order to remove stress - it has been beautiful.

Our itinerary was Cape Town, to Johannesburg (1 hour layover on the plane) to Istanbul (3 hour layover) to Rome where we would pick up our car and drive 3 hours to Montalcino. In total, if we did not have any delays the total travel time would be 28 hours or so. Fortunately we did not have any delays - everything was perfect (except a couple wrong turns on the way to Montalcino) and we arrived safe and sound around 3:00.

We traveled on Turkish Airlines and my Star Alliance Gold status provided us with access to the CIP Lounge in Istanbul Airport. If you ever get the chance you should go to Istanbul just for this lounge - its crazy.

We met our local host Mauro at his hardware store. His name is pronounced MAR - O, but Peter and Lea did not like that name, so they decided to call him Mario while we were waiting for him. When he showed up he was driving this tiny little motor cart (I will post a picture later). I jumped out and introduced myself. He was very kind and welcoming and then said follow me. I jumped back in the car and when we were taking off, Peter said "hey it's Mario Cart!" I am not sure if it was jet lag, or hunger, or the windy roads, but that comment got a big laugh out of all of us.

After checking in at the apartment, we hurried to the local grocery store for supplies and came home to an early dinner, fire and a movie. We were beat, but overall one of our longest days of travel could not have gone better.

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December 13th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa - Day 118

Pete Sr:

Today was a really good day, which was a good thing because it was our last full day in Africa. I walked around at about 6:00 AM and took some photos, which was fun. This was my favorite:

Then Stacie and I went on a hike, but my calf was still hurting, so we did not run at all. After the walk we went and got coffee at the local shop because we ran out at home. The coffee at this shop is so good and only $1.25 for an Americano.

Then we came back and hung out for a while before Stacie, Lea and I went out to visit some local markets. Stacie bought a nice little red dress and we picked up some wine for the evening and a nice little shop we did not even know was there.

Then we came back and went out for lunch at the Green Room, which was our favorite haunt for our stay, great food, great people and CHEAP!

When we came back we ran down to the beach for a game of capture the flag. We have had fun playing kids against parents for the past few nights. An adorable little girl started playing with Lea and our game was put on hold for about 10 mins, but in the end the the parents won out.

A little pool time, some reading and then a movie capped off a wonderful last day in Africa.

Stacie

Fun day, especially the pool time. Lea displayed her superhuman strength, as usual. Can't believe the balance needed for this one.

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September 23rd 2014 - Travel from Bowness to London England

Today was a travel day, so we woke up early as usual and started to pack up and clean the house for our departure. Once we were all packed up we locked up the house and started our journey down to London. It was about a 5 hour drive, so we all got comfortable and before we knew it we were heading into the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately I made a wrong turn on the first major roundabout and took us about 15 minutes back up the highway we just traveled with no means to turn around. I was a little frustrated (to say the least) in adding 30 minutes to an already long drive, but we got over it and soon we were pulling into the rental car drop off with all of our bags.

It was around lunch time so we decided to grab a bite to eat at a Japanese noodle place around the corner from the car rental location. Once we were refueled we figured out we were just across the river from Big Ben and Parliament, so we wandered over to the river and took some pictures.

After our tourist visit to Big Ben, we loaded onto the tube and headed over to Notting Hill to find our apartment. The trip was pretty easy and we were able to get into our flat with no major problems, however, the flat turned out to be pretty disappointing. The size was great, but it was pretty dirty (hairs on the pillowcases, and mold in the bathroom) which was not a great way to start our stay in London. After the hobbit house we stayed in at Bowness, we are wondering if we are going to really struggle with our houses along the way. So far we have not had the greatest luck - out of the 7 places we have rented only two have been good.

D.C - Projects across the street
Fergus on Newmarket - Rapist dog
Kinsale - Very Good
Camp - Excellent
Edinburgh - Ok, but terrible internet problems and not enough beds
Bowness - No internet and hobbit house
London - Mold, not clean, hairs on pillow cases

Hopefully it gets better from here.

After we got settled in we called the owner and complained and started to look for new lodging. The owner told us he would refund the money, but he did not have another solution for us. Stacie jumped in and started kicking some ass. I was trying to find another rental, but was having no luck at all.

Stacie and I decided we needed a night out on our own so we headed down the street and found a nice little Italian place and had a great meal with a bottle of wine to cool off a bit. We have high hopes for London, so hopefully we can resolve the lodging issue quickly and move on to the fun.

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September 22nd 2014 - Bowness On Windermere, England

This morning Stacie and I woke up and took a walk up the town to get a little exercise. It was a beautiful day and Stacie was excited because we were going to head to a famous garden today for a little tour.

Before we headed out though we decided to drop a sticker on Bowness. Since we have spent so much time at our local Costa coffee shop (due to the fact that the house we are in has no internet), we thought it was appropriate to place the sticker there.

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Once we were done with the walk we got the family up and had some breakfast and then headed off to Levans Hall, which is one of the most famous topiary gardens in the world. Topiary gardens are where some of the shrubs and trees are pruned into different shapes. Everyone decided to come along on this trip, which was nice. Peter's toe is getting worse and we are all a little worried about how it will impact the next couple of weeks, but he is being a good sport about it.

The garden was pretty amazing. It was beautifully cared for and the topiaries were crazy.

While we were there, we found a little playground in the back where we had a little fun in between our garden touring (not that garden touring is not tons of fun anyway).

Grandma and Lea going for a little ride

After touring the garden we decided to have a lunch at the estate house. The lunch was good and it was nice to be able to continue to enjoy the garden while getting a bite to eat.

After the garden we headed back to Bowness for a nice afternoon nap and a relaxing evening.

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September 21st 2014

This is a bit of an unusual post. Most things written on this site were written a day or so after they happened, this post is happening exactly 1 year to the day after it happened. I decided today to start writing a daily post again every day from now until I actually started writing the posts on December 13th 2014 so we can at least have a little bit of a daily record of the trip and preserve some of the memories we made in both text and pictures. A couple of notes on this approach: first, at this time I was using my phone as my camera most of the time, so the pictures are definitely not of the same caliber as the later posts. Second, I have a horrible memory, so these posts will most likely be pretty short and significantly less descriptive than the posts after December 13th, but at least they will be something.

Now on to the day.

Stacie and I woke up early as usual and decided to go for a walk around the lake. We had mostly been heading north on our walks in Bowness, but this morning we decided to head through town and see what the southern route held for us. We picked our way through the small streets and ended up finding a trail heading south out of town. The day was cooler than most we had in Bowness and it almost started to feel like fall. The town is really charming and when we wandered out to the lake the views were really bucolic.

We had a wonderful walk and talk and then headed back to the house to see if anyone was awake. Once the kids and grandma were awake we decided that the days activity would be a long hike to the top of a hill near where we had zip-lined a couple of days ago. We jumped in the car and headed out to the trailhead. On the way we dropped Grandma off at Hogshead, a small town with a shrine to the local hero Beatrix Potter.

Once on the trail we started heading up a rocky canyon and after about an hours climb we reached the summit. The views at the top were really stunning.

Once we were done with the summit we started heading back down the mountain. The trail here was through a dense forrest of pine and in some places it completely blocked out the sun, which made it a little eerie, but also very cool, with lots of moss and mushrooms growing everywhere.

Once we made it back down the hill we went and picked up Grandma and headed home for a relaxing afternoon and evening.

Once back at home we made Tacos for dinner. This was kind of a special treat as it is hard to find ingredients for some of the regular meals we make at home, and we love our tacos. However, once the tacos were made we were all lining up in the little galley kitchen to load our plates and Peter rested his right on the edge of the counter. Once he loaded a taco on the balance of the weight shifted and the plate slipped of the edge of the counter and fell right on his foot. He fell to the floor immediately and started writhing around on the floor in pain. I kind of rolled my eyes and laughed thinking he was overreacting to a little pain, and finally said "come on Peter, just get up". What I did not realize at this point was the plate had fallen right on his big toe, and in the end we have determined it actually broke his toe. I still feel guilty about giving him grief over how he was reacting to a little plate on the foot. This is the first real injury for the trip and given how much walking we do it could be a big problem, only time will tell.

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