Tag Archives: plans

No, We Aren’t Done Traveling!

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I assure any readers (are there any readers?!) that I have been busy with some plans. In addition I’ve been doing my daily walks (Sunday being my day of rest so I rarely walk then), and most of my walks are with my sister, which is a real joy. I’m blessed to have her so nearby. Never did I think I wanted to walk with someone else, but she and I seem to be a pretty good team!

I’m also trying to get my oboe playing “chops” back in gear. I took a hard fall a week ago, but I finally attempted to play yesterday and I’m able to do that with no issues, aside from sounding awful because I’m out of shape. (Side note: NEVER pull out your phone to read and continue walking. Uneven sidewalks can be a very dangerous thing!) But I must get my playing back in gear since I really do have to work this coming season. (Is it horrible of me to say I was sort of hoping I could not play so I could claim disability? Yeah, that’s probably not a good thing to say. So never mind that.)

But here’s a bit of travel news:

We have a wedding to attend in September. Initially we thought we’d also incorporate a visit to the east coast for fall colors but, alas, we decided money wasn’t there for such a trip. We are blessed to be able to take the trips we do, and I work hard at not being envious of those with the finances to do more — we can do SO much more than many of the people I know. NO complaining from me allowed! But the fall colors trip was tabled. So it’s a weekend wedding in Vermont and a short visit to Boston — a place we’ve not been yet and figured we’d see since we have to pay for flights back east anyway.

We also have a Chicago trip planned because my “Germany brother and sister-in-law” Greg and Jan (to distinguish between them and my “Brooklyn brother and sister-in-law” Timothy and Margaret) are going to be there and when Greg suggested a meet up there was no way I was going to say no!

And, finally, we are going to do another walk! This time it will be a Cotswold walk, and Greg and Jan are joining us. That trip will involve more planning, and I’ve yet to figure it all out, but since it is not until the spring of 2026 I have a lot of time to get that one figured out. Some things are already on the calendar (and partially paid for with no refunds allowed … eek!). We opted to go with a company for the walk, just as we did for the Great Glen Way in Scotland and the Douro walk in Portugal. I think, though, that I should maybe get my act together and schedule the next walk on my own, should there be one. I’m sure I could manage now that I see how all that works, and I know it would save money. At least I think it would.

All that being said, I also know plans can change. I make these plans realizing that they may not happen: life can be altered in a blink of an eye. God willing, we will travel more. I know, though, that nothing is guaranteed. I truly believe what I’ve often said and repeat to myself a lot, “God is good, but life is hard. These two things I know.”

Okay. Enough of me. Over ’n out.

Have a photo for managing to survive reading my ramble:

Segovia from the Alcazar, 5.21.25

Still Here

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Yes, I’m here. Yes, I’ve not blogged for a while. No, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been planning trips.

You read that correctly … trips. Three, in fact. We have our walking holiday, a wedding trip, and a visit in a city here in the United States with my brother Greg and sister-in-law Jan, who will be coming in from Germany for a trip here. So tons of planning is going on, and lots of possibility for confusion.

Thanks to my spreadsheets, though, everything is clearly on the page. So it might not be clear in my brain, but I can check those spreadsheets easily. Much has been taken care of with two of the three trips.

Flights and trains? Well, sort of tricky sometimes. Spain and Belgium trains still aren’t available. I wrote to Renfe and they said they still didn’t know when my trains would be available because they are waiting for the permits. Belgium made it clear it’s not worth trying until a month before. Flights in the states are ones I wait a bit on: too early and you pay a lot. Too late and you pay a lot. So timing … it’s tricky, but I check in occasionally to see how things are going.

Oh, and one more trip that may or may not include me is on the calendar as well. I’m still waiting to see what my work schedule will be, but Dan has a reunion to attend!

Fun times here on the Emerson-Mitchell planet!

Here, have a photo from a time in Florence (or shall I say Firenze?) quite some time ago.

Watermelon Bike, 8.28.16

Just more planning …

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First of all, in case anyone is reading … yes, we heard back from the final restaurant and yes, our table is booked. So we have everything set for our Great Glen Way walk, aside from the one place that is walk in only. I trust we’ll manage to make that one work: it’s certainly nothing worth worrying about.

Someone on Facebook (there is a Great Glen Way group) wrote to say some routes on the Great Glen Way have been closed, so I’ll be curious to see how we are rerouted and how many more miles we end up walking due to that. But what’s a few more miles, right? Perhaps our packet from Mickledore will even fill us in on all of that. Sadly, it’s yet to arrive! They had warned us that it could be FOUR weeks after sending it that it would land in our mailbox. Ah, snail mail! Getting more “snailish” all the time, I guess.

I heard back from one (Rick Steves recommended) B&B (in York) this past week. Turns out the place next to them has sold and there is major renovation going on. I hated saying goodbye to the place (it’s called the Bronte Guest House and doesn’t that sound great?), but if we are paying for something I think we need to get something that doesn’t drive us bonkers with noise, so we had to move. So it goes. Still, I will hope that, should we ever return, we will book with them. I’m sorry they are dealing with this issue, but I greatly appreciate them contacting us about it.

Ch-ch-ch-changes. If one is a traveler one must accept those and not stress. Right?!


My phone now informs me that we leave in 23 days. This means it’s definitely time to see what clothing I’ll bring and if I need to get anything else, since so much has to be ordered online these days. I try so hard to shop local, but stores are carrying less and less. I already have a pair of sandals coming. (What?! Sandals for the UK? What about rain. Yeah … I know ….)

Side Note: I have this awful tendency to want to have something new for a trip. This is absolutely ridiculous and I wish I could rid myself of the bad habit. So will I? Hmm. Stay tuned ….

BUT, regarding clothing … who knows what the weather will be like? Someone wrote to say that they did the GGW (see how savvy I am? I am now calling the Great Glen Way the GGW. Yep, I’m that cool.) last May and it was HOT. Now keep in mind “hot” is a relative term, but if the temp is 60° or higher it can really feel hot if you’re walking a lot. Trust me. I know. I’ll be checking weather eventually, but it’s simply too soon to bother now.

So either tomorrow or Tuesday I will be getting things out and seeing if I have things that will work. As any reader knows, we attempt to travel light, and that means clothes must all coordinate so I can mix and match. Easy to do, really.

Oh … and I have been wearing the shoes I’ll take on the Great Glen Way to make certain they work. So far, so good!

The other thing I’ve now done is purchase our “Two Together” train pass. This is a pass that makes our train trips much less expensive. It requires us to travel together (not a problem) and requires, as well, that it is always the two of us, so I can’t switch partners. Um. I think that works just fine.

Okay, this is enough of me for now. I hope this is all readable. I just finished with a week of opera and my brain is entirely fried.

Not that that is anything new.