23. Stonehenge to Brighton

Our second day in the front seat, this time on the left, started with Henry giving a quick comeback when someone picked at him a bit. It was great and Robyn said, "Ah, we're getting to the end of the trip and we're getting a bit cheeky." I love that term.

Once we got off the Dual Carriageway, we went through that great, lush rolling countryside again and I vowed I wouldn't, but my camera came out. We kept trying to get pictures of how narrow the road was with hedges right up to the edge. Everything is so pleasantly overgrown. For some reason it strongly appeals to me and I feel peace in my soul. We need less concrete and more green!

We stopped at a rest stop that was surrounded by trees and bushes with little tables and a snack shop. We got lattes and stood in the sun talking and laughing. Have I mentioned what a great group this is?

On we went through the countryside towards Stonehenge. Henry launched into a talk of the areas history and the Vikings attacks. No place was safe for the Celtic tribes as the Vikings raided and marched inland.

Meanwhile, now that we are in front, we see that Henry just holds the microphone and talks. I was sure he had a script or at least notes, but he just has it all in his head. Impressive!

Andy, our driver, yelled out, "Deer!" And we watched two deer cross the road and run across the field. We've seen deer crossing signs all along and we finally saw some and later we saw more.

Stonehenge is an observatory to keep track of the seasons and lining up with the sun. Henry told us that the massive stones come from 200 miles away in Wales. How they got there so long ago is such a mystery as well as how they were placed with such precision. Scientists tried to recreate the process and failed.

Stonehenge was already in ruins when the Celts arrived. Then the Romans helped it along by taking stones for building as needed. Archeologists did more harm searching for artifacts to give them clues as to how it was built and never found anything of help. People climbed on them and chipped pieces of stone from them. Finally it was named as a National Heritage Site and is now protected. It is fenced and you can walk around in, but not touch it.

There was a huge line as tour buses arrived and we had limited time. Mary asked a man at the front about time and he opened a side register and let us right in. We were so lucky shooting right through and out into the sunny, grassy field. We walked around in the wind and it reminded us of the wide open space of the Dakotas. The stones were so incredible and we took many pictures.

When we got back on the bus, Robyn wanted to know if we'd climbed the stones as she did not go all the way in. Some stayed back and took pictures from the road. We explained to her that you could not, but John said that I climbed up and stood on top swishing. I am never going to live that down!

We stopped in Salisbury and toured the huge cathedral. The carvings on the outside we amazing. We kept wondering how they could create such massive works of art with such precision. It was crumbling and falling down several years ago, but is now being restored with money from royalties earned from the book, Sarum, which is a history of the area by Rutherford. Most impressive was viewing one of four copies of the Magna Carta. I remember studying that in history, but this brought it alive. It was the beginning of rights for all.

We traveled along just a few miles inland from the coast through 1000 year old hunting land of rolling farms, heather, and scrub trees with some proper forest. We passed through a stretch of 3 lanes of traffic as we were not far from London. We were just north of Southampton where cruise ships dock. The landscape looked much like home here and then a castle pops up. Home is starting to sound very good.

We stopped in Arundel and walked up the steep hills by the castle.

We stopped at an ATM machine to prepare for tips as the end was near. We got ice cream and sat with others in the sun in the cute park by the river.

On we drove to Brighton, which is a party, resort town with a pretty coast. The beach is small stones instead of sand, but very busy with clubs, hotels, arcades, and shops. There were nice homes with lovely gardens, then big whitewashed hotels by the sea.

We drove by an in incredible Muslim looking palace called the Royal Pavilion which belonged to one of the kings.

Our hotel was inland with about a 15 minute walk to the sea. We freshened up and met up with several in the bar. We had such a great time talking and laughing that dinner came too soon. We were all aware it was almost over.

After dinner, Bob and I walked down to the shore as I wanted to put my hand in the English Channel. As it turned out, a wave came in and my feet got soaked. Luckily I had on my hiking sandals and it was a little squishy but fine.

It was getting crowded with young people and tourists, so we hiked back up the hill through the train station to our hotel. On the way, we saw many of the Aussies hiking down on the other side of the street. They all yelled greeting with, "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!" And we answered, "Oy, Oy, Oy!" Then Ros yelled, "Hey, where you Yanks going!" I am going to miss this fun group.