Day 30 & 31: Windsor, Heathrow, and Home

Sorry for the blogless day yesterday – Sunday was a day of rest.  We did the less than two hour drive from Cambridge to Windsor in the morning, mostly with Vic’s wipers furiously clearing the rain from the windscreen.  Miraculously, when we parked in Windsor, too early for check in at the B&B, the rain stopped and we even saw peeks of the sun.  Once again we did not get wet as we walked around.  Windsor and its castle were strangely quiet, free of the hordes that usually clog the streets.  Everyone who was anybody (except us) was in London for Trooping the Colour, the Queen’s official birthday celebration.  The monarch’s official birthday is June 12th, thanks to Edward II, who decided that his birthday should be celebrated in nice weather rather the gloom and gray of his November birthday.  That tradition has continued since his time.  Old Elizabeth II is 90 now, the longest serving British monarch EVER, most likely much to the chagrin of Charles, who will become King on her passing.

We had a quiet day and left the camera in the car.  At 3:00 PM we proceeded to 76 Duke Street to check in at the B&B of the same name, owned by Julia, who is now an old friend.  I think this was our fourth stay with her.  She rents to just one visitor per day.  We invited her to dinner with us, as we have in the past, but this time she demurred.  Dinner was at Dhinchak, an Indian restaurant, in downtown Windsor.  The food was as good as ever, and strangely, it was our first Indian food since arriving at Heathrow over a month ago.  In England it seems there is an Indian restaurant, if not two, on every block.

Monday was departure day.  After breakfast with Julia we dropped Vic the Volvo near Heathrow. He and Bailey, our SatNav (GPS) navigator, were troopers during our stay and did themselves proud.  As if to say, “OK, things will be different and back to normal now that you are leaving”, England finally rained on us as we hustled from the car to Terminal Three at Heathrow.  The flight to Boston was smooth as glass.  From Boston we will fly early Tuesday morning back home to Scottsdale, and the trip will be in the history books.

I will be back in late July every other day or so with reports from my solo trip to Saratoga.  And we will have daily reports in September on our return visit to Depoe Bay, Oregon for ten days.  This year instead of three day road trips in each direction, we will be flying to Portland.

Cheers!