Blog — Roaming with Roth

GOODBYE, HELLO
August 22, 2023

It is Monday night. Adele and I completed our packing in anticipation of our departure Thursday August 24. Yet, we still have much to do. Oh, nothing related to our two-month journey through England and Scotland. No. Today, Adele saw her podiatrist because her hip has bothered her for a couple of months. The foot doc told her she has a significant length difference in her legs, so he packed her right shoe in order to elevate her one side and level her hips so she is no longer compensating on one side causing stress and muscle and joint pain.

And, I will arrive at the UNC Orthopedic Surgery Center tomorrow (Tuesday August 22) at 8:15 AM. For those of you who don’t know, the pinky on my right hand was caught and slammed in my car’s door. I broke the medial bone between the first two joints, after which my finger was effectively pointing in three directions. I will have the surgery tomorrow, post-op on Wednesday, and board a plane to London Heathrow on Thursday.

———————————————-

We arrived safely at Heathrow, albeit 2 1/2 hours behind. Picked up our vehicle at Hertz, a Skoda with 505 miles and proceeded to drive to Cambridge. I had never driven in England or in any ‘left-sided’ driving country. In preparation, and in an effort to allay my anxiety, I Googled “Simulated drive in England” and actually discovered some cites with driving instructors having you, the viewer, sitting behind the wheel with the driver. I left feeling confident and assured, pulled out of the parking area, and began driving like a champ. Yes, no modesty here, I simply did great…if you don’t consider my having driven over the curb within the first 1,000 feet. Otherwise, the drive went well and better than I might have anticipated.

We arrived in Cambridge just in time to check-in at the hotel without going up to our room in order to walk for twenty minutes to Cambridge center to meet with our tour group for a 2-hour walking tour. This may sound daunting, however considering that we woke up at 5 in the morning, were picked up by car at 11, and sat on our bums through lounges, plane flights and delays for a total of 12 hours, although thoroughly exhausted, we looked forward to the opportunity to walk and get our joints moving again.

Here are some random images from our tour. I will end it here for now, as it is morning of Saturday the 26th of August and I am waiting for a cup of coffee. I would like anyone within earshot of this blog to feel free to respond with comments, your thoughts, etc. Thanks for taking this journey with us.

POST PANDEMIC DIARY

Thanks for following us on our journey...