First full day in Chapel Stile

Woke up early today to shower and do some reading. There's nothing like a quiet house in the morning. The rest of the gang woke up and Dr. Bob and Margie (his wife) came to pick us up to go to Windemere where we were going to get groceries. Unfortunately, there wasn't a bus going to Windemere when we thought it was going, so we ventured on our first walk instead. Looking back, I'm really glad we went on this walk, especially since it was such a nice day. Right now, it's raining as I sit in the dining room, but it was comfortable 50 degrees with some wind. Happy I brought my sweater along!

At times, the hike was a little hilly and our group tired out. But I think that the first few days might be a little rough before we gain our hiking feet; then we will be good to go! The landscape here is fantastic. I honestly can't describe in words how breathtaking it is. It just stretches out before you for miles, with such vibrant and alive greens. This is a spot everyone should go to. I mean it. We ended up walking to Ambleside, had a picnic lunch, bought groceries at their local grocery store, and returned to our cottage via a bus. Mike and I decided to go on another hike, this time behind our cottage which was a lot of fun. We thought we were going to the summit of the fell behind our cottage but once we got to what we thought was the summit, there was the actual summit behind that! So we decided to save that hike for another day.

Mike and Sam made dinner tonight, chicken fajitas, which were delicious. Dr. Bob had a small class meeting and then he and Margie left for their cottage, but by this time, it was raining. Hope they didn't get too wet! Another full day planned tomorrow!

Happy Mother's Day (especially my mom, June. Sorry I can't be in Mt. Horeb to celebrate this day with you!)

Oh and if you're interested in hearing another view of this trip, check out Mike's blog: http://expeditionsinengland.wordpress.com/