| Our Summer 2002 Vacation | |||
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In 2002 our vacation was a little
different. We normally go west in the USA, but this year we went
east - a long way east - to Europe, and we also split our vacation into
two pieces. The first week we spent in the UK, introducing the
newly married Keith and Kim Rivich to English life. The second
week we spent in southern Spain, exploring parts of Andalucia and
keeping a weather eye open for possible places to live so we can do astronomy
in Europe. The weather in England was very good to us, and we
visited many places, including Winster, the village where Liz and I lived
for years, and including the church where we were married in 1995.
We saw the ancient city of York where we toured the magnificent
cathedral (York Minster), Jorvik, the ancient Viking city, buried
beneath today's streets, and also went on a Ghost Tour. Other visits
were to the east coast fishing village of Whitby, the Peak District
village of Castleton and many pubs!
In the second week Spain was incredible, with desert areas just like west Texas, but with almonds, walnuts, lemons, limes and figs growing everywhere on the trees, and clear, bright star filled skies. We were very much taken with the area and are making plans to return to look for a second home there where we can practice our astronomy and enjoy the beauty of the countryside and the friendliness of the local people. |
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The UK piece started with the arrival of Keith and Kim at Chesterfield station |  |
The train from London approaches the platform |
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And we are treated to the first example of "the tongue" - see later |  |
The weather is fine and all are ready for a week of exploration |
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The Yanks show their pleasure at being invited to stay at our house |  |
But we feed them anyway in the interests of International relations |
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First day we visited Winster, the village where Liz and I lived for many years |  |
Kim was introduced to the traditional English stile |
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Here is K2 helping his new bride over a gate as we walked in the fields surrounding the village |  |
And here we see Keith testing the quality of his new bride in time honored fashion |
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This is in the church where Lizzie and I were married | 
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And this is walking down the village street on the way to our favorite pub in all the world, where beer as only the English can make it was drunk |
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No UK vacation can pass without experiencing fish and chips |  |
On another day we drove to York, and here you can see one of the old city gates |
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This is part of York castle, now mostly derelict |  |
Another pub - more beer was drunk |
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And Betty's famous (and expensive) tea room/cafe, where tea was drunk |  |
You have to really crane your neck to see the top of the Minster (cathedral) |
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And it's tough to photograph, as Kim found out. At one point I thought the couple entering the church were K2 and K - note the position of his hand........ |  |
Keith got us in to see the old telescope in York Observatory - still in good working order |
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A beautiful old house near to our UK home is called Haddon Hall - a "must" for American visitors, who can experience what old English life must have been like |  |
The gardens are famous for their beauty and views - actually I meant the trees and stream and fields...... |
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The house has its own church, and while Kim enjoyed looking around...... |  |
good old Keith was pulling dead vampire bats out of holes in the stonework....... |
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or sitting in the ancient pews, lost in thought |  |
Lizzie and I always enjoy the gardens, which are beautifully kept |
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Another visit was to the east coast fishing port of Whitby |  |
You get a good view of the town from the top of the cliffs |
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And a stroll along the pier is good too, as long as you have a chaperone! |  |
There's that tongue again |
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Whitby Abbey stands on cliffs overlooking the sea, its sandstone walls crumbling as they are battered by storms from the North Sea | 
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Keith tries a creative posture - where's Kim? - and we end our first week with the honeymooners posing for the camera - no tongue - no hands |
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Then Lizzie and I visited Spain to see the place and to test its suitability for astronomy |  |
The arid nature and beauty of the area reminded us of west Texas |
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On the trees were fresh limes |  |
fresh oranges |
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Pomegranates |  |
......and yummy figs |
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We also discovered a UK astronomer who has bought a place and moved in his Meade LX 200 |  |
The view from his personal mountain top was superb in all directions |
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We looked around at properties for sale |  |
and they all came with a fair amount of land |
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Our accommodations were very comfortable, with stunning mountains in the background | 
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We climbed to the top of one of them - and looked back at the path we had followed. Halfway up there was a fresh stream to replenish our water |
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This is lunch - almonds fresh from the tree, opened using two stones |  |
and a tree to shelter under when the sun got too strong for us |
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All in all we loved the place and were sad to have to leave |  |
So we had a quick swim in the Mediterranean before we left |
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Flying back through London we were lucky to be able to spend a few hours with grand-daughter Fredi | 
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She has always bounced - but this time she wore us out as we explored the hidden delights of Crawley before our flight back to the US from Gatwick |
