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Entries made in April, 2009

Rainy Day Off

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

We decided last night that if it was raining in the morning, we would take a rest day and Tyler would get some work done. So when we awoke to the pounding of water against our tent we sloshed into town in search of free wireless internet and break...

Pushing Through

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

This morning we awoke to a nearly cloudless sky and beautiful, dry, warm, sun! It was actually hot in the tent! We both forgot to set the alarm last night but no matter; we have been waking up every day between 7 and 8 mostly of our own accord fo...

Sopping Wet

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

The weather was supposed to be sunny all day today. Tyler and I packed up camp with high hopes in spite of the overcast skies. In the midst of packing, Pete and Reinette stopped by to say goodbye before driving off in their little car to go explo...

Helvellyn Ascent

Monday, April 27th, 2009

As the morning wore on, the clouds cleared a bit and it was starting to look like we might have a nice day ahead of us. Tara's cramps were subsiding so we decided the day would be much better spent hiking/climbing than sitting in out tent working ...

Waiting out the Rain

Monday, April 27th, 2009

While we were in town yesterday it dawned on me that we are surrounded on all sides by mountain climbing shops, mountain climbing gear and mountain climbers yet we know nothing about the mountains in the area. I went into one of the many shops ...

Hiking & New Friends in Keswick

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day in the Lake District—a rare treat indeed! I walked 10 yards to the campsite shop and bought some butter and milk and set about making pancakes while Tyler was taking a shower. After having a leisurely early-morni...

Right at Home

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

We left Cockermouth today for the town of Keswick in the heart of the Lake District. Fresh from two days of rest we were both energized and ready to hit the road. As we pedalled out of town I had a very distinct, familiar feeling that I haven't exp...

On Being American

Friday, April 24th, 2009

When we went downstairs for breakfast there was an American couple sitting down already having some eggs and toast. Their names were Nikolai and Ashley, and they were from San Diego, on their honeymoon driving through Ireland and the UK. We insta...

Resting at The Rook

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

While our free-camp spot was technically great, neither of us slept very well. It was extremely windy and the confined space in which we placed our tent didn't allow room to stake the rain fly down. This made for a lot of noise as the loose fabri...

Lush Life

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

We woke up this morning and started packing up camp immediately. We were almost done when a very friendly park ranger came walking up with her dog with this to say: "You know what I'm going to say—you can't camp here, but you already have and...

Fare Thee Well Northumberland

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

We are definitely getting better at this new way of life with each passing day. This morning we both had showers, made french toast, and packed up camp in the space of 1.5 hours and didn't feel rushed at all! Our average speed is increasing and o...

Finding the Right Road

Monday, April 20th, 2009

We actually got up reasonably early today—the alarm went off at 7:00 and we were up by 7:30. We're getting better at packing up camp, but all the time we save is now used to make delicious breakfasts! This morning I made thick crepes with the car...

Perfect Roads

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

We started the morning by trying out our popovers recipe as pancakes. We wound up with hot, doughy crepes that were really, really good. Tara tossed some Hob Nobs (our new favorite snack) into the last batch to thicken them up a bit and it worked...

Quick Update

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

We're just north of Hexham camping. Everything is wonderful! We are still journalling every night. We have loads of pictures and stories to post but no viable internet connection with which to do so yet. More posts should appear sometime tomo...

Hilly Day

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

After a very relaxing evening in our 2-pound-a-night field, we munched on buttered hot cross buns and some leftover sandwiches as we packed up camp. We started our day cycling back to Rothbury by climbing up the hills we had cruised down the day b...

Hedgeley Hall

Friday, April 17th, 2009

We coasted into the Hedgeley Estate around 5:30pm. Affixed to the door of Hedgeley Hall was a note from our host, Katie, letting us know that she had run to the next village to visit her mother. The note also included instructions to make ours...

Alnwick Castle to Hedgeley Hall

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

After being rushed out of our B&B by our not-so-friendly host, we spent most of the morning exploring Alnwick Castle (Harry Potter was filmed there!). The inside of the castle itself was as fancy as you'd expect, all gilded and laden with silk,...

Working in Alnwick

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

We've just spent two relatively uneventful nights in Alnwick at a spotless, soul-less B&B run by a very weird and off-putting bachelor with a habit of coming into our room and totally rearranging our things when we're out. He vaccuumed constan...

Alnwick

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

- Well, I guess I copped out of writing this entry! Tara and I both had a good laugh when we came across this today (May 13th, 2010). That little dash up there is all I wrote. Neither of us remembers this day, but I do recall that I was worki...

Warkworth Wandering

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Breakfast is served in the Warkworth House Hotel from 8:00 to 9:15 in the morning. We are still in scavenger mode so we made a point of waking up in time for optimal eating. We had freshly squeezed orange juice, cranberry juice, and coffee in a ...

Stopping to Work

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

We've stopped very early today as I have a few unfinished work projects that need to be completed. My biggest clients have all placed an incredible amount of trust in me that I will keep their software running from abroad and for this I am very th...

Holy Island & Drama at Newton-by-the-Sea

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

We woke up on the beach to a stunning sunrise, packed up, and headed towards Lindisfarne, or Holy Island. To reach the island we cycled along the damp, seaweed-covered causeway that is only accessible during low tide. Upon arrival, we ...

Hills & Re-Organization

Friday, April 10th, 2009

We decided to sleep through a rainy early-morning, which proved to be a wise choice since the rain soon stopped and the wind dried our tent. We packed up in record time (we're getting better at it) and headed off in the direction of Berwick upon T...

Goodbye Scotland

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Today was our last day in Scotland. I've joked with Tara a few times that of all the countries we've visited, Scotland is my favorite. Absolutely everyone we have spoken with has been friendly, the countryside is breathtaking and we both think Sc...

The Cove

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

StumbleUpon Readers: Please click here for a message! Thanks for stopping by! This journal entry is the first of ours that has ever been "stumbled upon" and we wanted to say hello. As best we can tell, if you're reading this, you like c...

Hitting our Stride

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

On our way out of Edinburgh, we stopped to do some much needed bicycle maintenance. I had neglected to clean or lube the chains since we started so I spent a good 15 minutes with each bike cleaning things up well before we took off. We left ...

Resting in Edinburgh

Monday, April 6th, 2009

We slept in fairly late (maybe 11:00), and then set about finding another place in Edinburgh to sleep for the night. We decided we needed a rest day, and we were going to spend it hanging out in the city, walking around, and maybe getting tickets ...

Union Canal Bike Path

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

Tara and I have been talking a lot about what we want from our trip. We discuss things like how much we want to bike, what kind of biking we want to do and why we are both here. We did this more times than I can count as we prepared, but perspect...

Rainy Day Ride

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

This was a very, very hard day and it seemed like nothing could go right. We awoke to cold, pouring rain, and had to pack up camp with everything sopping wet. In retrospect, it would have been nice to take the day off, but considering we weren't ...

Stealth Camping

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

David and I left this morning to pick up a 'dongle' that will allow us to have internet access basically anywhere in the UK that has cell service. It took a bit longer than expected so Tara and I didn't leave David's until around 2pm. We stopped ...

Glasgow, Scotland

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

It was a relief to step off of the plane in Glasgow knowing that we would not have to fly again for a very long time. It was so nice to have that part of the journey over with, and now concern ourselves with getting on the road. We settled in "Ba...

In the Lap of Icelandic Luxury

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

We sprinted down to the plane, and were greeted by Icelandic flight attendant goddesses bearing gifts of water, wine and plenty of sympathy for our troubles. These perfectly-manicured women with superhuman buns (the hair kind!) brought us a menu w...

Expedia's Awful Customer Service

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

We booked our tickets on October, 31st 2008. In December of 2008, Iceland Air discontinued their direct flight from Reykjavik to Glasgow. Expedia contacted us and offered to refund our money or re-route us through London. When we looked up new f...

Expedia: Never Again

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

So we're hanging out in Boston's airport getting screwed by Expedia, and have been for the last three hours. More later. ...

How We Did It

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

I wanted to sit down with Tara and document how we got where we are today before it became a distant memory. As it turns out this was a great idea; it was incredibly difficult to remember accurately all of major events leading up to our departure....