Magdalen College, Oxford

Arrived London 7.30 and went straight to Chris and Kates. Kate was sleeping in after a late night. Chris, andy and I walked down to Clifton avenue - the local village, for breakfast. Everything looked great - flowers blooming, trees green, sunny day.
When Kate woke we drove to Oxford to look around. We had lunch at a cute little pub. We then went into Magdalen College - one of the most beautiful university colleges. It had fantastic old building, chapel, quadrangle and extensive grounds. There were deer in the grounds. A stream meandered through and people were punting and canoing along it. What a special time the students must have here.

New Hampshire to Vermont and Boston

Set off in beautiful sunshine and it just got hotter and hotter all day. Drove through the beautiful White Mountains across to Vermont. As we left the mountains the country opened out into rolling hills. Stopped for lunch just out of a picturesque town of Stowe - and then started the long journey home. We arrived at the airport around 5.30, flight for London leaves in an hour and a half.

Dovecote

Spied this charming dovecote on our walk.

Jackson, New Hampshire

Beautiful sunny moring so we went for a walk on a 2 hour track around the village. It was very picturesque with tsnow capped mountains in the distance. There were small mountain ponds and a waterfall tumbling into the town. We stopped in the little village for a delicious roll, then wandered back to the inn for a rest. I spied this tortoise basking in one of the ponds.

Thornbill Inn, Jackson - view through rainy window

New Hampshire

Headed off in glorious sunshine. We drove away from the coast and north out of Maine and into New Hampshire. We left behind the glorious coastal mansions and encountered some rural areas, but then quickly reached more wooded areas with lakes and connifers. Around every lake were houses going down to the water. We continued north into the White Mountains. There was still some old snow around on the road edges. A distal mountain was snow capped. We passed ski runs and lifts - all inactive now that spring is here. Settled into a fantastic lodging in Jackson called Thornhill Lodge. We fave a beautiful view back to the mountains. There is a very good chef here and we had n excellent 3 course dinner as part of the tarriff.

Maine Stay - Kennebunkport

Woke to beautiful sunshine today. Went for a walk down to the town and river. All the boats are cling wrapped for the winter. Here is a picture of the beautiful lodging we are staying in. It is surrounded by sweeping lawns - all beautifully groomed. All around the bulbs are starting to bloom. The season is a little later here further north. We have just had freshly brewed coffee, and then we will sit down to breakfast.

The Maine Stay - B&B Kennebunkport

We are staying in this really delightful bed and breakfast in Kenndbunkport. Lots of the lodgings are closed as it is too early in the season. We came upon this really traditional one with an American flag out the front. We have 3 of the front roms with our own parlour and sunroom. This is a picture of the bedroom, The hosts are so friendly and helpful. There is tea and coffee avaiable in their dining room with freshly baked cookies.

River in Maine

Maine

Woke to a beautiful fine day. Headed up the coast in the car through lots of small towns - only getting lost a couple of times. First we passed through very priveleged areas with grand homes - many of them with private ocean access. All had sweeping manicured lawns. We went through Newbury port, Kettery, Portsmouth and finaly reached the charming town of Kennebunkport. We did pass through one area which was not very attractive with row upo row of holiday violas - none of them anywhere near the ocean. Further on was an area with hundreds of cheap houses and units alongside the ocean - such a contrast to the other areas. This was in the flat dull and uninteresting coastline - the grand houses were all along the more interesting coastline with bays and rocky headlands. There were a few surfers - but the waves were fairly ordinary. We crossed many streams and small rivers with extensive reed banks that get harvested. The houses all the way were remarkable.

Rochester, Maine

After having all sorts of problems using the GPS we finally headed out of Boston in the pouring rain. We went north on the expressway as far as Beverley, and then went on to the minor roads to the coast. We followed a beautiful winding road close to the ocean. Unfortunately the weather was not kind so we really couldn't see much. We arrived in Gloucester, a small town with lots of art galleries - all closed - too early in the season. We continued on to Rockport. Most of the inns were closed - but we came across Emerson Inn - right on the ocean front, and stayed the night there. Lots of character, with the sound of the waves through the night. We had a delicious dinner in nearby Gloucester at Duckworths bistro. We were driving in the rain, lost, when we came across this small neighbourhood restaurant. We had a fantastic meal - I had scallops, then lobster and pea risotto - excellent.

Marathon Man

Chris rode down the course to find Andy. He then rode with him for a while. Andy was looking really strong where we met him. Just short of the half way mark. We had seen lots of people passing who were really struggling. He looked confident and was clearly running well within himself. He had a re-fuel and headed on for the next half of the race. We got back on the bikes and took the back roads to try to catch up with him closer to the finish. The roar from the crowds was amazing. Chris took us on a very picturesque route through the most beautiful suburbs. The houses looked as though they should have been in picture books. We got back to the course at Chestnut Hill Reservoir at the 35 km mark. The crowds were just as noisy. We waited for Andy but couldn’t find him. We were worried that he would already have passed by – so we continued to the finish. We still couldn’t locate him. Chris and Kate were running out of time to meet their 6pm flight. We returned the bikes and as we got back to the hotel we met up with Andy in the foyer. He looked great – as good as any other competitor and had completed the race in a credible 5 hours and 17 minutes -22,172 out of 23,162 starters. A great achievement.

Marathon Day

Andy left before 7am to catch the team bus to Hopkinton – the start of the race 42km out of town. Just before 9am Chris, Kate and I headed off on our bikes to watch the race. The weather was kind – slightly overcast but fine. We just rode up the course short of Natick where we stopped at a cute little café for breakfast. As we sat there the wheelchair athletes began to pass. We set up on the side of the road and cheered them through. Next came the elite women and men athletes. We knew that Andy had started out later, and wouldn’t be coming through for some time, so we took back road to progress up the course. We finally set up after the 12 mile mark (short of half way) with our Australian flags and encouraged all the runners.

Boston Red Socks

The match started - the Boston Red Socks versus the Baltimore Oriels. The crowd must have been 99% for the Red Socks. They had favourites in the line-up as they came up to bat and cheered to show their feelings. It was a beautiful sunny day but freezing in the stands. The crowd were constantly coming and going, and eating from the fast food vendors ranging up and down the aisles. Needless to say the Red Socks won. We just followed the crowd back into the city.

Fenway Park

On Sunday we were inducted into the culture of a baseball game. We waited on the subway for a train and as the doors opened were packed into a carriage like sardines. We were disgorged close to Fenway Park the home of the Boston Red Socks team. We were carried along to the precincts of the stadium where there were bands playing, mascots ranging, fast food and drink stalls vending their wares. Kate and I bought some merchandise and then we entered the ground. The music was pumping. We had great seats looking down over the home base to third.

Beacon Hill Boston

In the afternoon Gins friend Colleen took us on a walking tour of Beacon Hill and parts of the Freedom Trail. The streets were so charming with bulbs flowering the tiny front courtyards and in window boxes. The houses were built mostly of brownstone bricks. Colleen lives in one such house. Here unit is the former dining room of a mansion. In this room there is a living room, tiny kitchen, bathroom and mezzanine bedroom. The ceilings are so high that all of this can fit in. We walked over to Faneuil Markets. There was a very moving holocaust memorial there. Nearby were fruit and vegetable markets, and then food and rather traditional touristy trashy markets. We wandered back over the Boston Common to our hotel.

Newbury Street

After the convention centre we went back to Newbury Street for lunch. The weather was still holding despite rain being forecast. The streets were crowded. Everyone we spoke to was welcoming and very excited to hear that we had come all the way from Australia just for the marathon.