Having A Jolly

Baxter, Kala and I no longer have a house.  We have a home – on Terrapin - but not a physical house on a plot of land somewhere in the suburbs of the US.  We do, however, have a few belongings that would not fit on Terrapin that we could not leave behind, even as minimalistic as we strive to be.  Most of the things are gear related, or “tools” for future adventure as we think of it – climbing racks, mountain bikes, road bikes, skis, helmets (lots of helmets), BASE jumping rigs, our VW Bus, among other things.  All neatly packed in a small 16x10 storage unit in Utah. 

In planning our winter and spring travel, we realized there could be an occasion we might need a few of those things.  So Baxter made a quick, 72-hour trip from Plymouth to London to Salt Lake City and back, while I stayed and watched after Terrapin and Kala.  Leaving on Thursday morning and back by Sunday morning, Baxter, who has never been one to waste time, accomplished the mission and was back in the UK with “tools” in hand, equipped for future adventures.

While we were in London for 6 hours, we took the opportunity to visit recognizable historical locations that we have only seen in pictures – Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament and Big Ben.   There is still quite a bit we have left undiscovered but we have plenty of time for that.  

When someone at the marina asked us about Baxter's trip, they said "Off for a jolly?"  Yep.  That's exactly what it was.

Beautiful sunrise in Little Cottonwood Canyon (Salt Lake City, UT)

The gates of Buckingham Palace

Stopping by the Queen's house

The Victoria Memorial

Princess Diana Walk in St James Park

Westminster Abbey - every English and British monarch since 1066 has been crowned here and 16 royal weddings since 1100 AD.

The Dean's Yard - the former Westminster Monastery

Big Ben - having a facelift

Rare, but beautiful, English sunset