Say “Spring Break” to most people and warm weather, beaches, maybe palm trees come to mind. As Bob and I headed out for spring break and did we pick a Caribbean beach? A little place in Mexico? The wine country? Nope – we headed to England where snow is forecast for tomorrow.

And despite the very chilly wind as we headed into Henley today, I am so incredibly glad we came. We, of course, had an adventure getting here. The two mile back up at the bridge started things off right, then we moved to the delay in Tampa. Apparently the plane was late first thing in the morning which just backed it up for every other flight. We did make it to Kennedy, and we high tailed it to the next gate, getting to the Heathrow flight just as they called our zone. I will say, Kennedy is one of those airports where “sprawl” just happened and it makes no sense what so ever. I have to think they just built and connected without planning because if I think someone sat down and thought that was a good design, I’d cry. But any way … we get on board and take bets as to whether or not the care package bag makes it. The plane pushed off from the gate on time, and then went back to the gate due to, what turned out to be, a clogged hydraulic filter. Hour and a half (enough time to pretty much complete the work I brought with me) later and we are off. I will give Delta a lot of credit, with the exception of the food which was just awful (Bob disagrees and said it “wasn’t that bad” – yes, it was) and some very hard seats, the flight over the pond is always wonderful. Great crew. Very friendly and they always try I be helpful, friendly and professional. … Oh, and the bag made it!

We kept today pretty low key. But I am embarrassed to say I used my camera, totally forgetting that I have a new iPad so the connector is different and the fancy dancy card reader doesn’t work on this devise. Nor does it connect tot the phone. So all the pictures I took of the amazing nursery/garden center where we had lunch are stuck on the camera for now. I got a great shot of the boys for Mom L. And both mom’s – you would love the garden center, had it been a bit warmer, we could have wandered all day.

We may have a few adventures planned this trip and I will endeavor to post as I go, using my phone as my camera so I can actually put some pictures with the words. For now, I will just leave with the view from our room at Brad and Emmie’s … A view that despite the cold, I am so very, very glad to have this spring break.

Today we took advantage of John being here to do something that neither Bob nor I have ever done – we drove down to Fort Myers to tour the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but it was beautiful. Two homes, Edison’s build in the late 1800s and Ford’s in the early 1900s with gardens (we all know how much I love gardens), Edison’s lab and some particularly beautiful views. Some of the highlights were …

Banyan trees. These trees were everywhere, and HUGE. Having lived in Florida a few years now I have become familiar with these, but the sheer size if these was amazing.

The pond and coconut grove. Just a serene place and very, very pretty.

The moonlit garden. One of the only parts of the property to be designed by a landscape architect, this garden is designed to bloom and come alive at night. Even in the daylight, it was simply beautiful.

The river. I don’t think I can adequately describe how beautiful the river area is on these estates. The breeze from the river, combined with the sea wall, the waves and the trees just made it amazing. At some point on our walk along the river all three of us made some variation of the comment “this doesn’t suck.” Yes, we were being understated – it was amazing.

Probably my favorite sign on the estates. Really after Mango-palloza how could I not love this sign. Especially when you look up and see mangos just hanging there.

And of course, the houses themselves.

I will add more pictures to a gallery page, so if ya have any interest, just go there. The rest of today is going to be pretty low key – hang out, watch a little Olympics and grill up some Bradley’s sausage. There are so many things I just love about Florida.

Note: I had to create this post in a few stages due to no Internet connection at the hotel. So … some if the pictures are not exactly with the text, but the general idea is still there.

<a

Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities in the world. It ranks right up there with Washington D.C. for me; while Bob appears to like the city, he is slightly less inclined to move to a place where the summer month still require a coat and sweaters. That and the whole "find a job" thing keeps us on Florida (and furry creatures that would not take a move well).

The trip to Edinburgh was a bit more eventful than I would have hoped. There were several exits closed on the M4 (I think that was the road) and then came trying to figure out Heathrow. We traveled on one airline, but apparently the flight was taken over by British Airways, so we needed to check in with them – which I did not know until a very nice gentleman told us. Then the information board told us to "wait in Gate 8," which we did (and were able to watch the remainder of the Wimbledon finals) but then it changed to "boarding at Gate 84" without warning. It didn't help that the sign indicated it is a 10 minute walk to gate 84 and boarding closes in 7 minutes. We were fine, but for someone who is compulsive about time, this was not good.

The rain also followed us to Edinburgh. It was clear and sunny until Monday when we arrived and managed to rain most of the day. Not hard enough to deter us, but enough that I know it is raining and cold (yes, I am a wimp). However, despite the dreary conditions, we managed to walk to Edinburgh Castle and enjoy the sights for a few hours. There were lots of people there, more than I remember from the last trip, but not so bad that you could not see anything. And, as I told Bob before coming here, the views from the castle are simply amazing.

<a

We also strolled through the Crown Jewels of Scotland exhibit. While there were some lovely pieces, I do contend my ruby wedding ring beats the ruby ring of the crown jewels. Hands down, no competition. And yes, I am biased on this.

<a

We also trekked to the Royal Botanical Gardens. I love gardens (D.C. has one of my favorite) and could wander them for hours. In this case, we wandered for quite a long time to get there as the gardens are not exactly in the tourist section of town. But … the trek was well worth it. There was an amazing Chinese garden and pond, a lovely Alpine flower display, a berch wall and, most impressive, the Queen Mum's Garden.

<a

This is a tribute garden dedicated to the Queen Mother and it contains some of the most beautiful flower displays. I don't have a picture of the overall garden due to the loud, obnoxious, running and screaming teenagers that were there the entire time. But I did managed some lovely picture of the flowers. Just not one of the garden in it's entirety.

<a

After the trek to and from the gardens, (uphill both ways in cold and rain, so Toby, you are never again allowed to complain about the 50 blocks in New York) we were ready for a nice meal. We had reservations at the North Bridge Brassier. I had looked around for good food options that a) had a nice wine selection, b) were in the city itself, c) had good reviews and d) were open Monday evenings. I came up with this one and hoped the food would be good. It did not disappoint. I will say, however, that (as much as it pains me to say it) Bob may have won the best plate of the evening award. I'm not saying he did, just that he may have. My dish was good, but had the chicken not been there, and I just had a plate of the accompanying food, I would have been a happy girl. Bob's pork belly on the other hand, was the star of his plate. Well seasoned, cooked to perfection and so good he did not want the meal to end. I felt that way about my dessert. Really, how can you go wrong with dark chocolate, marshmallow cream and yummy goodness in one cup? Answer – you can't.

While we may not be moving to Edinburgh any time soon, it is on the list for visiting again. I'm just hoping it does not take another decade to get back here.