Woodstock to Witney to Burford

Janet made a boo-boo in her first post on the walking tour.  They did not pass Blenheim Palace until Day 2.  Janet used to make a day by day diary of every trip, but for whatever reason has ceased to do so for the last couple of years.  The bad news is she is relying on her memory!  The good news is it's better than Phil's memory!

The next town was Witney, and of course they got lost.  11 1/2 miles.  Their B&B was lovely (please refer to the last post photo which is incorrectly labeled as Woodstock!

They hobbled down the street to have Indian food.  It was delicous!

Bonus, they offered free drinks after dinner!

A Chinese family was staying at the B&B as well.  This is a tiny sampling of their luggage!

The entire back of the van was crammed tight with all manner of luggage.

Look, it's an ancient ruin!  Where is it?  Janet couldn't tell you.  The name of this ruin?  Janet couldn't tell you!

The next day was Burford, which is a town Janet and Phil have been to previously.  This days walk was 10 1/2 miles and they stayed at Angel Inn.

Dinner was delicious!

Along the way to Burford, there were many rapeseed fields.

It was impossible to ascertain if the were waiting to be harvested or if they were just going to be left in the field.

And, another super cute donkey!

Janet's Feet Are Too Tired For Her Hands To Work!

Or so she claims!  Janet and Phil embarked upon a 102 mile walk, from Oxford to Bath.  They thought it was tough going at the beginning, but actually had no clue as to the real meaning of tough going.

They took the express motor coach from Heathrow to Oxford, which they said was excellent.  Upon arrival, it was very hot!

Everything was pre-arranged by a walking company - all accommodation and luggage transfers and step by step directions, ensuring that even the most challenged of "Ramblers" will not get lost.  The people who wrote the guide have not met Janet and Phil, Idiot Ramblers!

In Oxford, the Coach and Horses B & B looked very unassuming from the inside, but the bedroom was lovely.

Janet and Phil have been to Oxford before and think it's very beautiful.

The trek started on Monday, with 11 1/2 miles to go.  They walked along the Thames and a portion of this was a stretch they had actually done previously.

So hot, even the cows need to take a dip into the water!

They had lunch at The Trout Inn, a pub they tried to dine in last year, but could only get "late lunch at 4:30PM"!  Otherwise known in Senior Citizen land as the Early Bird Dinner Specials!  Great location on the Thames!

They walked past Blenheim Palace.

There are many forms of passing from one field to the next in the U.K.  There are gates, farm gates, kissing gates, stiles and stone stiles.  This is a wooden stile.  For those who are unaware, the U.K. is literally covered with footpaths and designated walks that most often cut across private property.  It's important to be sure to close any and all gates as often livestock are on property.

End of day one is Woodstock at The Kings Arms Hotel.

Janet loves donkeys and thinks Turkey Dinners would like one too, but we don't think they are permitted in anal Oak Bay!

Could It Get Any Worse?

Janet basically dragged her friend Karen into participating in the 45km version of The Tour de Victoria.

Super cute bike attachments and a free T-shirt and socks!  Totally worth the suffering!

Unfortunately, about half an hour after Janet woke up on Bike "Ride" Day, she vomited several times.  Now, she is deplete of energy.  However, she still has $120 invested in this gig, which she is loath to say farewell to.

 It's important to note that it is highly stressed by the organizers that this is a bike "ride",  not a "race".  Try telling that to some of the bike riders that misread "ride" and would sooner take you out than slow down!

There were three separate lines to enter, based on what you felt your finish time would be.  Janet and Karen kept to the very back of the crowd.

It wasn't a pretty picture.  Janet said her legs were complete lead the entire way.  Twice, she seriously wanted to quit.  Rock star Karen biked up Ash Road, which Janet has yet to conquer.  Karen was kind enough to wait for dead weight Janet.  End result for Janet = 3rd last in the 45km category!  On the internet for the rest of eternity!  Ever worse, a woman in the 70-74 years category beat Janet's time! 

One can only assume the last two had bike maintenance issues.

Janet has still yet to recover from her physical and mental beating, but should she be able to do so, she may join this gigantic number of people at Willows Beach for free yoga!  How great is this?

Good night!

I'm a little bit lonely!

1!

Turkey Dinners Goes On A Road Trip!

I am the last guy to know what is going on around here.  Turns out, Sherman went on an Ocean Crossing Cruise.....OK, OK, it was just the Coho Ferry.

I should have known something was up as I have heard Janet and Phil talking about how much he beats me up when he is playing and doesn't know when to stop.  Also, I have heard mention of "Amber's Dad" and walking from "Oxford to Bath".  These are not normal topics of conversation.

Phil says good bye to Turkey Head Dinners on Saturday.  Believe it or not, even Phil is sad!

Apparently, he was as good as gold on the ferry, which seems highly unlikely as he is a major jackass at home.

These incredibly obvious sad puppy dog eyes sucked in all kinds of strangers to comment on how cute he is and how well behaved he is.  Fools!

A fellow  passenger took this photo for Janet.  She double checked to make sure that Janet didn't want a second photo, but Janet assured her that only cosmetic surgery could improve the photo and the ferry was docking in 30 minutes!

Shadow of Janet included.

He met up with Watty Man and sadly, they didn't take to each other.  Kidding!

And, just like that, Sherman started residence in Camp USA!  Bye, bye little pain in the ass!

Sad, sad Janet returned home by herself.  There were three cruise ships in the harbour.

Janet, still sad, picked up his lunch bowl and put it in the dishwasher.

Turkey Dinners is a major food hound, so has his own private dining room - AKA the back porch!

 

Say what you want, but I am seriously tired of his tight sit, which I might add is his only skill.  The words "Sherman" and "come" escape him.  Toss out the word "lunch" and you seriously have his attention!

Twice I tried to drag Janet down to the water and she finally caved so I could walk in the water and just stand there!  Good night!

Janet Is Fired! Bigly!

Our disappointment with Janet is acute!  This is the second time in a row she has allowed a big lag in posting on our blog.

What to do?

I'm too old to learn how to type.  That leaves us with Turkey Dinners (Sherman, Shermie Wormie, etc, etc) to do the heavy lifting.

He tried his paw at penmanship, but it didn't work out too well.

Formerly known as a pen!

He spends way too much time watching television and loves sports shows.

And, he likes to sit on my head!

He lives to steal food from the kitchen counter and is too stupid to know he might get in trouble.

He is also afraid to go past the vacuum hose and likes to get muddy.

 Sherman is also afraid of the garden hose!  Sorry, thyme, oregano and rosemary!  In other words, he has the attention skills of a knat and also won't be able to learn to type.

 He does have a small fan club, so perhaps we could tap into them?

We could ask Phil to give us a hand, but thanks to Turkey Dinners, Phil no longer owns eyeglasses!  Guess we are stuck with Janet and her newly found crappy blogging skills!

We had visitors!  First we had Briana and Ted.

Before you knew it, it was bye, bye!

Then, we had Meg, Derek and Finley.  Water Park fun at Carnarvon!

Big time fun on the SUP until a dip in the water happened!

Good night!