Monday May 7, 2012
Super psyched to go see the near circle of old rocks…can’t really explain why, some weird association with Monty Python or Led Zeppelin probably.
The ship is the smallest vessel we have been on yet, but it is very cool. Compact enough to walk nearly anywhere without waiting for elevators. Quaint but still offering all the modern niceties and we have met some interesting folks…swear some old guy, ok we are the younger end of this demographic, who described himself as an out of place conservative from Vermont, tried to pick us up for a dinner pairing for he and his wife. Uhhh no thanks? even though I had just had a nice Knob Creek Manhattan I was not that drunk! We had a beautiful table for two with a view of the scenery. A rainbow positioned over the remains of a castle was a wonderful welcome to the ship too bad we didn’t have our cameras.
So this morning we were scheduled to leave on a bus at 8:30. We hurry up & wait and march off the ship to our bus around 9. After an hour the bus makes an unplanned stop. We stop in the middle of a narrow two lane road and the driver ” is having a canary”. He says something like a turbo pipe has come off and there is smoke. I translated this myself being he was English. As they say in his native language, holy shit!
They call for backup. 10 minutes later another tour bus stops to offer assistance, they can fit half the passengers and we became migrant bus passengers. Back of the bus for us, not the best choice for anyone susceptible to motion illness ( Bonnie) but she made it and only turned a modest shade of green. And there was plenty of fresh air at Stonehenge. About 45 degrees, windy damn near sleeting at times, very fresh indeed. But way cool. Way way cool.
About an hour later we boarded our adopted bus and heard more than we ever thought we would about the British royal lineage from our guide whose last gig was as game show host of “You Are The Weakest Link”
The countryside was gorgeous. 40 shades of green. Bonnie was especially taken with the clean English cows, polo ponies wearing Ralph Lauren blankets, and sheep wearing there full winter coats with numbers spray painted on their sides.
Once back on the ship, a local orchestra showed up on the dock and played show tunes, quite.