The Rays Walk Off Win

We interrupt the re-telling of the Lake District trip for baseball....

I love baseball, it is my favourite sport and I enjoy going to games when I am in the USA. Baseball is the thing I miss most about not living in the US. This game is so American, everyone knows how to play it, we play it as kids in empty places, in organized leagues, at family picnics or just in the backyard tossing a ball back and forth; it is the game of summer- it is my re-connection to my homeland and the American culture. So, while holiday in Florida with Jeff this week I dragged him off to a Tampa Bay Rays game against the Baltimore Orioles. (formerly known at the Devil Rays- which I like better. They were fish, now they are sunlight? What is Devil Rays too many syllables?)I know it was hard for him to spend an afternoon in a domed stadium out of the sun. Thanks, Jeff! Thanks to a major credit card (good seats are not cheap!) and Ticketmaster we bought two wonderful seats in the second row behind the visitor’s dugout! We had a great view of left hand batters in the box!
I don’t know the Rays and don’t keep up with them but it was fun. They were ahead early in the game and the game became tied up in the middle innings. The Rays beat the Orioles 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th with their last at bat.
The interesting thing about this game is that it was one of seven games in Major league Baseball on Sunday that ended with a walk-off home run. That hasn’t happened in a number of years. Seven walk off wins is also the record. For those of you who don’t know (according to Wikipedia): In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game — either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning. It is called a "walk-off" home run because the teams walk off the field immediately afterward.

And so it was for the Rays. The win gave the Rays first place in the American League East. They are 30-20 on the season and are 10 games over .500 for the first time ever. I guess now that we have a house in Venice, the Rays are our local team and I just might have to keep an eye on them too. The Mets will always be first in my loyalties though…………………

At the Outpost of Civilization!

Banna Fort (Latin for "spur" or tongue"), occupied the western end of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Today the site is occupied by a former farm called Birdoswald. First occupied by Roman troops in around 122 AD and completed in 138, the fort was used until about 400 AD. Birdoswald is the eleventh fort (out of 17) from the east end of Hadrian's Wall and is part of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site.
So here we are standing on a wall on the outpost of the ancient empire of Rome. I got a sense of what a long way it was to the heart of Rome. Can you imagine being posted here in the cold and the dark of winter? Yikes!

Kicking the Gates

On Saturday we had British Roman day. Jeff, Beth and I spent the day exploring Hadrians Wall in Cumbria. This had long been on my list of things to do in UK. I love checking these things off my list. I really am beginning to get a good feel of England. Beth and I have explored three very different areas of England now. We haven't quite decided what to do next year on our annual trip maybe the southeast?


The adventure began in the city of Carlisle and Beth kicking a gate. Beth was adamant that we first stop at Brunton Park the home of the Carlisle Football Club. She was mad at the Blues because her team the Bournemouth Cherries were relegated to Football League 2 following a lost to Carlisle United at the end of this season. She felt the need for some revenge and took it out on the gates of the stadium. OK, being a NY Mets and Tottenham Spurs supporter, I understood.

The B5286 Road - Sheep Ont Road!

Beth is an excellent navigator. She excels at finding the one road that usually turns out to be the most scenic drives. She didn’t disappoint on Thursday when we were traveling to our hotel in Portinscale from Whitehaven.

Beth outdid herself with the B5286 road. Starting out in Lorton we came upon the sign you see about "Sheep ont road". After a stop for a good laugh and a picture we entered the Gatesgarthdale Beck leading to Honiston Pass. For us this was like being in the western United States again. We knew we had to return there on Friday with Jeff to show him this beautiful road.

St. Bees

St Bees is an interesting place about five miles west south-west of Whitehaven in Cumbria. The name St. Bees is a corruption of the Norse name for the village, variously given as 'Kirki-Becoc' or 'Kirkby Behoc', which can be translated as the "church of Bega", relating to the local Saint Bega. This is were Beth and I accidentally found St. Bees Head, the most westerly point of Northern England on the Irish Sea. What a beautiful place.

I think its main claim to fame is the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk. The walk is almost 220 miles, devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three national parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park. Wainwright recommends that walkers dip their booted feet in the Irish Sea at St Bees and, at the end of the walk, dip their naked feet in the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay. Some other day. We city folk were too busy talking pictures of sheep.

Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway

Beth and I had a great day out at the Western Lake District. At the end of the week we decided this was our favourite part of the Lake District. We spent a great deal of time driving this day and had a great drive on a single track road in St. Bees but more on that some other day. We had a rail adventure in Ravenglass.
Ravenglass is a small coastal village and is the only coastal town within the Lake District National Park. Located at the estuary of three rivers: the Esk, Mite and Irt, Ravenglass dates back to the second century, when it was an important naval base for the Romans named Glannaventa. It occupied the most southerly point of Hadrian's Wall.
Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a 15 inch narrow gauge heritage railway. The 7 mile long line runs from Ravenglass to Dalegarth Station near Boot in the valley of Eskdale. Built to a gauge of 3 feet the railway opened in 1875, its purpose was to ferry iron ore from workings near Boot to the coast at Ravenglass. The first passengers were carried in 1876. The line finally closed in 1913. The line is affectionately known locally as La'al Ratty, Cumbrian dialect for "little narrow way". Intermediate stations and halts are located at Muncaster Mill, Miteside, Murthwaite, Irton Road, Eskdale Green, Fisherground and Beckfoot. The railway is owned by a private company and is supported by a Preservation Society.

A bit more about Lake Windermere…..Beth and I were impressed by Lake Windermere. The word "Windermere" translates as "Vinandr's lake", from the Old Norse name Vinandr and Old English mere, meaning lake. Windermere is about 10 long stretching from Newby Bridge To Ambleside. The lake was formed thousands of years ago during the ice age as the glacier bulldozed through the valley. Windermere is the largest natural lake in England and has been one of the country’s most popular places for holidays when the Kendal and Windermere Railway built a branch line to it

Our hotel, The Old England was lovely. Every morning we had a lake side view from the dining room and one afternoon we sat outside on the terrace overlooking the lake having a drink and working on our needlepoint projects. We did spend one afternoon at the spa but it was most unimpressive. Their were hordes of swans everywhere. In England swans are protected by law since they are considered property of the Crown.

Whit Monday

Whit Monday, or Pentecost Monday, is a Christian holiday. It is the day after Pentecost, also known as Whit Sunday or Whitsunday, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament of the Bible. There are a number of customs associated with Whit Monday. Cheese rolling and throwing competitions are held in some parts of England. In other parts of the country, Whit walks, which are parades led by local brass bands, clergy, dignitaries and local organizations, are held. The walks are often concluded by various activities that include competitions, dancing and food.
Christian Pentecost commemorates the Holy Spirit’s visit to the apostles who received the “gift of tongues” on the 50th day after Easter. It also marks the birth of the Christian Church. Although it is not certain when Pentecost was first observed by Christians, it may have been early as the first century. Pentecost occurs roughly seven weeks after Easter Sunday, or 50 days after Easter, including Easter Day. Like Pentecost, Whit Monday is movable because it is determined by the Easter date. Whit Monday gets its English name from Whitsunday, or Whitsunday, which referred to the white garments worn on Pentecost by the newly baptized. The symbols of Pentecost are those of the Holy Spirit and include flames, wind, the breath of God and a dove.

Bunny Bunny Day

HI. Still here in the Lake District with Beth. Another sunny beautiful day! What Luck! One of the things Beth and I like about our trips is that for the most part they are unstructured. We play it pretty loose with the itinerary. Yesterday, we did the one thing that I really wanted to do and that was visit Hill Top – the Lake District home of Beatrix Potter. I can’t say that I am a big fan of Peter Rabbit but Beatrix Potter was always a woman I admired. Like Jane Austen they pursued their passions living a bit beyond the prescribed rules of accepted societal norms.

Two high lights were garden where Peter surely lived and to see the desk where she sat and wrote looking at the same window view she did. Helen Beatrix Potter was born on 28 July 1866 into a privileged household in South Kensington and educated by governesses. Her family spent their holiday time in Scotland and the Lake District. It was during these trips that she grew to love nature. observing and painting what she saw. Beatrix is best remembered for her Peter Rabbit tales but she was a highly respected authority in the field of mycology through her study and paintings of fungi.

It wasn’t until her thirties did the highly successful children's book The Tale of Peter Rabbit getting published. In all toll, Potter published 23 children's books. She became secretly engaged to her publisher Norman Warne causing a breach with her parents, who disapproved of his social status. He was a tradesman! Sadly, Warne died before the wedding could take place.
Through the success of her books she was able to buy Hill Top farm in the Lake District. Beatrix became a sheep breeder and farmer while continuing to write and illustrate children's books. Protecting and preserving the Lake District was very important to her. and she continued to add to her land holdings throughout her life keeping the developers at bay. She did marry at the age of 47 a local solicitor named William Heelis. Beatrix Potter died on 22 December 1943 leaving almost all of her property to The National Trust.

Beth and I had to chuckle as we were leaving to see a man hard at work in the garden – wondering if he were the new Mr. Macgregor!

Lake Windermere

Beth and I had a lovely day on the Lake. We cruised up to Ambleside for a really nice lakeside lunch. Yep, that was about it. It was a bright sunny day, we got a little sunburned on the face, sat on the terrace of the Old England Hotel having a late afternoon drink, went to dinner and then to bed.

Cinco de Mayo in Manchester

Ok, for those who don’t know the translation it is the 5th of May. Cinco de Mayo is a regional holiday in Mexico, probably a much bigger deal in the USA. What is supposed to be a fun day. The holiday commemorates a victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day (which is actually September 16). The date is observed as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride (as it should be!). The celebrations combine food, music and dancing in honoring the culture of Americans of Mexican ancestry, much as St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, and the Chinese New Year do for their respective ethnic groups.

So here were Beth and I at the Hard Rock Café on Cinco de Mayo in Manchester drinking god awful margaritas and eating $125 hamburgers (I swear the bill with tip was 65 pounds - one starter, two drinks and the two burgers!) The service was glacial, there was little food left on the menu (who runs out of spinach?), the Mexican music band pretty bad and somehow it was funny to us. Who knew there were so many Mexicans in Manchester? Imagine a Mexican accent with a Manchurian twists!

This could mean only one thing - today was the first day of the annual mother-daughter trip. We left London around 11:30 am and traveled as far as Stoke on Trent before we made a stop. It was either go through the traffic of Birmingham or take the easier route through Stoke. We opted for easy though Beth didn’t really opt for a bit of shopping. It felt un natural to travel past Wedgwood. Staffordshire, Hartley – Green and the other factories but we only made two stops. The Portmerion on the London Road and Spode. Portmerion by the way was having a tent sale –last day however! Beth was indoctrinated into the sisterhood of Stoke shoppers. She wasn’t impressed but at least she now understands!

We eventually joined the M6 motorway and headed north; planning on spending the night in Warrington before continuing on into the Lake District the next morning. One of the first things we saw while driving on the M6 was a large herd of cows on an overpass crossing the M6. I can’t tell you how odd this looked to our city eyes. 8 lanes of traffic, huge tractor trailers and some black and white cows! I just know that these cows have to go into the title of this trip somehow.

We checked into the rather dowdy Paddington House Hotel with rooms overlooking the car park and went in search of the Hard Rock Café in Manchester. It is some sort of ill defined family tradition to go to HRC’s while traveling. We still laugh about a Thanksgiving dinner spent at a HRC in Rome. I actually have quite a collection of European guitar pins.

Anyway, after some directional difficulties we actually found the Manchester HRC. THE directions we had made no sense and we finally managed just stumble on to it. (We did get to see Old Trafford stadium and the local version of the London eye though!). I paid some guy a pound to protect my car in a parking lot and off we went to Cinco de Mayo!