DAY TRIP TO OXFORD

Tuesday, March 4th, 1997 Bourton on the Water, England

Had a great breakfast this morning then walked around town before gathering the laundry and heading towards Oxford. It was about an hour’s drive. We drove to the center of town and parked. By asking people we found a local Laundromat not too far away. Since we’d already paid for the time, we walked and left the car there. Patti Barbara and I stayed with the laundry while Randy and Jim went exploring.

We met a nice young man in the Laundromat who was from Australia (but now lives in England) who was attending the University as an English major. He suggested we have lunch at the restaurant next door while the machines did their job as it would take at least an hour. When the boys returned they also had a bite to eat. So we did lunch and laundry at the same time. They’d moved the car closer and found out where the double decker open topped bus tour stopped.

We arrived at the bus stop after finishing the laundry with nary a minute to spare and jumped aboard the last bus of the day. Half way through the trip the rain began. My umbrella was inside out from so much wind. Will have to toss it after the trip. Barbara shared it with me as Jim had moved to a different seat because the earphones kept pulling out every time he moved. Randy soon followed Jim until the rain started and he returned to share Patti’s umbrella. Jim finally went downstairs when he got too wet. Randy’s cold is getting into his chest and he’s definitely not feeling too well. But the bus ride was great as we got to see all the different colleges that make up the University of Oxford. The running narrative was great. Much better than trying to do it on your own.

Back to the car by 5:15 pm we headed back to Bourton On The Water, arriving just in time for another delicious dinner served in the wonderfully quaint former kitchen of the B&B. It has a huge fireplace originally used for cooking. We met another very nice English couple tonight. They now live in Wales and were on holiday. They used to live in this area and gave us several good ideals for tomorrow. They were playing scrabble and had a wonderful sense of humor. Everyone’s tired tonight after our long day to Oxford. Raining most of the evening. Barbara went to bed early. I found letters from both of her sons in the e-mail.

Patti reports that Randy has been taking bubble baths in their large tub which does not have a shower. It does however, have a seat on the side of the tub. They have room number “one” which is the most deluxe in the hotel. Jim & I have a lovely room in the carriage house which we love. Wonderful twin beds and lots of space. Jim still does not have a remote control for the television…Barbara seems to be getting one in every room. She has a room that she has stayed in before. Must close.