I have never had any interest in taking a cruise. First, the Caribbean holds little interest for me. Second, the notion of sitting on a private beach in an all-inclusive resort while abject poverty stares at me through a chain link fence just doesn’t interest me. Some friends of ours took a Viking river cruise of the Danube a couple of years ago and came back with glowing reports. We decided to give a Viking river cruise a try by traveling from Basel to Amsterdam along the Rhine with stops every day for excursions and sight seeing.
The trip began with two days in Lucern after a flight into Zurich. The first day was raining and cold, but we had nice weather for the second day. While we waited for Greg and Nicolle to arrive, we got a quick bite to eat at the nearby train station, I worked out for an hour in the fitness center, and I talked Candy into experiencing the sauna. It was a bit of culture shock for Candy to be in a sauna with naked people.
Candy, Nicole, and Greg in the lobby of our hotel as we set out for dinner the first evening.
When Greg and Nicole arrived, we set out to find some traditional Swiss fondu at a restaurant, called Pfistern. Instead of fondu we had raclette. It was really good, but somewhat heavy with all that cheese. Lucern, like many European cities has a downtown area (the altstaedt) that is pedestrian only. We felt at ease walking around town, window shopping, and chatting.
The restaurant Pfistern where we had raclette.The front of our hotel. I highly recommend Raddison Blu. I have stayed at several in different countries, and they are excellent. Plus they always have a very nice fitness center.
The next day we took a guided walking tour of Lucern led by an expatriate American from Ft. Lauderdale. The tour was interesting, and it gave us ideas where we wanted to go the next day to do some shopping.
The first of several views of Lucern.The pink clock tower is on top of the rathaus (city hall).Greg and Nicole in front of the Chapel Bridge. This wooden bridge is decorated with paintings dating back to the 14th century. Many were destroyed when the center of the bridge caught fire in the 90’s.Candy with her trophy husband. We were all wearing “quiet boxes.” These allow the tour guide to talk to all of us without yelling or bothering others.Another view of the area surrounding Lucern.Another view of Lucern.A final view of Lucern.
After the morning walking tour, we grabbed sandwiches from the Coop grocery store in the train station and hopped on the train to Interlocken, north of Lucern. Interlocken is a ski resort town. The Viking people recommended the trip as a way to see Swiss countryside. The views were very nice, but the glare off the train windows made photography a challenge.
A church in Interlocken.A view out the train window. This was interesting as it showed the gradual snow covering.A town out the window of the train.Another view out the train window.A building in Interlocken.
That night we walked to another restaurant that the Viking people recommended, called the Rebstock. It was more meat and potatoes than cheese, but still traditional Swiss food. It was quite good, and we enjoyed the walk to the restaurant and back.
Our final morning in Lucern we checked out of our hotel, handed over our luggage, and then walked round town, even experiencing (briefly) a farmer’s market in town. We did a little shopping, and we enjoyed lunch in a small restaurant along the water specializing in burgers and craft beers; although, none of us had burgers. What’s the point of visiting a foreign country and eating food you can get easily at home.
We met up with the Viking folks at 1500 and took a bus to Basel, where we boarded out boat for the rest of the trip. Once we were underway, we had an excellent dinner and sat around the lounge listening to an Eastern European piano player, Gigi, play old American tunes on the piano while we enjoyed some cocktails.
We all slept very well as our boat traveled northward on the Rhine, going through four sets of locks before docking at Breisach am Rhein for the remainder of the evening. There is almost no sensation of being on the boat as it travels. We slept very well as the effects of jet lag, early mornings, long days, and booze lulled us to sleep.
We began day seven by visiting the various volcanos, steam vents, and lava fields in Volcano National Park. We got a late-ish start but got out the door early enough to see all we wanted to see in the park. Kilauea is the least active it has been for 35+ years, so there were no active lava fields or flowing lava.
Departing our cabin in the morning
Active steam vents
Near the visitor’s center there are a number of active steam vents where hot gasses from the most recent eruption are visible. We took a couple mile hike into the Kilauea caldera. Until recently this was an active lava lake until last year’s major eruptions. There are two major types of lava in Hawai’i: ‘a’ā and pāhoehoe. ‘A’ā is rough and chunky, while pāhoehoe is smooth and ropy. They may vary in color from shiny black to dull brown. Both types have the same chemical composition, but pāhoehoe is hotter when it erupts and is more fluid than ‘a’ā.
Candy standing on some pāhoehoe lava in the Kileaua caldera
Walking into the caldera. At this point we were squarely inside the volcano.
After this hike we drove the Chain of Craters road stopping at sites along the way to see different types of lava flows, craters, etc.
Tom and Buck on a road along the Chain of Craters that was covered by a lava flow
Where the lava poured into the water when it was flowing
Are those the Griswolds?
On the way back up the Chain of Craters road to the visitor’s center we stopped at an area with 23,000 petroglyphs engraved into the lava flow. Since they were engraved in the lava rather than painted on a cave or canyon wall, they were much more visible that normal.
A sample of the many petroglyphs we found
It was a bit disappointing that there were no explanations of what scholars think some of the symbols might mean.
The symbol of the men’s restroom in ancient Hawaii?
After this night of hiking and walking we had dinner in the cafeteria at Kilauea Military Camp, which is much like a military-style mess hall. The food was good, but no frills. We then went back to our cabin to watch Moana and have dessert.
We started the next day by walking along the trail past the sulphur vents around the visitor center. These are similar to the steam vents on the opposite side of the road, but the escaping gasses have more minerals, particularly sulphur, and they stain the rocks bright colors.
The sulphur vents near the visitor’s center
Then we drove the eastern side of the island, stopping to see various overlooks, beaches, and sites along the way.
Candy at Rainbow Falls
Standing on a black sand beach that looks more gray in this picture. The black sand beaches are made by lava ground down by the action of the sea over many years.
As we stopped at these beaches — all beaches in Hawaii are public — in most cases we were surprised how few people were on them.
We stopped at an out of the way place for lunch
We had wraps and fresh fruit, most of which had been grown on the property
Then we kept driving.
Our next stop was Akaka Falls state park for a short hike to see several falls.
Akaka falls
These falls were impressive but were only a fifth as tall as Angel Falls in South America.
One of many beaches we stopped to view
Us with the Waipi’o Valley in the background. This is still private land and somewhat sacred to Hawaiians. We chose not to hike the mile into the valley, as the signs implied that the locals find it disrespectful.
The next morning we bade farewell to our cabin and took a short detour to see the interior of the Volcano House lodge in the national park.
So long cabin!
Volcano House. Of the many national park lodges we’ve seen, this was the least ornate on the outside, but it was nice on the inside and provided a wonderful view of the lava lake prior to last year’s eruption.
Our plan was to drive up the coast (mostly) from Volcano National Park to Kailua-Kona where we were would stay the last two nights in Hawaii.
A lava beach at which we stopped along the drive from Volcano to Kailua-Kona.
Entrance to “the refuge”
Along the way we stopped at a place known as the “refuge.” The punishment for nearly all crimes in ancient Hawaii seems to have been death. A marked person could flee, and if he made it to this place and spent some time with the priest here, he could be absolved of his crimes and return home.
The beach on the ali’i (king’s) side of the refuge compound
Sam and Tom engaged in an ancient Hawaiian strategy game that on the face of it looked like Othello
That handsome family again!
Sam made a new friend
Tom
We arrived in Kailua-Kona (mostly known just as Kona) in time to check into the Royal Kona Resort and get the lay of the land before our scheduled luau. We had time to put on our swimsuits and play in the hotel’s private lagoon and then in the pool before showering up for the luau.
An imu in which the pig was cooked for our luau
This was some of the best kalua pork we had on the trip.
The family enjoying bottomless mai tai’s as we waited for the luau to begin
Buck and his trophy wife — or is that Candy and her trophy husband. I never get that right.
There was live entertainment throughout the luau provided by these local musicians.
The weather threatened to rain on us all night, but we didn’t get rain until after the luau ended. In the meantime we were presented by two rainbows.
At the luau we had excellent food and all-you-can-drink mai tais. Candy drank mai tai’s like a fish. Depending on who you ask the number was between four and six!
The sunset from the luau at the Royal Kona Resort
The luau lasted until after sunset.
The luau hula dancers presented dances from various Polynesian islands. We had nice, close seats, which game me a chance to really watch the hula dancers’ hands. When they sang songs in English, you could really see how the hand gestures mirrored the lyrics.
As with all luaus, the highlight was the fire guy.
Nighttime hula dancing
The next morning, we slept in and then went to the pool for a couple of hours.
Sam begin dragged into the water
Tom tried a sample of four different types of mai tais. There is controversy over who invented the mai tai, with our hotel’s Don the Beachcomber claiming the title.
Candy sips a mai tai by the pool. With all that fruit, it must be healthy!
This evening we planned to take a tour to Mauna Kea to see the stars. We have seen the brilliant star fields at Bryce Canyon, and Mauna Kea is supposed to be better. We met the van at 1430 and got part way up the mountain for an early dinner when the National Weather Service close the road to the observatories due to rain and flash flooding. We were very disappointed, but we made it back down to our hotel in time to watch the fireworks in the harbor, since it was the 4th of July.
A view of the outside of our hotel
The next day was really a travel day. Our flight left Kona at 2000, but we got a somewhat late checkout and planned to enjoy the day. We started at the pool again and then went to visit the Vanillerie. This is a small farm where the local businessman is trying to make a go of farming vanilla. After the tour, I have a much greater respect for vanilla. It is a HARD and LONG process. This is why you have probably never actually had vanilla, but imitation vanilla which is much more easily harvested from the bark of some type of pine tree.
Entering the Vanillerie for our tour
Inside one of the four greenhouses
At the end of the tour we got a small sample of ice cream made with his real vanilla, and there was a definite taste difference.
One last look at a beach before retrieving our bags from the hotel and heading for the airport
… and as the sun sets gently into the horizon of Kailua-Kona we bid a fond farewell to Hawaii…
The flights home were uneventful but painfully long at the end of a ten-day vacation. I don’t know when we’ll all be able to take this much time together for a vacation.
Lookout from a cliff near the Makapu’u Lighthouse trail
On day 4 of our vacation we began with a short drive to the Makapu’u Lighthouse trailhead. The trail was about 1.5 miles mostly uphill to the point of land overlooking the lighthouse. The lighthouse was built to prevent ships running aground while traversing the water between Oahu and Molokai.
The Makapu’u Lighthouse
Sam was decidedly unimpressed with this “dumpy little lighthouse” and didn’t think it was worth the uphill climb to get there. The views from up on the point were very nice.
Sam and Tom at the lookout.
Buck and Candy
We then drove to the north shore to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Fancy hotdogs with lots of stuff on them from a truck outside the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Since the last time we visited the PCC, they have added a lot of shopping and food outside the center. We bought some fancy hotdogs from a truck outside the gates (apparently food trucks are a big tradition in Hawaii). Then we had to try some malasadas, which are like filled doughnuts. We bought one of each flavor to share: guava strawberry, chocolate, and coconut cream.
Sam devours a malasada.
The entrance to the PCC.
The Polynesian Cultural Center has six distinct areas for the various Polynesian islands. Each area has traditionally constructed buildings, traditional crafts, and entertainment. After our truck-lunch we entered the PCC just in time for the show on the water that runs through the center of the park.
One of the rafts of dancers that traverse the waterfront “theater” during the show.
More entertainers on boats.
A sample of the entertainment at the PCC in the Cook Islands area.
Some of the entertainment by the Maori of New Zealand.
Candy and Sam in front of a waterfall
Throwing spears in Tahiti.
Sam and Tom at the Luau.
After a day of walking around the PCC, we attended the Luau dinner show. The food was good, but we were disappointed the the kalua pig didn’t have much taste. As that was what we were most looking forward to, we though the luau was “okay.”
Some of the entertainment during dinner.
More of the entertainment.
A woman who juggled fire during the luau show.
The highlight of the day was the Ha, Breath of Life live show featuring a huge cast of dancers and (the highlight for us) fire jugglers. The storyline was impossible to follow, as a Polynesian family transits from one island to another. The storyline wasn’t that important however, as it was really about the various acts.
You aren’t allowed to take pictures during the show, so these are ones I found online.
We were in the second row, so we had a great view of the entire show.
The next day we got up early to head to Hunauma Bay for some snorkeling. We were worried that the crowds would be heavy on a Saturday morning, but we really didn’t feel crowded. We rented snorkeling gear and had a really good time seeing the sea life up close and personal.
Panoramic view of Hunauma Bay
Candidates for Jaques Custeau’s next television special
Hunauma Bay is a wildlife preserve, and it is full of sea life. We even got to see a seal that was sunning himself on the beach.
A seal on the beach
Looking at descriptions of the different fish in the bay so we could identify what we saw.
All of us at Hunauma Bay
You enter Hunauma Bay from up top and then walk down tot he beach. From this view you can see how the bay was once the caldera of a volcano, but part of it has eroded away.
The bay from up top
After snorkeling we went back to the Hale Koa to rest and then got two hours of surfing lessons on Waikiki.
Surfing lessons with Trevor
Surfer girl Sammy
Tom, Sam, and Trevor
We didn’t get any pictures of any of us up on the board. We were at least a quarter mile out (quite a swim!!), and they wanted $50 per person to provide a photographer.
Sam and Tom after surfing.
After a tiring day, we went back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner. We went to a local place, called The Goofy Cafe, for Mahi Mahi. The food was great. After dinner we walked to a local ice cream parlor and had ridiculously large ice cream desserts.
The next day we got up early to check out of the Hale Koa and head to Honolulu airport for a flight to the big island.
Last panoramic view of Waikiki from our hotel balcony
Arriving at the big island of Hawaii
After getting our rental car a the Hilo airport we drove to a farmer’s market outside town where we hand a nice lunch and picked up a bunch of fresh, local produce. This was to make salad with our dinner in our cabin. We then drove to Volcano National Park, took in the victor’s center, and checked into our cabin at the Kilauea Military Camp, inside the national park.
On the way from Hilo to our cabin we stopped at a grocery store to buy stuff for dinner, breakfast, and lunch. We had to stop and take a picture of the spam aisle.
The entrance to Volcano National Park
A view of the Kilaueau Military Camp
Our cabin has a nice back porch.
This is a military camp, so it has a theater, PX, several places to eat, a recreation center, and a six-lane bowling alley. We made quesadillas with two different flavors of spam (jalapeño and garlic) and then went to bowl.
After two games of bowling, Sam and Tom played pool in the recreation center. We capped off the evening with some fresh watermelon and mango from the farmer’s market and a couple of mai tais.
On Tuesday we began our family vacation to Hawaii. This may be the last time we can go on a long vacation like this for some time due to Tom’s military schedule, Sam’s school, and Buck’s work so we wanted to do it up right. Candy planned a full schedule of interesting events.
The trip began in an interesting way, with a flood at BWI airport that brought down the baggage conveyor belt system. This led to an hour delay to our departure. We had a tight layover in Oakland, CA, but we made our flight to Hawaii. We arrived in Honolulu airport around 8:30 PM in the midst of a torrential rainstorm that flooded roads all over the area. There were three lighting strikes on people that day, two at the airport. When we got our baggage, a lot of our stuff was wet. The rental car facility was flooded, so they couldn’t use their computers for fear of electrical shock, they wrote down our information on a piece of paper and handed us the keys. We arrived about 10:00 PM at the Hale Koa hotel, which is an Armed Forces Recreation Center on Waikiki beach, a prime location.
A view of the Hale Koa
A swell dude and his trophy wife under “Gus” the large Banyan tree
Tom and Sam under “Gus”
Sam on Waikiki
Under the 16-inch guns on the Battleship Missouri.
Our first morning in Hawaii we grabbed a quick breakfast at Happy’s Cafe in the Hale Koa. Then we headed to Pearl Harbor. Last time we were here 13 years ago, we saw the Arizona, which is closed right now, but we wanted to see the Missouri, which began life in WWII and was decommissioned after Desert Storm. We took the “heart of the Missouri” tour, which included a detailed, docent-led tour below decks.
Sam taking down “Zekes”
After our tour, we ran into one of the normal guided tours and hear a very interesting talk about the signing of the Japanese surrender document. For those not aware, the Missouri is where the famous picture of the Japanese surrender was taken in Tokyo bay.
Tom and Candy swabbing the deck of the Missouri
A view of the Arizona memorial over the bow of the Missouri — where WWII began and ended
We were flirting with rain all day. We had planned to spend the afternoon on the beach at Waikiki, but with the rain, instead we chose to do some shopping for Hawaiian shirts at the Pearl Harbor Navy Exchange and wander around some of the shops in Waikiki. We also enjoyed pina coladas at the Barefoot beachside bar (in the rain). That evening, we took in a really good magic show in the Hale Koa Warriors Lounge. Earlier that afternoon, Tom and I were in the lobby waiting for the girls, when the magician came up to us, saying “hey, I have this new trick I’d like to try out on you.” He proceeded to perform an amazing card transformation slight-of-hand trick in Tom’s hand. This clinched it for us. We wanted to see the show.
The next day, our second full day, Candy had arranged for a guide to take us to a number of lesser-known things round Oahu. Shane picked us up in the lobby of the hotel and drove us around the island.
Waiting for our guide in the lobby of the Hale Koa.
We began the day with a hike to a waterfall. There were all kinds of signs saying “keep out,” but that is meant to keep the tourist traffic down, and our guide took us up to the falls. There were many other groups of hikers we met along the way.
Shane pointing out some local flora.
We began the tour with a three-mile hike to a secluded waterfall.
The falls.
It was a nice hike. We got rained on during the hike back, but we dried out quickly and moved on to lunch.
Some kind of flower related to the Bird of Paradise.
We had pre-arranged with Shane for lunches. He drove us to a park across Kaneohe Bay from the Marine Corps base. We were a couple hundred yards from a small island known as “Chinaman’s Hat.” We ate a really nice lunch on a picnic table and then headed to our next stop.
“Chinaman’s Hat”
Lunch. You can see how overcast it was all day.
Some swell people posed in front of mountains that have been used in the various Jurassic Park movies
Next we drove around the coast — after a stop at a Kona coffee and macadamia nut tourist trap (where we bought macadamia nuts!!) — to this interesting rock formation.
The dragon’s eye
Ancient Hawaiian legends talk about two Hawaiian heroes / gods who defeated a giant lizard that was eating people. This is supposedly the lizard’s head that was chopped off by one of the heroes.
You can see that the sky was overcast and the surf was pretty rough here. No one was foolish enough to be swimming here, and most of the people left as the rain began again.
Candy and Tom enjoying some fresh fruit
We stopped at a roadside farmer’s market and picked up some fresh pineapple, mango, and mixed fruit. Our guide wanted us to try two local fruits. The first is Lychee, which looks like a strawberry, but has a very tough skin that must be peeled before eating. They were very sweet and very good. The second was called a mountain apple, that had a peach-like pit and tasted more like a sweet pear. Both were really, really good.
Our next stop was 90 minutes of snorkeling around “Three Tables” beach were we swam with schools of fish and got very close to three sea turtles frolicking along the rocks. We were probably one good kick away from being able to touch them!
Then we drove to Waimea Bay to do some “safe cliff jumping.”
This was a lot of fun. Sammy surprised us by doing a forward flip! I didn’t even know she could do that.
A Hawaiian Green sea turtle
Our last stop was at a small stretch of beach where we saw this Hawaiian Green sea turtle. It was 37 years old and weighed 225 pounds. The park ranger had placed a rope on the beach to keep everyone at least a meter away from it.
Pineapple fields
On the way back to Honolulu we drove through pineapple plantations. The air had a pineapple aroma. We had heard that pineapples weren’t grown on Hawaii any more. It turns out that a LOT if pineapple is grown here, but it is not exported; it is all used in Hawaii. The pineapple you find in Publix or Giant comes from Costa Rica. I’m not sure my palate is sensitive enough to tell the difference, but the pineapple here SEEMS softer and slightly less tart that what we get in the grocery store.
We had a really good day. After an overpriced dinner we spent a half hour at the Hale Koa pool before collapsing in the room.
We didn’t have time for a long vacation this year, so we decided to spend a few days on a dude ranch in Arkansas. It was a terrific vacation!
The Good, the Bad, and the Chubby
Day 0
We traveled to Diamond Horseshoe Ranch in Arkansas. We arrived on Sunday afternoon in time for dinner in the mess hall, a little time in the game room, and some time in the pool.
The entrance to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch
A view of Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. Goats and horses ran wild around the ranch.
The bedroom in our cabin
The loft in our cabin
The main part of the cabin from the upper floor
Sam, the Ping Pong hustler
Tom, the pool shark
Surveying his domain…
The view from our cabin
Day 1:
The first day began with a large breakfast. Then we went to the barn to meet our horses for the week. Candy had Jon Snow. Sam had Butterbean. I had Scout. Tom had Dramamine. After a short trail ride to get familiar with our horses, we walked over to the range where we shot bows, rifles, and pistols and threw axes.
The first trail ride
A view of the ranch from horseback
The lodge building
Sam throwing axes at a tree
Candy Oakley on the rifle range
Robin Hoodlum shows his skills with a bow
Sam showing off her mad archery skill
A few pistol shots
After lunch we did some rock climbing.
Tom and Sam scaling the cliff
Sam and her mad rock climbing skills
An old mountain goat
We even had time for a game of frisbee golf in the evening. The course was quite challenging, and we had to actually search for the holes at times.
We even had time for a game of frisbee golf
After another terrific dinner meal (the food was universally terrific), we went to the barn for some games for an hour or so.
Candy and Sam playing a game involving trying to get the other player to step off her platform
Day 2:
On the second day we split up in the morning. Tom, Sam, and Candy went for more rock climbing.
Breakfast the second full day
Candy starting her climb
Tom climbing
Sam most of the way up the cliff
I had only been on a horse a few times before, and I was enjoying getting more comfortable and learning how to actually control the horse, so I went for another trail ride with some other campers.
Happy trails to me…
An example of the scenery we rode through all morning
I think I saw that guy in a John Wayne movie…
After lunch we suited up for the adventure course. This involved rock climbing through a cave, around cliffs, and one of the top five zip lines in North America.
Suiting up for the adventure course
Inside the cave
There were portions of the cave that were very tight. There were also portions that dropped pretty deeply. It was an interesting experience.
Tom and Sam on a portion fo the adventure course
Working our way around a cliff (Tom, Sam, and me). Candy is just off to the right of this picture.
Tom and Sam
All of us getting ready to zip. I didn’t get a picture of myself in the harness.
Sam getting ready to zip
Tom getting ready to zip
Candy getting read to zip
In the evening, during the camp fire and s’mores, we went back to the barn so the kids could work their way through the cave simulator. It was narrow, winding, and dark.
About half way through the cave, there was this window that gave you a glimpse of freedom
A long shot of the cave simulator
Tom completing the cave simulator
Day 3:
Day 3 began with a trail ride to a secluded location where we ate breakfast cooked over an open fire by the ranch staff.
A view of the ranch during our breakfast ride
The morning ride
Goats along the trail
The four bandits ride!
Trail breakfast of scrambled eggs and grilled ham steak
In the afternoon while Tom and Sam did more rock climbing, Candy and I went down to the Buffalo river to lounge in the water and hiked to the twin falls.
The twin falls
Two movie stars at the twin falls
Day 4:
We travelled home. It was a really good trip. When we planned this short vacation, I was worried that just three days would be too short. It was a very physical vacation, so after three days we were ready to go home. A fourth day might have been fun, but more than four days would have been too many.
After our visit with Chris Abbey in Rippon, we headed back to Reading to turn in our rental car and head to Heathrow airport. On the way, we stopped at Highclere Castle, the site of the BBC series Downton Abbey. Tom and I were just along for the ride, since neither of us have seen the show. You are not allowed to take photographs inside the castle, but according to Sam and Candy, they recognized a lot of the rooms from the series.
Sam and Candy in the car park with Highclere in the background
Sam's first comment upon entering the car park was that it is much smaller than she imagined
Below are some views of the grounds around Highclere.
As we walked the grounds, Tom was wishing he had brought a frisbee. This was one of our few sunny days in England. For most of the trip it was dreary and rainy.
Sam enjoyed our trip to England. She said she liked the fact that “people don’t talk,” that it is cold, and that it is “old.” Sam is not too chatty in most cases, and she liked the fact that most folks we met were friendly enough but weren’t too chatty themselves. Candy, who likes to tell everyone she meets her whole life history and full vacation itinerary in the first five minutes she meets them, prefers chatty people. Sam said that she would like to live in England for a couple of years (not forever) and do more sight seeing. Tom seemed to enjoy aspects of the trip, but he didn’t like being outside the US. He was happy to visit, but by the end of the trip, he was ready to go home.
As we set out from the Peak District toward Yorkshire, we stopped at an area that had been an old railroad right of way for a short hike. The viaduct in the left of the picture above and an old railway tunnel were the attractions here.
Sheep grazing on a distant hillside
We began by walking down a path through the woods that took us to a waterfall. We didn’t know about the waterfall when we started our walk, so this was a nice surprise.
A closer view of the viaduct
The waterfall, which seems to have been augmented with some man-made features
Walking back from the waterfall
After returning to our starting point, we walked in the opposite direction to get down to the viaduct and also walk through the old railway tunnel.
The old Headstone railway tunnel
The other side of the tunnel
Sam and a view of the river from the viaduct
A view from the viaduct
About noon we got on the road for Rippon in Yorkshire to spend the afternoon and evening with Chris and Ann Abbey.
Many of the trucks on the motorways were these extra tall ones. They are a meter taller than trucks we are accustomed to in the US.
Our next day in England was spent in The Peak District, an area of high hills and picturesque vistas. We stayed in a nice bed and breakfast in Castleton and then headed out on a hike across nearby ridges to Mam Tor and around the area.
Starting our morning hike along a small country lane that began in front of our bed and breakfast
It was a rather dreary day
The walk began on level ground but very quickly became steep
About halfway to the top
Despite the dreary weather, the views remained impressive
Mam Tor, the site of an ancient hill fort that dominated the area until the construction of the nearby castle in approximately 1070
Candy finds a friend during our walk back down from Mam Tor
Our bed and breakfast, the Rambler's Rest
After the long walk through the damp and drizzle, we dried off and relaxed over a game of dominoes
The entrance to the main hall of the Bovington Tank Museum
For me, a highlight of our family vacation in England was a visit to the tank museum in Bovington. Somewhat off the beaten path Bovington is the armor (armour) school for the British Army and the site of the largest collection of tanks I’ve ever seen — and most of them have been repaired to working order. We modified our agenda to make sure we were in Bovington on a weekday when they perform a tanks-in-action demonstration.
A model of DaVinci's tank in the queue to get into the exhibits
The museum is actually a series of buildings, but we only had time for the main building. We did not go over to the conservation building where they repair tanks to working order.
The displays begin with a depiction of life in the trenches in WWI. This helps motivate the need for the tank to help break the stalemate in the trenches. This section of the museum then depicts the development and evolution of early tanks into the early 1930s. There were several WWI tanks that you could walk into or where sections of armor were replaced by plexiglass windows to enable you to look inside.
Sam and Tom coming out of a trench
A British Mark IV or Mark V tank
This hall was very dark, so many of the pictures are a bit blurry.
An early tank with a cutout to allow people to look inside. They said that this tank is in running order. Many of the tanks had oil drip pans under them -- an indication of which were still able to run.
Tom and me in the Royal Tank Corps -- and my patient wife wondering how long she was going to have to pretend she was interested in tanks before we could leave
After viewing the WWI section, we went outside for the Tanks-in-Action demonstration. They drove four armored vehicles around a track, which included a hill. Each stopped in front of the audience so that the narrator could provide interesting information about each vehicle. The Tanks-in-Action demonstration naturally focused on British vehicles. The same type of demonstration in the US that focused on US vehicles would likely be criticized as jingoistic, because only in the US is it insensitive to highlight our accomplishments.
A Cold War era Ferret armored car. This was very fast and incredibly quiet. I had seen Scorpions and Scimitars before and even had a chance to climb around inside one with the crew, but I had never seen a Ferret before.
An FV-234 armored personnel carrier. This vehicle is strikingly similar in design to the US M-113. The FV-234 is still in service.
The Chieftain main battle tank. This Cold War era vehicle never fired a shot in anger and is no longer in active service.
After showing these three vehicles, they set up a mock battle involving these three fighting insurgents from Ruritania equipped with a Saladin reconnaissance vehicle. The Ferret conducted reconnaissance to find the Ruritanaians and called in artillery, complete with pyrotechnic devices that were a crowd pleaser. Then the Chieftain and FV-234 advanced. Volunteers from the audience de-bussed the FV-234 and assaulted the Saladin, winning the day. It is not considered insensitive in England for the British to root for themselves and to defeat the enemy.
The "Ruritanian" Saladin reconnaissance vehicle
After the tanks-in-action demonstration (and some pasties and cider) we went back into the main building to look at the displays. The hall depicting the evolution of the tank is breathtaking and includes a number of displays I have never seen in person, like the D-Day wading device on a Sherman tank.
A panoramic shot of the hall showing the evolution of tanks from WWI to nearly the present day
Another view of the history of the tank hall
A French Char B tank
Each vehicle on display has a nice plaque next to it that describes the tank and also where this particular example of the tank came from. Some of the vehicles had a very interesting story behind how they came to Bovigton.
German Pz II tank
There are over 300 tanks at Bovington. It is mind boggling. I couldn’t see everything and read everything if I had two full days there. I MUST go back when I am not pulling the family along.
German Panther tank
British Crusader tank
The US Army made many bad choices over the years regarding the extensive collection of armored vehicles on display at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The collection is now scattered and no longer available to the public. Even in its heyday the APG collection was open to the elements and deteriorating. It was amazing to see such beautiful specimens at Bovington. Some are claimed to be the only known example in the world.
Tom in front of a Pz III
A Sherman Firefly along with obligatory derogatory comments about US tank design in WWII
German Tiger I in the "Tiger Hall," where they have one example of each Tiger variant except the Sturmtiger.
A US M-46 Patton tank. The M-46, 47, and 48 were all called "Patton"
Sam in front of a cutaway view showing the interior of a tank
This was a particularly interesting exhibit showing the interior of a tank. The kids were very surprised at how cramped it is inside a tank.
The other half of the tank
Another view of the history-of-the-tank hall
There were a number of simulators set up around the exhibit hall. There were ones for rifles, a Bren gun, and even a PIAT. Sadly the PIAT simulator was out of order, but in these next two pictures you see Sam and Tom firing a simulated Bren. Neither of them “qualified.” Both commented on how hard it is to aim the Bren with the site offset to the side because of the top-mounted magazine.
Sam firing a simulated Bren. If you look in the background of this picture you can begin to get a sense of scale for just how big the exhibit hall is.
Tom firing the Bren simulator
There are over 300 vehicles at Bovington. This does not include all there other items on display like anti-tank weapons, comparisons of barrel lengths, tank crew equipment, etc. While the story of the tank hall tells a story of the evolution of the tank, the largest hall is just filled with row after row of vehicles and other displays. It is amazing!
A view of the largest exhibit hall that I hope provides a sense of the sheer size of the collection.
Bovington was the only item on my must-see list for this trip to England. I am very glad we went. All the items on display are extremely well maintained. Every vehicle has informative plaques. Many still run. Everything is under cover. It is tremendous museum. I need to try to talk a couple of my gaming buddies into coming here in June next year for Tank Days, when many of the vehicles are driven around and members of the public get a chance to get into some of the vehicles and drive them. I have driven modern US armored vehicles, like the M-1 Abrams and M-2 Bradley, but I would love to drive one or two of the historic tanks.
A final view of the large exhibit hall
Despite starting the day at a QuikFit to replace the tire on our rental car, a harrowing drive through goat paths led by our GPS and dodging a farm tractor, and a need to depart Bovington early enough to arrive in the Peak District before dark, I had a great time at Bovington and NEED to return for another visit.