March 29, 2024

Honeymoon in May?

Ginnie and I were married last October, which was a busy time, since we were both moving to our new farm house, so we postponed our honeymoon until May. Why May? It would be spring in England, we speculated, like two starstruck lovers who knew what they were doing. The flowers would be blooming and the weather nice. What we didn’t think about is that it would also be spring in Iowa and a very busy time. I found myself, on the day before we left for England, mowing and trying to slam in a garden. Fortunately, we had our neighbors to look after Buddy and take care of the farm.

There were 41 people from all over the world on our bus tour of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, otherwise known as the U.K. Each of the 41, like all people, had their own story. Here are just a few.

Jane is from Oregon. Her husband died in a helicopter crash twenty years ago. (I cried when she told me the story.) She’s been making the best she can of it ever since, by staying close to family and taking trips such as this to see the world. Her only regret is that she can’t share the experience with her husband, but she knows that he would want her to be enjoying herself until they can meet again.

Ian, our bus driver, is from England. Our travel director, Mike, said that a good bus driver is the key to a successful and enjoyable tour, keeping all on schedule and safely delivered. Mike was right. Ian took that behemoth Mercedes-Benz coach through narrow, hairpin turns, when most of us passengers just shut our eyes and prayed. More than once, he negotiated incredible, amazingly accurate, pin-point u-turns, in heavy traffic, like he was out for a morning stroll. English law requires that tour-bus drivers be relieved after seven days of driving. It was with regret that we said good bye to Ian as he left us to be with his wife, family, and enjoy a little holiday himself. We, eyed the replacement driver, David, with suspicion, but he turned out to be just as professional.

Johannes and Christina are from South Africa. They are business owners, operating a fruit-juice manufacturing company in Capetown. Because their business is seasonal, they only work four months out of the year, leaving ample time to travel the world. One thing they really appreciate about this trip is that it is safe to go for walks after dark, something they would never partake of in some other parts of the world.

Rudy and Mary are from Ft. Collins, Colorado, but Rudy (Rudolph) is originally from Belize. They met at the University of Arizona. Rudy went on to get his PhD in soil science from U.C. Berkeley. In their younger days, they traveled all the way from California to Belize in a VW beetle, with small kids in the back seat. They enjoy their travels more now from a tourist perspective, but still look after grandchildren, all of whom are in Colorado.

Austin Lee travels with his daughter, Anny, all over the world. They are both from Boston, but are originally from Taiwan. In Taiwan, Austin’s name was Lee Fong Sheng, Anny’s was Nien Chen Li. Austin has a PhD in Statistics, and Anny has degrees in medicine, epidemiology and mathematics. Daughter, Anny, drags Austin along, begrudgingly, while she power shops.

Mike, our travel director, is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He’s young, has a red beard, and took care of us old folks like we were his parents. He has a degree in marketing from Lancaster University, but you would think his degree is in history, as he can recite the history of England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland like a history professor, maybe better, since he is from York. He takes care of all the details of a guided tour, and there are a jillion of them—like arranging rooms at hotels so that we don’t have to stand in line at check-in, arranging tickets and tour guides at optional tours, and herding us along like geriatric cats who would rather take a nap than see another 12th-century castle. He is friendly, patient, articulate, and obviously a people person.

If we are parental figures to him, he is like a son to us.

One big thing Ginnie and I did not miss while in Europe, was all the political wrangling back in the U.S. The few times we did turn on a television in a hotel room, it was all football (soccer) or maybe a debate as to whether England should or shouldn’t get out of the E.U. It is a quite similar issue as the U.S. being in NAFTA.

Our bed at home was sure nice to get back to, along with a warm cuddle and face lick from ole Buddy Boy. The grass needed mowing, the garden weeding, and a jillion things taken care of, including catching up on the news.

Next week, observations of the U.K.

Contact Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or curtswarm@yahoo.com