January

Back to school for everyone, which means back to the routines for me. We've been taking things easy in terms of weekend trips since our last big trip, mostly been doing hikes on the weekends and exploring the Surrey County area.

We took a trip to Winchester and Portsmouth on the south coast yesterday. Winchester is perhaps the most beautiful and historic town near us and is worth the trip for any visitors we have. Portsmouth has a big naval base and museum which was especially interesting for the male half of the family.

The kids and I toured Winchester Cathedral (I always think of the song "Winchester Cathedral" that you older folks might remember from 1966 by the group The New Vaudeville Band--the reason I know it is that my parents owned that record and my brother and I would dance around the living room to its groovy tunes when we were kids. I still remember every song with perfect clarity.) The cathedral is amazing, but it is full to the brim of dead people in tombs in the walls and underneath the stones at your feet. War heroes, ancient bishops and preists, and important political folk get to reside there for all eternity. (An excellent place to spend Halloween.) The town itself is lovely and I would love to spend some more time there this spring.

Left: Inside Winchester Cathedral--and this is only the first room!

Right: This the Great Hall, the only surviving parts of Winchester Castle, where King Arthur's Round Table allegedly rests.

Wolvesey Castle: Begun as a 12th-century Norman keep and bailey castle, the palace was the chief residence of the Bishops of Winchester. Situated next to Winchester Cathedral, its extensive ruins reflect their importance and wealth. The last great occasion at Wolvesey was on 25 July 1554, when Queen Mary and Philip of Spain held their wedding breakfast in the East Hall.

Unfortunately, this was closed for the winter so we did not get to see it.

Portsmouth is home to the world's oldest dry dock still in use and is home to three hugely important historic ships, HMS Victory, Nelson's famous flagship at the battle of Trafalgar, HMS Warrior the first ironclad warship and the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's warship that sank in the Solent just off of Southsea Castle. Portsmouth has declined as a military port in recent years but remains a major dockyard and base for the Royal Navy.

Jake and Erik toured a big ship; Emma and I went to a coffee shop. Erik bought an annual membership so I'm sure he plans to return.

It was a good trip--in fact, we decided to spend the night because we were having so much fun, but couldn't find a room at the inn. Next time, maybe.