The Lord will protect you from all evil;
    God will protect your very life.
The Lord will [watch over you] on your journeys—
    whether going or coming—
    from now until forever from now.

Psalm 121

Heading home is always the bittersweet part of vacation, especially an adventure that has been so unremittingly wonderful as this one. I just didn’t want this journey to end, yet it is always good to walk back into the comfort and familiarity of home.

Of course, getting from Cowes to Wake Forest took the combined efforts of a rental car, a ferry, a bus, another bus, a plane, and then a Lyft home. They all worked, but every connection had its own set of challenges.

It was another blustery morning on the island, so we walked the seafront by the marina before boarding the ferry and heading across the Solent and up Southampton Water for the mainland. I can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed our visit, from the genuine hospitality of the Caledon Guesthouse (look for a review to come) to the spectacular beauty of the landscape.

Here is a short video from the ferry as we were leaving; I think it shows what an interesting town Cowes is – well worth a visit:

Checking in with family:

Rebekah and I then drove east through Hampshire and Sussex to Hove, where we enjoyed a delightful visit with my auntie Dorothea and uncle John. Dorothea is my dad’s youngest and only remaining sibling. My cousin Ruth was there too, along with her friend Stephen. It was so good to catch up with each other’s lives, and see that my aunt and uncle are both doing well and well taken care of.

Returning my Audi A3 (Thanks, Budget, what a great car!) at London Heathrow Airport was not without its share of drama! The entire airport complex is massive, strung out over many miles of hard to navigate roads, poorly organized, and seriously lacking in adequate signage. The GPS directed me into a parking garage instead of a road, and it took $20 to get out! Then, after being shuttled back to the terminal, it took forever to find a bus to our hotel.

Next time we will avoid Heathrow if at all possible.

But we did get to sleep comfortably before getting up very early to catch the bus to the terminal and one more amazingly experience of flying “Flagship Business” on American Airlines.

Rounding out our overseas adventure by being pampered in the front of the plane put the final punctuation mark of “wonderful” on what has been a long overdue deep reconnect with my roots in the South of England.

This trip could not have happened in this way without the love and generosity of the good people of Wake Forest Presbyterian Church, who made this amazing adventure possible via her retirement gift last summer.

The Nikon:

A few moments ago I plugged my Nikon DSLR into the computer, so there will be another set of new photographs to share once I have the opportunity to edit them down to the best of the best. Stay tuned for those in a day or two.

But the balance of this day is going to be all about catching up on bills, and details, and grocery shopping, and everything else that was put – thankfully – on an extended 15-day “pause” for the trip overseas.

Enjoy these images, and remember to live each day like the Great Adventure we were designed to live by our most generous and loving Creator.

And Godspeed to all who travel – DEREK