This week, the London Underground celebrated its 150th anniversary. The first stretch of the Tube, the Metropolitan or Met line as it’s known, opened on 9 January 1863 and was the world’s first underground railway. The “Mind the Gap” phrase that warns passengers to pay attention to the space between the train and the platform, has taken on a life of its own…frequently seen on t-shirts and other London souvenirs. It’s only fitting that I title this blog post “Mind the Gap” considering the vast amount of space that has passed between the events of this blog and the time it took to actually write about them. In my defense, I’ve spent the majority of my free time (a.k.a when Kate sleeps) working on my Masters degree (which I’m happy to report is almost done!)
The following are some adventures that didn’t make it into the blog…
May
In May, we had visits from my mom and Doug’s dad. Both have made it over several times during our time living abroad, and we really appreciate all their efforts in getting here. It was great sharing a little slice of our life here in England with them. Doug and I also celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with an unbelievable trip to Greece. Read here for that post!
June
June kicked off with celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years of reign. It was a really awesome time to be in England, as pride for country was at such a high. Union Jack flags and bunting were displayed on houses, businesses and through streets and people were typically pretty giddy with excitement! We made it into London on the final day of events, which included a carriage procession and balcony appearance by the Royal family. However, we couldn’t get anywhere near these events, as there were literally millions and millions of people crowding the streets of London. It was packed like we’d never seen it, but the energy was electric! We did manage to get on the driving route for Royal family members and dignitaries, so we were able to see the car carrying Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice pass right in front of us!
We also welcomed Doug’s good friend Dave for a visit. Life is never dull with Dave around, and a great time was had while he was here!
July
July was a busy month, but not in such an exciting way! I was swamped with my two toughest classes in the Educational Leadership program at UD and was a slave to school. Doug spent 2 weeks of the months away – one week in Amsterdam and another in New York for work. Kate and I missed him a lot!!
The highlight of the month was the Olympic torch relay that came through Oxford on it’s journey through the United Kingdom before the big games began. We had a front row spot on the route, then joined the masses for a big party at South Park. It was a great way to celebrate this historical event!
August
August was SUCH a fun month for us! We were able to get some tickets to the Men’s Quarter Final “Football” match, so we decided to make a weekend out of it. After a summer of travelling for Doug and the semester from you-know-where for me, we were overdue for some family time. The soccer match was Japan v. Egypt. We really didn’t have a reason to root for one team over the other, so I got Kate a Japan flag because it matched her outfit. Priorities, right? It panned out though because they won 3-0. Kate was fantastic for the 90 minute match (thanks to plenty of snacks and stickers), and even received a compliment from the people next to us. Such a proud mum I was.
Afterwards, we headed to northern England for a night in the beautiful Lake District. Of all the places we've been in the UK, this has to be my favorite spot. Rolling green hills, stone walls that are hundreds and hundreds of years old, and raw nature at its best. This mountainous region of England is a National Park covering 885 square miles with its highest point at 3,210 feet. Its 14 main lakes and stunning surrounding scenery have inspired poets and writers, including William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. Anyone who visits England needs to spend some time here.
We checked out Hampton Court Palace…former home of Henry VIII, amongst others royals…
The next big moment of the month came two days before Kate’s 2nd birthday when we found out that another baby McWhorter was on the way! Ironically, we had just extended our stay here in the UK for an extra three months, which put us back home in Ohio just 2 weeks shy of baby’s due date (according to online calculators). Uh oh. This could be interesting! Stay and have the baby here in England or try to get home in time to have the baby there? Ultimately, we opted for the latter and will welcome our baby in our American home.
Kate’s birthday was a lot of fun. Last year, she really didn’t know what was going on, but this year, she understood that it was her special day! We got her a scooter, which she figured out right away! We also hosted her first birthday party at a local indoor play area called iKidz. All her best buddies were there and she had a great time!
To be continued in “Mind the Gap, Part 2: August through December”…
The following are some adventures that didn’t make it into the blog…
May
In May, we had visits from my mom and Doug’s dad. Both have made it over several times during our time living abroad, and we really appreciate all their efforts in getting here. It was great sharing a little slice of our life here in England with them. Doug and I also celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with an unbelievable trip to Greece. Read here for that post!
June
June kicked off with celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years of reign. It was a really awesome time to be in England, as pride for country was at such a high. Union Jack flags and bunting were displayed on houses, businesses and through streets and people were typically pretty giddy with excitement! We made it into London on the final day of events, which included a carriage procession and balcony appearance by the Royal family. However, we couldn’t get anywhere near these events, as there were literally millions and millions of people crowding the streets of London. It was packed like we’d never seen it, but the energy was electric! We did manage to get on the driving route for Royal family members and dignitaries, so we were able to see the car carrying Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice pass right in front of us!
We also welcomed Doug’s good friend Dave for a visit. Life is never dull with Dave around, and a great time was had while he was here!
July
July was a busy month, but not in such an exciting way! I was swamped with my two toughest classes in the Educational Leadership program at UD and was a slave to school. Doug spent 2 weeks of the months away – one week in Amsterdam and another in New York for work. Kate and I missed him a lot!!
The highlight of the month was the Olympic torch relay that came through Oxford on it’s journey through the United Kingdom before the big games began. We had a front row spot on the route, then joined the masses for a big party at South Park. It was a great way to celebrate this historical event!
August
August was SUCH a fun month for us! We were able to get some tickets to the Men’s Quarter Final “Football” match, so we decided to make a weekend out of it. After a summer of travelling for Doug and the semester from you-know-where for me, we were overdue for some family time. The soccer match was Japan v. Egypt. We really didn’t have a reason to root for one team over the other, so I got Kate a Japan flag because it matched her outfit. Priorities, right? It panned out though because they won 3-0. Kate was fantastic for the 90 minute match (thanks to plenty of snacks and stickers), and even received a compliment from the people next to us. Such a proud mum I was.
Afterwards, we headed to northern England for a night in the beautiful Lake District. Of all the places we've been in the UK, this has to be my favorite spot. Rolling green hills, stone walls that are hundreds and hundreds of years old, and raw nature at its best. This mountainous region of England is a National Park covering 885 square miles with its highest point at 3,210 feet. Its 14 main lakes and stunning surrounding scenery have inspired poets and writers, including William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. Anyone who visits England needs to spend some time here.
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| The shores of Lake Windermere |
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| Getting ready for a river cruise on Lake Windermere |
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| Beautiful boats |
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| Hills of the Lake District National Park |
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| Stopping for a scone with clotted cream and jam. Mmmm! |
The next big moment of the month came two days before Kate’s 2nd birthday when we found out that another baby McWhorter was on the way! Ironically, we had just extended our stay here in the UK for an extra three months, which put us back home in Ohio just 2 weeks shy of baby’s due date (according to online calculators). Uh oh. This could be interesting! Stay and have the baby here in England or try to get home in time to have the baby there? Ultimately, we opted for the latter and will welcome our baby in our American home.
Kate’s birthday was a lot of fun. Last year, she really didn’t know what was going on, but this year, she understood that it was her special day! We got her a scooter, which she figured out right away! We also hosted her first birthday party at a local indoor play area called iKidz. All her best buddies were there and she had a great time!
To be continued in “Mind the Gap, Part 2: August through December”…
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