Kara Emily’s Hearth

Well, to be sure, the next day was more promising. However, it was in a much different way than we expected. We had been hoping to relax a little and breathe in the Lake District… and I suppose that’s what we got.

Kara and I decided to take a ‘little walk’ around the Ambleside area, so I picked up a map for 20 pence, and we started out on our casual…brief… 6-mile… hike… through the mountains.

Yeah, not really what we expected. BUT… but… it was pretty awesome, I have to admit, even if by the time we returned to town we were in more pain than we could have imagined from our ‘little walk’.  The trail took us through woods with steep trails, across farmland, and up mountainsides that seemed determined to ascend straight towards the sky. I swear, if I never walked the slightest incline again for the rest of my life, I’d be content. Not to disregard the downhill slope we had to manage on our way back down to town – I think our shins started to spasm about halfway down.

The worst part of it all? There were 75-year-old couples accomplishing all of this with barely a grunt of moan. They were moving slowly, and probably had to check their heartrates a few times, but it was pretty incredible to see. And these footpaths took us up these luscious green hills overlooking Lake Windermere, sparking there in the distance. Photographs did nothing to capture the loveliness of the numinous landscape surrounding us – it whispered of history and earthen patches of pale light.

Having survived our journey, we purchased a few goods from the local Co-op and returned to the hostel, where Kara took a nap and I moseyed about. I was able to hand-wash all the clothes I’ve worn so far, and hang them in the drying room., which was a great thing, for now I feel like everything is new and refreshed. Kara and I have definitely had some rough patches in this brief and tumultuous week of traveling, but I fervently believe that things will settle down now, and we can start to really enjoy ourselves, and each other, a bit more. Needless to say, if our trip had only been a week long, we wouldn’t have had the most fantastic time! It’s definitely been an experience, and we’re both further learning how vast this world is, and how truly accessible it is to the willing traveler. As Kara said to me at the last train stop, she never wants to forget this feeling of freedom and possibility – to always remember how possible it is to travel the world.

Currently on the train to Edinburgh, which is in Scotland and therefore in another country! Very exciting. We have a hostel reserved directly in the center of the city, so that should be interesting, and it certainly means that we’ll have to hit the town tonight. ☺ Tomorrow we meet up with Bill (Kara’s brother) and Katie (and the baby in her belly) and spend the following week traveling with them. I’m not too nervous about the prospect of traveling with them, but it’s true that I’m not part of the family, so I hope I can fit in well enough. The Simpsons definitely have their own way about things. ☺

Kara and I met a young man at the travel center in Windermere when we were desperately trying to book a place to stay Saturday night. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to find accommodations and had to camp it that night. However, the next day I saw him in town while in Ambleside, and then again that evening. Come to find out that he not only found a room the following day, but also a job! He will be working at the YHA in Ambleside, working for minimum wage plus room and board. It’s actually pretty incredible, and I’m not going to lie – if I were alone right now, I probably would have arranged for a job myself and stayed in the beautiful Lake District of England. But it’s exciting to know that such things are possible – and I wouldn’t be surprised if the lure of such an opportunity would bring me back to Europe. I also thought of my brother, Joel, and how cool it would be if he were to find the sense of adventure and motivation to go off like that – all this kid had was his pack and his guitar – and create a life for himself somewhere, anywhere, and see the world. It would be thrilling, methinks. ☺  Makes me wish I had thought of it earlier, not at the ripe old age of 24! Haha – I know it’s never too late, but there are still limits to ridiculousness.

Kara and I ended our night cooking our own pasta dinner, then sitting at the hostel café, drinking some hot cocoa (tea for her) and playing Uno until late into the night (okay fine, 10 o’clock).  Then we passed out.