Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 50 + novels, novellas, and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.
We did our nearly yearly trip up on the Steens to see the wildflowers a week ago. There had been so much snow up on the mountain that the roads didn’t open until a couple weeks ago. We like to go for my birthday at the end of June, but the roads had just opened and we were busy. Lucky for us, the wildflowers didn’t disappoint.
There is a small waterfall in the background.
The left photo is at the edge of Kiger Gorge. The photo is farther up the road.
Steens Mountain summit is in the background.
I thought these orange-yellow almost succulents were interesting in this photo. As you can see there were still patches of snow everywhere.
This is the same type of plant as the orange and yellow plant in the lower photo.
We also saw the wild horses in their usual spot near a watering hole. Some were even in the water.
The next trip we make will most likely be with grandkids to swim in Fish Lake then we will most likely make the fall trip to see the colorful aspen leaves.
Wow, can you believe it! July is here already. Our family had a wedding in June. I baked and decorated the cake. I found an easy-to-make vanilla bean cake and lavender-infused buttercream frosting. They paired well, and people enjoyed the cake. The decorating had me frazzled because it was a “naked cake.” I made more of a fuss out of how I felt it would look than I needed to. It turned out fine and the bride thought it was awesome, so all was good.
Author Mary Vine and I tried out the Sumpter, Oregon Renaissance Faire over the 4th of July. We made some sales to new readers, and we had a couple of repeat customers. It was cold and rainy on the first day, and very few people. The second day was the perfect temperature for them to come out. I realized when I was leaving that most of the Renaissance people were over in an area hidden from where the book trailer was. What we mainly had come through were people dressed normally. We will most likely do it again next year. They had a reasonable rate for the spaces.
I’m excited to be attending the Tamkaliks Powwow in Wallowa again this year. I love listening to the music and watching the dancers. And every year I pick up a little more information that helps me better understand my characters.
I also start judging at county fairs this month. I enjoy visiting with the 4-H members and traveling around the state.
This month I’m busy writing the next Gabriel Hawke book, Wolf Moon. I hope to have a cover for it soon. Once I get the first draft finished, I’ll put it up for pre-order. I know my readers have been waiting for the next book.
At the moment that is all the specials I have going on. With summer being so crazy I have trouble remembering to sign up for specials and changing the prices!
And if you want to keep up with the book specials, where I’ll be live selling my books, get your name in the hat for a mug, or want to get a short story from me or a fellow author, sign up for my newsletter that goes out the first Thursday for the month. https://bit.ly/2IhmWcm
I had my first look at Alberta Canada and it will not be my last. My daughter had to get her daughter back to school in Turner Valley, Alberta Canada after she was a bridesmaid in her sister’s wedding. Because my daughter was driving up one day and back the next after having spent a harried week getting ready for and doing the wedding, I offered to ride along so she didn’t have to drive back alone.
We left Cove, Or at 6 AM on Sunday morning. We arrived at Turner Valley at 8 PM. We only made a few stops along with way for gas, rest areas, and food. For the most part we moved right along to get my granddaughter back by 8 PM. After helping her get her stuff into her room and saying goodbye we continued up to Calgary where my son-in-law had reserved a hotel room for us.
By the time we got there, we were tired, but a funny thing, my sister-in-law and her husband who are riding their Harleys up to Alaska were also spending the night in Calgary and it was a hotel only a block away from where we ended up. So we met them for dessert at a Denny’s that was in between our hotels.
Monday morning we slept in until 6:30. Grabbed breakfast at the hotel and headed to Banff. My daughter wanted to see it. And I had heard a lot about it and wanted to see it as well.
I had crossed the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. but I have to say the Canadian Rockies are majestic and beautiful! I couldn’t stop pointing out the odd peaks, the trees, the sheer height and mass of the mountains.
On our way up to the granddaughter’s school I spotted a moose in a marsh, then we had oodles of elk a ways off the road and some right next to the road. One that almost walked out onto the road in front of us. But all those times, I was so in awe, I forgot to take photos. So the next day I had my phone ready to take photos of wildlife and we didn’t see any except for two small bull elk in the street of Banff.
Because we didn’t have a set time to get home on Monday, we did stop a few times to take in the scenery.
In Banff we got out and took a photo of the Fairmont Hotel. It is just WOW! It’s large, regal, and the setting of the mountain behind it just makes it all the more remarkable.
After Banff we headed south and came across Numa Falls. It was amazing to see the glacier blue water falling, splashing and rushing down the falls.
I took a photo of the icy blue river we drove alongside.
And then we came to a spot where the highway literally goes through a crack in the rocky mountains. The crack was made by time and water.
A waterfall splashes down over rocks and through a deep crevice.
The trip was beautiful and awe-inspiring. We arrived back home by 9 PM Monday night. I want to go again but spend time getting to see some of the things that we just read the signs. Perhaps once hubby retires we can do some sightseeing.
I’ll leave you with this video I took from the car.
Well, I thought this post had been written and scheduled. Silly me! I must have forgotten to write it. The good news is that means you are able to purchase my new Spotted Pony Casino Mystery book! Crapshoot is book 7 in the series. It made me think and tugged at my emotions as I wrote it for many different reasons.
Here is the blurb, cover, and buy links:
A Fentanyl death.
A missing woman.
Dela Alvaro, head of the Spotted Pony Casino security, and Heath Seaver, a Umatilla Tribal Detective, join forces with the FBI to find Dela’s missing basket-weaving instructor and put a stop to a lethal drug flowing onto the reservation.
The investigation turns deadly when an undercover FBI agent goes missing and the drug cartel’s girlfriend is out for Dela’s blood.
Along with this new book, I also have an audiobook bundle on sale.
The first three book in the Gabriel Hawke Novels, Murder of Ravens, Mouse Trail Ends, and Rattlesnake Brother.
Join Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke as he performs his duties with the Fish and Wildlife Division while finding a body with a wolf collar, tracking a lost child, and hunting down a poacher in the wilderness of Wallowa County.
Books 1-3 in the Gabriel Hawke Novels
Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke is part of the Fish and Wildlife Division in Wallowa County. He not only upholds the law but also protects the land of his ancestors.
Murder of Ravens
Book 1
State Trooper Gabriel Hawke is after poachers in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest. When he comes across a body wearing a wolf tracking collar, he follows the trail of clues.
Mouse Trail Ends
Book 2
Dead bodies in the wilderness. A child is missing. Oregon State Trooper Hawke is an expert tracker, but he isn’t the only one looking for the child.
Rattlesnake Brother
Book 3
State Trooper Gabriel Hawke encounters a hunter with an illegal tag. The name on the tag belongs to the Wallowa County District Attorney and the man holding the tag isn’t the public defender.
Later this month, starting June 26th, the first three audiobooks of the Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries will be on sale. Use this link to get to the sale page: https://indieaudiobookdeals.com/
I’m excited to say I will be selling my books at two large events this year one is the Oregon State Fair on August 24th & 25th and the other will be at the Bruneau, ID Cowboy Christmas on Nov. 7th & 8th. So if you are in either of those areas, mark you calendar and come by to say hi.
This was the day that we walked the most. Leaving Kilbryde Castle where we were staying, we headed to Doune Castle in Doune, Scotland. We left around 9 am to give ourselves enough time to get to the castle by our 11:00 ticket time. We made the four miles with 30 minutes to spare.
As we entered the castle they gave us devices that recited the information at each stage of the castle. It was fun learning about the history, seeing where the food was prepared, where they slept, and entertained.
The hole in the corner of this area was for smoke. It was a spit for cooking large animals and hanging large pots to cook.
This was a doorway out of the kitchen area in to the prep area.
This was the hole for a toilet. The grate is over it to keep people from tossing trash. They did say that when a prisoner of war was held in the castle, he escaped by going out toilet hole.
This was the basket that held the wood to keep the guests warm during a banquet. It sits in the middle of the banquet hall.
The banquet hall. I can’t remember how many people they said it could accommodate. but it was large.
Looking out one of the windows toward the courtyard. It was pretty and a large area.
This was the fireplace in the family’s main room above the banquet hall.
This was where the Lord would hear grievances and proclaim laws.
gingerbread cake
It was a fun tour. Afterwards, we found the business district of the town and a quaint cafe called Buttercup. We had a wonderful lunch. I had creamed mushroom, sweet potato, tarragonsoup with loaded fries (which we all ate). Even though I was full, I couldn’t pass up the gingerbread cake. It was delicious!
With overflowing stomachs, we headed back to where we were staying. On the way, we passed by a playground and Angie decided to take a ride on a small zip line.
We walked slowly back to Kilbryde Castle, enjoying the sunshine and pretty scenes. When we arrived, I looked at my Fitbit and we had walked 9 miles.
The next day, we stayed at the castle being lazy. Midday, Angie and I took a stroll around the paths in the gardens and down by the river. I took a lot of photos of flowers still in bloom and the changing leaves. In the afternoon, we played cards and I packed for the next leg of our vacation.
Old rock steps down to the river.
view from the Ferry
We woke at 5 am, and the taxi arrived at 6 to take us to the bus station in Sterling. We had less than an hour bus ride to Glasgow and then a two-hour bus ride to Cairnryan to walk onto the Ferry. The Ferry ride took about two hours. We purchased a chicken wrap, ate the rest of the chips we brought with us, and then found a room with bench seats and the movie Super Mario Bros playing.
When we landed in Belfast, Ireland, we discovered the hotel we’d reserved was 30 minutes away. The taxi driver was full of good information. We spent the evening changing up some of our sightseeing due to the places the taxi driver told us. Then we watched some TV and went to bed.
I just attended a bridal/baby shower for a granddaughter. Her wedding is next month. So there is that excitement brewing in our family. And we have a grandson getting married in August. These grandkids are almost as bad as our kids. We had three children get married in the same year. It’s easy to remember what anniversary they are celebrating! 2003 was an epic year. Not only three weddings, but we moved into the house we’d built. The house had been planned for seven years, and we finally had the means and the time to build it and move out of the old double-wide mobile home that was on the property when we purchased it.
I’d dubbed that house my dream house. It was. A spacious kitchen and dining room that was open to the living room, which had large windows that faced the Cascade Mountain Range. They were in the distance but you could see them. The main bedroom and bathroom were on the ground floor, and upstairs was a loft where I wrote from, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. I poured all of my creative energy into that house, thinking I’d be living there the rest of my life.
But Central Oregon grew, and my hubby and I didn’t like the growth. We purchased land in SE Oregon and built a house there. A nice house, one, we again thought we’d live in until we couldn’t get along by ourselves. But ten years later, we have purchased a house in Baker City. It’s a small, unique town, one that we enjoy. The house we purchased has a gorgeous view of the Eagle Cap Mountains and the Elkhorn Mountains. It is walking distance to the main part of town and there is a golf course close by to walk around.
Hubby decided that when he retired he didn’t want to do anymore farming. And even if we had leased the land to someone, he’d never be happy with how they were taking care of it, so we made the decision to move to a small town. Right now we are finishing out this year with his current employer, with hopes of putting the place in SE Oregon up for sale, and moving permanently to Baker City.
Right now we try to get over there once to twice a month. There is yard work and some remodeling that needs to be done, but at least this time we aren’t building a whole house! I don’t think my body could do that again.
The first house had a great room with a 28 ft high peak. We were on scaffolding, putting the knotty pine tongue and groove boards up. I’d lift them up to hubby who would then reach up and slide them to the top scaffolding. Then when we had as much as we could get up there and stand to put it up, I’d climb up to the top and hold the boards while he nailed them. I lost weight while building that house! I did all the tile work and painting.
That house? My dream home? Was recently purchased by another person and they tore it all down. It makes me sick to think of all the time and money that went into that house, and it’s gone.
Now I’m putting all my creative energy into the Baker City house and my writing. I hope the house in Baker City is as inviting and comfortable when I’m done as the last two houses we’ve lived in.
Today is the last day to purchase Poker Face book 1 in the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series in audiobook for $0.99! That’s right! Less than a dollar gets you 7 hours of entertainment. You can purchase it at my website also. Use this link to see all the great audiobooks on sale: https://indieaudiobookdeals.com
As interim head of security at the Spotted Pony Casino, disabled veteran, Dela Alvaro, needs to find out who killed a casino accountant or lose her job.
I recently attended an art show in Joseph, Oregon at the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture. The show was Bloodlines: Nez Perce Art Exhibit.
There was traditional weaving, sewing, beading, painting, and bronze work, all created by twelve Nez Perce artists. The variety of mediums were a good representation of not only cultural traditions, such as the beading and weaving, but to see history translated into art and current themes.
The show opened at noon on Saturday with a prayer and a song by artist Nakia Cloud. It was fun to see and listen to him and then study his “Art on a Ledger.” He’d drawn more traditional-looking subjects on used ledger paper.
Jacy Sohappy had traditional patterns in her weaving and had an elk tooth dress on display.
The youngest artist represented was Emma Chief a teenager. I listened in as she explained two of her paintings to other art enthusiasts at the show. She held a deep understanding of her culture and had paintings that reflected the strength of women.
She wasn’t the only one who had women’s strength portrayed. Ellen Taylor had some striking paintings of women and one of Prince, the singer, as a Native American and Marilyn Monroe as a Native American. I have to admit I was tempted to purchase one of her prints of a Native American woman. The colors and the woman’s strength drew me.
Center stage of the whole event was Doug Hyde’s bronze of a Nez Perce woman warrior. It was striking and showed the strength and resilience of women.
Doug also has a large bronze int he front of the building. It deals with the return of the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) to Wallowa County. After the treaty of 1863, when the government reduced the size of the reservation taking away the walwa’ma band (Chief Joseph’s band) homeland given to the Nez Perce in the Treaty of 1855, Young Chief Joseph was moving his people to the Lapwai reservation when an altercation happened. The altercation set them and some other bands headed to Canada.
Many have heard of Chief Joseph’s surrender at Bearpaw Montana. But did you know that after they surrendered and were told they would return to Oregon, they were exiled to Kansas and Indian Territory? Many died from the heat and conditions. In 1885 they were finally allowed to return to the West, but not to Wallowa Valley. About half of them were sent to the Colville Reservation in Washington state, and the other half went to the Lapwai Reservation.
Many of the walwa’ma band remain at the Colville Reservation while others are spread among the Lapwai and Umatilla Reservations in Idaho and Oregon.
It wasn’t until the late 1970’s that other than participating in the Chief Joseph Day’s rodeo and parade that the Nez Perce were allowed back into Wallowa County. Now they have an interpretive center, powow grounds, a Wallowa Homelands, and more representation on the streets of Joseph with sculptures and they have an Nez Perce fisheries in the county.
Back to Doug Hyde’s bronze in the front of the Josephy center, which is named for a man who befriended the Nez Perce and wrote books showing their culture and language. The artwork titled: ‘etweyé-wise means The Return or specifically “I return from a hard journey.” It is the photo at the beginning of this piece.
Unfortunately, I was so busy looking at the artwork I didn’t take a photo of any of it. You can see some of the works at the website in the beginning of the post.
We started our trip to Scotland with a nice stroll to the train station. The ride took us to Paddington Station in London. We hailed a cab to get us to King’s Cross Station for our leg of the trip to Stirling, Scotland. With only 30 minutes to get to the next train, we thought the cab would be faster than us trying to find our way around the tube station.
Traffic was horrible!
Those people you see running through train stations and airports…that was us. We arrived at the train station with 8 minutes before our train left. And the trains don’t wait. They pull up only minutes before they leave. At the ticket turntable, Angie’s ticket wasn’t working, however, the attendant buzzed her through. It was my turn. I was fumbling trying to find the right ticket. He buzzed me through. Rietta hurried behind me, and he buzzed her through. Angie took off running toward the platform. I was running behind her with a backpack and my rolling suitcase. I know I had to look like a lumbering ox, but I kept my legs pumping even when they didn’t want to. I kept her in sight, and right as she boarded the train, Rietta darted around me. She hopped on the train, reached down and grabbed my bag, then grabbed my arm and helped me and my tired legs get up the steps onto the train.
After we found our seats and calmed down, we enjoyed the 5-hour ride to Stirling. We read, played cards, and watched the scenery.
At Stirling, we hopped in a cab and gave him the name of the place where we were staying. Kilbryde Castle, Dunblane. What I hadn’t realized was how isolated the castle was. The information said it was a short walk to places of interest.
Kilbryde Castle
Once the cab left, we realized it wasn’t. And our phones wouldn’t work to order takeout. I managed to get hold of the Airbnb host. She brought us bread, cheese, butter, eggs, and spaghetti. That was enough to get us through the night and breakfast. We were staying in the servants’ quarters.
The next day we started off walking around the Kilbryde Castle garden.
After seeing all the varieties of flowers and the wonderful trails, we set off for the town of Dunblane on foot.
Our phone said it was about 3 miles. At the halfway point, we discovered a lovely coffee stand. We stopped for hot chocolate and chai lattes.
After watching the people with dogs walking out toward the road, we followed them and found the trail to Dublane that ran alongside the highway.
In town, we encountered many large stately homes before crossing a bridge and coming to the town center. We found Leighton Library first. Angie stuck her head around a little door in the side of a building and discovered information about an expansion program for the oldest purpose-built private library in Scotland. It was built with money from Robert Leighton, Bishop of Dunblane 1661-1670, with money he requested to be used to build something to house his collection of books. There are around 4500 books printed in 15 languages in the library. He wanted the books to be housed in Dunblane and used by the clergy.
The feel of the leather covers, the multitude of sizes, and the variety of pages is something to behold for any lover of books. The woman at the library was full of wonderful information and said she would take out any book we wanted to look at, but I was so in awe of the sight that I didn’t want to bother the books. I couldn’t believe she said we could come back and get one to take with us to read and bring back before we left. It astounded me that they were so willing to share such a treasure.
From the library we toured Dunblane Cathedral. It was small but beautiful with carved pews and woodwork and modest stained glass windows. At the cathedral we were told the museum was a good place to learn the history of the town and took a turn through the rooms.
After the museum, we walked into a couple of stores and ended up getting lunch at the Riverside Cafe. I had a tasty sandwich of baked chicken thigh, tomato, mozzarella cheese, a nice sauce, fries, and a salad. We were all stuffed when we finished eating. And to our surprise, the cafe allowed dogs to come in with the owners. The dogs were on leashes and sat at the feet of their owners while they dined. Although Rietta said she spotted a lab, trying to snare a fry from a neighboring table when its master wasn’t looking.
This was written on the wall of the cafe.
Our next stop was to try and find a bus to see if it would take us back to the castle. We couldn’t find one and went to the grocery store instead for provisions for our stay at the castle. After seeing our groceries were taking all three bags we’d brought with us and being tired from all our trekking, we decided to call a taxi to take us to the castle. Again, my phone wouldn’t work even though I’d purchased the extra coverage. I asked the information desk at the store if they could call a taxi for us. We were told it would be about 10 minutes and where to wait. A taxi pulled into the parking lot, and we all walked toward him when he parked. He told us he wasn’t there to pick us up, that someone else was coming. So we went back and waited.
A taxi pulled up to the bus stop and waved us over. On our way to the castle, the driver told us about a walk similar to what we’d taken that day that would deliver us to the Doune Castle. We decided to see it the next day. We also set up for the taxi to pick us up at 6 am on the day we left to get us to the bus station in Stirling to catch our ride to Caryn and the ferry across to Ireland for the last leg of our trip.
I had a fabulous time at the Left Coast Crime conference in Denver, Colorado last month. I was lucky enough to be on two panels. One was about Animal Sidekicks. Here’s a photo of that panel.
Me, Lori Roberts Herbst, Meredith Taylor, Kate Lansing, C.B. Wilson
You can bet I talked about Dog, Mugshot, Sheba and the equines, Dot, Jack, Horse and Jethro.
I didn’t get a photo of the other panel titled Crime in Small Towns: Setting, Secrets, Scandal. The panel for that one was Glen Erik Hamilton, Rodney Carpentier, Becky Clark, and Tony Wirt. We had a lively discussion about why we liked to write about small towns and how they made our stories work better than a large city would. I always find it interesting to learn about other writers worlds and who they see them.
And there was fun time. The Sisters in Crime Colorado put on a Mystery Merge Carnival Extravaganza. I met up with some of my Ladies of Mystery blog pals and participated in some of the games and frivolity. Here is a photo of Pam Beason and myself in the mugshot booth.
BOOK DEALS
This month I have a lot of different book deals going on.
My Isabella Mumphrey books in ebook and print (when purchased from me) are 25% off. They are Romantic Suspense with an Indiana Jones/MacGyver heroine. Check them out here: https://www.patyjager.net/romantic-suspense/
April 12th and 13th, I’ll be at the Warner Grange in Canby, Oregon with over 40 authors. It’s the Spring into Reading event. We’ll be there from 11 am -5 pm. I’d love to see some of my readers.
In the heart of the wilderness, the hunter becomes the hunted.
Gunshots shatter the quiet of Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness, drawing Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke into action. Following the sound, he stumbles upon a shredded cage, the sharp musk of a wolverine, and a dead hiker.
Tracking footprints through the rugged terrain, Hawke uncovers a second victim. It’s clear—he’s hunting a killer who’s hunting humans.
With Dog by his side, Hawke’s search leads to two brothers, one gravely injured. Enlisting the help of pilot Dani Singer, he gets the injured man to safety before returning to the wilderness.
Teaming up with a reclusive, disabled veteran who knows the Eagle Cap as well as he does, Hawke pieces together the killer’s twisted game. They suspect a poacher—one as ruthless and elusive as the wolverine he’s still chasing.
In a deadly wilderness where survival is the only rule, Hawke must outsmart a predator who knows no bounds.
SPOTTED PONY CASINO
I’m currently working on book 7 Crap Shoot. It was slow going until I received information. Now I’m making my fingers fly and my story move along so I can get the book out by my deadline.
CUDDLE FARM MYSTERIES
Book 1, Merry Merry Merry Murder in the new Cuddle Farm Mysteries had come back from my beta readers and there are some things I need to fix. Two thought the beginning slogged, and two thought there should be more contention between my main character and the sheriff, and there were a couple of timeline things to fix. But overall, they all loved it! Good news for my readers!
I’ll have a “Christmas in July” event to promote the release of the book on July 15th. As soon as my PA gets the event set up, I’ll have a link here for you to join the fun! I’ll have gifts and fun times.
SHORT STORY
I also have a short story that will be coming out in the next Windtree Press anthology- Navigate. The story is about a character from my Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series. The title of the short story is: Changing Course.
GABRIEL HAWKE NOVELS
I have been brainstorming the next Gabriel Hawke book which I’ll start writing when I finish Crap Shoot. My brother knows the person in charge of the dog sled race that happens in Wallowa County. I’ll be interviewing that person and hopefully someone in the county who participates in the race. If you couldn’t tell by this info, the next book will be set during and about the dog sled race that happens in Wallowa County in February.
FUN FOR ME
That’s about it for writing information. On the creative front, I’m getting ready to take another pieced top in to be quilted, and I’m busy cutting 5″ by 5″ squares for a pastel colored quilt for the granddaughter who graduates next year. When I’m not writing, I’m quilting. I love discovering fabric and bringing them together in an attractive pattern.
Day twelve we left Santander, Spain for London, England. After the flight, we took the bus to the Tube station. The Tube trip was not something I’d like to do again. I like a bubble around me and I found out you can’t keep that bubble intact in a large city. There were too many people and maybe one out of 10 spoke with an English accent. We checked in to our hotel and discovered we were in a basement room.
basement room view
Big Ben
After checking in we took a hop-on hop-off bus around London to see all the historical places we’d heard of or seen in books or movies. The ride would have been boring if the guide hadn’t been entertaining. My granddaughter thought he was funny. Which he was. He’d call out to people walking on the street and make comments about how people were dressed as well as tell the history of buildings and areas.
After the bus ride, we returned to our basement hotel room. It was an experience.
The next day was interesting! We took our time getting up, eating breakfast in the hotel, and slowly made our way to the bus depot, purchasing snacks for our lunch on the bus ride to Bath. We arrived at the station and saw a bus leaving for Bath half and hour before our scheduled bus and thought it was our bus. It turned out it wasn’t. We spent another 2 hours in the bus station waiting for our bus as it was running late.
We spotted tables and chairs and thought it was a communal eating area. We pulled out the food we’d purchased and had it half eaten when we were told we couldn’t eat food that hadn’t been purchased from the store next to the tables. Picking up our food, we moved to the seats in the waiting area.
The bus to Bath finally arrived. We waited and waited and they finally loaded us. The bus went around the block with a buzzer going off and the driver took us back to the station. They unloaded us and our luggage as they waited for another bus to arrive. When that bus showed up we were loaded and not 15 minutes into the ride, I received a message from Airbnb that the place I’d rented had damage from a storm and the roof fell in. Lucky for us Airbnb reached out when they heard of the cancellation and gave me some options of places that were similar in price to the one I’d booked. I picked one and they accepted us. It turned out the place I picked was quiet and closer to the area where we planned to explore.
Bath
Our first day in Bath, we started with a tour of the Roman Baths. The history was interesting going back to 600. The change of countrymen and religions through the ages intrigued me. learning how so many buildings were built on top of the others fascinated me. Also, they came to excavate the original ruins of the baths. It is a unique historical site.
After the tour we had a British lunch of fish and chips. It was good!
After the meal, we strolled through the shops until time for the free walking tour around town which is sponsored by the Mayor of Bath. They split the group down the middle so I ended up in a group by myself and the girls were together.
The tour took us to all the major historical places with a running dialog from our guide. I liked the fact the architect and major industrialists used a theme throughout the building of the town. Being separated from the girls let my mind wander and not worry whether they were having a good time or needed something. During this walk we were soaked. I thought I’d brought a raincoat with me but my shoulders and back were soaked and my pants were wet. The paper sack I’d been carrying the things I’d purchased in, disintegrated during the walk and I had to tuck my purse under my jacket even though it wasn’t protecting all of me. I placed the small items I’d purchased in my purse and shoved the shirt I bought up under the shirt I was wearing and tucked the bottom into my pants so it wouldn’t fall out. I look odd with lumps all over my torso but I kept my purchases moderately dry.
The wet courtyard where we started and finished.
Because of the rain, we hadn’t taken all the photos we wanted, so the next day we walked to the buildings we’d learned about the day before and took photos. As we walked and talked, we realized the two guides told different versions of the history.
This was the Crescent where dignitaries stayed when they were in Bath for the Season.
After re-walking the tour route, we checked in at the Therme Spa to see if there was a chance I could get a massage and the girls wanted to go in the water. We were able to book a time in the afternoon. From there I went to a store and purchased a good raincoat. I didn’t want to be wet again on the trip.
We made it into the Bath Abbey in time to take a tour. Again, it was interesting to hear all the history about the Abbey. In Europe their history goes back so much farther than United States history. It’s kind of mind boggling. From the Abbey, we strolled across the street and had a traditional hand pie for lunch.
The day before on the tour, my guide had pointed out a bridge that was made to look like a continuation of the street with business along it so people wouldn’t know they were leaving one part of town and going to another, or so my guide said. We headed to that bridge after we ate.
The bridge made to look like a street when you walk across it.
Back at the spa, the girls went off to enjoy the rooftop pool and other amenities while I had a massage. When I came out of my massage, they were waiting for me to show me all the fun things they discovered and take me to the rooftop pool. It was a fun relaxing afternoon. From the spa, we went to the train station to check in and get our tickets for the next day. We timed ourselves walking back to where we were staying so we knew when we’d need to set out for the train in the morning. The next day we were headed to Scotland.
Writing Into The Sunset 