We had an uneventful train ride to Exeter and then rented a car for an exciting afternoon across Dartmoor National Park. Gord was the designated driver and I was the designated "fearing for her life" passenger. Both of us excelled at our tasks.

It's not merely that we had to get used to driving on the left side of the road again. It's that the roads are very narrow in this part of the country, bordered quite often with high hedgerows and blind twists and turns--well, you get the picture. To avoid oncoming traffic and crossing the middle line (when one existed), Gord had to hug the hedgerow, occasionally taking some of it with us. More than once I reflected on how wise it was to opt for the full insurance coverage.There were sections that were one-lane only (instead of the usual one-and-a-half) and sometimes you had to wait for oncoming cars to get through. (I have some video, but getting the photos uploaded took hours, so the video will have to wait.) The tricky part is when the single lane has a curve and you and the oncoming car meet in the middle. One of you has to back up. And then there was the time a lorry (truck) driver didn't want to wait for Gord to back up and he slowly and very carefully squeezed his way through with maybe an inch to spare.

But it was all very worth it, despite getting lost immediately upon leaving the rental office and having to forego my well planned out route. The views were spectacular.

We saw this sign and with good reason:

But probably the best thing was seeing the wild ponies:

We stopped in the middle of the park for an early dinner at the Warren House Inn because we had skipped lunch. And then we got lost again trying to find the farm/b&b that we had booked in Lydford. Hopefully we will do better tomorrow.

[ I realized that, in my first blog yesterday, I didn't explain anything about this trip. We are in the UK until the middle of December because Gord will be teaching Skidmore freshman in London for the semester. I plan to make the most of my time here, much like I did when we were here in 2007. I kept a blog then as well:
jt-london2007.blogspot.com . I mostly did it so that I would have a record for my own pleasure and because if I had just kept a journal I would have given it up about day 3. But since I had a readership--of maybe 3 people--I felt an obligation to be diligent. I'm glad I did because I've enjoyed looking back through it occasionally. If other people enjoy it in addition to me then that's a bonus.]