Aristotle

The purpose of life is to live well
One can not need anything which is bad for them
One can want things which are bad for them.
Real goods satisfy natural desires (needs)
Apparent goods satisfy acquired desires (wants)
Living well is seeking and acquiring real goods
Seeking and acquiring real goods is the pursuit of happiness.
We have a right to pursue happiness because we aught to live well.

Types of real goods are external good, psychological goods, and good habits.
External good are the same goods all animals seek: food, drink, shelter, clothing, sleep.
Psychological goods are knowledge, honor, friendship, and self-esteem.
Good habit is moral virtue: temperance, justice, courage (fortitude), prudence (Wisdom 8:7).

The Cotswalds

Today we were up early for a full day of fun. We started by driving to Moreton-in-Marsh for their weekly Market (top picture on left). We bought some apples, coffee, and children’s books for Cindy. From there we went to Chipping Campden (second picture on left. Taken from Sheep Street). We had breakfast and then walked around town. Then we were off to Hidcote Manor Gardens. (Third picture on left). They were beautiful with acres of trees, plants, and flower gardens. Upper Slaughter was next. From Upper Slaughter we could walk to Lower Slaughter. I say ‘could’ but we didn’t. We got half way there when I realized we would have to walk back, so we turned around. It was pretty path. From Upper Slaughter we went to Chedworth Roman Villa. It is an archeological dig of a roman villa from the 4th century. It was very interesting. Those Roman knew how to live well. Cindy wanted to buy a wool sweater, so we to Cotswold Woollen Weavers. They had all kinds of wool products made in the United Kingdom, except a size medium dark cardigan sweater, so we left. Next we went to Bibury and found the Bibury Trout Farm (bottom picture on left) and had lunch/dinner. After 10 ½ hours of fun, we drove back to the hotel.

Avebury

After we walked around Bath, we returned to the hotel and had Enterprise come pick us up. We rented a Ford Titanium with a very large boot. After installing the GPS, we started our adventure of driving on the left. That ride is worth every penny of admission, so far we have only almost died once; those right turns can be tricky. Driving has become a team-building pastime for us. Eventually, we got out of Bath and made our way to Avebury Circle. We found a pasture of very old stones and very young sheep. After walking around the circle, we made our way to Fairford Royal Air Force Base. We have a very nice room here at a fraction of the cost of a civilian hotel. We went out seeking our first fish and chips. WOW, you get FISH and CHIPS. We are saving Cindy’s for tomorrow night.

Bath

I was awake from about 1:30 to 3:30 while Cindy said she was awake longer (jet lag). We got up at 7:30 to start our walking tour of Bath. We started at The Circus, but there were no clowns or ponies. There was a real cool traffic circle lined with 18th century apartments. We walked down Brock Street to the Royal Crescent (top picture at left). It is a half circle of 18th century apartments. The designer John Woods, wanted to have the sun and the moon at each end of Brock Street. As we were walking to Queens Square we so a miniature golf course (2nd picture at left). They sure put a lot of floral thought into their golf courses of here. Next we walked to the Roman Bath. We stopped for breakfast (coffee and a pastry) on the way and saw these funny statues of rabbits. The Roman Baths were build by the Romans in the 1st century and still work, except for a chance of lead poisoning, we could still us them today. Cindy liked it so much I had trouble getting her out of there (4th picture on left.)

Travel to Bath

Picked up a 2009 RED Camry at the Spokane Airport. We left the house at noon for our trip to the Seattle Airport and our 21:50 flight to London. While driving through the Kittitas Valley we were being passed by another Camry when suddenly the wind blew us into the other lane. We missed the other car but we almost had some hot Camry on Camry action just east of Ellensburg. As we passed the Thorp exit we slowed to 65mph to sync with truck traffic in the right lane. We do this to avoid the frustrations of ‘Seattle Rules” driving. We arrived at Sea-Tac at 16:00. We checked in and got the best seats ever. Cindy got the window and I got the aisle with no one between us. We had a nice supper at Anthony’s at the airport. The flight left on time and we had a very nice flight to London. We got our luggage right away, because I think we checked in sooo early in Seattle that our luggage was on the earlier flight. We flew through customs and went to the National Express counter and bought tickets to Bath. The train trip included a bus ride to Reading and the train went for Reading to Bath. We did not have a seat reservation and could not find a seat on the train. We were able to find little jump seats that were outside the restrooms located between cars. Traveling with us we some young people and a little boy named James. James liked to run around the train and play in the toilet while his mother yelled for his return. We were able to see some scenery while listening to an Irish mother’s cry for ‘James.’ An hour later we were in Bath. All the taxis were full, so we (I) decided we should walk to the hotel. What a beautiful city to walk through. After checking into the hotel, we went out to find dinner. Just around the corner from out hotel was a place called. ‘Ask.’ They had GREAT Italian food. We hoped to find English food but we were hungry. The Italian food was expensive but GREAT. Even the tiramisu was better than we have found in American. We took a stroll around Bath while window-shopping and then went to sleep.

The Vacation Plan

The original plan was to go to England without a plan, but I just can't operate without a plan. So here is the plan:
May 9, We fly out of Seattle
May 10, We land in London at 7am pst (15:00 local time)
Take bus/train to Bath
May 11 Walk around Bath, get rental car, drive to Fairford Royal
Airforce Base via Avebury and Huffington White Horse.
May 12 Drive around the Cotswalds
May 13 Visit Warwick Castle and Stratford upon Avon
May 14 Visit Stonehedge and Salisbury Cathedral
May 15 Visit Tintgal Castle and the Eden Project
May 16 Drive around western Cornwall
May 17 Visit St. Michael's Mount and Geever Tin Mine
May 18 Hang out; maybe go horse back riding and/or Mass in Penzance
May 19 Visit Glastonbury and Wells
May 20 Drop off car in Bath and take a train into London. Try for a Thames Dinner Cruise
May 21 Visit Greenwich and Dirty Dicks Pub
May 22 Visit Tower of London
May 23 Visit Kew Gardens, Walk around London
May 24 Mass at Westminster Cathedral. Fly Home.
Arrive in Seattle at 16:45 and Spokane at 21:00