Quite a chill day today, which was welcome. We putzed around our little cottage this morning until it was time to head out on the short drive to Stroud to see my cousin Hannah and her family. The plan was a picnic so we stopped at a bakery to pick up some pastries. Everything was closed because it’s May Day (apparently a real holiday) so we showed up empty handed.

We met them at the top of a hill where we could see the countryside all around us. I neglected to take any photos but it was beautiful. We have been so lucky with the weather that today was the first cold(ish) day in England we’ve had. It was crisp and windy and there were lots of people flying large and intricate kites.

From there we headed down the hill to have our picnic. Hannah packed a Spanish tortilla, yummy bread, a lemon cake, and lots of other goodies. We sat by the stream and caught up on all the family gossip from the last couple of years.

The kids played Millie’s favorite card game Spot It. Halfway through the game a gust of wind blew a couple of cards into the water. Millie started crying immediately and everyone else jumped into action. 11-year-old Iris rescued one from the bridge downstream and Nick climbed through the stinging nettles to get one from the bank.

Crisis averted and both cards were rescued. Nick got his first nettle sting, so now he’s halfway to UK citizenship. Once we were done with the picnic and a pretty walk, we headed to the local microbrewery.

This felt a lot like the breweries at home; in an industrial area, big tables, good food, families everywhere.

The girls drew and played with blocks. Millie loved being around her “new cousins” even though they are quite a bit older than her. The grownups talked about politics. Believe it or not we didn’t solve any of the many ongoing global crises.

Millie was sad to leave, as you can see in this photo. In her bath tonight I tried to explain that they were her second cousins, which turned into a real “who’s on first” conversation. Words are confusing.

On our way back we stopped in at Waitrose supermarket to restock on food. It’s been both economical and comforting to make our own food at “home”. And it’s been fun for us to see the difference between the common chains. H-E-B remains undefeated.

On the menu tonight was a green curry and delicious mango for dessert. The fruit here has been shockingly good.

It’s not cold by Brit’s standards but it is by ours, so we leaned in and lit a fire. Millie made a “nest” of pillows and played a few rounds of Uno. Overall a very cozy day.

Nick remarked today that we are heading into week three of the trip. This is uncharted territory since historically we’ve maxed out at two weeks of traveling before needing to return to real life and jobs. Usually at the end of our vacations I feel a twinge of homesickness and look forward to returning to routine. But I don’t feel that at all yet. It’s been a gift to not feel like we need to maximize every day. If we’re having a less-than-ideal moment, I can wait it out instead of feeling like I’m wasting away my precious vacation time. I’m free of the judgement I usually have when things aren’t perfect. We’re just rambling along, which in turn makes all experiences much more pleasant. Did I just become a Buddhist?

We move on to a new location tomorrow. We haven’t booked it yet, but will figure it out together once Millie’s asleep. We’ve agreed to not overplan and to book things as we go. This is my favorite way to travel: leaving things open, following our instincts, and making decisions as we go. Keeping our expectations low leaves more room for pleasant surprises everywhere.