Lots more pictures

Wednesday evening our hosts treated us to a dinner at the Old Mill here in Salisbury. We met up in the bar of the White Hart and walked down New Street, crossed the River Avon, then turned off onto the Town Path. I'd never been there before, and I was so taken with the place that I went back today with my camera.

New Street turns into Cranebridge Road before crossing the river. I stopped on the bridge and took pictures, first looking left:

then right:

There was a pretty little park just to the right of the Town Path:

but it was wild country on the left:

and as always, there were plenty of ducks:

When we'd walked this way Wednesday there'd been a lot of sheep (and one llama) in the "water meadows" to the right of the path. I was disappointed to find the meadows empty today, but eventually I spotted the sheep (and the llama), in a field far to the left of the path:

You can't see it in these pictures, but there's a narrow waterway running to the left of the path. Wednesday evening we'd spotted a vole along the water's edge, who eventually dove in and swam out of sight. I felt like I'd stepped into The Wind in the Willows.

This was my destination, the Old Mill, which is now a hotel and restaurant:

I had a late lunch there. I know I said I wouldn't post any pictures of the cathedral, but when I came out of the Old Mill the sun was shining for the first time in days, and I couldn't resist snapping this picture of the cathedral in the sun:

I even zoomed in for this not-bad shot:

I also zoomed in on the Llama:

Another pretty shot of the river, with ducks:

On the way back to my hotel I took this picture of a downspout that struck me as particularly photogenic. Notice the name of the place: The New Inn. It should be The Relatively New Inn, since it dates back to the 15th century:

I've learned a bit more about the place I'm staying in, the Red Lion. It was built to house the workers who built the cathedral. Construction of the cathedral began in 1220 (it took 38 years to build), so this place dates to about 1220. I've been sitting in The 1220 Bar for about 3 hours now, resizing and uploading pictures and writing this. I've had a pint of John Smith's Extra Smooth followed by a steak and Guinness pie with a glass of red wine.

While walking to the Old Mill on Wednesday we passed several people who were walking their dogs. While I was eating lunch today there were four dogs on the patio, out with their owners who stopped in for a pint. Every time I come here I want to bring my dog here and walk him along the river. Every time I come here I wish I could live here, retire here, become an expatriot and get away from George W. Bush and Sarah Palin and all of it. Everytime I come I want to stop in at a real estate office and ask how one gets permission to live in the UK.

I felt that way in Washington state, too, when I was up in the Cascades for Moosefest in July. GET ME OUT of Washington DC; GET ME OUT of the rat-race. Get me out of a job working with men who think Sarah Palin was just what the McCain campaign needed; who would have voted for him anyway, not because they're racists but because he offers the best chance of getting us into a glorious war. They'd never come out and say it, but I know. Get. me. out.