Shiplake to Shiplake

On Mike's birthday he wanted to walk part of the Thames path. We chose Shiplake to Henley, because that is the one section I haven't walked between Reading and Marlow.

We arrived in Shiplake and parked by the parish church of Saints Peter and Paul, in view of the graveyard. The boys got very excited and asked if we could visit. What the hell, right? They love a good graveyard and there are so many here. We moseyed through, reading gravestones and imagining the lives of these resting souls. Parking we noticed a decked out Ford Model A limo and wondered if a wedding was afoot. Sure enough, not 10 minutes of meandering and wedding bells rang out with shameless, attention-drawing jubilation!



 "Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die"



What a treat for us all, top hats and tails, and women enjoying hats. Alfred Tennyson and Emily Sellwood married in this very church in 1850. Tennyson was the Poet Laureate of the UK from 1850 - 1892.

A slippery, mossy, wet walk from the church led us down to the Thames.

Dominic, Daddy and wisps from a steamboat.

It's about 3 miles to Henley, so it seemed unlikely we would make it there and back on this special day.

There are two crazy beautiful trees just as the walk starts which needed climbing and jostling.

 From the trees we walked a few hundred yards to the Shiplake Lock.







Locks are fun to sit and watch. Boats tie up outside and wait for their turn, then slowly, carefully slide in and tie up and wait for the water to drain or fill, then the gates silently open, under the lock keepers care and the travelers move on. We ate lots of cheese and crackers here, and found a plum tree hanging over a wall. Mike was just tall enough to jump up and grab a few sour, almost ripe goodies!

At the lock, heading towards Henley, the path veers away from the river, into the village of Shiplake. You have to follow the Thames Path signs, and they eventually lead you back to the river.

We made it into town and needed two ice homemade cream cones. One chocolate and one white chocolate raspberry ripple, to the tune of $10. And to my great disappointment, it was time to turn around.

Talking to Grandma on the path.

Despite my cajoling, herding, hand holding, urging, threatening, I couldn't get our small herd to move faster than painfully slow. Dominic is a professional whiner. His legs hurt, a lot and often. He begged to be carried for almost the entire walk.

He also noticed a rock with all sorts of bugs moving around very busily. There were spiders, beetles and lady bugs hunting teeny tiny critters. It was odd to contemplate a world so close to ours, and so busy with itself. They didn't seem worried that stock markets are volatile these days. 

Mike and I talked about how fast time is passing. How quickly the children are growing up/moving on in their lives. William and Anna are both in college, traveling, and starting real life. 

Dominic is almost six, and my heart just can't believe it. 

Dandelion wishes.

For the first time in my life I wished for time to stop, to slow down. Just as it seems to pass faster and faster. I noticed a few trees with leaves changing hues from greens to browns. Please, not yet! I wanted to shout. I'm not ready for autumn!

Mike and I continued to chat, recommitted ourselves to living the moment and I worked on letting go of not making it out of Shiplake. 

I began to imagine our day as a reprieve from time.

On this one special day, our children stopped growing.  

On this day, Mother nature waited. Nothing happened, nothing changed.

And Alfred and Emily committed themselves again and again for all eternity.

Happy Birthday Mike Spacone!