Good afternoon.
Welcome to the highlight of our eleventh day of our mammoth NC500 tour. Below are the links to the itinerary and summary of day 11 and if you have already read these you will know why this particular blog is going to be rather short. It was hard to keep my enthusiasm under wraps about our activities on this day as it was all so magical. It therefore makes it difficult to discuss the highlight as I feel I would be covering old ground.
Something that is important to discuss is the importance of travelling with someone who ‘gets it’. Some may say that at age 34 I should be growing up and not be so excited to follow a ‘childish’ dream. To jump on board the train that inspired readers worldwide and be in absolute awe. To point out the landscape outside those train windows to a complete stranger and tell them about what scene in the movie you could find it. To give a little smile when the trolley comes rattling down the carriage. It was very special. To my husband, Mr W, it was a steam train journey to a fishing town and back again. It was watching a train pass over a viaduct. It was a day out. And even though he didn’t have as much (come on it’s fairly impossible) enthusiasm for the theatrics of the day. Not once did he say or think that we shouldn’t go.
I mean, let’s not be naive here, Mr W may have been ever so slightly convinced to jump aboard because it meant 6 hours of travelling without him having to drive. Winner winner!
I have a point and here it is, travel is all about exploring and that is as much about looking for the new and experiencing the nostalgia. That day meant processing all the memories throughout my life that come with the stories of JK Rowling. It is a beautiful thing to be in a relationship where you do not have to hide any part of yourself away.
That was my highlight of day 11. I shrieked as the steam billowed around me on the platform. I welled up as the viaduct shook beneath the engine. I bounced up and down in my chair as a passenger on the Hogwarts Express. And there he was there rolling his eyes, laughing and clicking that camera button. It may not have been his joy but he felt mine. To be completely myself and being loved for doing just that.
That is what a relationship to be proud of is all about.
Framework Travel 