Rocks!

Sorry for my absence from the blog recently.  Last week I was busy preparing for our 4-day weekend adventure that took us to see Stonehenge, the Roman Baths, and the beautiful Cotswolds.

We started our day off on Friday with an hour drive to Stonehenge.  Can I just say that our kid has never been more excited to be in the car?!?  And this continued throughout the weekend, even after driving over 400 miles.  He was such a pro at riding around and never ceased to stop what he was enjoying doing when we would say that it was time to go "ride in da car", which is how he says it.  I think riding in the car was his favorite part of the trip.  He got zonked out every time the car started moving after he had checked out the scenery for a little bit.

Super comfy, even with the blazing sun on him!

There were beautiful fields of these flowers everywhere.  Anyone know what they are?

We arrived at Stonehenge at the perfect time for missing the crowds.  When we exited the Stonehenge park the ticket line was WAY longer than before and would not have been fun with a 19 month old.  Phew!

The stones were a pretty impressive sight.  We told Reed that we were going to see rocks and this certainly put a hop in his step.  He was a little disappointed when we got closer and he realized that he couldn't touch them.

Stonehenge!  So cool to finally see it in person instead of just seeing pictures.    Stonehenge was completed in approximately 2280 and 1830 BC.  Wow!

One of the station stones.   It is suggested that the station stones, four in total when Stonehenge was erected, were survey markers.

A little closer.

And up close and personal.  If you look closely through the center of the stones you can see the other station stone.

Another view of Stonehenge.  Please forgive all the pictures that look the same.  I thought it would be best to provide a panoramic view of Stonehenge.

Our Fam, too bad our photographer didn't get much of Stonehenge in the picture!

This is the remnants of the first Stonehenge, which was a roughly circular enclosure of about 360 feet in diameter, defined by a ditch.  The ditch was originally dug using picks of red deer-antler and shovels made from cattle shoulder blades.  Info courtesy of the Stonehenge English Heritage Guidebook.  I certainly didn't remember all this myself, lol!

Reed loved looking at the "sheeps".

Here you can see the other station stone that has since fallen down.

Our silly boy at Stonehenge.

The Heel Stone, which is located in the Avenue, the original entrance to Stonehenge.

Here you can see the fallen slaughter stone as it has come to be known.  While early visitors thought that it was evidence of sacrifice, it is now known that it once stood upright and was flanked by additional stones.

I do believe that Stonehenge is a must-see for visitors to the United Kingdom.  While it does take about an hour or so drive to get there, it is worth it if you have time to see Stonehenge as well as the other surrounding areas.

After leaving Stonehenge, we made our way to the town of Bath which we loved.  I'll post about it tomorrow.  Until then, I leave you with this hilarious road sign that we saw on our drive from Stonehenge to Bath.

It's not too often you see this sign on the side of the road.