The Rasmusens in Oxford

Yesterday, we walked more than 5 hours, the last 2 of which we’ll describe below. It all started as a long walk to Godstow Abbey north of us across the north end of Port Meadow. Feeling faint, we stopped at a Chinese take-away counter that sold us fried plaice and chips, shredded chicken chow mein, beef and onion in a puff pastry pie, mixed vegetables in black bean sauce, and hong kong style sweet and sour pork. It was good! We ate in the small Wolvercote playground and then crossed the street to go to the Red Lion pub. A beautiful pub, and very nice garden with great sturdy tables, beautiful potted flowers, AND a gigantic bouncy castle thing! Then we set off on Port Meadow to go back home since it was already after 7.

The grass was short and we found a cattle path. Around 7:30 we got excited spotting a gate which looked like the gate we needed to get out of the meadow and home. Well, it was a mirage (not a gate but a fence). We started squishing water into our shoes and saying EEWW! But this was just the beginning. The Marsh Monster (our invention) which comes out after sunset was too real for us now, as the water and squelchy mud got up to our ankles. Well, we kept going. The double stroller was being pushed by Eric with Lilli and Faith inside. The big girls and Ben followed me to the edge where we hoped to find higher ground. The water was up to our knees. Our shoes started getting stuck in the mirey mud. We were not dismayed but no path! We went back to the soggy stroller whose driver was stalwart. Then we saw a path!! We started galloping (!) towards it . By now, Eric had abandoned the stroller and started carrying Lilli. He had to turn back. Why we called? It was not passable even for his long limbs. I came to the baby and rescued her from her boat. Then we cut forward and found a stream. Ben was up to his upper hips now and Elizabeth resembled a soggy ghost in her pink Gap sundress and delicate shrug which were turning brown. We wondered if we could wade across. By now the sun had set. What was once dry and pleasant and slightly adventurous, was now dramatic, dark and wet. Eric managed to cross and carry Lilli to the path. We wanted out! So Amelia plunged through, Lizzie and Ben and I carrying the baby went next. The water came up to Lizzie’s chest, Ben’s armpits, and my hips. I lost my shoe! Lizzie lost hers too, and Ben was so brave, while we were giddy. We got to the path! The geese and flocking birds seemed to be mocking us with their twilight calls. We watched as Eric went back for the stroller. He later described it as kind of floating.

Well, what a sight we were! The sophisticated elegant English couple who came through the gate didn’t bat an eyelid. But they said that we were not at the gate that would lead us to civilization, but that the one we wanted was just around the corner. It got darker and windier, and we started to move down the path. Eric got up the embankment to the path and we took some photos. Well, no one else saw us up close and we arrived home about 8 minutes later, took baths and showers, and then all had warm milk and a whole pot of creamy oatmeal porridge. It was 9:30 when we went to bed, feeling grateful for dryness, cleanness, warmth and comfort.

The marsh monster had not gotten us! we had seen his footprints and his bed in the meadow – along with tons of cow poopies and scraggly feathers. Ben sat down in the yucky mud 3 times. Lizzie fell in it 3 times. The water came up to Amelia’s upper thighs and past my hips, why? because she was lighter and didn’t sink so much in the mud. This is a real story. Check out some photos.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 8:32 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.