Road Trip - Day 3 - Evesham

Today was mostly just a driving day. I changed my travel plans to pick up the rental car this morning instead of tomorrow as I finished in Bath sooner than I expected. I've been having trouble with the GPS my parents gave me as a going-away present, so I spent a couple of hours working on downloading the updates and it's finally working in the UK! I was supposed to get a pick-up from the car rental place but the guy got lost so they took over an hour to finally pick me up (the guest house was a five minute drive from the rental agency).

I finally got the car and headed off on my recently-modified plans of covering the Cotswolds first, then heading south towards the coast. The scenery started off reminding me a little of the prairies - quite flat and lots of plowed fields. I eventually moved into the hills a bit but have yet to come across scenery that's stereotypical Cotswolds. I'm hoping to find those picturesque little villages tomorrow.

It's nice to be behind the wheel of a car. I'm trying not to relax too much because I know that's when I'll do something stupid. It feels relatively normal to drive on the left and shifting with my left hand doesn't feel awkward, but I know if I let down my guard I'll probably revert back to right-hand driving habits. Oh! - I have discovered the joy of driving a standard vehicle that isn't 15 or 20 years old! I didn't know driving standard could be so smooth!

As I pulled into a grocery store parking lot to pick up something for dinner, my cell phone rang and it was my sister calling from India! (I pulled over because it's illegal to talk on a cell while driving here.) She said calling long-distance from India is cheap so we were able to chat for a little while and catch up on what's happening. A few minutes later my mom called. She recently discovered that she has 1,000 free international minutes every month so I think my mobile will be ringing more often. I found a quiet bench and talked with her for an hour.

It's strange to travel alone, but getting internet access at the places where I stay at night and getting random calls from family and friends (thanks, Henry!) keeps me from feeling too isolated. Having this blog also helps because although I don't have somebody to laugh with and talk to along the way, I know I can share the pictures and stories later.

Right now I'm curled up on my bed in a tiny gabled room of a B&B in a small town called Evesham, about 20 minutes southwest of Stratford-Upon-Avon. The room couldn't hold two single beds side-by-side, though the room is about two feet longer than the bed. My stuff is dumped on the floor since there's nowhere else to put it. I have a little window tucked into the sloping roof of the gable above the bed. I love the coziness and it's about as cheap as staying in a hostel but with the comfort of being in a home.