Western Europe, Faroe Islands, and Iceland
This expedition has been planned for over a year since it involves shipping BAT to the UK and the logistics are quite cumbersome from paperwork to transporting BAT to the right port in the US for shipment. Paul took off in early March to drive BAT across the country from the west coast to the east coast with final destination in Baltimore. He went solo as this is not a touring trip but a cross-country traverse, aiming for speed and time. If I were to accompany Paul, I would have slowed him down since my back can only handle about 200 miles a day with several rest stops in between. He did it in ten days due to a mechanical glitch in BAT that occurred in AZ. It was all resolved and he made it to the east coast without any additional incident.
Someone was definitely watching over us as some of you may have heard about the incident at the Port of Baltimore where the 1.6-mile Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after the 213-million-pound cargo ship Dali collided with the bridge and struck one of its crucial support columns. Fortunately, the cargo ship that transported BAT left the port about 2.5 hours before the accident took place, otherwise, it could have been a disaster for us since the port was shut down for a few months.
BAT arrived safely in Liverpool in April where Paul and his friend, Andy, picked it up and brought it back to Paul’s sister home in Farleigh, south of London. Here BAT enjoys the beautiful scenery of the country side, definitely “the room with a view” as he’s parked adjacent to a meadow with green grass, cheerful buttercup flowers, and frequent visit of foxes and Bambi and her family.
I finally joined Paul in mid-May. Taking a couple of weeks to fight the jetlag and catching up with Paul’s family and friends that I have not seen in ten years.
Endless Trail Expeditions 