That same day.....
.... David drove us to Hawley Road. Why you ask? As some of you probably know Poppa was born in England in a council house at 8 Hawley Road. The midwife came to Gramma's house for this big event. Yes! This is the road. I sent David the address before we went to visit and he drove us there! It was about two hours away - and we will always be grateful for his kindness! It was exciting for me - so you can imagine how pleased Poppa was.
There it is - behind the big blue bin. The very first door is #8. It has been modified over the years ....
.... it would have looked like this when Poppa was born - this is the adjacent building, which is more unchanged. This whole trip sent chills down my spine. Poppa never, in his wildest dreams, ever expected to be in this spot! But, that's not all of it....
.... David drove us a few blocks away to this little church....
.... and this is the aisle that Poppa's parents walked down to get married!
This is Poppa and me standing in the aisle they carried him down to be baptized!
Imagine - Poppa as a little infant was baptized in this little church in England - and never dreamt he would ever step foot in it again.
The stained glass behind the altar is beautiful.
The church is very well-maintained and everything is so nice.
As you can see, it isn't very big - but is very majestic just the same.
The beautiful old wooden doors are polished to a shine.
Here we are at the entrance to the church - with big smiles!
I took this shot down the side of the church just to give an idea of the size. While we were travelling through London, Wales and Scotland, we would often try to decide what our favorite thing was, of all the things we had seen. We were never able to firmly decide. All the beautiful places, the gorgeous architecture, the exotic old buildings and fun different spots to eat - none of those came close to the impact of being in the very spot where Poppa had been all those years ago! This was the highlight of our vacation!! We will probably never get back there - the memories will never fade. Thank you David!
Oh wow! This would be the highlight. Outstanding! To have Phil's house still standing and then to be able to visit the church and walk in his parent's footsteps. A special experience, as you say... never to be forgotten.
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