Closed Comma

We are home. Our flight Thursday afternoon was delayed at Heathrow for two hours with mechanical problems and many passengers with connecting flights were frantic. But we were calm because we knew where we would be sleeping. Ah, home. There is no place like it (click ruby slippers here).

We called our blog the Oxford Comma because we hoped that our time in Oxford would be a pause in the series that make up our lives. It has definitely been refreshing and rewarding to be in Oxford all summer, so the Comma was successful. We have traveled a lot, read a lot, seen a lot, talked to many different people, experienced another culture, and so on. Every day of the last three months brought something new: a challenge, an insight, a joke, or just an appreciation. We can't possibly sum up all that we experienced, but the blog has been a good way for our friends and family to stay in touch. That meant a lot to us, to know that many of you were reading our posts to see what we were seeing and to share it with us. Thanks for reading, thanks for your comments, and thanks for allowing us to share the experience with you.

But the Oxford Comma is only a pause and not a stop. The textbook sales conference generated a lot of excitement, both for the sales people and for Phil. But he still has work to do. The lab work gave him some new experiments to begin when he starts back at Haverford. Deb is refreshed by her summer of leisure but is very glad she still has 10 days to re-group before heading back to Newtown Library and other responsibilites. The Comma allowed us to collect a hard drive full of pictures, experience a summer of memories, and catch our breath.

Philip points out the shelf
at the Oxford University Press Bookshop
where you'll be able to find his textbook in 2009

Some final thoughts:

• Mystery thrillers by Robert Goddard are not easy to find in the US, but they are worth looking for.
• Tesco Limeade is very refreshing.
• Clarks Shoes will be forever associated with Oxford in our minds. We came back with 4 new pair between us
  
• Great Britain dominates Olympic rowing, sailing, and bicycling, which you quickly learn from the coverage on the BBC.
  
• The BBC airs a lot of documentaries that you think you would not be interested in. In general, you'd be right.

Pleasant surprises:

• the Iffley lock and the Falkirk wheel.
• the quietness of the college quads.
• Francis Collins at The Eagle and Child.
• a respite from the American presidential campaigning
• Deb's trip to Ireland with "the girls" and her Dad-- priceless memories
  
• returning to Edinburgh--one of the great cities of the world

As good or better than expected:

• Christ Church garden, cathedral, and dining room (although always crowded)
• Durham Cathedral
• The English pubs-- our favorites are the Turf Tavern, Jude the Obscure (discovered the last night), and the Fir Tree, but all of them were interesting.
• The stone walls, narrow lanes, and dreaming spires.
• Living near the Thames towpath
  
• The work Phil got done.

Disappointments: almost none.
The heavy rain prevented us from seeing the gardens at Blenheim, and the crowded Oxford streets were not much fun, but those were very minor compared to the many things that surpassed expectations.

Thanks, everyone, for traveling along with us on our Oxford summer adventure!

--Philip and Deb
August 23, 2008