We had an amazing trip to England in partnership with Wilderness England. We were in Northumberland and the Lake District.
If you’d like to hear the daily updates that we recorded along the way, listen to this More Happier episode (July 27, 2024).
In this episode, instead of our usual segments, we reflect on the insights, adventures, and hacks we gained from our trip.
Inspired by my book Life in Five Senses, we created a five-senses portrait to help us preserve our memories of our adventure.
You can read them here.
Resource
Due to popular demand, I recently created a list of Icebreaker Questions to help you start better conversations. You can find this list, along with other tools like Habit Change Checklists and Clutter-Clearing Bingo Cards, at gretchenrubin.com/resources.
What We’re Reading
*This transcript is unedited*
[493]
[music]
Gretchen
Hello and welcome to happier, a podcast where we talk about ways to become happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. This week we’re going to shake it up a little bit. We’re going to talk about our recent hiking trip in England. So we’re going to do this episode a little bit differently from the usual episode, which is a conversation about our reflections, insights and observations.
Gretchen
I’m Gretchen Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, good habits and human nature. And yes, I’m back in my little home office and joining me today back in LA is my sister, Elizabeth Craft.
Elizabeth
That’s me, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in L.A. and yes, Gretch we are back. We’re jet lagged. Yeah, we had an amazing trip.
Gretchen
Yes, we were in partnership with Wilderness England. We went to Northumberland and the Lake District with a guided group.
Elizabeth
Yeah. So just so everybody gets the lay of the land of what we were doing. The trip was seven days and six nights. Yeah, there were seven of us in the group. You and I only knew each other. We didn’t know anyone going into it. No. And we had a guide. Jeremy, who’s amazing. And we’re going to talk to you in a future episode.
Elizabeth
And he was with us from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. essentially, we were with the group, so we would come down to breakfast at 8 a.m. and we would all have breakfast, and we would get in a van and we would drive to amazing hiking spots, walking spots. We also went to Museums Castle. We went all over Northumberland and the Lake District.
Elizabeth
Of course, now we called the lakes. Yes, I’ve seen anything to do. Yes. So that was our trip and we loved every second we did.
Gretchen
Now, along the way, we recorded voice memos to sort of capture the moments as they were unfolding day to day. So we put those together in a more happier episode. So you can listen to that in the feed or I’ll post a link to it in the show notes if you want to do it. It was really fun to do this.
Gretchen
Voice memos. Elizabeth.
Elizabeth
Yes, and it’s such a great keepsake for us. Yes. So our little travel diary.
Gretchen
I’m so glad we did it. I actually have already listened to them once, and I was like, oh yeah, I’d already forgotten about that little thing. But one thing I know, we have listeners who really know their flowers and really know their Lake District. And so I want to say I want to correct myself. I describe some meadow flowers as alpine flowers.
Gretchen
But Jeremy said, no, technically they are not alpine flowers. So they were beautiful. You know, we saw meadows and moors full of flowers, but they were not alpine flowers. But another thing that I noticed as we were talking is that we are talking slowly. I think that you and I, whether it was the jet lag or the hiking, we’re not running at our usual speed.
Gretchen
By the end of the day when we’re doing the voice memos.
Elizabeth
So yes, we were tired. Yeah, tired and happy.
Gretchen
Tired and happy. Okay, so now let’s share some of the general insights that we got along the way, because I think we had a lot of time to talk and we felt like we did. We learned some things about happiness and about ourselves from our big sisterly adventure.
Elizabeth
Yeah, well, speaking of adventure, Gretchen, one thing we learned is you just don’t have to be gone very long to feel like you’re having a big adventure. I mean, you and I met in London. Yeah. And then the next day we went to Penrith, which is where we met up with our group. And by the time we got to the Penrith train station, we already felt like we’d had a massive adventure.
Elizabeth
I know, and we’d been there 24 hours.
Gretchen
You know, and it’s like we haven’t even met the group.
Elizabeth
Yet. Yes.
Gretchen
Like okay, I’ve had fun.
Elizabeth
Yes, we could go now and I feel like it was worth it.
Gretchen
It always surprises me how in a very quick amount of time, you feel like you’ve had an adventure. Yeah. And also, you feel that taking a break really does restore you. It really does bring refreshment and fresh insights. And we know the research, like all the research says, oh, you’ve got to take breaks throughout the day. You’ve got to take vacations throughout the year.
Gretchen
This really helps you keep going. And yet I really was surprised how when I came back to my desk, I did feel refreshed. I did feel like I was having new insights and making new connections and problems that had been nagging at me. I saw fresh solutions. And so it’s one of those things where that’s what the research says.
Gretchen
And it’s like, yeah, the research is true. It really does make a big difference to take breaks.
Elizabeth
Yeah. It’s the kind of thing where I think we always feel like, well, that’s true for everyone else, but not for me. But no, it is true for everybody.
Gretchen
Well, and I get into this mode where I’m like, well, what would be most refreshing to me is just to come to the end of my to do list so I could just cross everything off my list. Then I’ll feel good. But of course, you never come to the end of your to do list.
Elizabeth
Yes. And then, Gretchen, there’s the power of articulating a dream. I talk about manifesting. Yeah. This is kind of a version of manifesting.
Gretchen
Yeah. So you and I had both read Andrew McCarthy’s account of hiking the Camino in Spain, and we had been talking about could we do that ourselves? And that would be such a great sisterly adventure. And so we had articulated this idea like, could we do that? But it seemed complicated for a lot of reasons. And then at a party I ran into somebody who I did not know well, but she and I were chatting, and she mentioned that she had done this hiking trip with a friend in England.
Gretchen
And I was thinking, oh my gosh, well, maybe this is what Elizabeth and I should do. Maybe because the Camino is it takes a really long time. And we were figuring out like, could we ever take that much time? And this just felt like, oh, maybe this is what we should do. But because we’d been talking about this other kind of trip, when she was telling me about her trip, I was like, oh, maybe this is the trip for us.
Gretchen
And then we both went and looked up wilderness, England and started talking about that.
Elizabeth
Yes, we were all in. And you know, Gretch, this also shows the power of loose ties. What you talk about. Yes, it could be that you get an idea. Not from someone you know well, but from someone you don’t know well. Or maybe you meet your future spouse through an acquaintance, not through a good friend.
Gretchen
Right? Because what the research shows is the people who are close to you basically know the same information that you know, but the people who are loose ties tend to bring new information to the table. And indeed, if any one of my good friends had done this, it wouldn’t have been new information to me. But because I was talking to someone who was a loose type, who told me about a possibility that had never occurred to me.
Elizabeth
Yeah. And of course, Gretchen, this reminds me, I have to mention of this very podcast where for years I had said to you, oh, I want to do a radio show. It would be so fun. I was very inspired by the Satellite Sisters radio show, and then Andy Bowers approached you about doing a podcast and mentioned that a co-host would be a good idea, and you said, I know who my co-host will be.
Elizabeth
And it’s like we had articulated that dream. Yes. And then there it was.
Gretchen
That’s right. It’s very much the same. Yeah, well, you are the manifester Elizabeth. That’s one of your superpowers.
Elizabeth
May take time, but eventually it happens. Yeah. Now, Gretchen, this was a really fun thing on the trip. In case you need to get to know a group of people, you want to do an icebreaker, a bonding activity. The Four Tendencies quiz. Yes. Is always available to you. When we were at what we were calling the posh pub.
Gretchen
Yeah, that was the nickname.
Elizabeth
In the countryside in England and all of us. Well, of course, you and I had already taken the quiz, but we had everybody else in the group take the Four Tendencies quiz. Yeah. And it was so much fun. And then of course, the rest of the trip, people were talking about their tendency. Yes.
Gretchen
And I have to say it came up organically. I wasn’t happiness bullying everybody into it, but it came up. And then I was like, well, you can take the quiz any time you want. And then everybody was like, let’s take it right now. So that was really fun.
Elizabeth
That was fun.
Gretchen
Oh, and of course, if anybody else wants to take the quiz, it’s at Gretchen rubin.com/quiz. Anybody can take it. It’s free. But speaking of the four tendencies, this trip was a good example of one of the downsides of being upholder, because I’m an upholder and all the tendencies have strengths and weaknesses. And one of the weaknesses of upholders is sometimes we’re too eager to execute or somebody tells us to do something and we’re like, okay, well, consider it done.
Gretchen
And somehow I got it into my head. And Elizabeth, to this day, I don’t know where this idea came from because it wasn’t in my written notes. It wasn’t in any of our printed guides. That was suggested that instead of bringing roller bags on this trip, we brought duffel bags. And somehow I got this in my mind. So I packed all my stuff in this duffle bag, which I had because Eleanor had used it for a trip that she had taken, and she was definitely supposed to bring a duffel bag.
Gretchen
So it’s like, perfect. I had the right duffel bag, I packed, I didn’t, and like the night before, I mentioned, oh, it’s kind of a pain to have a duffel bag because roller bags are so much easier. And you were like, wow, I’m using a roller bag. And then mom texted like, oh my gosh, you’ve got to get a trolley or whatever.
Gretchen
It’s really, really hard. And I thought to myself, well, where did this idea come from? And wow, this duffle bag really is extremely heavy and I would really prefer to have a roller bag. And because we couldn’t track down where this expectation had come from, I mean, maybe I just made it up. I have no idea where it came from.
Gretchen
Thank goodness. At the last minute I switched and then it ended up. We had to do so much with our luggage just because of this, that and the other thing, much more than you would in the average trip. And it would have been nightmarish. Yeah, if I’d had to carry it. And as it was, I had a roller bag.
Elizabeth
And I have to mention at this point that in Penrith you and I stayed at a lovely hotel called the North Lakes Hotel. Yeah. Which we picked partly because it was so close to the train station. Yeah, well, we didn’t realize that it was so close to the train station. The taxis would not want to come and drive us to the hotel or from the hotel to the train station.
Elizabeth
Therefore, you and I had to walk. Yes, with all of our luggage. And if you had had that giant, heavy duffel bag, it would have been a problem.
Gretchen
But it was funny because we said, well, if we can’t get somebody to give us a ride, how should we get to the train station? And they’re like, we’ll just walk. And I was like, really.
Elizabeth
See this luggage?
Gretchen
But it turns out that there was like a nice paved sidewalk. So we just like, departed it. Drew went along the road and it was fine, but we were surprised. Well, you know, another highlight of the triple is it was a people said hello to us. And, you know, sometimes people are sort of apologetic. We love it. Yes, it’s a highlight for us when people say hello.
Gretchen
So if you see us out and about anywhere alone with each other, we get a huge kick. And so we were so grateful to the people who stopped us to say hello.
Elizabeth
Yes. One of whom, Gretchen. We were in this lovely inn called the Royal Oak Inn in the Lake District. Yeah, I mean, not a lot of people were going through there. It’s not a huge place, maybe 40 or 50 people. Yeah. Yes. I think it’s a technically a hamlet. It is in. And a listener came up. She had heard us talking about the trip on the podcast.
Elizabeth
I knew we were sort of in the area, had her eye out. She was doing a similar trip, so it was just so much fun to see people in London and out in the country. Yeah. So thanks for saying hi. Yeah. All right, Gretch, coming up, we’re going to share some great hacks that we learned along the way.
Elizabeth
But first, this break.
Gretchen
Okay we love a hack. And so we were collecting hacks along the way from other people and also from our own experience. And so Elizabeth what was the first hack that we got.
Elizabeth
Well someone in our group Cindy her hack was to bring a bandana always and wear it around your neck. And she said you can use it to wipe sweat off your face if your nose is running a bit. If suddenly there’s dust, you could put it over your mouth. It can keep your neck warm. It can protect your neck from the sun.
Elizabeth
And it was funny because you and I had talked about doing that, but that was something we didn’t do. Yeah. So now we are absolutely. Next time what? We take a trip like this, we are going to use a bandana thanks to Cindy.
Gretchen
Right. Well. And one from Jeremy, our guide. And I think people are going to be just laughing because this is such an obvious one. And actually I knew this hack and had forgotten it. If you want to take a photograph with your phone, you can either hit the phone at least using an iPhone you can use the photo button, but you can also use the down volume on the side of your phone.
Gretchen
And sometimes, depending on how you’re holding the phone, that is much easier to do. You and I were both like, oh my gosh, we completely forgot about this possibility. So that felt like a major hack.
Elizabeth
Yes, that was good. We took a lot of selfies on the trip, so that was useful. That was another hack. Gretchen. Layers. Yes. Now, I’m sure people experienced with hiking know this, but you and I aren’t terribly experienced, so we didn’t know the importance of layers. Luckily it was stressed to us before the trip, so we were prepared.
Elizabeth
But yeah, I was wearing a t shirt, then a long sleeve shirt over it. Then in my pack I would have a fleece and a rain jacket. Yeah, and all of those things were put on and taken off various times. Yes.
Gretchen
So it’s really good. Okay, but here’s my hack on hack, which is I found that sometimes I wore sun gloves. I would leave them in a pocket. And so then I would be looking for them and I couldn’t find them. So I really tried to get into the habit of every night as I took off my layers, I would empty out all the pockets or was I was unpacking my backpack.
Gretchen
I would go through all the pockets because a lot of these things, the pants have pockets. They’re inside, pockets are outside pockets. There’s zippered pockets, there’s regular pockets. And I would find, like I had put something in every pocket. And so it saved me a lot of time panicking that I had lost something by just systematically going through the pockets every night.
Elizabeth
Yes. To that point, Gretchen, I did laundry when I got home and realized too late that I had left a strawberry starburst in one of my pockets, and that caused havoc in my laundry. But also, you know, for any type one diabetics out there, I will say I had wished I brought more insulin pens just for that reason, because it would have been nice to just leave one in my backpack.
Elizabeth
Leave one in a pocket of a vest or whatever. To your point of having to keep track of so many pockets.
Gretchen
You were carrying Starburst and I was carrying Starburst because if you’re a type one diabetes we have that in case you need quick sugar. I carry it just so that we both have it. One thing I had never done before is I packed a giant travel mug because when I’m making, like, coffee or tea in the morning, if they give you an electric kettle in your room or whatever, I always want a giant mug, not just the little ones they give you.
Gretchen
And I loved my giant mug.
Elizabeth
Yes. And Gretchen, another hack if you’re doing a hiking trip, is make sure you have the right hiking boots and the right fit. Yes, everyone’s heard me talk about how I went back and forth.
Gretchen
Forth. You had such a hard time.
Elizabeth
You know what? It was worth it. Because at the end of the day, I had the right size and neither are you or I got blisters that we felt was a small miracle.
Gretchen
But it’s funny, when we were going downhill, I was like, this is why they were saying, you really don’t want to hit the end of your boot. You want to have room in that toe box, because you could feel how if you were hitting it over and over and over again, it would have caused a lot of damage.
Elizabeth
Many people wrote in to us to get boots a half size bigger. Yes and yes, I can affirm that is a good idea.
Gretchen
Well, another thing that perhaps we did that helped us avoid blisters is we both use football, which is balm that you put over your feet so you don’t get rubbing. And I put it all over my feet every single day, like all over in between my toes, my on my ankle bones, all that. And I don’t know if that’s what did the trick, but it didn’t get any blisters, so that’s good.
Gretchen
But our guide, Jeremy, also suggested what’s called neat 3D Body Saver, which is an anti chafe and sweat rash cream. And the three B’s in the name are for breast butts and between the legs. Because if you are starting to feel like there’s some rubbing, because sometimes when you’re hiking you get rubbing in odd areas that will save you.
Gretchen
Yeah. So yeah, anything that cuts down on that friction that creates the hot spot.
Elizabeth
And then Gretchen, you also found some great tape strips for your feet.
Gretchen
Yes. It’s Kati tape. It’s blister prevention tape I can start to feel after the first day that my ankle bone was starting to get rubbed, and I just put this, it just sticks on and I put two pieces on it. I mean, I showered on it. I wore it for like 4 or 5 days. It stayed on perfectly and I had no more problems.
Gretchen
So it just creates that barrier. So that’s definitely something that I felt was a really useful thing to know about.
Elizabeth
And then, Gretchen, this is a big must do, which is to follow the recommended gear.
Gretchen
Yes.
Elizabeth
Yeah. So wilderness England sent the gear list, the kit.
Gretchen
List ticketless for kit.
Elizabeth
List.
Gretchen
Yeah.
Elizabeth
And you and I thought, do we really need this stuff? Do we need a warm hat?
Gretchen
No. It’s mid-July.
Elizabeth
In pants. Yeah, this. Or maybe this is for a different time of year.
Gretchen
We’ll have. We’ll gloves. Yeah. Just like, you know, you’re in LA thinking okay, it’s going to be July really.
Elizabeth
But being rule followers as we are, we both did get everything on the list. And Gretchen, we used every single thing except gaiters. Yes. But we both acknowledge had it rained just a bit more, we would have used our gaiters. We did use our rain pants and our rain jackets and everything else on the list. So whatever you’re doing, whether it be what we did in, you know, England or taking a bike trip somewhere, you want to get the gear right?
Gretchen
And if they’re recommending it, it’s because they know. Yes. One thing that I do now, because you’re much better at this than I am Melissa, which is remembering what was the name of that town? What was the name of that castle? What was that name of that park or whatever? What was the name of the hotel? I have learned if I take a picture often, I would have you stand in front of the sign and take a picture.
Gretchen
Because then later when I’m going through my photographs, I’m like, oh, I remember it was Keswick or whatever, and that’s nice. It’s just an easy way to keep track as we were going. That’s something I’ve learned just from traveling in general.
Elizabeth
Another thing we learned, Gretchen, is if you’re doing walking or hiking, you want to be careful at the end because that’s when people often get hurt because they’re tired. They’re not paying as much attention. They’re excited that they’re getting to the end, and that’s when it’s much more likely to sprain your ankle or fall. Yeah, and that was a good tip.
Gretchen
Yeah. Because it often happens when you’re not paying attention. And to that point, I wasn’t paying much attention when I was rolling my suitcase. And the worst thing that happened to my feet was when I kind of halfway rolled over my foot with my suitcase because I wasn’t paying attention.
Elizabeth
Gretch, little thing that Jeremy suggested. Bring a packet of laundry detergent with you so that you can wash items overnight. Yeah, you and I brought, like, seven pair of pants. Seven shirts? Yeah. If we’d had a little bit of laundry detergent, we could have brought less and just done the quick dry overnight. Right.
Gretchen
Because this stuff is quick dry. So a thing that I learned is to remember YouTube, that there’s so much information on YouTube. And when I got my hiking boots, I was like, I’m not 100% sure that I’m lacing them properly. And sure enough, there was a great little YouTube video that showed me how to lace up my hiking boots.
Gretchen
So sometimes I forget that, you know, you can just look that up and you can probably find somebody to tell you how to do something. If you’re not sure how.
Elizabeth
To tie like Gretch, you learned that when you’re packing a day pack, don’t pack up the night before, because in the morning, you’ll inevitably question whether or not you packed it correctly. And you’ll have to repack the whole thing.
Gretchen
Anyway, this happened to me like three times. And then I got wise and I thought, I’ll just lay everything out next to the day pack and then put it in that morning because, you know, after you’ve been doing it a couple times, you’re like, did I put in this or that is my wool hat in there at the bottom, and you just end up redoing everything again.
Gretchen
So that saved me a lot of effort.
Elizabeth
Okay, guys, coming up we’re going to share a five senses portrait of our trip. But first this break.
Gretchen
Now, ever since I wrote Life in Five Senses, I’ve been trying to, like, really dial into all five senses. Because Elizabeth, as you know, I tend to get all up in my head. And on our last night, we had so much fun doing this five Senses portrait of our trip, because it really got us to think back through everything that we’ve experienced.
Gretchen
And now I feel like we’re going to remember the trip so much better because we’ve really gone through the five senses this way.
Elizabeth
Yeah. So let’s start with seeing. Yeah. Number one, Hadrian’s Wall.
Gretchen
Yeah. That’s something that I’ve been wanting to see ever since I read The Eagle of the Ninth and Memoirs of Hadrian. I’ve always wanted to see Hadrian’s Wall, so that was a huge thing for me to see.
Elizabeth
Which we should mention is the outermost reach of the Roman Empire was Hadrian’s Wall. Yes. Number two, dangerous plants growing in cages in the poison garden by the Alnwick Castle.
Gretchen
Yeah, that was cool. The poison garden. Number three fields of purple heather growing on hilltops. That was spectacular.
Elizabeth
Yes. Number four, the shadows of clouds passing over Buttermere Lake. The lake was so calm that we could see the shadows of the clouds.
Gretchen
And then, speaking of our suitcases and our rolly bags, I mean, one thing that had our jaw dropping is our guy Jeremy was running up the stairs carrying each of our suitcases in one hand because there was no lift. And so he took them up there for us. And, I mean, we were astonished.
Elizabeth
Yes, yes, we were very impressed. One thing we did not see is any corgis, not any real ones. We saw stuffed animals. We saw some Christmas ornaments, we saw t shirts. We did not see any actual corgis. So I got to go back.
Gretchen
You thought you were going to get to see so many corgis?
Elizabeth
I know, okay.
Gretchen
So we’re hearing now, the first one is the bar of sheep, which we heard all the time.
Elizabeth
Yes. number two, this was unexpected. The typhoon, fighter jets roaring overhead as they practice maneuvers. Yeah, that was cool.
Gretchen
That was startling the first time it happened. number three, the scrunching of rain pants and rain jackets. You know, that fabric makes that very particular scrunching, rustling sound.
Elizabeth
Yes. Number four, our guy Jeremy’s New Zealand accent. As he told us about the historical sites we visited.
Gretchen
And number five, the sloshing of water in our water bottles in our day packs. If I had my water bottle in the right place, I could hear it just going.
Elizabeth
Oh, oh, that’s funny.
Gretchen
Okay.
Elizabeth
Smelling, smelling, Gretch. The fresh, cool morning air. Oh.
Gretchen
Every day. It was so beautiful. Number two, various sunscreens as people applied more after a few hours of hiking. There are all kinds of smells of sunscreens. And we had quite a bouquet of aromas.
Elizabeth
Yes. Number three. Morning coffee and tea.
Gretchen
Elizabeth. Love you and me. The coffee in that coffee is important. We got a lot of coffee. Number four, the distinct smell of the Euston train station in London. We spent some time in the Euston train station and had a very kind, of, very particular smell. That will always remind me of of that trip.
Elizabeth
And number five, the sharp smell of vinegar on fish and chips. I, Gretchen, you know, I haven’t eaten French fries in years. I’m free from fries. But I had told you. Yeah, I’m going to eat fish and chips on this trip. And I did. And delicious. And that smell of vinegar was mouthwatering.
Gretchen
Well, that’s a planned exception. It’s when you say, I’m going to do it in the future, and then you do it, and then you look back on it with pleasure because you’re like, usually I don’t eat these things, but I’m making an exception and that’s great. Well, and speaking of tasting, you tasted the fish and chips and also you also vowed to have a scone, which we’ve found is the way they say it.
Gretchen
There. And you had your scone and I tried your scone.
Elizabeth
With clotted cream. Oh my gosh.
Gretchen
Another thing that I tasted was Kendal’s mint cake, which we tried on the summit of Kat Bell’s, very sweet, very minty, very distinctive taste and texture and delicious.
Elizabeth
Yes. Tasted kind of like a Junior mint without the chocolate.
Gretchen
Yeah, kind of a crystallized Slaton junior mint.
Elizabeth
Yeah. Number three, another delicious taste. Sticky toffee pudding. Someone in our group said you have to. Maryland said you must have sticky toffee pudding. So I got some and. Oh boy it was good. You tasted it. Yes. Unbelievable.
Gretchen
Yeah. And then there was one day we were at a roadside cafe. As we were approaching the Lake District, we just stopped off and we got lattes and they were. You were like, this is the best latte I’ve ever had in my life that were absolutely delicious.
Elizabeth
So and others agreed.
Gretchen
And others agreed.
Elizabeth
And then finally, Gretch, the very last moments of our trip, Jeremy gave all of us a shot of salted caramel rum liqueur. Yes, and we toasted the end of our last day together. Yes. And it was a beautiful moment. Yes. And I will always think fondly of salted caramel rum.
Gretchen
Yes. And then finally, touching number one is the springy moss covering rocks and stone walls. I love moss, I really tapped into my love of moss and I love the texture of moss.
Elizabeth
And number two, the weight of our hiking boots and unaccustomed tightness around the ankles took some getting used to it.
Gretchen
Sure, too. Yeah, well, then there’s the number three, which is the light, carefree. Kind of like clicking your heels together in delight, feeling that we got when we changed out of hiking boots into just our regular shoes or stocking feet because you just, you feel like you’re just floating in air.
Elizabeth
Yes, a number four, the velvety lamb’s ear leaf in the walled garden near Lindisfarne Castle.
Gretchen
Yes. This is one of my favorite textures in the whole world. These leaves just have this velvety texture, so it was a treat to find those in this kind of walled garden that we that we found and then finally, the pressure of the brim of a sun hat against the forehead and, you know, the strap under the chin.
Gretchen
We broke out those sun hats just about every day, just a feel of them on our head. I can feel it around my head right now. Just. I can conjure it.
Elizabeth
Yes. And Gretch, I have to say, I love that we’ve worn in our hats. Yes, we’re seasons with the hats now.
Gretchen
I fear that my daughters, Eliza and Eleanor are going to be like, why are you wearing your sun hat in Central Park? But I’m going to I will support you. Okay? I’m going to do it.
Elizabeth
And great. Finally, we want to share a great quote that Jeremy read to us at the top of one of our summits. Yeah, from Alfred Wainwright. Yes.
Gretchen
Alfred Wainwright is very well known for his books describing the Lake District. And we heard a lot about Alfred Wainwright on this trip. And this is a beautiful passage from A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. The Western Fells. If you don’t know what a Bek is, a Bek is a mountain stream. And he wrote, the fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent.
Gretchen
But the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing back, the silent forest. Always there will be the exhilaration of the summits. These are for the seeking and those who seek and find while there is still time, will be blessed both in mind and body.
Elizabeth
Love that.
Gretchen
Yes. So that is. Our trip was such a fantastic sisterly adventure. If you want to look up anything that we mentioned, see some photographs. As always, you can go to the show notes for this episode. This is happier. Cars.com slash 493 and you can also find us on Instagram threads, TikTok, Facebook, or you can drop us an email and podcast at Gretchen rubin.com.
Elizabeth
And Gretch, what is the resource this week?
Gretchen
Okay, completely unrelated. due to popular demand, I recently created a list of icebreaker questions to help you start better conversations, though. Alison, we could use these icebreaker questions with our group. We didn’t use them, but we kind of used them. These questions go beyond small talk. They’re great for people. You know, if you’re trying to chat with new people, you can find the list along with other tools like the Habit Change checklist and the clutter clearing bingo cards at Gretchen rubin.com/resource aces.
Gretchen
And Elizabeth, what are we reading? What are you reading?
Elizabeth
I am reading Uncanny Valley, a memoir by Anna Weiner.
Gretchen
And I just started The Ninth House by Levi Bardugo. And that’s it for this episode of happier. We hope you enjoyed hearing our report from our sister Lee adventure.
Elizabeth
Thanks to our executive producer, Chuck Reed and everyone at Audacy. If you want to look up the itinerary of our trip, which my doctor did, you go to wilderness england.com and we did the North Cumberland and Lake District trip. Get in touch Gretchen’s on Instagram threads, Facebook and TikTok at Gretchen Rubin and I’m on Instagram and threads at Liz Craft.
Elizabeth
Our email address is podcast at Gretchen rubin.com.
Gretchen
And you know what we’re gonna say? Write us. Give us those five star ratings. Write a review. If you’re a fan, follow the show. And here is your rhyming reminder. If you like the show, tell everyone you know.
Elizabeth
Until next week. I’m Elizabeth Craft.
Gretchen
And I’m Gretchen Rubin. Thanks for joining us. Onward and upward.
Elizabeth
And, Gretchen, I am missing our group. I must say, I, you know, we spent morning, noon and night together for seven days, and I just I feel the absence of the group.
Gretchen
I know, I know, again, it doesn’t take long before you feel like you’ve really had an adventure together. Yeah.
Gretchen
From the onward project.