Letter to James – July 2022

James,

It’s July 9th, 2022 and your dad is leaving Boston today to spend two weeks with Jack, Carter and Papa J in Great Britain. The last time the Franklin men took a trip together was in 2019, when we all travelled to San Francisco and the wine valleys, a trip we all loved. Your grandma Gizzy will be taking care of you in Boston for the next two weeks while your dad is away with his dad and brothers. And she is so happy to spend two weeks with you and your mom, who is also looking forward to Gizzy’s stay.

The Franklin men will land in London early Sunday morning, drive Northeast to Durham and hug the Northumberland Coast until we get to Edinburg, Scotland. After a stop there, we will head to St. Andrews, where we will spend the next two days watching practice rounds of the 150th Open.  A highlight will be lunch at The New Club along the Old Course 18th fairway, hosted by friends your Grandma Gizzy and I met on a hiking trip in Provence. They now live in St. Andrews.

After our Open experience, we will travel west and spend an evening in the Border town of Carlisle, a World Heritage Site. From there we head to the Lake District, located in the Northwest corner of England, where we will spend the next three days. We will be staying in the small village of Keswick. We will play golf, hike, and explore the many lakes of that region.

After the Lake District, we head south along the west coast to Liverpool to get a tour of the Liverpool Football Club stadium. Your uncle Jack is a maniacal Liverpool soccer fan. And your uncle Carter is a dedicated Manchester United Fan! So, we head to Manchester next to celebrate Carter’s 30th birthday, which will include visiting Old Trafford, a fancy birthday dinner at Hawksmoor Steak House on Saturday night, and watching an international cricket match between India and England on Sunday. 

On Monday morning we will head south with a stop in the beautiful Shropshire area and visit the town of Shrewsbury, which is Dominic Sandbrook’s sister-in- law’s favorite town in England.  Your uncle Carter may explain to you who Dominic Sandbrook is some day. Afterwards, we will drive to the Cotswolds, where we will spend the next two days hiking, eating and sightseeing. We will then end our trip with three days in London, stopping in Oxford on our way there.

James, I tell you this because traveling with your dad and his brothers has always brought great joy to me. Our family still talks about our trips to places like California, Scotland, England and British Columbia when they were young. I even took each of our children on separate trips when they were boys to places like Chicago, Bermuda, and Disney World. And to events like the ACC Tournament and the All-Star Game. And as your grandpa, I hope to take you on special trips some day, just like I did with your dad. 

Travel instills curiosity. If done the right way, you also meet different people with different perspectives. And it changes you. These are some of the things that make travel special. But what makes traveling priceless is traveling to new places with those you love.

I look forward to traveling with you some day.

Papa Johnny