We discover that we were born in the wrong family

Today's big field trip was to Chatsworth, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The house was started in 1552, and has gone through a number of remodelings and restorations since then. However, lots of the original wall paintings and furnishings have survived. It's an amazing place: we spent about an hour inside the house (if you can call it a house--more like a palace, really), and then a few hours outside in the gardens, which are extensive. JoDee kept saying, "Paul, can I have this house?" I invite you all to check out the photo album (except for Mom and Dad: JoDee says she's going to bring you here, so you are expressly forbidden to view the photos). The gardens include a maze (I won the race to the middle, if anyone cares), a rock garden, waterworks, etc. Acres and acres of stuff to look at. On the way in, you drive through unfenced pastures of cows and sheep. We had to stop to allow a cow to cross in front of us (there's a picture in the album, of course).

We had lunch in between the house and the gardens, and did the required gift shopping, before heading home, to the considerably smaller yet comfortable home of JoDee and Paul.