Well I'm landed and through customs waiting for my sister to come pick me up.
It's been a long journey and feels a bit surreal to be back in California. It will probably sink in once I've eaten and showered though.
Or maybe when I'm sitting in traffic on the way home.
So far Wales has been my favorite place to visit on this trip. I may be a bit biased as it's really the people I'm visiting that are affecting my view of it.
It's rained fairly consistently since I've been here. There was a morning and afternoon of sun where we went to Pombrey Sands beach. The tide was fairly low and we were able to walk pretty far out before stepping in any water. I'm not sure if I would get used to a beach where I stayed fully clothed and just looked at it. Even though I'm a terrible swimmer I would miss playing in the waves.
Having tea each day is new to me. With the cooler weather and rain though I could become very accustomed to it. I've stuck to the herbal teas and have found them easy to drink and very warming.
Not updating this blog is a good sign. It just means that I've been busy living rather than reflecting.
Thomas Riddell's Grave was such an interesting find. I'm glad that I didn't first research right where it was so I had the opportunity to walk around and look at a lot of the gravestones. After about twenty minutes of doing that I decided it would be better for everyone's time to look up where it is.
Rather unceremoniously, it's tucked into a smaller portion of the graveyard in the corner. There were a few small guided tours of the graveyard that had the tour guides talking about the various Harry Potter things related to that area.
I'm glad that I was able to make the time to stop and walk around that beautifully haunting graveyard. I've already enjoyed walking quietly through these types of places to observe in silence and contemplation.
The train from Edinburgh to King's Cross was interesting. Thankfully, we decided to book reserved seats so we didn't have to keep swapping around. There was a woman with her young son traveling on the train that didn't have a seat reserved and had to keep loving each time there was a stop. I ended up letting her borrow my battery charger for her iPad so her son had something that could keep him a bit entertained on the train.
There were some kids that sat behind my mom and me. They were very interested in talking to me the whole trip. My first interaction with them was on the way to get aboard the train. Sahara, age 10, made a comment about there being a Pram Jam. I had a pretty good laugh to myself and complimented her on the clever comment. It ended up being that Sahara and her brother Charlie sat right behind me. About half was through the trip we started talking. Mostly we spoke about differences in our languages and the pets we had. Sahara was excited to show me photos of her animals. Charlie liked talking about their trip to Edinburgh. He showed me loads of photos from the trip that he took on his phone. I had originally planned to finish reading the novel I was in the middle of but this was probably a better use of my time as these kids will remember the American they met and spoke to on the train.
The train itself was a bit run down but was an okay way to travel. I would much rather have had a single small bag as there isn't much room on the train. I'm glad that my Mom remember that my girlfriend Rhiannon told us not to check our bags. If we had stood in that line we would have missed our train.
All in all the train ride was good but a bit long. Our taxi driver had trouble finding us even though the booking said Kings Cross station. We were able to meet up with Rhiannon outside of the Marriott hotel in which we are staying. The hotel room itself looks out onto the London Eye. We have to keep the privacy curtains closed or the people on the eye would be able to easily see into the bedroom.
We saw Stomp the first night we were here. My favorite scene was one where the had these varying lengths of rubber tubing. Each one gave a different tone when they hit them on the ground. The cast used this to create a song rather than all straight rhythmic noise. It was loud though but my Dad let me borrow his earplugs.
The first day in London Rhiannon and I ended up sleeping in as we were both exhausted from our respective journeys. We met up with the group around lunch time and went to the Cafe in the Crypt near Trafalgar Square. Then we went to both galleries near there. And a quick walk to and through Saint James Park. Buckingham Palace was a bit too far of a walk for me after having walked around 4 hours already.
Sunday has been a day thus far of waking up at a reasonable hour, getting something to eat, and heading off to Church. The one we decided on is near Hyde Park. The schedule is reversed though so Priesthood is first, then Sunday School and ends with Sacrament Meeting.
I'm looking forward to sitting next to Rhiannon in Sunday School.
Anyway, I'm off to try and stay cool in my Sunday slacks and shirt.
Well the CIE tour is nearing a close. Today is our last official planned day. It's been interesting doing this tour type this again. I like being able to see a lot of things quickly but the photographer in me wants to slow down and just watch.
Last night we went to the Jam House. They put on a nice show with song and dance while dinner was served. It reminded me a bit of a better quality dinner theater. The volume on the speakers was up way too high though. I'm very thankful that I brought my earplugs.
Tonight we're going to go see the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh. That should be a lovely show.
All in all this trip has been going well. It's just been difficult to find time to do much else than what is scheduled. I'm glad that I had some downtime in Germany towards the end of that part of the trip even though it was because I didn't feel well.
Well the CIE tour is nearing a close. Today is our last official planned day. It's been interesting doing this tour type this again. I like being able to see a lot of things quickly but the photographer in me wants to slow down and just watch.
Last night we went to the Jam House. They put on a nice show with song and dance while dinner was served. It reminded me a bit of a better quality dinner theater. The volume on the speakers was up way too high though. I'm very thankful that I brought my earplugs.
Tonight we're going to go see the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh. That should be a lovely show.
All in all this trip has been going well. It's just been difficult to find time to do much else than what is scheduled. I'm glad that I had some downtime in Germany towards the end of that part of the trip even though it was because I didn't feel well.
We had the opportunity to see Loch Lomond and Loch Ness yesterday. It was only a quick photo stop at Loch Lomond but we were able to go on a boat ride for about an hour on Loch Ness.
Everyone was super cold and trying to keep warm and wrap up. I got a few strange looks because I was wearing shorts and didn't appear cold. Having been in the Germany heat wave definitely made me appreciate and enjoy the cold.
We stayed the night in Nairn at the Newton Hotel. I'm really pleased with the choice the tour made with this particular hotel. It's beautiful and is within walking distance of the North Sea.
My Dad, his friend Greg and I went down to watch the sunset on the beach. We got there just as the sun had gone behind the hills in the distance. My Dad was a bit bummed because he felt that we had missed any photo opportunities but I told him it would be fine and set up for photos.
We got a handful of great shots and ended up doing silhouette photos of each of us on that beach. I'm sure my Dad will end up with that as his social media photo. We'll probably have near matching ones.
Well I'm off to eat breakfast and chat. I probably should queue for the line as well.
