We're Ba-ack!
Okay, so you're going to have to start looking back to July 1, as all posts are going to be back dated. I'm going to try to get them all in within a week, but we used almost the entire book so keep checking back. Each of the others will add their own entries in different colors. I however, will choose black.
Sitting Here Waiting for Omouse to Finish
I'm sitting on the opposite side of the internet cafe, waiting for Jenny to finish whatever it is she needed to get done.
This trip to England has been fantastic from beginning to end and completely exhuasting. Last night Clare and I could barely scrape ourselves off the couch we were so tired. And my feet hurt. And the memory card of my camera is full, which is amazing because it can hold 500 photos. Been a little snap happy, I think.
I didn't log on in the internet café - I was too hot and bothered! I think the exhaustion was getting to me. Seriously. And I missed having my own car. Reuben's car is a pain in the posterior to park sometimes. I think Jenny took some time making sure her mum knew she was okay and not killed in the bombs in London... which were 300 miles away at the time... but I guess England does looks pretty tiny to the average American. :) - A19
Two Weeks Down
Yes, I'm been slightly incommunicado, but internet access is slightly hard to find when you're in Ilfracombe. We've been traveling to cities, very far from London, but the entire country has been rocked hard. Clare and Debbie began to call their friends when Clare's boyfriend texted her to tell us to turn on the radio. We were in Exeter, and hadn't heard anything about it until 10:30am. All of Clare's friends are fine, but her boyfriend's cousin's girlfriend was in one of the tube carriages and was going to be getting out of hospital over the weekend.
On to cheerier news... Liz arrives tomorrow, and we'll be touring London before taking a quick adventure up towards Scotland and back down again. On Friday, we're probably heading off to Canterbury and then back to London before coming home on the 26th of July.
Thanks for the Birthday Wishes.
Salisbury, Home of RatMan
So he had a long bit of a lie in and at 11ish, Reuben called and said he was in Bournmouth, so we hopped in the car to meet him. We parked and walked up and down the boardwalk. The beach was crowded with quickly burning Brits. We stopped and had fun spending 60p in the arcade on the change sweeping machines. Fun. Basic story – should have quit while we were ahead. Had lunch in this surfy type place where the appetizer platter we ordered was a full lunch for 2. We drove back to the chalet and Mel and I spent the rest of the afternoon planning our Space Opera. My character is Ophelia, daughter of a captain of a lost space colony. Mel’s is Portia, Earth grad student stuck in middle management who decides to find lost colony.
At 9:15,(after wrestling with the telly) we went to see the holiday camp visiting comic. He wasn’t very funny. Most of his jokes were recycled from the internet. Went home to bed.
So moving on to today, we went to Salisbury and did a drive by of Stonehenge… literally. My camera ran out of batteries just as I was going to take one of Stonehenge. I was sad, but going back to the morning, we park and rode to the center of town, did a bit of shopping (I picked up “Nursery Crime,” Jasper FForde’s new book out today and Mel picked up some clothing for the nieces and nephews.)
We took a 90 minute guided tour of the cathedral with a pleasantly rambling gentleman who told us about the baby who died 11 days before its birthday, and the prince’s half brother who was found with a perfectly preserved rat in his skull. (We later saw the rat in the museum.)
After the tour we walked back to High Street for more shopping (Boots Baby!) and lunch at the New Inn, a Tudor pub that had to be at least 500 years old. I had a Brie Ploughman. Yummy. Cheese, bread and pickle.
Our next step was the museum (the one with the rat) back next to the cathedral. Bad planning on our part… but the museum had some interesting old costumes and a section on Stonehenge… and did I mention the rat? By the time we got out of the museum, Clare and Mel were knackered so we sat on a bench by the cathedral and watched all the Germans go by. After some ice cream, we managed to drag ourselves back to the bus stop. Once back in the car we did the Stonehenge drive by and then off towards home. We stopped on the way at Tescos for provisions and I still contend I use us there by the fastest route.
The dude with the rat in his head was John Longspree, the half brother of King John. Also the half brother of King Richard. BTW, I really dislike that guy. All he did was run around the holy land, kill Turks, and get kidnapped and hang around in dungeons waiting to be summoned. The jerk. Only everyone loves him for some reason. Poor John was stuck back in England, trying to scrape together enough money to ransom Richard out of a dungeon. I think John has a bad rap.
Tonight’s dinner was chicken balls and potato croquettes, both oddly orange and kiddie food. Not a criticism, just a statement of fact.
Jenny’s currently going on about how she needs another bottle of wine to get “happy.” Lush. (and I’ll take as much space writing as I please. So ha!)
Clare says, “That spider is watching me.”
Lie In
Having a bit of a lie in. Let me tell you how nice it is to be able to spend 20 minutes alone in a room.
Holburn Naish Holiday Camp #33 Highcliffe, Hampshire
Space, ladies and gentlemen, the final frontier.
[Picture: This is my rendition of the floor plans for our holiday cabin. Our new one is almost twice the size.]
John Fowler Vs. Hoburne Naish.John FowlerSmall bath tub
Shower hose which must be hired and doesn’t work properly.
Pull out sofa and two narrow twins
Teeny tiny cabin
TV remote that you have to hire.
No clocks at all
One mirror in loo
Miniature kitchen
No lounge
One pull out sofa
Fold away table
Big insects in the bath
Living in each other’s pockets.
Provides bed linen
No real shops, just tacky souvenir shops and ye olde worlde shoppes
Metal counter with grooves
Multiplying Vauxhalls
Hoburne NaishNo bath tub
Powerful shower
1 single, a double, a pull out sofa, and a set of bunk beds.
Good size flat
Video
Radio
Microwave
Toaster
Alarm clock and wall clock
Mirrors in each bedroom and loo
Proper size kitchen
A lounge
Enough seats for everyone
1 sofa and pullout sofa
No bugs spotted so far
SPACE!!
Provides duvet and pillow but no actual linen
Access to real shops
Actual drainer for dishes
Plenty of parking
Bunny rabbits!
Mysteriously Creepy Fog.
The worst Elvis impersonator ever.
Change Day
So we left Ilfracombe at ten to nine and arrived in Glastonbury around 11:45. We decided the Tor Bus would take too much time, so we didn’t see where Joseph of Arimathea buried the Holy Grail and planted his staff made from Jesus’s cross. The tree that grew was hacked down by the Puritans, but replanted on the abbey grounds. We did see that one… along with lots and lots of funnily dressed clerics. Apparently, the day we chose to visit was the same day as the annual C of E pilgrimage. We were surrounded by them and got caught up in their parade crowd.
Back on the road by 12:15, we made Bournemouth by 2:10… just in time for Debbie to miss the 2:16 to Waterloo. Instead she went to wait for the 2:59 and we headed off to a late lunch. We had baguettes and Ciabattas at a French Café and then off to find our holiday camp… which we found on the first try, despite our bad directions due to my excellent navigational skills. We were quite wary when the reception lady was slightly snippy, but after stepping into our chalet, we nearly passed out with pleasure. As the diagrams on the previous page illustrate, we would have been seriously in trouble if we had gone to Ilfracombe second. It’s live moving from a Motel 6 to the Hilton or Marriott.
We moved in and realized we had to get sheets. The first place, Argos, had closed 20 minutes before at 5:30. The second place was closing at 6 and the guy closing the door thought he was quite funny when Clare asked where we could find bed linen at 6pm. “A hotel.” He redeemed himself by pointing the way to Tesco.
Once home again, we cycled through the shower and finished the night with cake and wine, journals, and the radio. Fun, huh? Very nice. Destressing. Seriously.
Tea, Tats, and The Bat Cave
So last night we decided to skip the comedy show and have tea and tattoos instead. We had bought the tattoos (dolphin and Egyptian) at the market earlier in the week. We discovered the Egyptian tats were awful. Clare’s scarab didn’t even last the night. The dolphins seem to wear well.
Today we went to Arlington Court, ancestral home of the Chichester family who were awfully fond of boats and shells. The grounds and the house were magnificent. We toured the house that was full of model boats and Victorian furniture. We then made a stop by the Bat Cave but no one was home. Instead we had lunch and watched the big black poodle try to eat the big albino peacock. There was a normal colored peacock there as well, both tame and begging for food like oversized pigeons.
After lunch we went to the carriage exhibit that had about 30-40 carriages. Mel got cornerered by the friendly steward who told her all about his favorite author, John Steinbeck, who was born in Monteray, which coincidentally is south of Los Angeles.
We walked back to the house and took a 2 pound ten minute carriage ride around the park.
On our way home, we tried to find Benton, and instead ended up on a road just as wide as the car with bushes and hedges 8 feet tall on either side. After giving up, we drove back to Ilfracombe so Mel, Clare and Debbie could get some fudge and biscuits as souvenirs. I’m waiting until later to get my gifts pending space.
So the other fun bit of tonight – Laundry. 7.70 pounds for two loads… but now I have clean jeans! Clare and Debbie have got for take – away (take out) and Mel and I are watching the Backstreet Boys on Top of the Pops. Now on East Enders, some idiot set a mob boss’s house on fire because the mobster wouldn’t pay attention to him. Dumb. Apparently East Enders in full of people doing dumb things.
Exeter
Just got back from Exeter. I'm all alone. Mel went to go call Andy and Clare has taken Debbie to the doctor. It's been an odd day. I think 90 minutes in the car is really wearing on everyone's temper. Just as we were pulling into the Cathedral parking structure, Clare received a text message to turn on the radio. We heard the news that 4 bombs had gone off in central London. The tube and all the buses in central London are offline. Clare texted all her family and mates. They all seem okay.
Needless to say, is has put a damper on our spirits. We're 200 miles away, but it's still heart wrenching.
Exeter was nice. The cathedral and town were worth the time. They had a second folio of Shakespeare on display. We stopped in a cafe for lunch were I had a brie and cranberry baguette. It was yummy.
Forgot to mention
Forgot to mention while we were eating lunch at the Eden Project, they made a visitor and staff announcement. London had won the 2012 Olympic bid. Everyone cheered. Now the news is nothing but Olympic Preparation... and Africa.
Eden Project
July 6 - thought I'd mention my birthday is a week away. Today we drove to Cornwall, which looks amazingly enough like Devon except instead of "Devonshire Cream Teas," they had "Cornish Cream Teas" Fun, huh?
So in essense, we drove 2 1/2 hours to look at plants. Lots of plants. They were cool plants, and there were lots of them... but they were still just plants.
The best part of the journey is when we reached the green lin with the light green line through the middle = The A30.
[Journal Diagram = Omouse's Guide to British Road Maps]
Blue Lines - Motor ways - unfortunately none go the way we wanted. :(
Two Green Lines - A road with two lanes in both directions. Almost as good as a blue line.
Green Line - A Road - One lane of traffic each way, but still has roundabouts and is rather (green squiggly line).
Red Lines - B Road... looks okay on the map, but avoid if you want to get anywhere anytime soon. (really squiggly red line)
Orange and White Lines - travel at your own risk.
Okay, really... The Eden Project was once a chalk quarry and has now been turned into a huge botanical garden site with two grand biodomes. The British really do take their gardening seriously. I cheated and got the student rate of 6 Pounds while everyone else went for the full price of 12.50. Starving, we stopped at the cafe at the front entrance and had paninis. I had a nice one with cheddar, peppers, and a basil pesto. The others had bacon (ham) and tomato chutney... which still makes Clare's face munch up.
I made the mistake of saying "Oh, it's not really hot in here," when we first walked into the tropical humid biodome. They razzed me when we got further in and I took off my jumper.
In the temperate dome, I was very tempted to pick the ripe apricots off the trees and eat them. The California section was a bit disappointing. They didn't have any manzanita.
On our way back home, we decided to try and find an cream tea and ice cream place in St. Austell, a nearby town. Coming out of the Eden Project..
The only problem being is St. Austell's is horrid and there was bupkis there in the way of cream teas or ice cream.
As I was saying before Mel so rudely interrupted, we had to follow this old couple in a blue Mazda that was going about 20 mph slower than legal. When Clare finally overtook them, just before the roundabout, she missed the sign, went completely around, took the right road and ended directly behind... the blue Mazda!
After St. Austell's being a bust, we had dinner at a motorway services stop and drove home witha stop at Tescos for food, phone minutes, toilet, cough medicine, pens, and petrol. We're home again, scribbling madly in our Journals and eating sticky buns, chocolate and tea.
Next Day - Clovelly
You know, Jenny gets rather cranky when her feet ache. We got up bright and early and were out the door by 9. On our way to unique Clovelly (Clo-veh-lee) which is a tiny seaside village down what felt like a sheer cliff. And it drizzled all morning. Slick cobblestones down a steep steep hill. Brilliant Idea. I'm amazed I didn't break an ankle.
I only get cranky when my feet get tired while shopping, looking at completely useless stuff like PINK British passport holders. Why would anyone ever?!? Passports are already laminated. They don't need covers. And we'd spent the morning walking down the aforementioned hill. Now I had no problem with heading down the cobblestones. Everyone else seemed scared out of their wits that they were going to fall on their tooshies. I headed down like a Girl Scout Camp Scherman pro. I have to keep reminding myself that my companions come from places where there are no mountains. (Kansas is as flat as a pancake.)
After we got to the bottom, we walked into the harbor where all th boats were tied up and sitting on the rocks. The tide was out so we could walk across a boat ramp and down it and across the rocks, or we could climb down a ladder. Despite my slightly odd drawings (Drawings included in original journal) you can tell who the chicken of this trip was. (Melissa) She refused to go up or down any of the ladders.
We didn't have to climb back up the cobblestone hill. Instead we pain 2 Pounds to ride up a switchbacked trail in the back of a land rover. We had a nice lunch of pasties and chips and headed off to the Dartington Crystal Factory.
It was really interesting to watch them make the glass decanters and goblets so seamlessly. We also watched a couple get their handprints imprinted in glass. All the glass blowers wore Bermuda shorts and I appreciated the chance to warm myself up and dry out my hair after a bit of a long walk in the rain from the car park. They had this annoying white line that traipsed you quite a way through the rain. Would have been faster to cut around the back.
There were a lot of things I would have considered picking up if I hadn't been worried about trunk space when we leave.
Our next stop was a mall. Not just any mall. The Atlantic... with a full sized pirate theme park attached. We skipped that and I bought Misshapes, Cadbury mistakes or imperfect chocolate from the Cadbury Factory Store. So most of them are supposed to have filling, but don't... still, chocolate is chocolate!
After some evil traffic, we got back to the chalet around six, had spaghetti and played a game called Gloom that Mel had brought where you try to kill off your characters, but only after they're really unhappy.
It's about 9:30 now and Mel and I are busy scribbling away in our journals and Clare is doing her nails. Debbie is reading. We might go back to the caberet... or maybe not. Oh yeah, and Melissa ate all the gummies.
They were delicious. I have no regrets.
Before Jenny can complain. "I didn't mean to step on her foot! It was an accident!"
NOTE TO MEL:
Mel is way too defensive. She stole the journal away from me to defend herself, thinking I was going to berate her for her clumsiness when I was actually going to draw gnomes... but no, Mel has to only think of herself. Yes, the entire world revolves around Melly.
[Picture: gnome holding sign "Gnomes on Strike until Melissa realizes she is not Queen of the World."]
[Picture: Mel with caption "Hmm. I am Queen of the World." Arrow caption "It's hard to convey a look of indignation on my face.]
John Fowler Cabaret
Just got back from "The Never Ending Story," an 80's cabaret put on by employees. Clare said it was one of the better holiday camp shows she'd seen. About halfway through, I decided it should probably be a three drink minimum. The Brits sure have an interesting cultural view. The place had a small stage and loud music playing right in the middle where lots of under twelve kids were dancing. At the back was a full bar that ran the length of the back wall. The show started at 10:15pm. Then the place was smoky, alcohol abounded, yet there were tons of little kids ringing the dance area, and the show was all age appropriate. Never would happen in the U.S.
The Creepy House
We started out the day slightly later than we planned. We were hoping for 9 am but got out at 10:30. Our first stop was Woolacombe by way of Barnstable... which took us about 30 minutes as Barnstable is south and we wanted to go directly west. Outside the town there was a weekly outdoor market where we purchased fake tattoos and magic pens that write in black and then rub out (erase) to a color. The freezer turns them black again. Decided not to use them on this blue paper because it's so dark. The worst thing about the market was the chilly wind that nearly knocked me over. The best was Mel's blue watch.
We ate lunch (pastie with chips and beans) and then headed back to the Chocolate Museum in Ilfracombe which was a BIG disappointment. Rather a room full of old chocolate memorabelia to justify jacking up the price of the chocolate in the shop. the "theatre" was six chairs set up in front of a tv playing a continuous loop of someone making chocolate.
The trip to the bank was more entertaining and I was definitely relieved to relieve myself of $400 in cash so I could pay Clare her money for accomodation. I even got 20 Pounds in change! We got back in the car (the car park was up a very steep hill) and drove to the Chambercombe Manor, a house that dates back to before 1066. Even I had to dip my head to avoid a low doorway or two.
We took the 5 Pound tour and our psychic tourguide, "Crazy Chris," said the house had been full of spirits today, so if we felt dizzy, don't panic. Of course we felt dizzy. 1000 year old houses aren't exactly straight anymore. The walls and floors are all cock-eyed. Anyway, the best thing about this tour was the fact that you got to touch things. Crazy Chris just picked up 500 year old antiques and opened them, showing them off. At one point, she passed around a finger joint from a suit of armor. We got into one bedroom and she told us to take a seat. All the chairs were antiques and the bed looked older than Shakespeare's second best bed. Crazy Chris passed her hand over Melissa's chair to make sure the old gentleman to who liked to sit there, wasn't. The manor was at one point owned by a bunch of shipwreckers who traveled through a secret tunnel to the cove and lured ships onto the rocks.
(Mel) Yeah, a bunch of villians, the whole lot of 'em.
Right. At one point, the brought in a 14 year old "poof" (German for prostitute) as Mel told us over tea and sodas. When she had a baby, they drowned it, and now she sits on the bed and rocks the cradle from time to time.
Then there was the guy who found a woman on the beach who'd come off a boat he'd wrecked. After she died and robbed her, he figured out she was his long lost daughter, so he walled her up in a room, sold the house and moved to Cornwall. So someone finally figured out there was a hidden room and poked a hole through the wall to find a skeleton on the bed. That would never happen in LA!
Four Weddings and Two Glasses of Booze
Four Weddings and a Funeral. Possibly my favorite film. It's only problem is Andy McDowel who cannot act her way out of a wet paper bag. 2 glasses of booze makes her acting seem a little better, though
Holiday Chalet
Bought towel, postcards, 1 Pound clock, soap, razors, face mask (raspberry), and Kindereggs! Got money from the bank. Cash = Good. We trolled along High Street but most of the shops were closed, as it is Sunday. Down near the pier and the visitor's center, most of the touristy shops were doing a booming business. The visitor's center has two descriptions - a nuclear power plant, or an upside down bucket. Both are applicable and accurate. Either way, it's ugly. The cliff and gardens surrounding, however, are lovely. After climbing up and down the hill we had a very lovely cream tea in an outside cafe. The table was slightly too small for 4, but the fresh scones and Devonshire cream were yummy.
Mel's List
Things Jenny Forgottowel
razor
a second pair of shoes in case the others get grotty.
Things I (Melissa) Brokehair dryer
two chairs (Clare helped with one.) :)
Mel's first entry
I'm so tired... sleep... four hours in the airport waiting for Jenny's flight, 4 in the car trying to find the stupid John Fowler Ilfracombe Holiday Camp. I just want to sleep and Jenny and Clare are having tea. Clare informed me she's too tired to write in the journal. Ha.
Omouse - bad airport adventure.
Poor omouse! I dropped her off at the airport about 9:45 am for a 10 am flight. She called me just after 10, and then again about 3:30. I did not get either message until I was arrivign at my hair appointment at 5. She's still at the airport and is now on a flight scheduled to leave LA at 8:45 pm! It's a direct flight, but she'll have been at the airport 11 hours by the time she finally takes off!
I feel so terrible! Had I gotten the messages earlier, I would have gone to the airport, picked her up and we'd have had lunch or seen a movie or something.
My worst airport experiences have been 4 hours, nothing compared to this.
I hope the rest of the trip is wonderful, she deserves it after this!
At Chili's Too
I've spent the entire trip waiting it seems. I'm now waiting for the waitress to acknowlege my existence. Found out something else. I have discovered the LAX Chili's secret. They say the wait is an hour and everyone leaves... so my wait was only 25 minutes. Waitress just delivered me a napkin... with plastic cutlery. Is that so I don't try to hijack the plane with a butter knife? Odd. My headache is back but I think I'm getting used to the stomach knots. I was actually getting hungry. It took me a while to remember I hadn't eaten since 9am.
I hope there's a different movie on the direct flight. On our old plane it was Spidey 2, which I just watched last week with Liz. I like it, I'm just hoping for something different. Still not managing to write in a straight line in the journal. Everything tilts slightly to the right.
Still LAX
So this is going to be a long day. After an hour delay of "We'll be boarding in five minutes," we got in the plane. A girl in a USC sweatshirt sat next to me. We made some Trojan smalltalk. She was going to Dijon with 3 other USC girls for an intensive French program. We pulled out of the gate and taxied to what must have been the farthest runway from the terminal. Then we came back again. We sat there for a while before they finally let us off the plane. Now anyone who had an international connection got to stand in a line for half an hour while everyone else got to wait until 5pm (5 hour delay). I got scheduled on a direct flight to London only about 6 hours after my intended arrival. Now waiting for Chili's arrival.
LAX
I suppose this is as good as any place to start. It seems like I usually start in LAX. This time I'm in Terminal 4, Gate 42B. 42A is going to Chicago. I've got an hour and 5 minutes before my plane boards.
I've got a bagel and a half (yes, half), a bottle of Dasani, and all the usual ecoutremants (bloody French spelling) of travel. I forgot my gum. Crap. Okay, have forgotten first item... hopefully only item.
The guy next to me has really white shoes with black shiny strips up to the laces with a black dot at the toe. Wonderful screaming children running amuck as well. I need an aspirin, but Omouse, the smart one that she is, has checked it with her luggage. Sigh. The girls running amuck have taken all the pay phones off the hook and are randomly dialing numbers with a receiver in each ear. I think the little boy wanted to join them, but he couldn't reach.
I've never noticed how evilly mellow the mood music is in LAX when it's not being interrupted with flight or baggage warnings. It's too bad I won't be flying out of the same airport as Mel this time. I'll have to navigate JFK by myself. The last time I was in JFK was when we had to connect from the EVIL Madrid flight with the electic problems and movie without sound. I wonder what the movie will be. Might even see 2. Coolio.
Taking Omouse to LAX
We're about to leave for the airport. I'm going to be lonely for two weeks ;-( Then I leave on my own adventure. yipee!!
