We were told ghost stories, such as the child bride who died from locking herself in a trunk in a game of hide and seek and of the lord of the castle who was driven out by kings men (for trying to put a fake prince on the throne) and then died in a secret room in the castle.Īfter walking around here, we headed back to the bus.
Making walls without mortar used to be the cheaper way, but now its more expensive because knowing how to place the stones just right is a trade that has been going out of style.Īfter this, we took time to explore an abandoned church and castle from 100s of years ago. The guide told us that its very very expensive to make houses this way these days because it has to be fire safe.Īt the end of the road, we learned about the brick walls. We walked down a long path, lined with houses that had thatched tops, I mean literally, they were made of straw.
We got off the bus around 11 for the Cotswold’s. I really want to take this trip again…this time, probably with less stress…but who am I kidding, the stress of the trip was actually the fun part…when I got to see everything come together because of the faith you can have in your fellow people you meet along the way.Well today I took a day trip to Stratford upon Avon and the Cotswold’s. We even got to help out in the Soup Kitchen for the homeless while we were there and met some Inuits who lived there and who directed us to some places to visit that were “off the beaten path,” but were better locations than those that were available to the tourists. This ended up being the best part of the trip, as both Maureen and I got to see so much more of Alaska. So I didn’t do any of the ships’ excursions they recommended, but decided to do my own walking-tour of every location (and using their own public transportation). I have to admit, I did this trip with only $200 to my name (after paying for the flight, taxies, and cruise) and ended up using $100 to tip our wait staff on the cruise. The trip consisted of going through: The Inside Passage (Cruising), Ketchikan, Alaska, Juneau, Alaska, Skagway, Alaska, Icy Strait Point, Alaska, Hubbard Glacier (Cruising), then ending up in Seward, Alaska. Once I got on the ship (with the captain and his first lieutenant walking quickly behind me and my sister), Once we were on the ship, we met A LOT of people who I still consider friends to this day.
It was an interesting trip (all due to the fact that my password was expired, but only usable if I crossed into Canada by land…not air). I continued walking about a mile into Canada when I found a taxi to take me to Vancouver, British Columbia (where the ship was waiting for me – as I was the last one to board for this trip). At this point, I took a taxi to the Canadian border and walked across (with all my luggage) into Canada. This particular trip started off at LAX…grabbing a flight to Seattle Washington, then hopped on a small 8 passenger “box” to Bellingham. This trip first started off with Michelle, earlier that month….but that’s another post. In August of 2008, I took the 3rd part of my “bucket-list” (going up both US coasts before I turned 30 years old) trips with my sister, Maureen.
I’ll post more photos and a description of the rest of the trip in the next couple days.
On the last night, we went out to Tampa Beach and watched men fishing in the beach as the sun was setting and the full moon was rising over our heads. Then, after dinner at home, we’d head out in the early evenings going to Sawgrass to watch the sunset. We spent most afternoons walking around or riding bikes on the bricks in Downtown St. Pete, I did get my hair cut (that was donated to “Children With Hair Loss”). Pete and Tampa… then drove down to Key West (for key-lime pie) then started my road trip up the coast. Petersburg and rented a car to drive up the coast.
A couple nights we sat outside during the lightening storms while drinking our key-lime wine (you’ll notice that I really like key-lime). I started going out to Florida every three months, but loved going in June…if only for the thunder and lightening storms!! The clouds and sunsets are amazing and I loved sharing them with someone who was very dear to me. The first part of this trip (pics posted below) was visiting St. In June of 2008, I took the 1st part of my “bucket-list” (going up both US coasts) trips starting in Florida to Maine.