San Diego

Last weekend Mom, Dad and I took a direct flight to San Diego for a Chargers game.

We left early Friday morning arriving at lunch hour. We hired a car for the weekend and headed straight downtown with my Dad driving and me navigating (with the help of the GPS); Mom was happy to sit in the back!

That afternoon we walked around the seafront mall, I managed to get my Chargers shirt, as well as all my regular touristy items. We then saw a harbour tour bus that was just getting ready to leave, and after some bribing to get a good deal, we headed onto the tourbus/tourboat. It was a bit breezy and overcast that afternoon and of course I left my jacket in the car, but luckily they had nice warm blankets for us to put on our shoulders! It was a two hour tour of the city, lots of information about the Navy, as well as a harbour tour looking at some of the navy ships, there stations, the dolphins and the very stinky sealions! The tour bus was also the harbour boat which was very cool! I had no idea that the Navy was mainly based out of San Diego and all the ships they maintain and manage, the huge navy station, and even the dolphins and seals they train to do deep sea recoveries and locating watermines, among a few things. All very interesting if you ask me, and not really surprising either! We were in the USA remember!!

Our hotel room was on the 10th floor and we overlooked the water. The military museum was to the north, as was the Star of India (the second oldest sail boat that still sails). To the south was the dock for the cruise ships and even further south was the Navy aircraft carrier musuem. We saw two cruise ships while we were there, and on our last day, The Explorer, SAS - Semester at Sea, was docking. This ship takes University students around the world while the study for the semester. They had been gone for over 3 1/2 months and there were tons of family and friends waiting to pick them up. Pretty neat to watch as they docked, both families and students had signs that had made for there significant others. We were also lucky enough to not only see one set, but two different sets of fireworks! One Friday night and another Sunday night. One set was from Navy aircraft carrier, and the other was further in the bay. And we watched it all for free from the comfy seats of our balcony!

Friday evening we decided to stay close to the hotel and went across the street to a restaurant on the waterfront, and of course had seafood! It was an early night for us, as we knew we had a busy weekend in front of us, so we called it a night after a couple drinks back at the hotel room!

Just a small section of the aircraft carrier
San Diego from the harbor


The fuel station for the ships!
Where they train the dolphins
The star of India
Navy aircraft carrier
Cruise ship

London

What would be going England, with out seeing the famous sights of London?

And with a little pressure from me, I convinced Rob to spend his birthday, in London, with me!

We left early Tuesday morning, and with the bad weather and roads, we left even earlier. We got on the train in Wolverhampton and had to change in Birmingham, and just our luck, when we arrived our next train into London had been cancelled. Luckily we only had to wait 20 minutes and we could catch another train. This also gave us the chance to go into Birmingham and check it out, and it was just like another other big city! But at least I can say I was there. We finally got into London at around noon and was able to check in to our hotel right away. We hoped back on to the complex and very impressive subway trains and headed straight towards Buckingham Palace. The palace was so incredible and beautiful, even on a cloudy, snowy and windy day! This is when we found out about the riots going on in central London! The university students were rioting due to the increased tuition costs - nearly 10,000 Pound per year. We did not see much rioting, only about 100 students walking through one of the parks. We DID however see a ton of police! Not sure if I felt safer and in more danger.

The Palace was definitly a highlight of the trip, but it was one of those things that once I saw it, I was happy to move on!

We walked by Parliment house and St. Stephens tower which houses Big Ben, so I never actually got to see Big Ben. The tower is definitely a lot shorter then I expected, but the architure of the whole building by far exceded my expectations.

The weather the whole day was pretty crap. Very windy and very snowy, and of course, quite cold - not ideal touring weather, but we made the best of it. We got tickets to go on the London Eye which we went on just before sunset. The whole trip takes about 30 minutes so we got to see London in the daylight on the way up, and at night time on the way down. It was very cool to see all of London, but I wouldn't want to be on there any longer then the 30 minutes, it was quite boring by the end of it and I was happy to disembark.

After the London eye there wasn't much more time to do anything else, so we headed into Picadilly Circus, a popular area in London that houses lots of shops, restaurants and bars. It was like the Times Square of London. We ended up meeting up with 2 friends in London that I actually met in Australia and traveled with quite a bit including randomly seeing each other in Indonesia!! Gethin is Welsh and Brid is Irish, and we had a great time! Gethin always knows where the cheap drinks are and they took us to some really neat pubs.

Wednesday was another busy day, and again with not the greatest weather. We started off going to St. Paul's cathedral which was absolutly incredible! The history, the murals, the whispering wall and the crypts were all so amazing. We easily spent over 2 hours there, and I could have spent more time there. It was a very peaceful and relaxing place to be. Plus I also learning of all the events that take place at the cathedral that I never knew of - royal weddings, memorials and funerals.

Next we headed over to the London Towers - which I had no idea what they were about. In fact, I just thought it was one tower, but no, there are 19! (I think!) As in Warwick castle, there were many uses for the Towers, but mainly, and most historical, is the prison and torture of the prisoners that occurred there. Anyone and everyone was brought here in the 16th and 17th centuries, including Elizabeth I (as a prisoner) before she became queen. The other famous reason for the Towers is that the Crown Jewels are kept there. We walked through and saw them all, not sure if they are real or not, but either way, there are some impressive crowns in there!! We spent over 4 hours going through the towers and were some of the last people to leave! It is so big and just so much to see, and SO much to take in. By the end of the day I was in information overload! We did have intentions of going to the London dungeons, but did not have enough time as we had a train to catch.

This train was of course late, by over an hour, and we didn't get back to Rob's till close to 10pm. And we had to get up at 4am to take me to the airport. The weather was so bad in the UK and Europe that there were airports closed. I was delayed an hour leaving Birmingham, and an hour delayed boarding in Amsterday with a 3 hour wait on the runway at the gate due to weather, waiting for the ground crew to get everything done and waiting to get de-iced! It was a VERY long flight home, but overall, a great trip!

Warwick Castle

One of the most famous castles in the West Midlands, or maybe all of England is Warwick Castle. Originally built in 1068 and used for many different reasons, handed or taken over the many different people, and added on over the many centuries. To go into any amount of detail would take a lot of time, and frankly, if that interested, go check it out wikipedia! It was however very interesting to be there and to walk around this ancient castle. There are many areas of the castle that are undergoing restoration, however that is quite a bit that is still original. We walked through the massive and immaculate living quaters, saw how they lived 'back in the day', what they fought with, and what they would wear during wars. There is also an area that was used for torture, which we took a special extra tour of, more of a spook tour, and yes, I did get spooked.

The weather was pretty cold and dreary which kind of added to the whole experience of being there, but due to the cold weather there were some areas that were closed. We could not walk along the top which would have been pretty awesome, and a couple of the towers were closed as well. But, I guess I can't do it all! I couldn't pick out of these photos, so here they all are:

London continued

Rob's big birthday party was on the Friday, so during the day we keep it low key. We headed out to a place for a nice walk with some nice views of the West Midlands. The hike was on Kinver's Edge, and depsite being a bit chilly, it was a great opportunity to do some photography and enjoy the views of rural England. The hike was a nice 1.5km walk, and it appeared that it was also a nice place to take the dog for a walk. I think Rob and I were the only people without a 4 legged friend!

After the hike we headed into the small village of Kinver and had a drink and a bit to eat. We knew it was going to be awhile since we ate supper, so we had some English pub food, and I had a glass of wine! By the time we got home I was exhausted, and probably still jet legged, so I layed down for a bit of a nap before the party!

The party started at 7, there was a DJ, a bar and about 40 people that showed up. It was a great time and I was finally able to meet all of Rob's friends.

Christmas Baking!!

It has been a few years since I have been home, and available, to help mom in Christmas baking. To be honest, I can't even remember the last time I helped mom!

But this year, not only was I able to help mom, but Laura came over as well!

In a total of 4 hours we baked nanaimo bars, buttertarts, thumbprint cookies, rum balls, and for the first time, sugar cookies!

We had such a great system and would have not been able to get it done in the time we did if any of us were not there. The house smelled so yummy of christmas goodies, and the Christmas tree was up, making it feel more and more like Christmas. For once, Christmas hasn't been overwhelming and I can't wait to spend time with my family this Christmas season! (and eating lots of goodies)

Laura looking sexy in her apron

Mmmmm, buttertarts and my favorite, thumbprint cookies

Yumm, bittersweet chocolate

Look! I'm BAKING!! LOL

and the end result, sugar cookies

14 Countries, and counting

I have officially been to 14 different countries, and can't wait to keep adding!

I am finally home after a quick 10 day trip to England to see Rob and do some touring around.

It was a long trip there, and an even longer trip back. The United Kingdom and Europe were getting record breaking cold temperatures and snow. At one point it got down to the coldest temperature in November in over 100 years!! Airports were shutting down because they couldn't handle the snow, and in Amsterdam when I flew home, every flight was delayed or even cancelled. We were an hour late boarding, but were stuck on the ground for 3 hours. Either waiting for the ground crew to finish up, or waiting to get in line for the de-icing platform in which there were 4 spots, and three de-icers working away on the planes. I was so exhausted from the trip and was starting to get a cold, so I slept as much as I could. I had both seats to myself so I curled up in a little ball and attempted to nap. However, I made it home safe and sound, and can't wait to go back in the summer!!

My first full day in England, we headed to the near-by town of Dudley and went to the Black Country Museum. Rob grew up here, in the heart of the Black Country, and the museum, more like a park, reminded me of Heritage Park. Everyone was dressed as they would in the industrial revolution days, and the park was empty as it was quite cold! Well, apart from the school kids. Rob and I were the only people on canal ride, a massive 40 foot canal boat. My stomach wasn't feeling the best so Rob indulged in old school 'fish and chips', cooked in beef lard, not just oil. We walked into one of the coal mines, which I found out was not an original mine, but rather one build for the museum for us to see what it would be like. There were many shops, some open and some closed due to the weather. Glass making, the hardware shop, the chemist and many houses styled as they would in the 1750's to 1900's. One house was even made totally of cast iron plates, 600 of them to be exact. It wasn't the warmest of houses though!!

Calgary before leaving

The cast iron house

Inside a very "posh" kitchen

The streets

The very empty streets

The empty canal boat!