Us onboard the Wightlink ferry to the Isle of Wight. We were both pretty tired at this point.
In the morning, we woke up and got everything ready to head to our next place to visit, the Isle of Wight. In the morning, however, we went the Helston high street to see everything. One of the great things was that the parking was cheap! 60p for an hour. 😛 It was fun to see all the small shops that were on there. Since it is such a smaller town, it seemed like there was more character to the shops. We stopped at a sweet shop and bought a good amount of gummy candy for a pound.
Lee with John and Marlene.
Just before 10 am, we headed over to John and Marlene’s home. I taught them while I was in Helston with Elder Coleman, and Marlene was baptized shortly after I left the area. Previous to this trip, I was told by the Brays that her health had declined quite a bit and she was now bedridden. As a result, she hadn’t been to church in a while, but thankfully her visiting and home teachers were fairly regular in their visits. Her health wasn’t the best when I was teaching her but she was able to move around and, on the odd occasion, make it to church. When we arrived, John answered the door and they were both were just as I remembered. Marlene was in bed though and wasn’t as talkative as I remember but they were both just as friendly. It was a lovely visit and it was fun to catch up (it was kind of me talking mostly).
Ang posing next to the iconic telephone booths at the deserted Land’s End attraction.
In the morning, we had breakfast with the Bray’s. They are so sweet and so kind to let us stay here with them and to feed us cereal and toast.
Kynance Cove. To the far left is Asparagus Island.
It was only sunny in the morning then it was rainy, windy and very cold all day long. Regardless of the weather, we decided to have a good time, so first while the weather was nice we went to a small hiking area by the ocean. It was a beautiful view of the green rolling hills, the aqua-colored ocean, and the water hitting the cliff rocks. We took several photos then sat down to enjoy the view. We read a chapter in Alma together and thought about all the beautiful creations of God. It was nice to just sit and relax as we enjoyed the view. Continue reading “England Trippin’ Day 7: The rainy skies of Cornwall”
In the morning, neither of us took a shower because they didn’t provide any towels and the shower room door didn’t have handles on it either, so we just didn’t want to bother with the potential hassle. They did have funny dog named Norman. As we were eating, he would push your hands off your lap with his nose and rest his head on your lap. Haha, it was great, and would also freeze on the ground waiting for you to scratch his belly. I called him the world’s biggest lap dog. 🙂
We then left to look at the flat I lived in when I was serving there. We walked around to the backside and Angela got her feet soaked from the wet grass. I felt terrible about that. I’m not sure the missionaries live there anymore, though. We then drove to the church, which was locked, unfortunately. It is a beautiful property. After that we drove to another high street we would go to and then headed toward the Clifton suspension bridge. It was a hassle to find parking, though. They had closed a lot of parking for some street works so it took a while to find a place to park that wasn’t residential permit parking. We walked across the bridge and took some pretty nice pictures since the weather was great. Continue reading “England Trippin’ Day 6: Sunny skies of Cornwall”
After checking out of the temple housing we attended the first temple session of the day and it was wonderful! It was so nice to be in the temple and to feel the wonderful spirit there. I loved sitting in the Celestial room talking to Lee about the gospel and the blessings that come from living it. Once outside it was raining with lots of wind so we didn’t walk around the temple grounds much. Instead we went to the distribution center and bought Family Proclamations and frames for two of Lee’s converts. Then we were on the road again.
On our way to Bristol we stopped in Gadfield where the oldest LDS chapel in England stands. It’s called the Gadfield Elm Chapel and it was originally built by the United Bretheren. Nearly everyone in their congregation was converted to the LDS church, and they decided to give the building to the church so all the new members had somewhere to meet.
It was raining as we pulled up to the tiny chapel, so Lee got out to open the door. When no one is there they leave a paper with several questions on it as a code to open the door. For the most part, only members of the church would know the answers and that way they protect it from being vandalized. We took a few pictures inside, read the history, and then we were off to Bristol. Continue reading “England Trippin’ Day 5: On the steamship to Bristol…”
Me in front of the Preston MTC. Kind of crazy to have been back.
Our full day in Preston was rather a good one. In the morning, we were finally able to get in touch with the MTC, and we scheduled a time to go check out the MTC.
A proper English breakfast with bacon, mushrooms, fried tomato, eggs. toast, beans, and sausage.
We woke up and took our time getting ready for church which was a great start to a beautiful Sunday. The weather was nice for the morning part of today and sadly we were inside the whole time. Regardless, church was wonderful. We went to the High Wycombe ward and Lee bore his testimony. He talked about the blessings of the gospel and how grateful he was for the restoration of the true church and all the blessing it has given him. It made me realize just how grateful I was for him and for the chance to visit his mission areas. We talked to so many wonderful people and the other classes were great!
Us with the Holt family in High Wycombe. They were kind enough to let us stay with them while there.
Then too soon we had to take off in order to catch the Oxford ward which we caught the end of and Lee bore his testimony there too. We met a few more people and made plans to visit them next week when we will be in Oxford. Then once again we got back in the car and drove three hours to Preston. We are staying in the temple accommodation housing for the next two nights, which will be wonderful because it’s so peaceful here. The room is pretty simple; just two single beds and bathroom. There was like no one else there, but we met a nice family from Austria who gave us some of their cake and that was yummy.
Us in front of the temple.
Then we spent the rest of the evening walking around the temple grounds and then making plans for tomorrow. Oh, and we saw some missionaries at the MTC taking photos just outside the entrance. They were just getting ready to leave so it was rather fun to reminisce on our experiences getting ready to head out to the mission field.
Missionaries snapping photos a couple days before they were about to leave the MTC. I think they may have been flirting. 😛
Lee’s note: Oh, let’s not forget Angela had some fun chasing after some ducks. 🙂
Today we got up early and drove to the town of Windsor to visit the castle there. Thankfully we got in line early enough that we were able to miss the wait. Once in line, my dad called from Paris. He and Pam were about to board their flight at the end of the trip they took there to celebrate their anniversary. Anyway, once inside, we got these devices with headphones that gave us an audio tour as we walked around the different areas of the castle. There were three main areas that we were able to see: The Queen’s Doll House, The Staterooms, and Saint George’s Chapel.
The Queen’s Doll House was specifically as a showcase for the queen’s dolls. They weren’t played with but the room was intended to showcase the best of British clothes, designs, etc. Supposedly the plates are made of pure silver. Why? Best they were rich. 🙂
The staterooms are where the current royalty would conduct their official business with other heads of state and leaders. My favorite area was this giant dining area called Saint George’s Hall.
Ang in front of St. Georges Chapel
St George’s Chapel was of Gothic-era architecture and it was really cool to see in person what that style was like. There was bunch of memorials inside the chapel for royalty that had passed away.
After that, we drove to Cliveden Garden just northwest of Windsor. I had gone here previously on my mission when I was serving in High Wycombe. It is was fun to go back there and show it to Angela. I think she enjoyed the pretty flowers that were there. They also had the nicest toilets that I had been to in the country. 🙂 The weather there went from rain to clouds to some sun to heavier rain.
In the caves, a secret group would meet and plan their shenanigans. 🙂
Then we headed the Hellfire Caves in the west part of High Wycombe. These caves were dug for chalk to help build a road, and secret society called the Hellfire club met there. It was a bit chintzy but fun to go through them again.
These are scotch eggs. Ang actually liked them!
After that we headed to the high street to show Angela where I lived and the area we could contact people. Most of the shops were closing up, so there weren’t the many people around, but Iceland was open and I bought a 2 pack of Scotch Eggs for Ang to try! After that, we walked around some more, went bowling, ate a disappointing kebab (not that warm), and headed home.
Overall, the day was good. My favorite part was taking some photos that were very close to same ones that I had taken while serving in High Wycombe. Good fun!
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Us in the LAX terminal before we are about to board our flight.
Our flight to England was great! George Romo took us to the airport and luckily it was just Lee and I in our row so we had extra room. Lucky us! Once we landed in England we picked up our rental car (Vauxhall Astra) and drove to Runnymede.
There we saw the Magna Carta Monument, which was basically a bunch of pillars surrounding a stone saying that the Magna Carta was written there. I thought it was incredible to think about how the Magna Carta influenced so many other things in history – the constitution of the United State, which led to forming a great nation where the restoration could take place. Incredible!
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Then we drove to High Wycombe and met the Holts who are both so sweet and thoughtful. They let us try Pear Soda?…. Which tasted great! They are letting us stay with them for a few nights.
Tonight we went to a talent show of the High Wycombe ward. Lee was able to talk to a bunch of members who remembered him and it was fun to watch all their different talents. We ate dinner (jacket potatoes, which are just oven-cooked taters) with the ward at the talent show, which ended up lasting till nearly 10pm so we are both exhausted but happy. 🙂 (Post by Angela)
Well, it is now officially 2016 (and several weeks in by the time I’m finishing this), and it is just as good a time as ever to post a recap of our Christmas vacation on the blog. First off, this was my favorite Christmas ever and mostly because it was the first one spent with my lovely wife, Angela. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Angela’s vehicle registration expired back in October, so Utah was our first stop. On our ride up there, we were actually pulled over just outside of Nephi, Utah, for the expired registration. Thankfully we were let off with a warning and went on our merry way to Morgan. Once there, we passed out, when to some of Angela’s sister’s basketball games, and her Dad took care of the car registration for us, as well as changing the oil. Once that was wrapped up, we drove to Boise where we would spend the remainder of our Christmas break. Here are some the highlights from the trip. Click on to read more (plus a great pic of Ang)!
So we are starting this blog up now that we have been married for six months, and we just got a new laptop. No more excuses, so here it goes! But first, a little matter of business: we likely just do samlly updates about previous six months, rather than long, detailed posts. The main goal is to actually get the blog going with timely update; something that is hard to accomplish when you are trying to play catch up.
So this past week, I (Lee) wanting to do something special for my wife, Angela, so I arranged for us to go a Honduran restaurant and to the Chill at the Queen Mary in Long Beach (I will explain that later). I personally love doing fun surprises for Angela, so I arranged all of this without telling her a word. And, of course, that involved me tooting my own horn about how special her surprise was going to be. That’s how I roll. 🙂
The first part of our special date night was to going to a restaurant named Honduras Kitchen for, you guessed it, Honduran food. This is where Angela served her mission before we got married, so I figured it would be fun to experience some of the food she loved while there.
The meal started off with banana soda. You see, this was a drink that Angela has been dying for me try ever since she has been home. It takes exactly like a banana Laffy Taffy in drink form. That really is the best way to describe. After that, we got some appetizers and our main dishes. I had a steak and egg meal with some yummy rice, creama, and fried plantains. Angela has some fried chicken dish I can’t remember the name of. She said it tasted just like Honduras, so mission accomplished, I’d say.
After that, we went to the Chill at the Queen Mary. This place is a old, early 1900s cruise ship now moored in Long Beach and is currently a large hotel and museum. The Chill exhibit is set up just outside of the shipped and is themed like a old Christmas village. There they have some performance stages, a swing ride, and an ice skating rink, among other things. Adjacent to that area, there is a large dome area that houses a sledding hill and another building with a bunch of ice sculptures inside.
The sledding hill is two stories tall and about a 100 feet long, so not super impressive for us, but for SoCal where we get no snow, it was pretty fun. Since we went on a Wednesday and there weren’t a lot of people there, we were about to go on the slide several times. Whenever you’re tired of that, you can go inside another temporary building they set up inside the dome (yes, a building inside a building 😛 ). Inside it is about 0 degrees, so they give you this big parka before you enter (all the Californians would freeze if they didn’t).
Once inside, there are a bunch of ice sculptures designed to the theme of The Night Before Christmas. Just take a look on the photos – everything you see in there is made of ice, including the walls! It was incredible! We were told that a team from small village in China come here each year at the beginning of November and make everything inside in about 20 days. The colored ice you see? It is water dyed that color before it was frozen. The pictures give it the most justice, so make sure to take a look.
To finish the night, we walked around the Queen Mary ship and went to their Polar Express 4D movie. The fourth dimension stuff in this 15-minute adaption of the full-length film included things like water, wind, snow, and even the smell of hot chocolate. While it was pretty expensive, it was a wonderful and memorable evening nonetheless.
