Catching up to do

All is good here in Scotland. yes, Scotland. Where did England go? After a few nail-biting hours, Auntie Chris, Graham and I stumbled upon Karl at the Buxton Bus Stop. We had this whole elaborate plan set up for where Karl should go and where we would meet him and what he should do if we're not there in time.... it was a thorough plan, stressful to say the least. Graham and Christine were both a little nervous about Karl being out on his own in the streets of England but I assured them that Karl probably couldn't be happier than to "sink his teeth" into traveling by getting lost and wandering about.

Lucky for us, however, he only needed to hop on one bus. I was sitting anxiously in a corner "Fish 'n Chips" restaurant sipping coffee staring down bus after bus when all of a sudden he bumbled off a bus earlier than expected and I got to bolt outside in the snow yelling to him to make sure he didn't jump on another bus before I caught him.

In the days leading up to and following Christmas, all four of us did some sight-seeing of Derbyshire where Graham lives. To be more exact, Graham lives in Ripley which is located in the county (?) Derbyshire in the region called The Midlands, north of London. Got all that? We spent quite a few afternoons and evenings exploring the local pubs. Places like the haunted "Dolphin," the local "Pear Tree," and the millenia-old "Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem." The last of which was carved into the side of the mountain...ok, big rock....in Nottingham on top of which stood the Sheriff of Nottingham's castle.

Christmas Eve was spent at the Derby cathedral (pronounced D-ar-by, don't ask me why just do it). As far as I can tell, England certainly knew that if you were going to buck the Pope in Vatican City with all his pomp and circumstance, you better dish out a good load of pomp yourself. That's my way of saying that the churches built by the Church of England are quite impressive. Unfortunately I can't post a picture of my own right this second but I can cheat with google images. We attended the service on Christmas Eve and listened to the choir sing numerous traditional English songs like "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "O Little Town of Bethl-ee-hem," and "Hark the Herald." I think I blended pretty well using my amazing choral skills to disguise my american accent. Karl on the other hand barely sung until "God Rest Ye.." (his favorite) during which he belted out in all his mid-western glory.   : )

inside of derby cathedral

Christmas day was filled with gift-opening, cracker-popping, turkey-eating silliness. Karl and I went for a morning ramble with the neighbor, Ken, which we enjoyed thoroughly. Here there are these public footpaths that are physically marked by only a few small signs but mostly, the people know them by memory. Some of the footpaths have their roots in the days when the Romans settled in Britain. The paths crisscross every which way. Sometimes they follow the road but mostly they cut across fields and even through people's yards. The adventure ended in town at "The Pear Tree" pub for a few pints of what they dub, "real ale." Real ale is essentially the English way of saying that they are drinking locally brewed, old style beer as opposed to its mass-produced, commercialized counterpart. i guess. its good, what more matters?

ken and karl

Karl and I bought Auntie Chris a wooden duck. She liked it : )

Boxing Day was a bit of a let-down. We had planned to go to Matlock Bath and watch the river raft races that are a tradition in the area to celebrate the holiday. The holiday which no one really knows why its a holiday. Usually, people make their own rafts and float down the river. Meanwhile they try and push each other off, get things thrown at them from the people watching on the bridge and shoot back water at the on-lookers.... apparently there was a tree in the river that caused them to cancel the race.  Or as some locals said, there was a "twig" in the river that they used as an excuse to cancel the race because it was so cold. So we went to a pub and played pool instead.


Jumping ahead. We just went to London for a whirl-wind two day adventure! My battery is running low however and so I'm going to hang you in suspense for a little longer. Karl and I parted ways with Graham and Auntie Chris in London and took a night-bus up to Edinburgh, Scotland for the Hogomany (New Years) festival. After which we will head back down to visit Janet and Dave. The trip seems to be both winding up and winding down at the same time.