The Lake District

On to the Lake District!

Kaylin and Carrie on the ferry ride back to England. This ferry wasn't quite as fancy as the Mannanan, but I still thought it was really nice. Wimbledon was playing on all of the TVs and people kept asking us the score of various matches. I felt a bit out of the loop, not being a follower of tennis in a country full of fans.

Allyson

Minty (nobody could say her name of Mindy and Rocksana, our Polish friend on the Isle of Mann, asked if she could call Mindy Minty. Now Mindy is forever known as Minty.

One of Carrie's mission buddies, Sheldon, took us on a tour of the Lake District with his wife and two boys. His wife is one tough chick as she was 8 months pregnant at the time and ready to pop. It was so hot outside I just wanted to fan her with palm fronds, or even the book in my hand.

This is on the way to the Lake District. I wish I could tell you the name of this place. It's funny, you think you'll never forget and then you find you have.

This picture is fuzzy, I know, but I hope this gives you an idea how narrow the roads were. We rented a Volkswagon Golf, a regular-sized vehicle, and as we drove along these roads it was fine . . . until oncoming traffic approached. I don't know how the Brits do it. The roads were so narrow and when there were two cars on the road it just seemed impossible to fit them both without a car getting smushed in the process. Crazy thing is, they always fit.

We had actually had a semi truck (called a lorry over there) come barreling towards us, and it just seemed that we were headed for disaster. All five of us, as the lorry hurtled past, sucked in as it drove by. It's so funny to me that I sucked in my stomach and sat a little straighter, as if that would do anything. You know that scene out of The Holiday when Cameron Diaz is driving on the road for the very first time? Yeah, it was a lot like that.

At Coniston Lake, one of the lakes of the Lake District. Fun fact for you: Elizabeth Bennett travels to the Lake District with her aunt and uncle just before she runs into Mr. Darcy--the fateful meeting where she falls in love with him. Just saying.

The Lake District, in general, felt a lot like we were back in America. It was kind of a nice taste of home.

The small towns here were so quaint and cute. I loved them. Beatrix Potter (of Peter Rabbit fame) had a home in the Lake District. There was a lot of Beatrix Potter stuff to see and buy (which I didn't, although I was tempted . . . but if you can get it at Barnes and Noble then there's no reason to pay 50% more in England than in the States).

We took a boat tour on Windermere Lake which is the largest lake in England. The boat ride was great, but once again we were in a sea (or should I say lake?) of old people. Hilarious.

And those swans were too close for comfort. I just knew one was going to find a reason to be pissed at me.

See what I mean? I didn't know that swan was there when I took that picture. They just sneak up on you.

Has anybody seen the Haley Mills movie In Search of the Castaways? If you have, you'll know why I thought of that movie when seeing that tree.

I really wanted a sailboat.

William Wordsworth, a British poet, is famous for many poems he wrote that were influenced by the countryside of the Lake District. This is one of his more famous poems. I love the meaning behind it and think it illustrates a bigger picture than just my time at the Lake District, but my time in England overall.

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought

what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Isle of Mann, Not Men

I had never heard of the Isle of Mann before my trip to England. There was a brief section in our England tour book which Kaylin and I read one day. This is what our England tour book had to say about the Isle of Mann:

This is not really a fun place to go to. I guess Peel Castle is kind of interesting, but really, it's not exciting and you will most likely be bored.

Okay, I'm paraphrasing. But honestly, that's what the England book led me to believe. I was not excited to go.

Seriously, whoever wrote that section was smoking crack because the Isle of Mann is only one of the most charming places I have ever been to. This was my view as we ferried in.

How could I not love it?

We ferried onto the Isle of Mann on the Mannanan (pronounced muh nan nan). First, let me say that when we got onto the Mannanan I was expecting a regular ferry with seats and maybe a concession stand. I was wrong. They make ferrys super fancy nowadays! One room had a flat screen with the news playing, another room had a flat screen with sports playing. A larger room had a bar with music videos playing and I learned that Europeans love Eminem and Lady Gaga. Seriously, I heard their music everywhere.

Back to the Isle of Mann. This is a view of the Promenade where much of the snazzy night life occurs. At night, it's lit up with white lights draped across the streets. I should have gotten a picture of it just because it was just so beautiful.

A view of from the house where we stayed. We had the privilege to stay with a family who live on the island and that Carrie served while on her mission.

The hotel across the way. Does it remind anybody of the White Sands hotel from Anne of Green Gables? Or the show Avonlea?

My cousin Jimi kept telling me to visit a place in England by the name of Torquay (pronounced torkie), mainly because it's a touristy town with palm trees. When we found palm trees on the Isle, Kaylin and I had to get a picture. We didn't make it to Torquay, but we still found palm trees!

Although it was hazy for much of the first week of our trip, we only experienced one day of true English rain. I'll be honest . . . I loved it. It doesn't rain over there--it mists. And so it's just wet and foggy and you don't know where the rain is coming from. It's kind of cool.

Inside the House of Mannanan. This was a fun place because it traced the origin of the Manx people. There was so much to hear about the Celtics, the Romans, the English, etc., and how they related to the Manx. Something interesting about the Isle is that they are their own country--they have their own money (which was kind of annoying because they would accept pounds and then give me their currency back which is not accepted back in England), their own government, laws . . . but they do not have their own army and so therefore this makes them a part of the United Kingdom.

Once again, more phones with cute little voices telling tales of Manx history.

By this point of the trip, I was past listening to information about...anything.

Mindy's face is killing me as we're approaching the place where they make kippers (salty, smoked fish). It's true, the smell was powerful, and Mindy's face is priceless.

Ew.

Ewww!

EWWWW!

A view of the town of Peel. You can see Peel Castle in the distance.

A better view of the castle. Gorgeous.

Peel Beach. Ah, so lovely. The weather was so beautiful that day and raging hot! I got burned again here, especially on my lips which was not fun. I was all prepared with sweaters and hoodies, I soon found out all I needed was a pair of shorts.

We didn't make it to Ireland on our trip, but I think visiting the Isle was as close to being in Ireland as possible. Everything was so green.

Don't ask me why I'm wearing that hat with that sweater.

Peel Castle. This castle is just a mere relic of what it once was. We walked through the ruins and tried to imagine what it once was like when it was full of people and life.

Roksana, one of our lovely hosts. She served her mission with Carrie and now lives on the Isle of Man. She's from Poland with the cutest accent.

Our other lovely host, Tonya. Roksana moved back to the Isle and now lives with Tonya. We couldn't have had better care than if we had been home with our moms.

I love the windy curves this image takes.

Inside the castle. Walkie talkies!

This is the cathedral inside the castle.

Another view of Peel Beach. I couldn't resist.

One of the fortification walls.

Into the dungeon. Creepy!

A view from the castle.

The Calf of Mann.

You really had to be there to understand this.

The Isle of Mann is home to the famous TT race, a motorcycle race where the roads become the race track. This is one of the world's most famous races and also one of the most deadly. Someone always dies which I guess makes it more exciting?

What is going on with my hair?

Seriously, this sheep looked ready to take us down.

At the top of Snaefell Mountain. You can see the other six kingdoms: Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, North Ireland, and Heaven. Ha ha.

We really should have taken the tram up instead of hiking it.

Can you see England? Or is that Wales? I have no idea where I am.

In town (duh).

Can you read the signs above the doors? LADIES and DISABLED. Hilarious.