Go Go Go

We got home from our vacation in the U.K. last Saturday about 5:00 p.m. 

Monday we had a good-bye supper for Courtney as we wouldn't see her again before she left to go back to Edmonton.

Tuesday was a beautiful day for a drive over the "Going to the Sun" highway.  Unfortunately the road was torn up nearly to the summit and with the construction and slow traffic it took two hours to navigate Logan Pass.  We finally arrived at  Echo Lake where Edward had rented a cabin.  It was a family type cabin with at least 7 bedrooms and bunkhouse rooms which had at least 4 queen size beds and many single beds.  The cabin had everything except a dishwasher.  It even had a theatre.  There were all the toys you could imagine - kayaks, paddle boards, a paddle boat, aqua rug.  The weather was great.

It doesn't look that big from the outside.

Deck

The weather was great and time passed swiftly.  Friday we returned by way of Del Bonita and it was an hour quicker than the Tuesday trip.  No lineup at the border, but they stopped us on the American side as well as the Canadian side.

We had planned to go up to Calgary for the Highland Games today, but decided to stay home instead.

Chorley

On Thursday after we left the Temple at Lingfield we drove to Chorley where the Preston temple if located.  We stayed at the Premier Inn.  The property had originally been a farm and some of the buildings were new and some were renovated (such as the stables that were turned into rooms).

The temple was six minutes away from the hotel.  Orson was well and we all attended the temple this morning (Friday).

 

 

We were out of the temple on on the road by 11:00 a.m.  It was a much easier drive than yesterday because the traffic wasn't as heavy as it had been around the big cities.  We are now settled in the Airport Holiday Inn.  Nathan and boys have gone to return the rental and to spend the U.K money they have left.  We leave to return home tomorrow morning - early.  Our time has passed quickly.

Border between England and Scotland

London Temple at Lingfield

Thursday morning Orson woke up sick.  We checked out of the hotel and went to the Temple.  We took Orson to the visitors center to ask if there was a place he could stay while the rest of us went to the Temple.  Imagine our surprise at finding the Andersons (a couple who taught in China the year we were there) working in the visitors center.  They found a room for Orson to stay in.

There was a busload of youth from the north of France at the temple when we were there.  Many of the officiators were French speaking.

Temple Housing

London to Lingfield

On Wednesday morning Nathan and Orson went to ride the giant ferris wheel while the rest of us stayed and waited for Bob's second cousins, Angela and Pam, to visit us.  It was fun to meet them. Their grandfather was a brother to Bob's grandmother (Eliza Baines nee Eyre).   A couple of years ago we didn't know they existed, but since Bob tracked them down he has kept in touch with them and they have shared genealogy.  Nathan and Orson came back and we all went out to lunch.

Pam, Bob and Angela

About 2:30 p.m. we left London and drove to Lingfield.  I saw more of London than I ever wanted.  We zigzagged and spiraled across the city for about an hour and then it took another hour to get to Lingfield.  We stayed at the Merriott Park Hotel and Country Club.  The complex included a race track, a golf club and a spa.  It was the nicest hotel we stayed at on the whole trip.  However the dining room was catering to a tour and there was no room for us to eat in the evening and since we were out in the country we had to drive to town to eat at McDonalds.

Winners Lineup when their Bets Paid Off

Golf Course

London

Tuesday morning Nathan had us up and on the tube by 9:00 a.m. and it was a good thing.  Our first stop was The Tower of London.  We saw the crown jewels, the torture instruments, the former mint, the armory and took an entertaining tour with a Beefeater.  It was good that we got there early because when we left at noon, there were long lineups and more and more people arriving.

Bob and I had been to the tower some years before.  There certainly was a lot of new building going on around the tower.

Modern Buildings Outside the Walls

Commemoration of Soldiers who Died in the War - a picture doesn't do it justice

House built for Anne Boleyn by Henry VIII (It wasn't finished before her death)

Sculpture of the block used in beheading

Tower Bridge in background

We caught another train down to the Parliament area and stopped for a sandwich.  Then Bob and I went back to the hotel while Nathan, Orson and Liam did some more sight seeing.

Big Ben

 

Parliament Building

In the evening we went to Phantom of the Opera.

Bob in front of Her Majesty's Theatre

Usher telling Bob no pictures allowed in the theatre

Watton

From York we drove to Watton where we stopped for an hour to visit Barbara Nicola nee Baines.  She is Bob's 3rd cousin once removed.  Bob and her daughter first corresponded about the Baines genealogy some years ago and her daughter put him in contact with Barbara and Bob has kept in touch with Barbara ever since.  We had an enjoyable visit.

Barbara and Bob

We drove on to London that evening and had supper at Subway.

York, England

On Sunday afternoon we drove from Dumfries to the City of York.  We tried several hotels before we found a place at the Hilton.  It was in a great location. 

Clifford's Tower - Directly across the Street from the Hilton

As soon as we arrived Bob, Nathan, Orson and Liam walked across the bridge to visit the "Slip Inn" where Hector Baines was born in May 1911.

Back View of the Slip Inn

Picture on the wall of the Slip Inn (about 1920)

River Ouse

We went out to Russells for a roast beef supper.  Bob remembered this restaurant from the last time we were in York with Jean and John Miller.

The next morning we were up early and off the see York Minister.  This was the castle that Granny Baines (Hector's mother) talked about.  Photos from inside.
 

Dumfries

We left Glasgow Sunday morning about 8:30 a.m.

Glasgow Skyline

We headed off to Dumfries and got there in time to attend Church.

After church we stopped for pizza and wandered around the town.

Burns Statue
Robbie Burns lived in Dumfries at one time.

World Pipe Band Championships Glasgow 2014

Bob and I checked out of our hotel and moved over to the dorms where the others were staying. Nathan picked up a rental van.

It was a poor day for a bagpipe competition.  It would rain for a while and then stop and the wind would blow.  The sun would come out for a few minutes and then the rain would start again.  It was the first day I felt cold in Glasgow.  The competition was at Glasgow Green and by evening parts of the lawn were turned to mud holes.

The 4a Bands competed from 11:00 a.m. to  1:00 p.m.  There were two groups and the top six from each group were chosen to compete in the finals.  The Ogden Pipe Band was in the top six of their group so had to compete again at 4:00 p.m., meaning we hung out in the cold for several hours. They ended up 10th.

Ready to Compete

Competition

Drummers

Pipers

After Competition with hardware from North Berwick and Perth Competitions

It was Nathan's birthday and no-one even said Happy Birthday.