More hikes

I've got the Allman Brothers Greatest Hits on the CD
player, a glass of wine to sip on, and I am now
writing from the comfort of my own place. Life is
good!

I have been doing a lot of day hikes in the Peak
District and some road trips to various spots on the
map. This weekend is more of the same. I will walk on
Saturday and then drive to the east coast on Sunday.
The little villages along the way are interesting in
their own right, but I enjoy the countryside more. It
also doesn't hurt to be away from work for a couple of
days. Things are getting better, I don't take work
home every night and weekends anymore.

Canoe polo is interesting, but not as interesting as
the games in the canal on a good night. Things are
much more organized and strategies are worked out.
There are also two refs watching over you. The only
person that is fair game is the person with the ball.
Everyone else is off limits. The boats are not fun to
paddle either. It is a weird design. The only nice
thing I will say about them is that you can hand roll
them without any effort. I never managed one in my
other boats, but I rolled this one on my first try. I
didn't know what I was doing but it worked. I hope I
can translate this to a long boat.

I also met some other long boaters in the group.
Several of them have quite a lot of experience. I am
trying to work out some trips with them as soon as I
decide what to do about a long boat.

I'm off to London for the weekend in early February.
I have to be there the next Monday to renew my Work
Permit. We decided to go up early to explore the
bright lights. Michelle will be here in mid-February
and we will be off to explore Wales and then spend a
few days in the Peak District. The time is flying by.

I hope this finds all well on your end. The key is
under the mat and the spare bed is made. More
later........

DWR

Happy New Year

What a week! I spent last Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday in northern Wales. Wednesday was spent driving
to Holy Island on the western coast of Wales, checking
into the local Travelodge (I'm not kidding.), walking
one of the very few sand beaches, and driving around
looking for an open restaurant. The only place on the
island serving food on Boxing Day (12/26) was
McDonalds (I wish I was kidding.)

Thursday morning was spent circumnavigating the island
by car, exploring local ruins, and watching an angry
Irish Sea.  The wind was blowing a constant 25 to 30
mph with gusts over 40.  Thursday afternoon was spent
exploring Beaumaris Castle on the east coast of
Anglesey Island (east of Holy Island).  This place was
built in the late 1200s to ensure leaders in Wales
knew who their Daddy was and it is pretty amazing.  I
drove to Cowyn back on the Welsh mainland to spend the
night in a very posh resort on the northern coast.
I'm glad it was the off season.  The food that night
made up for McDonalds.  I ate at the Cowyn Bistro and
the food (traditional Welsh) and wine (French, but of
course) were good enough that I will be wandering back
that way at some point next year.  I think Michelle
will enjoy the place.

Friday morning I was exploring the local Cowyn castle,
which was built around the same time as the Beaumaris
castle and for the same reason.  King Edward I spent a
lot of money to make sure Welsh leaders toed the line.
More traditional Welsh cuisine was sampled for lunch
and then the trip home began.  Luckily the trip was
uneventful thanks largely to Maggie.  Maggie is the
name I have settled on for the Tom Tom Navigator
graciously loaned to me by a friend at work who was
over here last year (Thanks again Chris!).

Saturday was spent at home and the stores getting
cleaned up and resupplied and Sunday was spent walking
in the Peaks District for the greater part of the day.
I walked about 10 miles and could see my car the
entire time.  There are very few trees in the parts of
England I have seen so far.  I will spend today trying
to catch up on work and then I'll be back in the Peaks
District tomorrow.

The people I meet continue to go out of their way to
make me feel at home and the beer continues to taste
very good.  I will try to update the list in my next
missive.  I hope this finds all well on y'all's end.
Happy New Year!  More later..........

DWR