Bringing coals to Newcastle

Peeking into Blackfriar's, Newcastle.
Originally uploaded by samknox

Today was another day of exploration as we wandered in circles in the medieval street plan of Newcastle, dodged cowpats in the town moor (where every freeman or his widow may pasture two milk cows - even to this day!), and observed the local street life, mostly composed of hordes of teenaged punks drinking from bottles in the town square. It felt like a weird combination of the Grove in Boise and a play I worked on at Cornish, set in a depressed coal mining town in the both of England. The accent here is certianly what we were aiming for then, and I'm sure I've recognized a few of the characters. We found the old town wall and two old churches, the university, and a 13th century abbey, now a fancy restaurant. We had dinner and a pint at our host Simon's three-story pub-cum-dance club. Now we wait for the late bus to Ponteland. We miss the convenience of the Tube, even as we love the beauty of the country. We still hold out hope of spotting a hedgehog.

Rest Day

Goon t'Diamond, Ponteland, Northumberland
Originally uploaded by samknox

After a lovely train ride through the English countryside, we've made it to the Ritson house in Ponteland, outside of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. To celebrate, we took a bath and a nap and walked to the village pub for a pint of bitter. This house is lovely, very comfortable and with a beautiful garden. We look forward to breakfasting in the conservatory.

Eye in the sky

Eye in the sky
Originally uploaded by samknox

Well our last day in London has come and gone. We ended the day with a ride on the Eye - a truly gigantic farris wheel that takes 30 minutes to make a single rotation. The picture here is the view from the top. At last we could see the extent of the place we had been running around in like mice in a maze.

We also visited Greenwich, land where time and longitude began. It's a very nice town just down the Thames from the heart of London. We took a commuter boat to get there and got to see much of the waterfront. The Royal Observatory is in Greenwich where many historical clocks and telescopes are kept. Much to our surprise there are also parrots in the park nearby!

Lastly, there was the Tower of London. It's basically a huge castle right in the middle of town. So much to say about that and much more but that's all for now! Pictures await you all.

But better is beer if drink you lack...

The Hillgate, Notting Hill
Originally uploaded by samknox

Today was museum day. British Museum and the Hadrian exhibit in the AM, walk throgh Hyde Park, then Natural History Museum in the afternoon. Of course we spent way too much time in the British, and of course it took longer to walk through the park than we had planned. Altogether a good time was had by all, even though our brains a-splode. There was so much to see! We concentrated on the Hadrian stuff (his boyfriend was really pretty) and the mummies (nice blokes, very dry humor). We could spend a week there. Natural History: dinosaurs. We even saw our favorite - a pleasiasaur. Then, the tube at rush hour back to our Notting Hill lodgings, and the corner pub. Sam had bangers and mash, as if that's a surprise to anyone. We are now resting our feet and watching football with the neigborhood. My feet hurt, but it's a good pain. London has a very fine texture: lots to see and absorb, but presented in zillions of small bits.

Mind the Gap

London Underground
Originally uploaded by samknox

Well here we are, farther from home than we have ever been, yet remarkably comfortable. The air feels and smells like Seattle: damp, briny, and urban. We've seen things we know from movies and things that might as well have been in movies and a very nice play. We have been more or less awake for 32 hours. We have learned that banks don't always work the way we want, and that's ok. We are very tired and will sleep like babies. Right now.

Not All Cats Hate Water

Despite the popular theory that cats really hate water, it seems that there are nevertheless some who don't mind it. Take our cat Heloise for instance. It may appear from this photo that she simply got a bath. Not true. Turns out that she likes to chase the hose when I was watering the garden. We ran her around the backyard as the chased the stream of water (much like cats chase a laser pointer) and even blasted her directly a few times. All that seemed to do was harden her resolve to "catch that damn water once and for all". Ryan can be seen here dealing with the aftermath.

In other non-aquafeline news, we are making final preparation for leaving for England on Monday. Apparently that consists of going to a halibut barbecue at a local plant nursery, planting a red castor bean plant (Ricinus communis), going to the airport to pick up our friend from Illinois, and . . . oh casing the cat around the backyard with the hose. I for one have never felt more ready to travel.

Snow Lake and Samderella

Grey Jay at Snow Lake
Originally uploaded by samknox

This summer, we've not had nearly enough time in the mountains, what with the house, the kittens, and my hurt foot. Oh, and saving up vacation time for England. So, we decided to go for a day hike.
Snow Lake is the most popular trail in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness, due to its proximity to Seattle, ease of ascent, and stunning beauty. We generally avoid these trails, but we wanted a dose of subalpine beauty without a huge time commtiment, so we joined the conga line and up we went.
Three easy and beautiful miles later, we found ourselves on an enourmous boulder overlooking the lake. Soon joined by camp robbers, we discovered that these may be the most tame wild birds ever. When Sam held his arm up to shade the sun, one nearly took a perch! We weren't planning on feeding them until that. Then of course we had to each give it a try. Sam looked like a fairy tale character, he was so covered in woodland creatures.