England Day 13

The Order of Cistercians kirkstall abbey

I miss Americanized chocolate.


A lot of sheep

England Day 10

Day 10

Driving is easier. Don't listen to the annoying GPS. Some people claim they love their GPS voice. I find the British Woman's voice to be ghastly. Her directions are terrible and frankly if I had a real map I would shove it down her throat ;). I am not a fan of GPSing.

Visited a local comic book shop and it was quite nice. I have been surprised by overall quality of Britain's comic community. I did not know what to expect but availability and title quantity have met or exceeded any shop in the States. The hole in the wall I found today had a small back issue selection and lots of TPBs. I picked up one of Bryan O'Malley's first work, Lost at Sea, because unfortunately Book 6 doesn't arrive until Tuesday. Stores here close early so I don't know how I am going to find the last Scott Pilgrim book! Final note on the comic scene is that it is interesting that most of the actual comics are America based. I don't even know if a comic publisher is even available here. Lot of great writers have come from here but they seem to write for the Big Two. Interesting that something so American has found a home here in England.

For being in the land of pubs and what not I have certainly drank my fair share of Stella Artois! Go figure. The choices are either heavy British ales or piss color beers. Now if the pubs had ESPN and decent food I might be persuaded to go to one more often. I have not taken any advantage of any food options here. I have eaten in a lot basically because most restaurants seem kind of fancy and I hate eating alone. Seems to be a lot of Italian and India. I did eat at a Burrito place last night for dinner. The Brits don't understand shredded cheese or salsa. Pretty bland but it was interesting none the less. I think Brits think of India when they want spicy, not Mexican! I have found a decent pizza place though. Very Proto's like.

Tonight was the first night since I have been here that it was clear and I could see the moon and stars. Lots of rain. Amazing fact is again how light it stays. I went running at 9:30 and it was still dusk. I then headed out looking for beer at 10 PM and it was still pretty light. In my quest for a grocery store, the youngsters were once again out and about looking for a party. Women here are always to be found in large groups. I rarely ever see any men. I wonder exactly what these ladies do when they go clubbing? Tonight was interesting in that it was dress up night or something. One large gaggle of women were all dressed up in various Disney female characters! Very bizarre. In addition I understand where disco/pop/fusion comes from or why it exists and that is British dance clubs. Good golly I couldn't tell you one place in Denver where you could go dancing but here there seems to be bass pumping music everywhere!

Music here is definitely interesting. The music store I went to today was hopping. Tons of shoppers and yet the radio stations here are awful, absolutely awful. During my drive I can't find anything of interest. I ended up buying some CDs just so I have something to listen to! Although it should be noted that the other morning while driving on the cart path they call back roads, Sweet Home Alabama came on the radio and it actually made me smile and appreciate where I live (well appreciate that I live in the States, not Alabama particularly ;).

Guess the thing I miss the most is just the daily baseball grind. Obviously it is not background noise here and I find that discomforting. I enjoy the daily interference.

England Day 8

More observations:

- Traffic lights go red/yellow before turning green.

- England has terrazzo Falcons!

- No wash clothes, no hand soap, and no roll on antiperspirant

- It is very hard to drive without a double yellow line! Driving here is always an adventure

- Interestingly England has some good electricity savers...lights automatically turn off in hallways and all outlets require you to turn them on to get power

- I saw Falcon Crest on TV...no wonder Brits think America is weird, everything they know about us is what they see on their TV

- It rains a lot in Northern England

- Brits don't believe in refrigerating their milk and eggs? Crazy these products just hand out on the shelves.

- Food here is a real mix bag. India food is their spice kick it up food although it is funny that you do see enchiladas on their shelves.

- Who exacting came up with the school girl outfit and why is it the norm for girls to where these?

- I only assume because it is always gray here that women purposely color their hair in unusual neon like colors?

England Day 4

Day Four started bright (not quite, more predawn) and early as I made a 2.5 hour journey by train into London. Leeds, where I am currently staying, is either a party town or England in general must like going out because at 4:30 AM the clubs around town, were still going and people were still out. Wow to be young and stupid again! Riding backwards all the way into London is always kind of goofy. The countryside reminds me a little bit of Ohio. Rolling hills with livestock and some farms. Towns pop up then dissolve back to countryside. Coming into London was very different from coming into New York City. On the train into NYC you can feel the city gobbling up the train but London just sort of creeps up on you and really doesn't punch you in the face like NYC. Arriving into Kings Cross (a dismal old train station undergoing modifications), I winded my way down into the subway for a trip to Greenwich. Took the Northern Line to Bank and then the "light rail" out to Cutty Sark (not just a drink!). After 3.5 hours of train travel, I finally got to look around and smell the London air! Nice blue sky summer day, the city was a bit quiet at this hour (8:30ish). The London skyline is not like what you see in the States. It is a bit more subdue and probably represents the old world whereas the new world's ego built skyscraper's to prove a point. Greenwich is southeast of London proper and it is the home of the Royal Observatory. So besides it being a geek place to visit it just happens to be where 0 degrees Longitude resides. Proof that winners write history the British Empire mark on the world is that the Observatory is where Longitude finds its home. Below you can see me straddling both the Eastern and Western hemispheres...

Fascinating place and interesting to think that the reason Britain became the sea power was because it could effectively navigate the world better than anyone else at the time. Just goes to show what a little governmental sponsored research can do (of course that research also developed the atom bomb). After this brief excursion, I headed back towards the city to see the tourist sights. Took the light rail back to Bank (which is basically a subway station under the London Bank) and headed towards the River Thames. I pride myself with directional awareness but trust me, being dumped out into the middle of the City trying to determine which way to head...yeah right! Eventually found my way and headed towards the Tate Modern Museum. No real reason other than to say I did something cultural! Interesting building. In my opinion modern art is mostly a US mainstay and therefore my guess is that the majority of it is found in our museums rather than the rest of the world. Nothing overly impressive. Finishing the whirlwind tour I headed back across the Thames over the Millennium Bridge and right into St Paul's Cathedral.

First off this structure is enormous. According to Wikipedia it was the tallest structure in London until 1962. It is inspiring. Having seen it I remember that the Royal Wedding which my Mom got me up to see year's ago between Charles and Diana was held there. Definitely a highlight of the visit.

After running around in the morning, I decided I needed a break. I sat down in the shade in a nice square and had lunch and a huge bottle of water. Did I mention it was quite warm in London? In the square there was a piano and people would stop and play (hmmm very similar to what they have in Denver right now...wonder if all the mayors are on a mailing list of cool things to do in their city?). Anyway it was amazing to watch the number of kids to sit down and play and not just "chopsticks" but real piano works...hmmm all those piano lessons do matter.

With my energy level back to full (sort of) I launched off to my first non touristy geek thing to do and that is find a comic book store! Forbidden Planet was what came up on Google so off I went. It is funny that when you get off the beaten path, a city really is quiet place. Strolling along without the hustle and bustle of tourist really is quite nice. Along the way I stumbled upon a model shop. The Brits love their scale models of things. Corgi is probably best known in America but I found there to be a whole lot of other companies as well. In America today you have to go to some odd hobby shop to even find a model (toluene glue smell anyone?). Kids today don't build anything anymore with glue! Eventually I stumbled upon the comic store but not before this...

Forbidden Planet was the mother of all things SciFi. Two floors of magnificence. Everything scifi you could imagine. A basement full of scifi books only, piles of new comics, enormous TPB section, manga, movies, and WOW. I could have spent a day just there but as with the rest of this little journey I had more to see and do. Although at this point it was about 1:30 in the afternoon I was at a lost of what to still see. Using my handy dandy Google Maps feature on my BB I realized I wasn't too far from the blackhole that pulls all tourist to London and that is Big Ben. So off I went to see, "Look Kids, Big Ben, Parliament", which by the way is the only memorable thing from the movie European Vacation and trust me the round abouts do suck! Checked off the sights and was glad to be away from all the people. Yikes! Back on the subway and off to see my sports mecca for the trip.

In all honesty I can't tell you why I like the Arsenal Football Club. I have yet to see them play a game and yet I have this strange attraction to them. In one of those strange pattern events I first came upon Arsenal's jersey (errr kit I should say) when they were sponsored by a British cell phone company O2. Being a nerd I got the jersey (O2 is oxygen for you non chemist types). Then around this time Fever Pitch came out which was an Americanized version of a book written by Nick Hornby which is about the English football team, Arsenal. I think the writers of the movie felt the love/hate relationship of the Arsenal followers was similar to that of the Red Sox? Well being a Red Sox fan, I loved the movie, and thus read the book. Book is over the top football and England. A bit difficult for an uneducated American to follow but came away from it understanding a little more about English football love. Either way I continue to remotely follow the team and then suddenly the Colorado MLS soccer team formed a relationship with who? None other than Arsenal, so go figure. So to make a long story short I decided that I should make a visit to Emirates Stadium. Wow what a complex. Raising out of the middle of London suburbs, hmm like Fenway, the stadium is a gazillion dollar home seating 60,000 people. The stadium, built by HoK, is enormous and from the outside looks like your typical American football stadium. It is unfortunate that you can't see the pitch from the outside and it was doubly unfortunate that they don't start play until August.

Their slogan is "Victory through Harmony." It was interesting to see and just walking around you could feel the same sort of fanaticism that any baseball or football team here in the States would have. It is definitely a goal of mine to see an English Premiership match.

After this brief stop (British subways are crazy warm), I found that I had developed heat rash on my ankles! Yikes, so after getting back to Kings Cross I decided to head to the pub for some English Ale and dinner. The pub was in St Pancras which is the international train center right next to Kings Cross. It has finished its refurbishment and it is everything you think of when you think of European train stations. It made me want to jump a train to the mainland!

It was also a great place to watch people. The diversity of London was amazing. Classic imagine was a blond woman in a skirt and heels passing by a Muslim woman in her full body covering. I so wish I had my camera out because I think it is so fitting with the East meeting the West (near Greenwich no less!). At 8 PM, I finally gave up and went home. What an exhausting day. By the time I had gotten home I felt old but was glad to have seen what I saw.

Funny that during WWII the queen had the famous saying of "Keep Calm and Carry On" but I like the modern version "Keep Cool and Chill Out" (which I saw on a T-shirt). And finally who doesn't like dogs on the trains?

England Day 2

Day Two

Went to my first English Pub. I had fish and chips but some of the menu items (haggis!) sounded awful. Who eats this stuff? Tasted some beers and they were pretty tasty (had a cute little half pint). Ate Mexican tonight or as they call it Latin. Corona's taste better closer to Mexico. Fajitas were tasty but they didn't have any chips and salsa! Food here is expensive. Beers were about $5 each. Funny observations:

- Brits love their little signs. Signs are everywhere and they are tiny and cute.
- Phone companies rule the roost. They are everywhere.
- Subways have some weird sandwiches (fried breaded chicken anyone?)
- Women here love high heels but with the cobblestones I don't get how they get anywhere
- Paper money turns into coins relatively quickly...what to do with a $2 coin?
- Hotel room doesn't have wash clothes or clock

- No roll on deodorant just spray on?

England Day One

Made it...long overnight flight. Left after an hour and half delay. Actually slept with crying babies and all. Heathrow is a big giant maze. Wow at least after a long flight I got to walk (for like a mile!). Interestingly enough I got biometrically scanned (?) so now I must be in some big face database...wonder why I couldn't sign a privacy notice on that one? Hop, skip, and jump flight from Heathrow to Manchester although it was delayed for over an hour and yet my bag still didn't make it. So lovely to be in England with only the clothes on your back. Lovely feeling...NOT. Got to drive in England...guess I am a moron but I thought everything would be in metric but no everything is miles...duh I guess? Oh yeah creepy foreign dude on the airplane today with a incision almost completely around his head. And does Arabic read right to left as in pages like Japan? Again it was an adventure driving on the wrong side of the road. Not to mention getting stuck with a car that was manual transmission. Talking about completely being baffled, when was the last time you used your left hand to shift gears. Funny thing was I found myself always drifting left. I wonder if it was the car or me? Anyway highway driving is fine...city driving...old English city driving sucks! I will be happy if I don't get an in accident while driving around Leeds. Freaking nightmare!

New York, New York

Went to the East Coast to see my grandmother and stopped in NY for a quick look see. Went to the MOMA (great museum...love Monet's water lilies although they changed the room and I miss the old room...lots of people surprised by how crowded it was), Time Square, top of the Empire State Building (102 floor...what a view...see above), dinner in Grand Central Station (love the ceiling, and then a quick stop by 30 Rock. Next day we stopped and ate at Katz Deli on the lower East Side. Been around since 1881 and had a great turkey sandwich. Lots of interesting people! Then swung by Ground Zero. My mom claims that has a child we went to the viewing deck in the tower but I have no recollection of it. It has been 8 years but it is amazing that the site is still a construction zone of some sort. Also amazing that two towers totally collapsed and yet the surrounding buildings are still there. Where did the material go? I miss the towers...the skyline looks empty without them. To me NY is always the Empire State building and then two towers on the tip of Manhattan. This was the first time being back in the city since I was a kid. It doesn't seem as big as I used to think it was but it is still sizable and still no fun to drive in. If I go back I am staying in the City...I will pay the extra!

Towers reach the sky

Majestic silent symbols

Your image remains

Skyline is empty

Memory fills in the blanks

Lost souls seek closure

Portland, Oregon

Spent a nice relaxing quick 4 day vacation in Portland, Oregon for my B-Day.  It was good to get away.  The city is a great getaway with a fantastic book store.  A store that covers an entire city block that is up to 4 stories high.  It is magical place for booklovers.

Portland is also a great place to drink good be

er.  Since 80% of the US hops is grown in the Portland area I guess IPAs have to be some of the freshest.  Bridgeport has a nice little tour and some great beers.

Portland has a triple A club...the Beavers...who are the farmclub for the Padres.  Nice little stadium been around since 1905.

Did some site seeing went to the Portland Art Museum.  Nice little museum.  Some interesting pieces.  I liked the following and Linda Connor's photograph of a moonbeam and star trails.

And finally a nice touch with our hotel room...

La Ronge

Another journey to our northern cousins. This time I was accosted by the Canadian Customs. Guess they don't like American workers coming in and potentially taking away Canadian jobs? Flew to Edmonton then to Saskatoon then drove to La Ronge. Big country up there. Lots of water. Very pretty, very remote. Some observations:

No cheese-its in Canada. M&Ms tough to find. Gas is $1.34 a liter, the air traffic seems to work a whole lot better (all my flights were on time!), Air Canada is a nice airline, what the heck is Tom Horton (they are everywhere!), Canada security doesn't make you take your shoes off!, Canadians seem to drink alot, it can get to -50 deg C in the winter, and the metric system is great but it sure makes you think when driving 160 km/hr!

Good things I found

Ohio

In the great state of Ohio for work. Always interesting to see another part of the country. It is interesting to pick up on the little things that make the region a bit different from home. Couple of things I've noticed...people are overweight and they smoke alot. When I mean alot it means almost like chain smoking. You just don't see that in Colorado. Other things of note: On Friday I was trying to find the Dan Patrick show on ESPN on AM. Go figure the ESPN station had Jim Rome on during the time spot (how is that if you are an ESPN station and you switch?...girrrr). Anyway in my effort to find anything resembling Dan I did come across like 9 Rush stations. Good golly I know Ohio is an important battleground state on all but do you really need 9 Rush stations? Frightening what 20 electoral college votes can do to a state.

Went into Cleveland today and went to the Rock and Roll Museum. Decent exhibits although not terribly well laid out. I prefer the EMP in Seattle. Interesting things of note is that famous people are alot smaller then what you think. They had U2 outfits and Bono is kind of tiny. Decent Doors exhibit. Hard to believe the Doors were only together from '67 to '71. Oh and by the way if Cleveland is the birthplace of rock and roll where are all the good radio stations? Ughhh, I've been driving around not listening to anything because the music is awful. Lake Erie is a big lake. Cleveland isn't a very exciting downtown. Drove around not much to see. Saw the Jake and the Q. LeBron has a huge Nike billboard in town saying, "We are all witnesses". Witness to what? Bad basketball? Missed seeing the Indians...oh well. Also if I'm from a town I probably don't want to live in a town when during traffic reports they talk about the "dead man's curve!"

Did find a nice running spot in the Cuyahuga Falls National Park. They have a 30 mile trail following the old Ohio and Erie canal from Akron to Cleveland. Ran in the rain today and it was a downpour. Of course driving back to the hotel it stopped! Only five more days and back to Colorado...the more you travel the more you like being at home!