> > Isle of Man > > July 3 - Our B & B was run by Millie and Graham, a lovely couple from England. They cooked us a bland English breakfast every morning that we tried to season up a bit with their weak salt and pepper. Millie even told us that she noticed in her last visit to the States that our food was far more flavorful than English food. We all agreed and started ordering our eggs with bacon (which was really just salty ham) to give them more of a taste. > > Nigel met us at the B & B and took us around to several sites that were part of the Kelly and Quine family histories (relatives on Dad's side). We hiked hills, saw family ruins and marveled at the beauty of IOM. Mom thought that it reminded her of Oregon. > > In the evening, we met Nigel and his extended family at an Italian pizzaria. At first we were all a little shy but we soon got comfortable and spent a wonderful evening learning about our Manx cousins and their lives on the island. > > July 4 - We went to all 3 and a half hours of church which ended with fast and testimony meeting. Dad bore a sweet testimony of the truth of the gospel and how grateful he was to be worshiping with his Manx brothers and sisters. I sat next to Tania, who soon became my new BFF and she gave me the low down of everyone who bore their testimony. We were all amused that the meeting was stopped twice to sort out a parking jam in the car park (parking lot), thus the 3 and half hours. Tania told me that they often have parking problems. After the meeting, many people came and talked to us and we learned that many of William Kelly's descendants like to come visit his homeland as well. Everyone at church was very friendly. > > After church we had to deal with our laundry which became quite an ordeal. We spent about $33 to do 4 loads in the wash and 2 loads in the dryer. We only had 45 minutes before the laundry mat closed. In the end, we ended up hanging up half of our laundry around our rooms hoping it would all dry by the morning. Mom said it reminded her of Hannibal, Missouri, and this time we all agreed. We left our laundry problems to drive around the island for the rest of the day. Mom saw haystacks that reminded her of Kansas but Connie pointed out that the sea in the background sort of ruined her comparison. We drove to Peel and walked around it's castle, marveled at how sheep grazed on steep slopes and encouraged and, at times, laughed at Connie as she drove on the left of very narrow, hilly roads. > > This might be a good time to describe what it's like to drive in the IOM. STRESSFUL pretty much sums it up. Connie and I have done a pretty good job so far with the occasional hiccup. Connie has been honked at several times for driving in the the fast lane, I've hit the bumper of the car in front of me when parked on a hill (no harm done other than to my confidence), and we've both have had a hard time not hitting the left curb on occasion. The hardest part has been the accessory movements like shifting and signaling with the left hand and looking the correct way for on-coming traffic when turning. At least once a day we walk to the wrong side of the car. Also, we were a little rusty driving a standard at first, especially in a mini van. It's probably best if you keep us in your prayers. > > We ended this day looking for a restaurant called Costas (a place recommended by Millie). It turned out to be Costers (we didn't take into account her accent) and it turned out to be a Tex Mex restaurant. We were a bit skeptical as we entered and knew we were in for it when we were asked if we wanted chips (French fries) with our enchilada. Not Tex Mex. > > July 5 - Nigel got us tickets to Tynwald which is IOM's biggest national holiday. It's when their parliament is called into session and it's full of all sorts of pomp and circumstance. First the procession (300 people consisting of MPs, special guests, mayors, clergy, etc. -many decked out in big hats and some with those white wigs) were in the church for songs, prayers and speeches. Then they marched out VERY slowly, read the laws that were passed over the last year (only 10) and swore in the new MPs. We couldn't leave because the Coroner (local sheriff) told us we were fenced--aka we weren't supposed to leave until the outside stuff was over. Then someone else fenced us in the Manx language. Then they marched back to the church VERY slowly and who knows what else happened because at that point we left-- we unfenced ourselves. If you feel like you missed this time honored tradition, not to worry, Kate filmed about 45 minutes of it. > > We spent the rest of that day leaving IOM and flying to Scotland. That night we got lost looking for our hotel but were very pleased when we found it-- an old manor on a big park and golf course. Before bed, we drove and found the coal mines that Elizabeth Cunningham's family probably worked in. We returned around 11 PM and it was still light.. > > Scotland > > July 6 - We left our fun hotel to go into Edinburgh to tour the castle. We scored a great parking spot right below the castle. We all enjoyed this tour which included a glimpse of the Scottish Honors (crown, sword and scepter), military memorial and old buildings and other castle stuff. Mom was a trooper because I accidentally took her the wrong way twice which involved going up hills to correct. > > After the castle, we dropped by the Edinburgh Mission home so Dad could say hello to the Paynes who are serving a mission there from Dad's stake. > > We then headed south out of Scotland. We found Hadrian's Wall and drove along it for a while. We even found the tree from Kevin Costner's Robin Hood where he saves the kid from soldiers. Sadly, this seems to have excited us more than it should have. Lots of pictures were taken. > > We continued south and ended up staying in a Travel Lodge off the road (probably comparable to a Motel 6). Connie was involved in some sort of duve drama up at the front desk that I don't think even she can explain. > > Lake District > > July 7 - We started our day touring the pencil museum in Keswick, the place where graphite was discovered. It turned out to be a delightful little museum (thank you, Rick Steves) and we spent just as much time in the gift shop as we did going through the museum itself. > > We spent the rest of the morning driving through the North Lake District. It was absolutely beautiful. Huge green covered mountains spotted with little cottages, sheep and stone fences. I broke a sweat driving through those steep passes and one lane roads but now that it's over, I can say it was well worth it and I'd love to go back and do some hiking. > > After taking tea in Keswick (only Carol and I ordered some herbal teas) we drove to Preston an attended the temple. It's a beautiful temple. > > After eating dinner and watching the Germany vs. Spain game (yeah Spain), we looked for our hotel for an hour and a half in the dark. We were saved by two girls Dad approached in a McDonalds parking lot at 11:15 PM. They escorted us to our hotel and we were all very glad Dad is friendly. Tomorrow we will explore Liverpool and see some of the towns associated with Susanna Stockall and Thomas Summers. Hope you are all doing well. Loves, 3Ks & 3 Cs >
