(2022.10.04, Tuesday) Spent the (extended) day going home. Cab from Thornbury to Heathrow. Coach class from Heathrow to Denver. First class from Denver to Eugene. It was long but not bad. Fairly uneventful. Not many pictures.
(2022.10.03, Monday) Monday, Emma and I headed toward Glastonbury. Culturally, Glastonbury is somewhat west of a line that runs from Eugene, through Black Rock City, and then on to Sedona. It was fun. After that, we headed toward Wells, where we stumbled across one of the coolest finds of the trip. We tried to drive back through the Cheddar Gorge, but it was closed for some reason.
(2022.10.02, Sunday) On Sunday we went to a pub for a traditional Sunday roast. I'm glad it worked out. I was afraid I might not get a chance. After that, we wandered toward the Cotswolds. There wasn't much of a plan and we weren't in much of a hurry. It was great that along the way we found an interesting place that Ian and Emma had never been to before.
Sunday roast at the Swan Inn. I chose the lamb shank.
(2022.10.01, Saturday) In the morning, Emma and I went to the Westonbirt Arboretum. It's one of their favorite places and I always enjoy going there. That evening Ian and I participated in a murder mystery. It's an activity that was held in a nearby community center. It was very fun. Our friend Sheelagh authored it.
(2022.09.30, Friday) Left Penzance and returned to Thornbury today. Cornwall was wonderful to visit. I would definitely visit again.
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(2022.09.29, Thursday) I could spend several more weeks here checking out all of the recommendations that I've received for places to see in Cornwall. It's a beautiful and interesting place. Today, I decided to actually go inside the castle on Saint Michael's Mount. Unfortunately, I probably timed it for maximum crowd but it was still interesting.
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(2022.09.28, Wednesday) I can tell I'm getting near the end of my stay here. My desire to adventure is declining. I did do a bit of shopping in the morning then walked to Newlyn and back in the later afternoon.
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(2022.09.27, Tuesday) Despite the prospect of terrible weather, I took the train to St. Ives. It's a beautiful and interestingly picturesque little town on the north side of Cornwall. Lots of art galleries and tourist shopping. Came back to Penzance earlier than originally planned due to the wind and rain. BTW, traveling in England by train is incredibly easy and convenient. Trains more or less hourly. I think my round trip ticket cost 5 pounds 30.
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(2022.09.26, Monday) No big adventures on this day. I got my laundry done and got a haircut and beard trim. Wandered around town a bit. Cream tea at the Honey Pot. Beers at the White Lion where I met Patsy and talked with Rocky some more. Dinner at the Turk's Head (a delicious chicken burger, btw).
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(2022.09.25, Sunday) A leisurely 11.5-mile walk into the interior of Cornwall in search of ancient ruins. I did find a few, but less than I expected. Lots of great scenery. The worst part of the day was returning to town during the 4:00 to 6:00 window when no one is serving food. I was hungry.
(2022.09.24, Saturday) No long walks today. I reasoned that since it was the weekend, anywhere I wanted to go would likely be busy, so I just stayed in Penzance. Checked out several art galleries. Didn't see anything that really grabbed me. You could tell that it is a coastal town though.
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(2022.09.23, Friday) Ate breakfast at the Honey Pot then decided to walk to Saint Michael's Mount. Most of these pictures are from that walk. Got back to Penzance fairly early and had a Cornish cream tea. In the evening I went to the White Lion for their karaoke night. It was loud, raucous, and fun. The people-watching was interesting. A lot of just folks from the local area having a good time.
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(2022.09.22 Thursday) Spent the morning planning outings a few days ahead. Went out looking for breakfast and discovered that breakfast isn't usually available until after 10am. I did find a place that was open a little earlier. Decided I had time in the day to walk to Mousehole. A pretty easy, generally flat, walk along the edge of the sea. Paved all the way.
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(2022.09.21) The heart of the day was spent on the train from Bristol Parkway to Penzance. After arriving I wandered around town a bit, ate dinner, and got some groceries before watching an episode of The Sandman and going to bed.
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(2022.09.20) Not much sightseeing today; mostly laundry and other forms of catching up. Took a short walk to McColl's, a nearby market. All the pictures that I took that day are included here.
The trip to McColl's was interesting. I arrived and there was a sign on the door that said "Back at 1:30". It was after 2:00 when I arrived. I waited there for another 20 minutes hoping someone would show up. Probably a dozen people arrived and looked in the door during that time and then left. It reminded me of a story that Dave, a friend who used to own a restaurant, once told. "How do you know if one of your employees has quit?" ... dramatic pause ... "They don't show up." I wondered if McColl's was suffering from that same issue.
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(2022.09.19) We returned to Thornbury, stopping at a few places along the way. It was a bank holiday, due to the Queen's funeral, so many places weren't open along the way. We eventually found a garage (gas station) with a convenience store and purchased some coffee and pastries. We drove on to Erwood Station where we enjoyed our snacks at a nice little picnic area.
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(2022.09.18) Ian wasn't up for another outing so Emma and I went to the island of Anglesey off the northwest corner of Wales.
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Went for a walk along the Torrent Walk in the morning. Went shopping and then drove to the coast in the afternoon. Listened to a dry run of a talk on organic chemistry in the evening.
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More sightseeing by car beginning with the Claerwen and Elan valleys followed by an ancient lead mine. We drove along the Dyfi estuary and then up to Snowdonia. We'll be in Snowdonia for several days.
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Continued touring Wales with friends. Visited a mutual friend in Newport and had a wonderful conversation there on a wide range of topics including various aspects of human survival. Dinner conversation in Rhayader explored some of the implications of energy storage.
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Spent the day driving into Wales with an assortment of stops. Good dinner conversation in Carmarthen.
Here are some highlights from the drive...
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Still jet lagging, but got out a bit earlier in the day and saw some interesting sights.
Drove across the Severn to Lydney Harbor and took a nice walk along the channel. Lots of interesting sculptures there among other sights. This was followed by finding a park bench in St. Briavels for some coffee and a snack. We then went to Symonds Yat for a beautiful view of the River Wye far below. Ended the outing with a drive home via many back roads through the countryside. Here are a few pictures.
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Travel from SFO to Heathrow was uneventful and fairly comfortable. I slept for a good chunk of the way. Customs at Heathrow were amazingly seamless. All done via an electronic kiosk. The only issue with Heathrow is that you have to hike to France to go through customs. It's a long walk.
I'm traveling to the UK today. While there I hope to create occasional blog posts, this being the first.
I'm reading a paper sent to me by a friend that is causing me to ponder the definition and nature of "closed systems".
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