England (Days 6&7 Week 8/24)

No luck on the mini-trains, unfortunately. Caroline, Gigi and I headed out to the place where we'd expected to see them, and found nothing.



So, we continued our drive towards the south-west, crossing the ferry across the mouth of Pool's harbor. Corfe Castle was our next landmark, a really impressive ruin high on a goat-inhabited hill. The area was fenced off to keep tourists out of the area.



Next, we visited the Tynham village, a ghost-town near the coast. The British army needed a place to do live-fire exercises so they evacuated the little farming village and fenced in the area. After the war, they decided to keep the land, but allow visitors into the former-town center. It's amazing how quickly nature seemed to overtake these villages. There wasn't even a trace of thatch on the roofs.

I made sure to snatch a photo of some of the books that were left in the (maintained) single-room school house. I'll see if the university library has any of them in our stacks.



Around lunch time we came by a neat little pub, the New Inn at Church Knowle. This happened to be the first place we came across that seemed likely to serve a Steak and Ale pie. It turned out great. The food was excellent, and the pub has a big reputation. Almost all of the tables were reserved (impressive for a pub that's so far from any major town), and we were lucky to get a seat.

Finally, we went to see Lulworth cove. It seems that the British like to go walking on New Years Day as the area was packed. There's some nice scenery and a wonderful natural harbor.

Saturday morning started with a long run. I made it out along Forest Road and onto the trail in the woods. All in all, I think I did about 40 minutes of actual running. I can feel a definite improvement, and plan on going out tomorrow.

Saturday afternoon was spent having lunch with Gigi's friend Jan. We drove down to the sea and stopped at a nice little restaurant where I got a burger, and Gigi had a Thai-themed pizza.

England (Day 6 Week 8/24)

I left the US on Tuesday and had one of the smoothest trips I've ever taken. Before my flight left, United called me up to the gate sand said that they'd given me an upgrade to business class. On an international flight, business class meant I had a personal TV, a seat that could fully recline and some nice meals. We landed on time (Wed morning) in England and I found my bus with no problems.

Gigi and Lidia were waiting in Ringwood and saw me easily because of my bright yellow hat (though, they expected it to be pink). We drove into Burley and arrived at the gate house to have tea. The main house is coming along nicely and the new floors look great.

Wednesday afternoon we went to the Burly Inn for a late lunch with Lidia and Steve. Gigi had a shrimp cocktail, I had a curry, and we both had 'real ales' made by Ringwood brewery.

That night, we went to bed early as I hadn't gotten much sleep on the plane and was very tired.

On Thursday morning I showed off my culinary skills and made a breakfast of scrambled eggs. Gigi even had Creme Fresh in her refrigerator, exactly what I needed for the Gordon Ramsey scrambled eggs recipe. I love cooking on the Aga.

That afternoon, we called a taxi to take us into Burley to do some shopping. Gigi got a driver who she really likes, but says treats her like she's made of glass. We stocked up on food and then walked around the downtown.

After we got back, I went out for a 30 minute run along Forest Road. So, my half-marathon training is not totally being neglected.

New Years eve dinner was pasta with a meat sauce. I was very happy to see that my homemade spaghetti came out correctly, as did the red sauce. For dessert we had cider and chocolate.

Today, we're planning on going out with Caroline (Gigi's hair dresser) for a drive, and hope to encounter the society of people who make very small steam powered locomotives. Think something very much like a steampunk lawnmower!