Photos from the trip to England we took in the summer of 2013 for my sister-in-law's wedding. Followed by a road trip around England and Wales.
I met a man with seven wives ... actually not, but it's a great nursery rhyme. We stayed near St. Ives in Carbis Bay for my sister-in-law's wedding. Cornwall, a geographic county in the south west of England, was certainly a beautiful part of the country. A perfect place for a wedding. Speaking of which, it went perfectly, and a good time was had by all!
Looking out on the granite causeway that connects St. Michael's Mount, a tidal island off the south coast of Cornwall, to the town of Marazion. Since it's a tidal island we had to time our trip so it was low tide, thus exposing the causeway. After staying in Cornwall for a week during the wedding and various related activities, we began our road trip through England and Wales.
We stayed in Lynmouth, the town at the bottom of the sea cliff from Lynton. Lynmouth is located on Bristol Channel at the mouth of the Lyn River (fancy that!). This was the beginning of our road trip after the wedding, which we started off in Exmoor National Park.
It was opened in 1890 to haul people and freight up and down the 500 ft cliff separating Lynmouth, at the bottom, and Lynton at the top. This railway is a marvelous feat of engineering. It is simply powered by water used as a counter balance.
Seen roaming Exmoor National Park as we drove from Dunster to Lynmouth.
Continuing on the road trip from Exmoor National Park, we arrived at Glastonbury Abbey. There are many legends associated with Glastonbury Abbey, along with some fascinating history. Including the tale that King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are buried here.
Our next stop, after Glastonbury Abby and Bath, was Cardiff. This is the extremely ornate banqueting hall in Cardiff Castle.
From Cardiff we headed for the north of Wales. This photo is one of my favorites. It was taken from Conwy Castle looking out into the countryside. Down the road west of Conwy, at Holyhead, a traveler could catch a ferry to Ireland.
Our road trip ended in Aberystwyth, a beautiful town along the west coast of Wales. As we sat at a restaurant along the water, eating our Welsh Rarebit and sipping our wine, we realized that we could not have asked for a better vacation.
From our trip to Uganda in February of 2014. We visited Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to see the mountain gorillas. There is nothing like a family of gorillas, less than twenty feet away, to inspire trepidation and awe.
The guest house where we stayed on our trip to Bwindi. After many hours on the road, driving from Lake Mburo, we were greeted at the lodge with glasses of fresh passion fruit juice. A most welcome and refreshing treat.
During our stay, we hiked up the hill in the background. During the hike we were all surprised to find ourselves quiet winded; that is until we realized we were at 7000 feet elevation and had not acclimated.
To see the Google satellite map of where we were, follow this link.
Around the village we stayed in while visiting Bwindi - sadly, I don't even know the name of the village - they grew various crops. They grew millet, tea, coffee, potatoes (both sweet and "Irish" red potatoes), bananas, and eucalyptus trees, which they used for wood.
To get to the gorillas, we had to delve into the Impenetrable Forest. Which, as you may have guessed, was no easy task. The forest itself overgrows the paths incredibly quickly, and, moreover, the terrain is steep and slippery. Did I mention the fire ants? ... Let's not talk about the fire ants. However, as you can see, it was worth every drop of sweat.
Meet Rukyina, the dominate silverback of the gorilla family we saw.
Here is Rukyina again; this time with a female from their group. They are part of the Kyaguriro Family, which it is one of the families in Bwindi that has been acclimatized to human presence. According to the park rangers, it takes years for the gorillas to get used to having a group of humans come into the forest and observe them.
An adolescent of the Kyaguriro Family. He was the most active of the bunch, but even he took a short break after lunch. We spent an hour with the gorillas, which was over in the blink of an eye ... or 1000 clicks of the shutter. I had to remember to stop taking pictures at a certain point and just enjoy being there, with the gorillas.
Looking out at the village we stayed at while we were visiting Bwindi. It was nestled in a small valley with some breathtaking views.
One of the aforementioned breathtaking views.
A child standing in the tea fields while workers from the village picked tea leaves nearby.
The trip to Bwindi was incredible. It was worth every hour of being in a hot van and every fire ant bite. And with all the conservation that they are doing, hopefully many more generations will get to have the same experience!
Pictures from the two trips to Cannon Beach we took when we were living in Seattle.
The view from Ecola State Park, which is really quiet spectacular. There were many other great views from our hike through the park, but this is my favorite.
A very similar shot to the last one, but being in black and white really make this one more ominous.
These are the kind of photos that make me miss the Pacific Northwest.
A classic crashing wave shot that caught my fancy.
One might think that I placed the flowers on the log to stage this picture; I did not. However, I certainly took advantage of them!
Cannon beach is certainly a paradise for bird watchers. One day, during low tide, the park rangers came out with spotting scopes and identification guides for tourists to use.
Ever since our honeymoon in Ireland, I have wanted to see a puffin. However, after two trips to Ireland, one to Scotland, and one to Wales (include a viewing of Puffin Island in Wales) I had yet to see a puffin. Then we went to Cannon Beach, and there at Haystack Rock, I saw my puffin.
According to wikipedia, it "is a 235-foot (72-meter) sea stack in Cannon Beach, Oregon." It is home to many sea birds and is quiet an imposing sight.
A beautiful end to a beautiful trip.
