I’m waiting around for a guy to come look at my car. He hasn’t even seen it yet, but over the last 18 hours he’s called me six times, and he’s already haggling the price. I considered calling some neighbors over here when he arrives for added security, in case he just got out of an institution or something. He just called to tell me he’s caught in traffic and he’ll be another 30 minutes or so. I’d love to go out and pick up the new Harry Potter book, but until this dude makes an appearance, I’m just sitting around.

All the numbness has left my mouth, and I can move the right side of my face. Drool is much easier to keep in my mouth now. Unfortunately, I’ve got a headache and some soreness. Still, could be worse. Just one more drilling session and I’ll be ready to eat jawbreakers and Sugar Daddies again.

This morning I got a phone call from the dentist – they had a cancellation and were wondering if I wanted to get on with the drilling. I cancelled my Japanese practice and went in. I figure, might as well get it over with. I had two cavities filled, and it went really well. It’s a pretty simple thing, and it was fun to listen to the dentist and assistant talk about the tools they use and the lingo they throw around. So now I’m in front of the computer typing with drool running down the side of my face – the difference today is that I have a medical reason for it.

In the front yard today a doe and fawn were hanging out, relaxing and staring at me through the window. I snapped a couple of pictures, but when I let Maggie and Sadie out to investigate, they took off.

I’m off to figure out what I can eat tonight that won’t slide out of the paralyzed side of my mouth.

At 8:30 a.m. I visited the dentist for the first time in almost five years. The results: 3 cavities. I guess I’m going to pay the price for waiting so long. The dentist knows that I’m leaving the country next month, and she’s going to try to juggle people around to make time. She’s been my dentist since I was a little kid, and so some of that small-town magic is working in my favor. If you call getting your teeth drilled magic. Because it has been so long since I’ve been to the dentist, I got to experience the SonicBlaster(TM) that creates intense pain at high frequencies. The best part is the chance to gargle a combination of cold water, plaque and blood while trying to breath. So why did I wait so long to do this?

  

After the dentist I ran out to Annadel State Park near Santa Rosa. I hiked about 7 miles around the park, went out to a lake in the center of the park, and then took the long way back. Park of the trail passed over a huge field of obsidian chips. I have never seen so much in one place. I also saw plenty of squirrels, lizards, four wild turkeys and several red-tailed hawks. It was great to get hiking again. Other than my trek across the Golden Gate, I haven’t been able to get out much lately.

I’m playing an old PC game called “Neuromancer”, based on the book by Willam Gibson. It’s surprisingly good, despite some dated graphics. If you dig around on the net you can pick up for free. Highly recommended!

I’m getting macked on by mosquitoes here in Glen Ellen. Just thought you should know.

Today I had a busy one driving around. I started by hiking across the Golden Gate Bridge, which is something I’ve never done.

The day was pretty nice, and I was lucky to avoid the fog. I also was able to visit some of my old haunts in San Jose – The Shark Tank, my old apartments, Vasona Lake, and Los Gatos Brewing Company. I’ve been driving around a lot lately, so I’m looking forward to the chance to do a little relaxation. Tomorrow I’m sending my parents off to Texas for a long weekend. They are travelling with Nancy and Lynn to visit my mom’s cousin, and catch up on old times.

Hey cool, my mom is watching me write this!

I’m back from my whirlwind trip to Redlands to visit my friend Renee. It was damn hot down there… I’m already getting used to the clouds and fog during the mornings in Sonoma. It was great to see Renee and meet some of her family. After graduating with her master’s degree, she is hitting the road to see some national parks (Bryce, Zion, Arches) and finally end up in Colorado to stay with some friends. What a cool way to celebrate. I tried to figure out a way to go along with her, but I have to attend my JET Orientation in L.A. on the 28th.

The trip was a lot of driving – 16 hours out of 48, but I did get a full night’s sleep and some great food.

We woke up early to head back into York. We took the bus into town, and got off at Picadilly Street like yesterday. We walked from there to the Jorvik Viking Center. It is actually the site of a Viking excavation, and they had a tour through a recreation and part of the excavation. The tour was just a big diorama. The new thing was that they had some smells of the time (which were pretty nasty). The dioramas were pretty cheesy – seemed kind of low budget. The coolest stuff was the exhibitions at the end – actual artifacts from the dig. There was a recovered skeleton that had all kinds of damage, and they even had a guestimate on how the skelton got damaged.

From there we went to the wall outside the city and walked around town. The view was pretty impressive. We took the bus back to our car, and then drove south towards London. We made a couple of pit stops and then pulled into Oxford and our next B&B. The B&B was right outside Oxford on a sheep ranch, with pretty nice rooms. We ate dinner at a local pub, and then went back to the B&B to sleep.

The next day we packed up our stuff and drove into town to return the car and catch a flight back home.

We got up late and took a ride to the supermarket to buy some take home haggis and Scotch for my dad. I saw there was some “Guinness Bitter” for sale – didn’t buy any but I thought it might be nice to buy before I left. We also bought the English (British) version of the first Harry Potter – it even had a different title – “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. We headed back and said goodbye to Hamish and Claire Thom, and hit the road going south. It was a long journey because we went the scenic way and ahd to pass trucks and farm equipment on tight roads.

We stopped for some junk food at an English-style Quikstop and beer at the pub next door. From there we drove another hour or so south, and arrived at our B&B in York. We unpacked and took the bus into town.

York was a neat old town surrounded by a huge protective wall. We walked down some very small crooked streets and found a neat back-alley pub. After some beers and directions we headed to the tourist info center to buy tickets for a nighttime ghost tour. While we waited for the tour to start we explored York Minster – an incredibly huge cathedral that took more than 250 years to build. I snapped lots of digital pictures inside and out.

The tour began at 7:30 – we just had some Chinese food for dinner before – and went on the somewhat cheesy (OK, extremely cheesy) walking tour. Part of the effect was lost because it wasn’t dark yet. It doesn’t get dark here until 10 pm. After the tour we caught the bus back to the B&B to sleep.

We started off the day with breakfast – the B&B offered some alternatives to the “full English breakfast” that we had gotten used to – pancakes and ham and cheese. I picked the ham and cheese expecting some sort of hot melt, but it really was just ham and cheese. There was supposedly a large fight outside our B&B in the parking lot across the street. My Dad and I slept through it, but Lynn said he heard the whole thing. I guess it kept him awake most of the night.

We drove out of town and headed west along the river Earn to the Loch Earn. Then we headed north and east along the Loch Tay. Finally we headed south and stopped at a small forest/park. It was nice to hike through the Scottish highlands. We walked along a river inside a forest, and found an old Victorian chamber to house the rich as they gazed at the waterfalls. We also saw salmon unsuccessfully trying to jump up the waterfall. We hiked back to the car, and drove back to Creith and on to Glenturret distillery. They had a somewhat cheesy tour – the information relating to the process of producing Scotch was intriguing, the somewhat convoluted history and marketing fluff were pretty bad. The Scotch however, was great. We tried several different kinds, and I settled on a 12-year old whisky to bring back for Sara’s grandfather. We had a quick lunch at the distillery, and then drove back to Edinburgh.

We met up again with Hamish and Claire, and treated them to a Mexican dinner. The food was really very good. During our meal a rowdy group of Americans came in – part of the Fringe festival. They were nosy and obnoxious – all the Edinburgh natives quietly ignored them. I was a little embarrassed to be an American. After dinner we headed back and I retired early.

Today we headed into the heart of Edinburgh to shop for souvenirs and see the sights. We drove downtown and parked in a large “car park”, and then walked to “Grassmarket” – a huge combination of a garage sale and farmer’s market. Marie-Claire gave me the running commentary of the sights of the city – they were in sharp contrast to the commentary we were getting from her parents. We went into St. Giles cathedral. I spent quite a while in there checking out the stained glass. No cameras allowed, but the images of the glass were very dramatic.

From there we went to Jenner’s – a Macy’s style department store with a lot of local stuff – it was very cool. We had a snack on the top floor, and then we walked back towards the car, skirting the bagpipers on the way back.

We drove back, packed up and drove North through Scotland towards Crieff – our next B&B. We had dinner at Crieff in a small “bistro”. It was pretty expensive and the food was only so-so. Then we went back to the B&B and crashed.

We left early from the “rustic” B&B (no shower – 15 gallons of hot water for all of us) and headed 20 miles south to the Lake Country. Took in the Ullaworth (?) lake – it had steamboats running across it. We continued south to loop back around towards the M6. The views and steep terrain were unusual. Not a lot of room for two cars on the road at once.

We finally caught the M6 and headed north to Scotland. After passing through the town of Biggar for fish and chips (I had a deep fried hamburger and chips) we arrived in the outskirts of Edinburgh. We did our laundry at a campground out of town, and then drove in and met Hamish and Claire – Lynn’s friends in the area. They were very hospitable. They prepared a large home-cooked meal, complete with haggis (good), and we got a quick driving tour of Edinburgh. A large hill in the middle of town gave great views the major sites including the Queens castle and the Edinburgh castle. Supposedly there is some evidence that the hill is actually where King Arthur’s Camelot was.

After dinner we attended as guests the Scotch Malt Whisky Society downtown with Hamish. We had two different Scotches there- very potent stuff. It was a much more casual affair than I expected. Very plush rooms, though, and excellent (as you would expect) Scotch. We then bussed across town to a favorite pub of Hamish and a recommended one for Lynn. After the pints and the crowds (“The Fringe” event was ongoing at the time which draws a lot of people) we headed back for a nightcap and also met Hamish and Claire’s daughter Marie-Claire, who will help Lynn shop for Kinsey tomorrow.

We started off with a large breakfast, and then headed off to Llechwedd Slate Mine in the hills of Wales. Great countryside on the way – some very classic Welsh countryside. We went on a tour of the mines called the “Deep Mine Tour”. We rode minecars deep into the mountain, then toured the caves, following lights and an audio narrative through the place. There were about 12 stops in all, and it even included an underwater lake. It was very cold and wet – hard hats were required.

From there we backtracked towards Conwy, but stopped at a castle along the way. It was called Dolwyddelan castle. It was a steep hike to the top but the views were definitely worth it. Lots of sheep shit all around as the property is owned by a sheep farmer, but really a cool castle. From there it was highway driving through Conwy, around Chester, past Liverpool, Manchester, Blackpool, and into Brampton, where we found our next B&B – another farm.

We had a nice chat with one of the workers – a very kind lady with a child who worked for the B&B owner. We went into town and ate at the pub (The Railway Inn) and had a great meal – chicken Kiev, lamb Piafra, and cheese and broccoli casserole. The town we were in, Low Row, was built right on a train line, and they have someone who manually opens and closes the traffic gates when the train comes through (every hour or so).

After dinner we walked the grounds, and visited a nearby cemetery and deserted (?) church. A great picture of the sun setting on the horizon over 300 year old tombstones – but I didn’t have my camera. I’ve got a good visual image of it though – it was spectacular. We came back and several barn cats greeted us. They were extremely friendly – they jumped from the ground up into your arms. Very friendly… or very hungry. We went to bed around 10:00 pm.

We started out heading back through Bristol towards Wales – as soon as we crossed into Wales the signs became bilingual, Welsh and English. Our first stop was the Tintern Abbey in Wye River Valley. The Abbey was in ruins, but the main structure still stood, and they were preparing it for a concert and lightshow. I took lots of great pictures from within the Abbey.

We set out north towards Shrewsbury, and after a difficult time with the car we found a parking spot and headed in. We got a good look at the castle, but took off before they could charge us 2 pounds. From there we drove off to Wales through the countryside, and found our next bed and breakfast. It was an old Welsh farmhouse run by a nice Welsh lady. She was new to the bed and breakfast thing, but was very hospitable. We had tea upon arrival – very good breakfast tea – and watched a Welsh ceremony on TV. They also had a sheepdog that traveled between the fenced off areas by jumping through the fences sideways (it was too tall to fit through otherwise).

We went into town for a beer and a phone at the Swan Inn, and after several tries were able to locate a bed and breakfast for the next night in the Lake Country. The group in the pub cheered when we finally got the B&B reserved. We walked across the street to dinner at the Bod Eyre – good “semi-fancy” English food.

Afterwards we went back to the B&B for a short walk through the sheep fields and then back to bed.