On the sixth day after Christmas...

We went to the New Globe Theatre complex this morning. I've seen pictures of it before but it was really cool to actually see it and walk aroung in it. They wouldn't let us go on stage but that's OK I guess... probably something about liability if someone feel off it and hurt themself... The only bad thing about being in the Globe was that they are doing some repairs to part of the roof over the stage so there was scaffolding covering up the sides of the stage. I could have spent another hour or two in the museum but Bernie said they had added alot since there were here three years ago so he hadn't scheduled enough time... I just need to head back over there to pick up a few things from the gift shop if I can, they have reprints of some of th plays in the actual origingal first folio typography!

Then we had a short walk over to St. Paul's Cathedral... Yippe! I had a blast... I only wish we were allowed to take pictures inside the church, oh well... There wasn't anything scheduled afterward so after we got there it pretty much was up to each person to decide how long they wanted to be there. We got in the building a little before 13:00 and I finished up my personal tour (I listened to every audio bit on the personal "tour guides" you could pick up and listen too as you walked around) around 4:15, had dinner at a little pizza place across the street, and then went back in to St. Paul's for the evening prayer service. I was a little bummed it was just a prayer service and not the Evensong service but seeing how it was New Year's Eve, I made my peace with it... But I might try to make it to one next week...

I finished up the night in Parliment Square where I celebrated the arrival of the New Year with hundreds of thousands complete strangers! I had a great view of The Clock Tower and could eaily hear Big Ben ring in the New Year. I shot a 10+ minute video of the countdown and the massive firework display that followed. And I'll try to post it when I get home and actually have a reliable, fast internet connection...

Well, it's the New Year here in London and I need to go to bed so I can make it through tomorrow...

On the fifth day after Christmas…

I…. Saw… Some… Stones…

Yup, that’s right, we went to Stone Henge. I would like to go back again someday in the future though. We only had 45 minute there and that just wasn’t enough time for proper picture taking in my opinion… Although, it was raining which made for a little challenge trying to keep my camera lens dry. And just so you know… The Druids had nothing to do with the building of Stone Henge. That’s a bunch of hogs wallop promulgated by some dude long ago who made a guess that they built it, but he was wrong…

We then got back on the bus and headed over to Bath. The rain made our time in there a little on less fun side. Most of the Roman bath build/museum was indoors so that was good. It is interesting how, after they were discovered, they just took the old Roman ruins and foundations and just built right on top of it to create a new version while preserving as much of the original as they could.

After that we split up into smaller groups and had some free time to explore whatever we wanted. I went to the Fashion Museum… Well, it was a great source for period clothes. I didn’t have much time so I mainly just took a lot of pictures of the clothing and the descriptions so I can go back later and actually read about it. But, this is a must stop for all my costuming friends out there in theatre land. Not that you should fly over here just to see it (because it’s not overly large and they rotate the displays), but if your over here sometime, I think it would be worthwhile.

It was raining pretty steadily after that so I we tried to stay indoors a little more than I would have liked. Plus, I didn’t get to take as many pictures of the various architecture styles as I would have liked to… It was mostly Georgian/English Baroque but I know I’ll wish later that I could have taken more shots…

On the fourth day after Christmas…

We went to the TOWER OF LONDON!!!! Don, don, DOOOOONNNN!!!

OK, It’s not really scary but it was pretty cool and educational! I was disappointed with the Crown Jewels though… I mean the crowns and what not were nice and I enjoyed some the historical aspects like the coronation robe (incase I need it for Henry the V).but overall I was disappointed with the lack of volume. I guess I just expected more than just a couple of rooms, something more like a dozen rooms with more than just crowns and plates. Not that any of it wasn’t cool… I just thought there’d be more… One suggestion though, go early in the morning, like shortly after they open and head straight for the Jewels! We didn’t wait at all to get in but an hour later there was a line 200 people long, at least…

Now, the Beef Eaters are pretty cool! And pretty funny as well, so if you’re ever at the Tower, I strongly suggest you take a tour with them… They are a wealth of information! So just do it…

After the Tower of London, we hoped on over to Westminster Abbey. It was also pretty neat, and I could care less about the whole William and Kate wedding, I just liked the memorials and tombs. Interesting history that place is… Of course, next time I go through (and there will be a next time), I think I get one of the personal tour guide listening devices so I can learn a little more rather than just looking at stuff. And yes, Poets Corner was up there with my favorite parts, so many names of people I’ve read and performed.

Then we went to TKTS to look at shows with half price tickets available. I ended up going to see “The Lion in Winter.” It was kind of cool to see a play about English monarchs played by British folks… Of course, I the guy playing King Philip of France should have had some sort of French accent…

On the third day after Christmas…

We arrived in London, took the Tube from Heathrow to Gloucester Road, and got to the Hotsel that we are staying at while here. We got there around 11 am… but we couldn’t check in until 2pm…

First they said we could stow our luggage down stair so we all started down only to stop with a third of the group downstairs, a third on the stairs (and were talkin’ tight, twisty Georgian era stairs and I was near the bottom), and a third still at the top because there wasn’t any space down stairs… So we had to go back up the stairs and wait in the lobby while we try to figure out what to do. We ended up being able to put all our bags in “The Guys” room until two when we could get the other rooms. After that we walked around a little bit in the area checking it out and grab a little bit to eat until the rooms were ready…

I went with a couple of folks to a little local place called “Paul’s” and had a latte, a French bacon and tomato thing, and some French custard and pastry layered thingy that was delicious! I was really glad I went to a local place instead of the BK or KFC  that were right next door… I didn’t want my first meal in London to be at an American fast food place…

After finally getting into our rooms we had a little time to relax and get ready for a night on the town. I took a shower, which was great after a long day on planes and sitting in airports.

We left around 5pm to head into town for our first night in London. So we went to the Eye… But the first thing that we see when we came out of the Tube was the Parliament Building with Big Ben (the tower clock) staring right us. It looks awesome at night! In fact lots of London looks great at night is pretty…

Finally, it was bedtime… And sleep was much needed…

On the second day after Christmas...

Today's another experiment... Since most major airports like to nickle and dime you by making you pay for Internet access, I'll rebel in the only way I know how and post today's blog from my phone taking advantage of the unlimited data plan I have with Sprint.

Up and at 'Em early this morning as my super long day got started. I was at Detroit Metro by 10am (after catching the Michigan Flyer in Jackson at 8:55am). Flight was delayed an hour but I had planned for delays and got to Atlanta with plenty of time to spare. Chilled in the B gate terminal while I awaited the arrival of the rest of the Bryan Folks.

They got here about sixish and I met them at the North Terminal British Airway where I did some repacking before checking my bag (which they had brought down for me so I didn't have to take it up to Michigan). Now I'm just relaxing in gate E14 as we wait to board the plane to London. In fact, they just started the boarding process so I should wrap this up...

Next post will probably be tomorrow before hitting the hay. I'm sure I'll be tired because I probably won't sleep before then (other than short, restless naps). Hopefully I'll have the picture thing worked out be then...

'Twas the Night Before... The 2nd Day after Christmas...

It's almost here... Tomorrow morning I'll board a plane here in Detroit to Atlanta where I'll join the rest of the Bryan folks to fly over to London. Gotta get my laundry out of the dry and repack my carry-on. The Dayton folks are bring my checked luggage with them down to Atlanta. I'll probably do a little repacking/rearranging down in Atlanta to better use my space.

While I'm taking my camera and laptop with me, I'm going to try to do most of my computing and picture taking with my iPad and iPhone. Wi-Fi and the iCloud will be my friends as I try to embrace some of this 'new' technology. I'm also going to try to use various apps for my photo 'editing' to get "artistic" pictures to share on this here blog...

The only sad part about going on this trip is missing the Ware family Christmas gathering. For those that know my family, you know that we've been camping over the 4th of July weekend for about 30 years or so. Well, we've been doing a similar thing over Christmas since about 1998, I believe. We've used the lodges out at Somerset Beach Camp Ground, a lodge at the Lost Lake Boyscout Camp, and this will be the second year in the lodge at the ol' Manton Campgound. Really gonna miss everybody there...

Well, now that I've written all this, I thought I'd go ahead and try to add picture from my iPad... I seem to have run into a problem... The little gui that you're supposed to click to choose a picture from your computer doesn't seem to work on an iPad. Hmmmmm... What to do? What to do? Guess I'll have to look into that...

The Night Before the Night Before Christmas...

Here we are, now just an evening before Christas Eve. I think I pretty much did all my Christmas shopping this afternoon... and most of it was for me... That is to say, much of it was picking up stuff for my trip to London.

I really only had get four presents for my nieces and nephews, and that didn't take to long because I picked up everything I needed at the Toy House (a great place to buy toys... local, strong emphasis on educational toys, and no video games, except for leapsters games). I hope they like them...

For me, I picked up a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad (which I'm using right now) so I can blog a little easier, a stylus for a little more precise control on the screen when needed, a multi-spliter audio jack so several people can listen to music or a movie with , and a couple of adapters to I can connect my camera to my iPad which will hopefully allow me to download pictures to share without having to use my laptop. I'll be testing the camera adapters soon...

Looking forward to Christmas Eve with the family tomorrow. Much still to do and presents still to wrap... Right now my parents, Hiie, Aunt Gerilee, and me are watching the St. Olaf College Christmas Concert... Good Music!

It's almost Christmas and just five for days until takeoff for London... The countdowns continue...

First leg...

So, the flight went 'smoothly.' That is to say there was a decent bit of turbulence... Not big, bouncy turbulence, but lots of little ups and downs and rocking back and forth kind of turbulence. But we survived!

Also, the plane landed early so I was able to get the Michigan Flyer bus that will get me back to Spring Arbor two hours earlier... Needless to say, I'm grateful that I didn't have to sit in the terminal for two hours waiting for the next bus!

And speaking of the Michigan Flyer, did you know that they provide free wi-fi and bottled water for the trip? I know... Crazy, right? I'm using the wi-fi right now to write this just because I can... And it was either write for a bit, play games on my iPad, or read. I played games on the flight (spelling games to be semi-educational) and I feel a little too loopy tired to read.

It was great to get out of the plane in into the nice cool, winter air up here in Michigan. Of course, I was the only one standing outside for 15 minutes waiting for the bus in just my jeans and a t-shirt, but I do feel an appropriate nickname for me would be "The Polar Bear."

Well, I'm looking forward to getting home and visiting with family and friends...

Until next time...

Upcoming Attractions...

We'll, I'm heading off to London in just over a week so I thought I'd dust off the ol' blog and get in the habit of writing on here again so I can share my London doings with all of you.

First though, I need to finish up the semester here at Bryan. Classes are over but I need to finish grading papers and exams so I can submit my grade on Tuesday (or earlier). Then it will be time to hop on a plane to Merry ol' Michigan (did you think I was going to say London?) for a week with the family. Then, on the 27th, it will be time to hop on another plane (or two) and be off across the pond...

I'll be spending just over a week in London with a Fine Arts class from Bryan. I've flown over England several times so I'm really looking forward to actually landing there...

Campfire endings...

Today was an early start for me... I woke up at the crack of 9am! Did some reading in the morning and afternoon before the rest of the family started to arrive. It was a relatively lazy day and that's alright by me.

Got to spend some good time with various family members as they started rolling into camp. It's always exciting to see the campground start to fill up for the weekend. Never a dull moment camping over the 4th of July weekend...quiet, relaxing mixed with loud and boisterous, yes, but never dull...

We finished off the night sitting around the campfire, staying up later than we should... but, hey, we're camping, right? Tonight's snack was hotdogs... nothing quite like a hotdog, polish sausage, or kielbasa slowly cooked over an open pit fire. That's how you should end a day when you're out camping....

Our family gatherings over the 4th of July and Christmas have always been joyful and wonderful times. However, this weekend is bitter sweet. Like I mentioned yesterday, not everyone can make it every year and this year is now different in that respect. But this is the first time that we have gathered here at the campground where one of our family members will never be able to join us again... and it's just not the same...

My mom shared this passage with us before dinner tonight:

Romans 5: ¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

We have an expression the we often repeat with each other that went "Great Joy," accompanied by raising you hands in the air and shaking them like you just don't care. This year we might not feel the "Great Joy" that we have had in the past but we still have "Great Hope" given to us my our Savior. And for that, I am thankful...

Times have changed...

My family on my mom's side, the Ware Family, has been getting together for the 4th of July weekend of over 30 years (I think we're over 30 now anyway). This year is not different... We usually get together and go camping for the weekend but every once in a while we do something different. This is not one of those years... so we're camping at our usual haunt of Somerset Beach Campground in beautiful Southern Michigan. Of the 30 years, this have been our primary location.

4th of July, 2007

When I was a much smaller than I am now, our little "family" camp only took up four campsites. One for Grandpa and Grandma, one for the Ware family, one for the Winter family, and one for the Cole family (the Lacy's were on the mission field when back then). We now have at least eight sites, maybe more! It's hard to tell since we set up a big canopy where we gather all day long and we only separate at night when we finally pull ourselves away from the campfire and head off for a few hours of sleep. Not everyone makes it every year now, but there's always room when you can, and we sometimes even have "adopted" family members join us!

4th of July, 2010

As kids, my cousins and I tore around the campground on our bikes doing the craziest things that I know look back on and wonder how none of us ended up in hospital... We use to spend hours down at the beach, fishing on the lake, and just being kids while our parents did whatever parents did back then. Now we're more apt to sit around the table to talk, put a puzzle together, play Euchre or Rook, or sit down for a good game of Scrabble. One of the new activities is chasing around then next generation making sure they don't run out into the road or crawl into the fire pit. In a few more years hopefully they'll be the ones tearing around on bikes...

4th of July, 2010

Then there's internet... yes, the internet. It started with cell phones, and now, just a few years later (our family has only used cell for a little over 10 years) we have iPhones (or a Droid, Black Berry, etc), iPads, and laptops... all connected to internet via Wifi provided by the campground. 20 years ago, the teenage me, never would have imaged that I'd be laying on my bed in my tent writing this on my laptop something that will shortly be wirelessly posted to the internet for anyone in the world to read! Of course, 20 years ago, how many people even knew what the internet was... Times have changed indeed...

4th of July, 2009

Although we have all these gadgets and gizmos that connect us to world, there's something more important going on here at Somerset Beach Campground. Some of us may sleep in tents, some in trailers, but the big thing is that we're here, together, spending quality time together making memories as a family.

It's been awhile...

So much has happened since my last post...on Christmas...

It's been a good six months. I directed another show and designed another show at Bryan and finished out my first year at Bryan. Good things to come too...

Currently in a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Tennessee Valley Theatre up in Spring City. It's been a fun time getting back on the stage. Looking forward to getting on stage again this fall when I do a special production at Bryan where I hope to do Lifting the Veil written by my friend Paul Patton. I hope it will be a good chance for my students to see me up on stage.

I'm heading home to Michigan next week to spend the rest of my summer up there. Looking forward to spending time with my family over the 4th of July weekend. Then I'll spend the rest of my time volunteering at Somerset Beach Campground where I went to camps as a kid and worked for a couple summers in while in college.

I'm going to try to set a goal to do more blogging this summer.  There's been a lot on my mind the past six months and I've often felt the need to sit down and written it down but I never did...