This morning was the morning Jennifer and Corey were due to arrive. Their plane was scheduled to land at 6:45. They were going to take the tube to paddington and I was going to meet them at the station. Paddington is a big station and it’s hard to find someone there. We kept texting back-and-forth and finally I found them outside on Praed Street. Neither had slept on the plane, even though they were in first class, so the plan was for them to get to their rooms and sleep till about 1 o’clock While getting Jennifer and Corey checked in and organized, Chrissy and I managed to miss breakfast. So I went down the street to McDonald’s to get a quick bite for us to eat. I love going to McDonald’s in foreign countries just ... read more

Last night I got the best night of sleep! BUT I woke up with a terrible headache. Fortunately I come prepare so after pills for the headache and a good breakfast, we were off to explore. Just a tidbit for you. To get strips of bacon it’s called streaky bacon. Otherwise your bacon looks more like what we call ham. Also a full English breakfast includes some type of cooked tomatoes or baked beans….right out of the can….no extra seasoning!! York is a historic city founded in 71 AD by the Romans. Because of flooding from it two rivers, the Oure and Foss, the Romans left the city. It was then settled by the Angles in the 5th century. It was conquered by the Vikings in 866 and became the capital of the Viking territory and ... read more

This morning we walked toward The Edinburgh Castle for a special place Chrissy picked out for breakfast. It was called The Deacon's House Cafe and was known for its traditional Scottish porridge and haggis breakfast sausage. It wasn't supposed to open until 10:00 so we took our time taking pictures and checking out shops that were open (most don't open until 10). When we arrived they had opened early but there was still one table open. We ordered the porridge (which is like oats) and the breakfast platter, which had scrambled eggs, blistered tomatoes. haggis sausage, bacon, beans, and wheat toast. We shared the items we ordered because we wanted to try their scones and shortbread too. The haggis sausage was amazing. The porridge wasn't far behind. The porridge was topped with red fruit which added ... read more

This morning we got coffee and pastries at a local bake shop downtown, then we headed to Acadia National Park. We have travelled together to many national parks but here the workers were the most unfriendly, rude people we’ve ever encountered. It seemed they were very put out when we asked a question or needed help. It did not start out as a good experience. We drove through the park and got to visit several sites but we weren’t permitted to drive up Cadillac mountain because we didn’t have a reservation. We would have liked to see the view from atop the mountain. We did hike the short distance to Jordan’s Pond and took some great pictures. The water is so clear you can see the rocks on the bottom. We met an older couple who ... read more

While Karen and I packed the coolers and cleaned up after breakfast, the guys went for a quick fish in the river. On the recommendation of Miss Elaine, We were heading up the Au Sable River to Lake Placid. The Ausable River, also known as AuSable River and originally written as "Au Sable", runs in the U.S. state of New York, from the Adirondack Mountains and past the village of Lake Placid and Au Sable Forks to empty into Lake Champlain. It has an East and West branch that join at Au Sable Forks. That is exactly where our house was located. As we drove up the Au Sable toward Lake placid we kept wondering where the attendees of the 84 Olympics spent the night. It’s fairly rural and accommodations were limited. Miss Elaine worked in ... read more