tim broadbent

It’s hard to believe that this is the last time I’ll be posting an entry here. First, I’d like to thank all the friends and family who have been reading it and sending me notes throughout the year. The blog has been viewed over five thousand times since I started writing it just over a year ago. It has been a great way for me to stay in touch with you and share all the amazing experiences this year has brought us. It is with mixed emotions that I’ll say goodbye to Scotland. The hardest part will be saying goodbye to our dear friends Wendy and Stuart. They welcomed us into their lives and through them we met a great group of people. It is these folks who wanted us to see, enjoy, and become a ... read more

To start, if you are reading this for explicit sexual stories you’ve come to the wrong place. Humping can also mean to exert oneself and that is undoubtedly what Elizabeth, Camille and I have done for the last six days. We have just returned from what may be the most memorable “birthday weekend” of my life. This past weekend was a long holiday weekend and the last of my breaks excluding the average weekend. Looking to take full advantage of it, Elizabeth, Camille and I set out on a road trip of epic proportions into the fabled highlands of Scotland. At the onset of the trip I was certain that the tent would get a little use, but I also anticipated that a few nights in a proper accommodation would be necessary to dry out the ... read more

I have been going with the once a month blog entry recently, but this past weekend’s trip deserved an entry all its own. Elizabeth and I headed south to Yorkshire, England this past weekend to spend some time with Rebecca and Chris. We met them on our trip to Belfast. They are also here on an exchange from Ventura, California. I followed the kids out the door Friday afternoon and headed downtown to grab E and Camille. Once I had them it was southward bound. We arrived in Honley around 7:30 that night. Chris and Rebecca had some dinner guests that night. We spent Friday night in some wonderful company discussing the woes of the world. Oddly enough though one of the guests, a very nice English gentleman, actually approved of George W. Bush and considered ... read more

Our long weekend in Dublin was a lot of fun. We arrived late Thursday night after a rather harrowing flight through high winds and driving rain. We met Kevin at the airport and he led us to his house in Clane, about forty-five minutes from the city center. Being so late we had time for a nightcap and then it was off to bed. Friday morning we awoke early and headed to the Wicklow Mountains to see the Glendalough Valley. It was here that in the sixth century a vision inspired St. Kevin to give up his life of isolation and to build a monastery. He chose one of the most spectacular valleys in Ireland, Glendalough valley, which means glen of two lakes. We drove some very scenic roads to get there and once there ... read more

We have returned from our five-day visit to Belfast and have to agree with many of the native citizens I heard from while there. It is a city that while still troubled, is looking to the future and believes peace will come. Just as we have done in our other travels to various cities this year, we walked for miles and miles every day trying to explore every nook and cranny the city had to offer. And on the surface it appears to look like any other city, the downtown is thriving, the nightlife fantastic, the University bustling with students from all over the world, but when you walk into the neighborhoods you see the evidence of the sectarianism that has scarred it for so long. I had a few hours to spare before the start ... read more