Day 2 London - so much walking!

Wow.  What a day.  I walked 12 miles today... many of them unnecessary because I got lost... a few times.  Most places I went today you couldn't take pictures inside or couldn't use the flash in which case my pictures just come out blurry anyways.

I started out the day at 7am!!  Found a fairly good pastry place on the way to the Underground... will probably be stopping there every day now.  :-)   Got on a different line which was a bit faster than the one I took yesterday.  However, I got off at the wrong stop but Southwark Cathedral was at this stop so decided to head there.  I was early by 2 hours and there was a service going on.... so I started today with a little church service.  :-)  It was a beautiful church.

Since I got off at the wrong stop, I was also too early for the London Bridge Experience so... I walked across the Tower Bridge to the other side of the river to go to the All Hallows by the Tower.  It is a small church but is the oldest church in London.

After that I walked down to the Monument where I climbed 311 steps to the top.  It was built in 1677 to commemorate the Great Fire of London and to celebrate the rebuilding of the City.  Good views but the Sky Garden still had the best views of the city.

I then walked across London Bridge back over near the cathedral to go to the London Bridge Experience.  It was very cool and fun.  Its an interactive play/haunted house of sorts that goes through the history of London Bridge.  They have the award for top horror attraction in the world... it was good but definitely not the top. ;-)

At this point is when I got most of my unnecessary walking in... I had the hop on hop off bus ticket today so was going to take the bus over to Churchill War Rooms but I got lost trying to find where the HOHObus picked up.  Walked through Borough Market... twice.  Finally found a bus stop... got on the wrong color and it was going the wrong way.  This color was headed towards the Westminster Abbey... which is on my to-do list anyways.  So figured I'd go there.  Got off bus at that stop.. the Abbey was closed until 2pm (it was 1pm).  At this point, I should have grabbed some lunch nearby and waited it out but you know me... go, go, go.

I decided I would walk over to Buckingham palace and see the Royal Mews. I was almost to the palace when I finally realized I should eat something before I pass out.  So I stopped for a bit then continued.  Buckingham Palace was packed... tons of people dressed up, ladies in fancy little hats.  Apparently today was 1 of 3 garden parties the queen will hold this year.  Every year the queen invites more than 30,000 people from all walks of life to the garden parties.

I then strolled over to the Royal Pews.  Lots of interesting history there.

Once again, I tried to get on HOHObus to Churchill War rooms and once again I got on wrong color. lol.  This one was headed towards Kensington Palace.  Ok. No big deal.  I'll go there.  So I got off at Hyde Park and started walking through the park.  Hyde park is huge... a mile later, I arrived at Kensington Palace.  Beautiful place inside.  They also recently opened a Diana exhibit there that displayed many of her dresses and talked about her fashion.  Very interesting.

I sat in the park for a bit then made my way to the Underground.  Got back to Finsbury park, stopped for a beer at the beer garden, grabbed some thai food and headed home.  Tomorrow I will make my way to Windsor castle... should be slightly less walking...  :-)

Day 1 - London!

I got a late start this morning... didn't leave until almost 9:00 and after taking the underground to London Tower it was almost 10:30!  Definitely leaving earlier tomorrow.  I was in rush hour craziness!  Londoners (?) like to move fast... especially when they are going to work.  They can cram a lot of people on those trains... packed like sardines.  Quite the experience.

I have the 6-day London pass that includes most of the stuff that I want to see while I'm here.  Today I had free reservation for the Sky Garden.  I heard the sky garden had better views than the London Eye and it was free. I figured I would ride around on the Hop off Hop on bus tour for a little bit and end up back at the Sky Garden for my reservation.  It was a beautiful day and I saw a lot of the city from the bus.  The bus got caught in a bit of traffic... I'm not a big city driver anyways and definitely do not think I would want to drive around here.

The Sky Garden was beautiful!  Definitely worth visiting and great views of the city!

After the sky garden, I went over to the Tower of London.  Very interesting and lot of history there.  Crown Jewels extravaganza is there... Quite amazing and surreal.

I toured Tower Bridge next.  The walkways have glass panels in the floor which is pretty cool.

By the time I was done with the bridge, it was 5pm and most attractions close around then.  So I grabbed some dinner at the Vault under the bridge and headed home.  Pretty good for Day 1 I think.  Ready for sleep and Day 2 tomorrow :-)

Always an adventurer... (Travel Day)

So back up one day.  Yesterday.  Or Saturday and Sunday I guess.  I lost some hours in there somewhere.  Anyways, I left Denver no problems. I'm still coughing... although it is subsiding with the pills Avril gave me but thats later.  I arrive in Iceland approximately 7 hours later via big plane.  The Iceland airport is so tiny!  Probably half the size of our security terminal area in Denver.... small airport.  One runway.  I only had an hour layover... then 3 hours later I am in London.  I get my bag and find the underground.  Super easy if you know where you are going.  Lots of people and they like to move fast... no lolly gagging around.  The Piccadilly Line takes me straight to Finsbury Park where my Airbnb is 0.8 miles away from the station... and here is where the adventure begins.  Dragging 2 bags behind me, I turn the wrong way to go to my airbnb.  I had looked at the map and knew the direction to go except I did not realize there were 2 exits out of the station.  So I thought I turned the right way but it was the wrong way...  I went 1/2 mile before I decided to turn my GPS on to help me since I was not running into the street like I should have been.  GPS took me in a few circles and, after almost giving up and just calling an uber, i found the street!  I was at the beginning of the street - literally #1 - and had to go all the way down to #91 but I made it... 2 miles later.... dragging 2 bags...  the shower felt great and I slept for almost 12 hours!  I met Avril who took me around and showed me the quick way to get to the Underground.  And we stopped at the near by rooftop pub and had a Guinness :-) She gave me some pills - cold relief - for my cough... see if it helps.   I took no pictures of my journey :-(  but here is my room :-)

Vacation for 3 weeks.... but first...

I remembered I had a blog when my friend Pavun asked me about blogs.  Actually, I think I have another one out there somewhere... but I use that one as a website... that I've also haven't been on in probably over a year!  Crazy.  A lot happened in 2016 too... can't believe I didn't blog about it.  I'm not much of a blogger I guess.  And most people follow me on facebook anyways... guess Facebook is more my blog now.

Anyways, I digress.  I leave on vacation soon... for 3 weeks!  Going to London, Scotland, and Iceland.  I'm so excited!  But first, I'm stuffing my body full of vitamins and water (over a gallon today) to try to get rid of this cough!  Its so annoying and I've pretty much had it since January.   It went away for a little bit, then came right back.  I feel ok, just coughing.  ugh.  

I'm going to try to blog while I'm away... that is if the TSA gods still allow laptops to come on board.... I'll check rules before I leave.  So be on the lookout - see if  I can start this up again...  :-)

Happy? Veteran's Day!

As I sit here drinking coffee from this fabulous red cup and browse through old pictures, I'm remembering great times, sad times, scary times.  Veteran's day is a happy day... its a day to be thankful for what you have and reflect on why you have it.  Someone, maybe someone you loved, knew a little, never knew at all sacrificed so you could do what you do now.  Maybe you served yourself.

I served in the US Army.  I was only in for 4 years but I served for you all the same.  I suffered through basic training in the heat of Missouri (misery) and trained in beautiful Virginia.  Got stuck in Fort Drum NY for most of my time... but I had good friends there to help me through.  I pulled guard duty with loaded weapons on the fences of the Bosnia posts.  I've slept on the ground with just a sleeping bag and feet of snow around me.  I've been through things.  Many people have been through much more than me - war, enemy fire, snipers, all that stuff I was so scared to ever be in and am thankful I never was.  I have highest respects for those that were in these situations, still are in these situations.  I can only imagine.

As I look through my old pictures, I had a great time serving my country.  I met great people, lost great people, and wonder where some of these people are now because we never kept in touch.

Browsing through Facebook this morning, I saw lots of wonderful posts relating to today.  Some made me laugh, some made me cry.... but what I love the most is that people remember, if just for a moment, that soldiers are a huge part of what and why our country is what it is.  They forget to complain about a stupid red cup, forget about Glenn from walking dead, and instead remember why they can do all that in the first place.

So today, if not everyday, thank those that served, remember those that sacrificed, and pray for those currently serving.  Someone is always serving for you.

Motorcycle Class!?!

I want a Can-Am Spyder.  To get one, I have to have a motorcycle license.  Harley Davidson happened to run a special this summer for Active Military and Veterans offering a FREE 2-day class. So I signed up.  I've ridden as a passenger but never drove.  

I was nervous and scared and excited all at the same time.  I had so much emotion that after I dropped the bike the first time, along with the heat (90+degrees) and full gear, I basically had a meltdown.  I took a five minute break... Really wanted someone to yell at me - "Bikers don't cry" "What is wrong with you?"  Something like that... anyways, I made it through Day 1, dropping the bike a few more times. :-(  

Day 2 we started out by doing U-turns!  No warm up, just go right into tight u-turns... Of course, I drop the bike first thing.  No biggie.. with that out of the way, I did much better the rest of the day then I did the day before.  

I dropped the bike a total of 8 times throughout the weekend.... mostly because I'd be sitting in line and would accidentally turn the throttle and the bike would jump forward, which would startle me and cause me to lose my balance.  But I passed the test - both of them!  Just have to go to DMV now and get my license stamped :-)   

This class is definitely in my top 10 of hardest things I've done... speaking of, that will be a topic of an upcoming blog post soon.  :-)   

Wild Animal Sanctuary....

A few weeks ago... April 25th to be exact, I went to visit the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, CO with J.J. and her family. I never knew this place was here.  I grew up an hour away and never knew it was here!  Craziness.  Anyways, the Sanctuary started in 1980 by Pat Craig It is "the oldest and largest nonprofit Sanctuary in the US dedicated exclusively to rescuing captive exotic and endangered large carnivores, providing them with a wonderful life for as long as they live, and educating about the tragic plight faced by an estimated 30,000 such animals in America today" (quote taken from website www.wildanimalsanctuary.org )

It is a pretty cool place.  I've been to a few nonprofit sanctuaries in the past and this is definitely one of the best ones.  Check out their website for more info!  Here's some pictures from our visit:

Phase 3: Getting Moved into my New House!

Phase 3: Getting moved into my new house!  this is the last phase and I should be caught up on my blog... for the most part anyways.  :-)

I moved to Colorado, I found a job, and now I needed a place to live. I was going to live close to work so lessen my commute. I hate commuting! So I looked around in Boulder…. Wow, it is expensive! 500sqft for $1,000 month or get in a rent-a-room situation with roommates. Didn’t like those options, so starting looking around elsewhere. Turns out, it’s not much cheaper anywhere else. House prices are outrageous right now and selling for more than they are asking for in most cases. Which lead me to mobile homes/manufactured homes/trailers… whatever you want to call them.  For the same price or little cheaper, I get more space and no roommates. Sounded pretty good to me.

So I bought an over-priced mobile home…. in Firestone, CO. It’s mine and I don’t have a roommate. I could get one later if I wanted, but for right now, I’m good.  Below is my house:

Now I had house, time to move in:

Updated photos to follow later :-)

Update: Phase 2 (of 3): In Colorado, Looking for Work

I up and moved from North Carolina once I sold my house… without a potential job lined up in Colorado. I had a free place to stay in the mountains in the Poudre Canyon and enough money to last a few months so I wasn’t too worried.

The first week I was back in Colorado, I did absolutely nothing! My brother Brandon was getting married the weekend I got back so I was getting prepared for that. It was a fun small wedding in Blackhawk… a little gambling town in Colorado. They looked so beautiful together :-)

My brother Clayton works for Liberty Oil and scored great tickets to the Garth Brooks Concert! It was awesome! We had our own suite stocked with food and beer. Good times.

After the wedding weekend and Garth, I hit the ground running… went shopping for interview clothes, sent my resume everywhere I could, and talked to some staffing agencies. And the fun interviews begin....

While waiting in the mountains, my car was buried in snow! We watched a lot of movies, read, and ate… mostly popcorn. ☺

A month later I was not having much luck and was starting to worry. Then I got a call from Department of Commerce for an administrative position with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). I interviewed with them and then waited… a few days, I received notice that I had an offer coming to me. After all the background checks and paperwork filled out, I started work on May 4th. ☺ It is a beautiful campus in foothills of Boulder.

Stay tuned for the last Update, Phase 3: Getting moved in my new house!