Liverpool

Nic and I enjoyed a little mini-break in Liverpool over the weekend. We took the train from London and arrived here, at Lime Street Station.



The Liverpool skyline at sunset. It kind of captured me. As noted in the following way-too-many photos:







On the right, over the Albert Dock, you can see the new giant ferris wheel, similar to London's Eye.




Daytime shot, taken from the ferry.




And now, the Liver building. Again, the way-too-many photo thing.








We stayed in New Brighton, across the river from Liverpool. There were miles and miles of coastal walks.
Go ahead and sing the song, its kind of necessary. They even played it on the ferry!




Of course, we were in Liverpool, so there was a bit of Beatlemania.







We spent a morning touring St. James. Beautiful, if a bit modern as cathedrals go.






Still not sure how I feel about the combination of stained glass and neon...





King and Queen signatures. Also, signature of "the guy who isn't the king, but who is really like the king".






We went from St. James over to the Catholic Cathedral. Interesting might be a good word to describe it.





A view back from the steps of the Catholic cathedral over to St. James.




We also stumbled upon Chinatown in our wanderings.




There was so much more, but most of it not photographed. Hope that you've enjoyed your Liverpool sampler.

Dapdune Wharf

We bused over to Guildford today to visit Dapdune Wharf. We all learned a lot about the difference between a river and a "navigation", Wey barges, locks, weirs, and old Guildford.

My favourite part of the day was our walk along the Wey towpath. Here is Kel enjoying our stroll in the sunshine.




One of the big barges, Reliance, at the Wharf museum site.






There were so many opportunities to learn and explore at the museum. Here you see a happy and well-educated boy.





Kel could have spent days experimenting with the working lock and weir table, including a real barge that he loved driving around the waterway.








Kel got to make a besom broom and then conquer an obstacle course with it outside. He also hauled it all the way back from Guildford for Grannie!




Kel and Tom, one of the site volunteers, racing around the obstacle course. Kel won, though Tom may have let him.






Horribly exposed, but here are the boys standing on the bridge over the Wey. The train bridge arches are in the background.

Eastbourne

Eastbourne and sunshine go hand in hand in my memories, since we've only ever been there on the sunniest and most beautiful days. Good luck -- and good planning.





The pier is the main scenic attraction in Eastbourne (aside from the sea, of course!). Most of the photos that I took today were either in front of, or on, the pier. We also went to the fun fair, did some walking around the town centre, let Kel have his open air tour bus wish come true, and more, but I'd put the camera away at that point. Sometimes, you just have to enjoy the day.




Kel out on the pier. We walked all the way to the end.






It was kind of windy. This is not my best look.




Kel with Grannie and Grandad.




Eating a delicious chips lunch down on the seafront.




Followed up with a huge ice cream cone, just being finished off here. I had to capture that messy face.





And just to prove that I can laugh at myself, here's my walking drunk photo, taken by the master himself. Kellan knows how to capture my best moments. I swear, I haven't touched a drop since we arrived here!