Connie fixed English bacon, scrambled eggs (real ones, not the stuff we get at the cafeteria in Ramsay Hall), sausage, toast, and orange juice for breakfast. It was all very delicious and is a good way to get the day started. After getting a shower and getting dressed, the four of us got into the car and began our daily excursion.
Our first stop was the church in Wiveliscombe where my grandmother and grandfather S.J. got married at the end of World War II. It was a beautiful church and it was very spectacular to be there. A man was tuning the organ in the back loft for a organ recital later that week. After we were done there, we continued up the road a little ways and came to my grandmother's family home, Sunnyside. It sits a in a great location overlooking several large hills laced with farmland. It's easy to tell the field divides because instead of using fences, the fields are broken up using large hedges. These same large hedges are against the road, often times making it impossible to see into the fields beyond. It was really something though to see the old house and here Ray's stories about my grandmother and grandfather sitting on the brick wall out in front of the house. We then continued to drive along for quite some ways, going through the moors and seeing the various cows and goats allowed to graze on the "common land" (free land for people to graze their animals on). The views were great.
Once we had finished there, we continued on by going to a little town called Lynton. At Lynton we stopped along the coast at an area called the Valley of the Rocks. Which, as the name implies, is several large, rocky hills that line the coast. We parked in a car park there and had some lunch (sandwiches) and then Ray and I walked along the seaside walkway. My legs were a bit sore from playing football (American) a few days prior, but the walk was still quite a lot of fun. It was quite breezy outside, but looking out into the Atlantic from our viewpoint was fantastic. On of the main rock formations at the Valley of the Rocks is a large piece on the sea that, when view from a certain angle, allows you to see a large hole in the rock which, with the clouds beyond, looks like the white silhouette of a lady, aptly called The White Lady. I didn't get to see it, but I still liked the story.
Once we finished walking along the trail, we stopped for a quick bathroom break and then road into Lynton. There, Connie and I took a small water-powered lift down into a seaside town called Lynmouth. Lynmouth was crawling with visitors. It was a very lovely place, very quaint and quite an ideal little English seaside village. Andrew bought two walking sticks, I bought some fudge for us to share (as did Ray) and then a little bit later Ray bought him, Andrew, and Connie some ice cream. They offered to me, but I was still full from lunch and the fudge. Ray also bought me a book called Lorna Doone, which is a story written by a local English writer about events that supposedly took place in that area. It's a classic I've heard, and I look forward to reading it. Lynmouth, Ray told me, was destroyed a massive flood in 1952 that killed a good many people and wiped the town out. You can imagine it easily from seeing the place, as the hills flow down and the idea of a huge wall of water just breaking through and destroying the town must have been devastating. Thankfully, now that it is not a problem. The town is thriving and is a very lovely place to go.
After Lynmouth we continued to go driving along. We kept riding on through the countryside, gathering up some very beautiful views of England. The weather, like it was on Thursday, was pretty while we were out riding around. Once we started riding late in the afternoon it began to get a bit rainy. We stopped by a church were a major scene in the aforementioned novel, Lorna Doone, takes place. We went inside and looked around a bit. It was quite an interesting and old place.
After touring the countryside a bit more, we arrived back in Taunton and sat down for a meal at a place called The Cross Keys (a pub). It was a nice little place. I had some steak and ale pie that was very good, though admittedly, not as good as the steak and ale pie from The Eagle and Child in Oxford. But, it was a very nice meal and I appreciate very much Ray and Connie treating me to it. After dinner we all went back to the house and settled in for the evening. According the weather reports there was some severe flooding in the area, especially in an area called the Midlands, and the track from Newquay to Reading was closed. That presented a problem, as that meant the train from Taunton to Reading was closed, meaning I'd have to find an alternative route back to London. We didn't really worry about it though, instead choosing to just wait until Saturday to sort it all out and see what the weather would do.
P.S. I will continue updating blog for Saturday and Sunday tomorrow (07-23-07). Again, please remember that my Internet is set to expire any day now. When it does expire I will not be responding to e-mails nor will I posting on here. With that said, please be aware that if you log on and I have not updated anything or replied to your e-mails, understand it was simply because my Internet is no longer available. Thanks and God bless.
