Wednesday, August 14, 2013

From London, Southwest, to Cornwall



 I was heading by train to a town called Truro in southwest England and ran into a "convict".  Actually, this chap was getting married and heading to the beach for a long weekend with his friends for a "Stag Do".  That's called a bachelor party in the U.S.  What a wild group!  This poor guy had so many party rules to follow,  it seemed like a reality t.v. show!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A Word of Warning



When taking the trains in England, only ride during the week if you can.  On the weekends repairs are being done to the tracks and stations and it's often hard to make connections.  And, all the trains are owned by separate companies.  The system is not run by the government anymore.  The First Great Western leaves London for points in the southwest.

An Old Mining Town/Fishing Village



We stayed with friends in St. Agnes, a surfing community.  We visited this school for an Open House.  Mom and I had fun there, but never went into the water.  Brrrrrrrrrrrrr....too cold for a little Hawaiian dog!

England at its Best



 Old stone walls, ocean views, sunny days------summer in Cornwall.  It's anyone's guess how old this rock wall is and who built it.   St. Agnes is chocked full of history.

Fishing, Anyone?



The shores southwest England are rocky and the beach is covered with stones.  Maybe I'll just put on my wet suit and follow those surfers out to the waves, and forget about fishing.

A Little Nippy



The water was just a bit too cold for me to go surfing or just take a dip, so I spent my time collecting beautiful rocks.  Did you know that male penguins search the beach for a perfect rock and then present it to the female of their choice, hoping she will like it and start building a nest?  

Making Sure Everyone's Safe



Guarding the Trevaunace Cove in St. Agnes are Tony, holding me, and Trevellean.  I asked them why this spot was so good for catching waves.  Their response, "It's sheltered and there's pretty good surf from the end of August until October.  What's not so good is the boat traffic, novice surfers, and caves in the cliffs from mining tin in the region."