I told everyone I’m not the “Dear Diary” type but apparently I am. After submitting my last blog entry for “Burberry and Ali Berry” I realized that I missed sharing with others my adventures with the spirit of Ali. I had planned on just journaling about my days rather than posting online, but my hordes of loyal readers (all 2 of them - shout out to my mom and Laura!) have requested I continue. I don’t fool myself into thinking people want to hear me blah, blah, blah about my daily activities but I do feel that I have something to say today. I’m on the plane, heading to NYC for the marathon, with Ali on my mind.
I haven’t met up with Chris yet so I still have Ali’s signature turquoise ring with me. I plan on wearing it during the race. I’ll look super fancy out on the race course with my bling ring but I don’t care what people will think. It will be my reminder that I have Ali cheering me on to finish what will probably be the hardest race I’ve ever done.
Harder than my first marathon where I got a stress fracture at mile 16 and harder than the Chicago marathon where I raced with strep throat. I haven’t trained in the past 4 weeks as I have been busy with Ali’s funeral, the trip to England and then recovering from swine flu. But that’s not my concern. Actually, just typing it up right now I realize it should be an additional concern. Holy crap. Well, before I listed all that, my health wasn't my concern. I just remember trying to run long miles after my nephew Colin drowned and it was a challenge to push through the mental barriers you face in long runs with the accident on my mind.
This marathon will be my first long run since Ali’s accident and I plan to soak up her energy through her ring and pray to God for strength when I hit the wall during the marathon. I also plan to flash my ring at the other runners to distract and pass ‘em. Take that Ed Norton! By the way, he's running in the NYC marathon and I totally plan on jogging up to him around mile 20 and telling him, "I am Jack's raging bile duct" and then running off. For those that don't get that, you really need to go out and rent "Fight Club" and watch it 50 times. Love it.
Anyway, so I debated blogging or privately journaling. I was actually in the Dallas airport waiting to catch my connecting flight to NYC, reading people’s feedback to the blog on Facebook when I looked over and saw a woman with a dog in a Burberry dog carrier. With a Burberry trench coat draped over it. Seriously? !? Maybe I’m being overly dramatic and reading into things too much but whatever, I took it as a sign. Sure I'll bloggity blog about it. You betcha.
Writing this on the plane to NYC and will be staying with my dear friends Alejandro (friends since high school) and his wife Diane in their apartment in the upper east side. I was thinking about how Ali and Chris were just here with Ellen and others for Zoe’s wedding. She had gotten some cool shoes to wear for the wedding (very 20’s, cute black heels) that she had showed me while putting our England “to pack” list together. She was proud of the great price at which she got these designer heels but commented, “I need another pair of black strappy heels like a need a hole in the head.” She’s right. She had a ton of black strappy heels. I realize I have about 4 or 5 pairs of varying styles so it would seem I’m not one to talk, but she had me beat.
There's a lot more to my friendship with Ali than clothes and shopping. Since middle school, we've gone through all sorts of things together and there was a great deal of depth in what we shared and how we leaned on each other. But with all the heavy "life stuff" we had going on, it was nice to have a distraction such as the black strappy shoe conundrum. So I think the solution is simple and one that she would agree upon, "A woman with one pair of black strappy heels is a lonely sole."
And a terrible pun about shoes is SO Ali to boot. Ahhh, stop me now..."I told the doctor I had flat feet. He said 'what you need is a pair of pumps'." Groan. Okay, that's all I can muster. So with that I will sign off.
I think tomorrow I’ll hit up an NYC store and find some new black strappy heels for myself!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
When it Rains, it Pours
Evening - 10/25/09
So if you read my last blog entry, written the day before I left England, you know I got sick. Turned out to be swine flu..oink, oink, oink. It's one of the reasons that I hadn't concluded my Burberry and Ali Berry blogs. What started as the "stomach flu" ran the gamut of other flu symptoms including body aches, congestion, headache and a terrible cough for good measure. I am so incredibly thankful that I didn't come down with all this at the beginning of my trip. And I'm even more thankful for the people that took care of me while I was away from home. The flight home was miserable and by the end of the trip I was ready for my own bed. "And this little piggy went, 'Wee wee wee' all the way home."
I've been working on getting healthy since the trip but today is the first day I actually believe I might truly be getting better. And what a good day to start to feel well! Today was the Colin's Hope Kid's Tri here in Austin. Ali was going to volunteer and though she couldn't be here, two of her friends drove in from San Antonio just to share their time in her honor. How incredible is that!?! Her spirit continues to bring me comfort! The day was an incredible success and it was so much fun to see those kiddos have fun out there doing the tri. I was the bike course manager and got such a kick out of seeing 5 year olds on training wheels getting just as competitive and into it as the 15 year olds. They were hilarious!
I don't have much new to report as far as my travels go but I thought a good conclusion to these blogs would be to better explain the title "Burberry and Ali Berry". Burberry is the British luxury fashion icon with the trademarked checkered pattern in its trench coats, scarves, luggage, etc. It's what Ali and I thought of over here in the U.S. when we imagined shopping in London.
For my birthday present, Ali drove around Texas trying to find this Burberry umbrella she saw in tan but wanted for me in red, my favorite color. Whether it was south Texas, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas or El Paso, she searched far and wide for this perfect gift. She always put a ton of thought into her gifts for others, which is why they were often late:) Though it was a few weeks after my birthday, it was the Monday before her accident and a week an half before our trip to England that she gave me my gifts.
First, I unwrapped the converter plugs...awesome! She talked about how these plugs will be perfect for England but that there were additional attachments that could be used across the world. She was so excited to point out that, "You can use those wherever you go! Anywhere!" The world is my oyster! Japan, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Liechtenstein ...I'll be blow drying my hair, one country at time.
Second, I unwrapped my wallet. It's a black leather wallet with silver buttons on it to give it a cool edginess. I found it makes spending money fun. Love it! And, as she quickly pointed out, "It's a perfect size to hold your passport too." Awesome!
But it doesn't end there. My third gift was a 2010 London book. She read her 2008 England book every day and would recount the highlights with me via emails and phone calls. When she gave me the new book she said her England book was better (and after reading it I agree) but that she'd share it with me. Anyway, between her book and my new book we were set. I remember at our dinner I looked up nightlife in London. Everything sounded fun and while I didn't get a chance to hit up all the places we were looking at visiting, it gives me something to go back and check out.
I took both books on the trip and found them very useful. I especially enjoyed reading what Ali had read and searching through the dog eared pages and learning what was most interesting to her. She read that thing front-to-back and would've been a better tour guide than David. We joked about that on the trip when he wasn't sure if we were looking at the palace or not (we weren't). Ali would've known. And she would've given us the history and interesting facts as well. Oh, and did I mention we saw the Queen drive by in a motorcade? Holy cow, that was cool. We were about to cross a street when about 5-6 fancy schmancy black cars that only belong in the U.K. went by. There she was in the back of one of them, purple dress, matching overcoat and a fancy purple pill hat to tie it all together. Too cute. I jabbed David in the side as they passed by cause we totally missed getting a picture. He had the best camera of the group so all photo opportunities were his responsibility. I told him we could've gotten money for that photo shot. We could've sold the rights to "People" magazine. Perfect for the "Stars - They're Just Like Us" section. I envisioned her taking the motorcade to grab a venti skinny hazelnut latte at Starbucks, pick up her dress from the dry cleaners (some idiot, drunk from the British Parliament spilled wine on her at a recent soiree) and then get a mani/pedi after her afternoon yoga class. Her Majesty keeps busy!
Now, back to the gifts. My fourth and final gift, the best of them all, was the umbrella. It was a compact umbrella and would be perfect for my purse. And, cause of the time of the year, we were expecting quite a bit of rain while we were over there. The whole thing is held together by a reversible rain hat too. Very posh:) When I opened up the red umbrella, I saw the "Burberry" logo written across the back in tan. Just perfect. That's when Ali retold the story of how she saw the tan one but searched far and wide for the red one...which is why my gifts were so late. Like I cared. The gifts were awesome! In fact, some of the most thoughtful gifts ever. I loved my Burberry umbrella and couldn't wait to use it in England!
We went off to a nice Mexican dinner at Sazon and talked about how much fun we were going to have. Our biggest concern? How were we going to get all our clothes to fit in our bags?!? We wear the same size in shoes and clothes and conveniently, had similar tastes as well. So we were trying to figure out a way for us to pack shoes we could share, to save space. And Ali was SO excited to wear these fabulous black boots Chris gave her for Christmas one year. The boots are pretty fantastic so she had little concern for how much space they would take up. In a normal suitcase, it would take up 1/3 of the bag. Which is why she intended on wearing them on the plane to/from the U.S. Who cares that she'd be uncomfortable wearing these amazing boots for a long flight, they must go to England! No matter, it's worth it. And believe me, I held up my end of the bargain. When David saw the size of my suitcase he just rolled his eyes. Typical over-packing, American girl. Whatever. I'll own it.
England was a whirlwind of events that I tried to cover as best I can in these blogs. While there are chapters of stories and emotions that I left off, I did my best to highlight bits and pieces in an effort to convey how much Ali was a part of the trip.
The weather was beautiful over there and it only rained once. A gift from Ali I'm certain. It was the perfect kind of rain to make drinking coffee that much more enjoyable and to make it really feel like it was a typical fall day in London. And that allowed me to use my trusty Burberry umbrella. It was a beautiful, symbolic day touring London. On an otherwise dreary, rainy day about London, my photos with varying shades of gray backgrounds are all punctuated with a sassy red umbrella just to remind me of Alison.
A flood of emotions come over me when I think about my England trip and all that I went through. New friends, new experiences and a beautiful journey along the way. Just like the proverb, "Every cloud has a silver lining", I'll find comfort remembering that even on rainy days, I'll always have a red Burberry umbrella to make me smile.
Thank you, God for sharing Alison with us and continuing to shine her light on us through her spirit.
So if you read my last blog entry, written the day before I left England, you know I got sick. Turned out to be swine flu..oink, oink, oink. It's one of the reasons that I hadn't concluded my Burberry and Ali Berry blogs. What started as the "stomach flu" ran the gamut of other flu symptoms including body aches, congestion, headache and a terrible cough for good measure. I am so incredibly thankful that I didn't come down with all this at the beginning of my trip. And I'm even more thankful for the people that took care of me while I was away from home. The flight home was miserable and by the end of the trip I was ready for my own bed. "And this little piggy went, 'Wee wee wee' all the way home."
I've been working on getting healthy since the trip but today is the first day I actually believe I might truly be getting better. And what a good day to start to feel well! Today was the Colin's Hope Kid's Tri here in Austin. Ali was going to volunteer and though she couldn't be here, two of her friends drove in from San Antonio just to share their time in her honor. How incredible is that!?! Her spirit continues to bring me comfort! The day was an incredible success and it was so much fun to see those kiddos have fun out there doing the tri. I was the bike course manager and got such a kick out of seeing 5 year olds on training wheels getting just as competitive and into it as the 15 year olds. They were hilarious!
I don't have much new to report as far as my travels go but I thought a good conclusion to these blogs would be to better explain the title "Burberry and Ali Berry". Burberry is the British luxury fashion icon with the trademarked checkered pattern in its trench coats, scarves, luggage, etc. It's what Ali and I thought of over here in the U.S. when we imagined shopping in London.
For my birthday present, Ali drove around Texas trying to find this Burberry umbrella she saw in tan but wanted for me in red, my favorite color. Whether it was south Texas, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas or El Paso, she searched far and wide for this perfect gift. She always put a ton of thought into her gifts for others, which is why they were often late:) Though it was a few weeks after my birthday, it was the Monday before her accident and a week an half before our trip to England that she gave me my gifts.
First, I unwrapped the converter plugs...awesome! She talked about how these plugs will be perfect for England but that there were additional attachments that could be used across the world. She was so excited to point out that, "You can use those wherever you go! Anywhere!" The world is my oyster! Japan, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Liechtenstein ...I'll be blow drying my hair, one country at time.
Second, I unwrapped my wallet. It's a black leather wallet with silver buttons on it to give it a cool edginess. I found it makes spending money fun. Love it! And, as she quickly pointed out, "It's a perfect size to hold your passport too." Awesome!
But it doesn't end there. My third gift was a 2010 London book. She read her 2008 England book every day and would recount the highlights with me via emails and phone calls. When she gave me the new book she said her England book was better (and after reading it I agree) but that she'd share it with me. Anyway, between her book and my new book we were set. I remember at our dinner I looked up nightlife in London. Everything sounded fun and while I didn't get a chance to hit up all the places we were looking at visiting, it gives me something to go back and check out.
I took both books on the trip and found them very useful. I especially enjoyed reading what Ali had read and searching through the dog eared pages and learning what was most interesting to her. She read that thing front-to-back and would've been a better tour guide than David. We joked about that on the trip when he wasn't sure if we were looking at the palace or not (we weren't). Ali would've known. And she would've given us the history and interesting facts as well. Oh, and did I mention we saw the Queen drive by in a motorcade? Holy cow, that was cool. We were about to cross a street when about 5-6 fancy schmancy black cars that only belong in the U.K. went by. There she was in the back of one of them, purple dress, matching overcoat and a fancy purple pill hat to tie it all together. Too cute. I jabbed David in the side as they passed by cause we totally missed getting a picture. He had the best camera of the group so all photo opportunities were his responsibility. I told him we could've gotten money for that photo shot. We could've sold the rights to "People" magazine. Perfect for the "Stars - They're Just Like Us" section. I envisioned her taking the motorcade to grab a venti skinny hazelnut latte at Starbucks, pick up her dress from the dry cleaners (some idiot, drunk from the British Parliament spilled wine on her at a recent soiree) and then get a mani/pedi after her afternoon yoga class. Her Majesty keeps busy!
Now, back to the gifts. My fourth and final gift, the best of them all, was the umbrella. It was a compact umbrella and would be perfect for my purse. And, cause of the time of the year, we were expecting quite a bit of rain while we were over there. The whole thing is held together by a reversible rain hat too. Very posh:) When I opened up the red umbrella, I saw the "Burberry" logo written across the back in tan. Just perfect. That's when Ali retold the story of how she saw the tan one but searched far and wide for the red one...which is why my gifts were so late. Like I cared. The gifts were awesome! In fact, some of the most thoughtful gifts ever. I loved my Burberry umbrella and couldn't wait to use it in England!
We went off to a nice Mexican dinner at Sazon and talked about how much fun we were going to have. Our biggest concern? How were we going to get all our clothes to fit in our bags?!? We wear the same size in shoes and clothes and conveniently, had similar tastes as well. So we were trying to figure out a way for us to pack shoes we could share, to save space. And Ali was SO excited to wear these fabulous black boots Chris gave her for Christmas one year. The boots are pretty fantastic so she had little concern for how much space they would take up. In a normal suitcase, it would take up 1/3 of the bag. Which is why she intended on wearing them on the plane to/from the U.S. Who cares that she'd be uncomfortable wearing these amazing boots for a long flight, they must go to England! No matter, it's worth it. And believe me, I held up my end of the bargain. When David saw the size of my suitcase he just rolled his eyes. Typical over-packing, American girl. Whatever. I'll own it.
England was a whirlwind of events that I tried to cover as best I can in these blogs. While there are chapters of stories and emotions that I left off, I did my best to highlight bits and pieces in an effort to convey how much Ali was a part of the trip.
The weather was beautiful over there and it only rained once. A gift from Ali I'm certain. It was the perfect kind of rain to make drinking coffee that much more enjoyable and to make it really feel like it was a typical fall day in London. And that allowed me to use my trusty Burberry umbrella. It was a beautiful, symbolic day touring London. On an otherwise dreary, rainy day about London, my photos with varying shades of gray backgrounds are all punctuated with a sassy red umbrella just to remind me of Alison.
A flood of emotions come over me when I think about my England trip and all that I went through. New friends, new experiences and a beautiful journey along the way. Just like the proverb, "Every cloud has a silver lining", I'll find comfort remembering that even on rainy days, I'll always have a red Burberry umbrella to make me smile.
Thank you, God for sharing Alison with us and continuing to shine her light on us through her spirit.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The Best Worst Day Ever
10/17/09 - Evening
I've typed, deleted and retyped the intro to this entry multiple times and haven't a clue how to start out the blog that can describe the last 24 hours. What started out as a beautiful, pleasant day trip to Canterbury turned into a 24 hour virus nightmare. Rest assured that though my stomach is still queasy, I'm doing better now and am on the mend. This goes without saying, but having this kind of flu while away from home is less than ideal. And now that I'm at the tail end of it, I can appreciate the comical side of what is probably one of my most embarrassing stories to date. I SO wish I could have had Ali here to take care of me or to call up and tell this story to. She would've taken good care of me but made light of it along the way. And afterward, as I'd tell the story, would laugh so hard. Knee slapping Ali laugh. Just thinking about it cheers me up:)
Okay, now for the horror to unfold...
Yesterday I left Acton Town after breakfast with David, Hannah and Angela. Hannah left to go back to Manchester and David was going to hang out with his girlfriend so I planned a short jaunt with another friend to spend the day in Canterbury. Before heading out, I was quite thirsty so I grabbed a bottle of water and drank it up. Yum, water.
Got to travel on my own through London Terminal and really enjoyed traveling the tube and trains and getting to see the countryside some more. It's just a little longer than an hour to get there but by the time I got to West Malling, the stop I was meeting Chris, I felt a little "off". Just thought it was the heavy, salty breakfast (eggs, beans, toast and black pudding) and didn't think much of it. I bought a bigger bottle of water, water numero 2.
Chris picked me up at the station to get to Canterbury and while we were driving around, I started to feel a bit worse. This time I blamed it on the roundabouts and my motion sickness. Once I got out of the car, the cool air on my face helped and all was well again. We headed into town to have a snack, a beer and then check out the Cathedral. Having food didn't sound appealing so I skipped on the Cornish pasty (I should've known right then and there that my lack of appetite was out of character and something was about to unfold). However, I did think a beer would help so I ordered up a local pint. Yeah, wrong on that too. I got about halfway through my beer and decided I needed to just have more water. Bottle 3, down. Still "off" but again, it's cause of Chris' terrible driving. Ha, ha, just blame it on the bloke's driving.
From there we went to check out the Cathedral. It's an impressive building and incredible to see in person. I had taken some time to get into town so we weren't able to go into the church cause it wasn't open but walking around it you could really appreciate the history of the Cathedral. Just beautiful...argh...not feeling so well. We decided to go see some of the seaside towns and visit Chris' family's old vacation area. We get in the car and I'm struggling to just carry on pleasant conversation. I just kept thinking it would pass. I asked if I could roll my window down a bit. A bizarre request since it was so cold and windy out but Chris didn't seem to mind. A few minutes later I asked if we could stop and get water. I cannot even begin to think what's going through his mind. "These American girls and their water!" He gets back in the car and hands me what I'm certain will make me feel better. Down the hatch, bottle 4. Feeling a bit water-logged but this time the water will work, I just know it.
We were off again and I got see the sea. I couldn't tell you the city's name though. Chris said it multiple times but not a once did I understand what he was saying with his accent. Though it probably had more to do with how I wasn't worried about listening as much as trying to keep from getting sick. This was a concerted effort and quite a bit of work so I didn't have much to chat about once we got back in the car. So poor Chris just worked harder to try and make conversation. I know he went into some detail about why most cars here are manual instead of automatic but all I could muster was a a guttural "um hmm".
Chris: "Seems like you Americans like to drive big trucks."
Karen: "Um hmm."
Chris: "Not many trucks over here in the U.K."
Karen: "Um hmm."
Chris: "What kind of vehicle do you drive in Texas?"
Karen: "Um hmm."
A couple miles down the road and I needed to roll the window down again. I think I commented that I just needed some water and was fine but I'm sure by this point Chris must be counting down the minutes until we get to dinner and this bloody American bird can finally get all the water I could possibly need.
Blah, blah, blah, he's talking about something or other, blah, blah, blah, I'm trying to hold it together, blah, blah, blah, and then I cut him off mid-sentence, "Pull over the car!"
I wish I could say Chris thought I was joking, but his quick reaction and lack of surprise clearly displayed how weird I'd been despite all my efforts of drinking water and um hmm'ing to every comment along the way . He pulled over and I didn't make it far before I, well, you know.
By the time I returned to wide-eyed Chris sitting in his car, I was starting to feel less queasy but was too embarrassed to notice any relief. Seriously, I haven't a clue what he was thinking but I didn't have the courage to look at him to try and figure it out. He asked what I wanted to do and I said let's head back to his place. The original plan was to go to dinner with his roommate but I needed to clean up.
You are probably wondering why I hadn't figured out that I must be sick by this point. All I can say is it must've been wishful thinking. I do that when I'm sick. I downplay it, trying to mentally trick myself. I recall when I had strep in Chicago I kept commenting that my allergies were killing me. I had a fever for Pete's sake. But this was different, of course. I wasn't "sick". Just had a bit of a tummy problem from my big, salty breakfast. Cause that sounds right - salty breakfasts make humans drink unreasonable amounts of water and feel dizzy and queasy. So, yeah, my only response to, "What were you thinking?" is that I didn't want to be sick so I must not be. So the saga continues...
Got to Chris and Nick's place and really thought the worse of it was over. Wait, let me restate, the worse of the sickness. I was certain the embarrassment had just begun. So his roommate gets there and they offer to order food in instead of going out. You know, eat a bit to feel better. I'm sitting there, on water number 5 and 6, thinking I'm going to be better and dinner would be nice. Yeah, count me in. We sit and watch a bit of the rugby game (which I really did enjoy and think I could get into if I understood the rules a bit better) but before the dinner is even delivered, the sick wave hit me again. Not sure how I managed to do so, but I politely said I needed to take care of some stuff and ever so discreetly went into the bathroom and got so incredibly sick. Sick, sick, sick.
So it wasn't just that I was thirsty (I probably polished off 2 gallons of water by the time 7am came around), and it wasn't his terrible driving (which to be fair, probably wasn't ever bad in the first place), it was a full-on stomach virus like no other. Insert gory details here.
Chris and his roommate were good sports. Just kept telling me not to worry about it as I'd sheepishly exit the bathroom. Chris went out to get me Alka Seltzer to settle my stomach but other than that, there was little to do. I couldn't take a train home in this state but to be honest, getting sick at David's place with all his roommates there sharing the bathroom sounded equally awful. I couldn't apologize enough and I know that when Chris offered to show me Canterbury he certainly didn't sign up for this. I'm sure he was thinking the same that I was, "I cannot believe this is happening!"
Spent most of yesterday evening and this morning in his bathroom, wishing I was in my own bed. He kept reminding me that this would be funny to tell one day but I just wanted to crawl under a rock. He was sweet to put up with me and though my stomach still has not fully recovered, the worse is behind me.
So where is the silver lining in all this? Where's the insightful comments? If you made it through the accounts that sound like some sort of gross excerpt from "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" (a childhood book my mom used to read me) then you get in on a little secret...I'm even thankful for all this.
In the book, Alexander wakes up with gum in his hair. He gets out of bed to trip on a skateboard and it goes on and on. On the way to school, he doesn't get the window seat in the carpool. At school, his teacher doesn't like his drawing of an invisible castle (which is actually just a blank sheet of paper) and criticizes him for singing too loud. In the end, at bedtime, Alexander's nightlight burns out, he bites his tongue, his brother takes back a pillow, and the family cat chooses to sleep with his other brother. No wonder Alexander wants to move to Australia. The book ends with his mother's assurance that everyone has bad days, even people who live in Australia.
So yeah, England is wonderful but even on vacation, you can have a crummy day. Scratch that, a day that will go down in "crummy sick-day infamy" for me. And though I really wish Ali couldv'e been here to nurse me along the way, tell me it was going to be alright and laugh about it even years from now, I knew in the end that it was going to be fine.
All these years, Ali has been who I turned to - a shoulder to cry on and a ear to share laughs with. And I know she was that for many as she was always giving herself in that regard. I'm just learning that I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by amazing family and friends (new and old) to turn to.
Even though I didn't have Ali to get me through my version of "Karen and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day", I felt so blessed to have all these new friends willing to help me out. You heard all the details on Chris - he totally took care of me. Thank God he didn't dump me at the train station to try and make my way back in that condition. Today I called Hannah in Manchester and recounted my story and shared a good laugh over the phone. When I got back to David's house, he bought ginger and lemon to make me tea to settle my stomach. Even now, Kate has toasted me some pita bread to try and give me something to eat that won't be too agitating for my stomach and has shared some tummy meds to help too. Agnes, David's other roommate, has given me some cold and flu medicine to help with the aches and pains I'm having.
Everyone will agree, being sick sucks, especially when on vacation. But it'll be okay and I'm so thankful for everyone that took care of me. I totally felt Ali's love!
I've typed, deleted and retyped the intro to this entry multiple times and haven't a clue how to start out the blog that can describe the last 24 hours. What started out as a beautiful, pleasant day trip to Canterbury turned into a 24 hour virus nightmare. Rest assured that though my stomach is still queasy, I'm doing better now and am on the mend. This goes without saying, but having this kind of flu while away from home is less than ideal. And now that I'm at the tail end of it, I can appreciate the comical side of what is probably one of my most embarrassing stories to date. I SO wish I could have had Ali here to take care of me or to call up and tell this story to. She would've taken good care of me but made light of it along the way. And afterward, as I'd tell the story, would laugh so hard. Knee slapping Ali laugh. Just thinking about it cheers me up:)
Okay, now for the horror to unfold...
Yesterday I left Acton Town after breakfast with David, Hannah and Angela. Hannah left to go back to Manchester and David was going to hang out with his girlfriend so I planned a short jaunt with another friend to spend the day in Canterbury. Before heading out, I was quite thirsty so I grabbed a bottle of water and drank it up. Yum, water.
Got to travel on my own through London Terminal and really enjoyed traveling the tube and trains and getting to see the countryside some more. It's just a little longer than an hour to get there but by the time I got to West Malling, the stop I was meeting Chris, I felt a little "off". Just thought it was the heavy, salty breakfast (eggs, beans, toast and black pudding) and didn't think much of it. I bought a bigger bottle of water, water numero 2.
Chris picked me up at the station to get to Canterbury and while we were driving around, I started to feel a bit worse. This time I blamed it on the roundabouts and my motion sickness. Once I got out of the car, the cool air on my face helped and all was well again. We headed into town to have a snack, a beer and then check out the Cathedral. Having food didn't sound appealing so I skipped on the Cornish pasty (I should've known right then and there that my lack of appetite was out of character and something was about to unfold). However, I did think a beer would help so I ordered up a local pint. Yeah, wrong on that too. I got about halfway through my beer and decided I needed to just have more water. Bottle 3, down. Still "off" but again, it's cause of Chris' terrible driving. Ha, ha, just blame it on the bloke's driving.
From there we went to check out the Cathedral. It's an impressive building and incredible to see in person. I had taken some time to get into town so we weren't able to go into the church cause it wasn't open but walking around it you could really appreciate the history of the Cathedral. Just beautiful...argh...not feeling so well. We decided to go see some of the seaside towns and visit Chris' family's old vacation area. We get in the car and I'm struggling to just carry on pleasant conversation. I just kept thinking it would pass. I asked if I could roll my window down a bit. A bizarre request since it was so cold and windy out but Chris didn't seem to mind. A few minutes later I asked if we could stop and get water. I cannot even begin to think what's going through his mind. "These American girls and their water!" He gets back in the car and hands me what I'm certain will make me feel better. Down the hatch, bottle 4. Feeling a bit water-logged but this time the water will work, I just know it.
We were off again and I got see the sea. I couldn't tell you the city's name though. Chris said it multiple times but not a once did I understand what he was saying with his accent. Though it probably had more to do with how I wasn't worried about listening as much as trying to keep from getting sick. This was a concerted effort and quite a bit of work so I didn't have much to chat about once we got back in the car. So poor Chris just worked harder to try and make conversation. I know he went into some detail about why most cars here are manual instead of automatic but all I could muster was a a guttural "um hmm".
Chris: "Seems like you Americans like to drive big trucks."
Karen: "Um hmm."
Chris: "Not many trucks over here in the U.K."
Karen: "Um hmm."
Chris: "What kind of vehicle do you drive in Texas?"
Karen: "Um hmm."
A couple miles down the road and I needed to roll the window down again. I think I commented that I just needed some water and was fine but I'm sure by this point Chris must be counting down the minutes until we get to dinner and this bloody American bird can finally get all the water I could possibly need.
Blah, blah, blah, he's talking about something or other, blah, blah, blah, I'm trying to hold it together, blah, blah, blah, and then I cut him off mid-sentence, "Pull over the car!"
I wish I could say Chris thought I was joking, but his quick reaction and lack of surprise clearly displayed how weird I'd been despite all my efforts of drinking water and um hmm'ing to every comment along the way . He pulled over and I didn't make it far before I, well, you know.
By the time I returned to wide-eyed Chris sitting in his car, I was starting to feel less queasy but was too embarrassed to notice any relief. Seriously, I haven't a clue what he was thinking but I didn't have the courage to look at him to try and figure it out. He asked what I wanted to do and I said let's head back to his place. The original plan was to go to dinner with his roommate but I needed to clean up.
You are probably wondering why I hadn't figured out that I must be sick by this point. All I can say is it must've been wishful thinking. I do that when I'm sick. I downplay it, trying to mentally trick myself. I recall when I had strep in Chicago I kept commenting that my allergies were killing me. I had a fever for Pete's sake. But this was different, of course. I wasn't "sick". Just had a bit of a tummy problem from my big, salty breakfast. Cause that sounds right - salty breakfasts make humans drink unreasonable amounts of water and feel dizzy and queasy. So, yeah, my only response to, "What were you thinking?" is that I didn't want to be sick so I must not be. So the saga continues...
Got to Chris and Nick's place and really thought the worse of it was over. Wait, let me restate, the worse of the sickness. I was certain the embarrassment had just begun. So his roommate gets there and they offer to order food in instead of going out. You know, eat a bit to feel better. I'm sitting there, on water number 5 and 6, thinking I'm going to be better and dinner would be nice. Yeah, count me in. We sit and watch a bit of the rugby game (which I really did enjoy and think I could get into if I understood the rules a bit better) but before the dinner is even delivered, the sick wave hit me again. Not sure how I managed to do so, but I politely said I needed to take care of some stuff and ever so discreetly went into the bathroom and got so incredibly sick. Sick, sick, sick.
So it wasn't just that I was thirsty (I probably polished off 2 gallons of water by the time 7am came around), and it wasn't his terrible driving (which to be fair, probably wasn't ever bad in the first place), it was a full-on stomach virus like no other. Insert gory details here.
Chris and his roommate were good sports. Just kept telling me not to worry about it as I'd sheepishly exit the bathroom. Chris went out to get me Alka Seltzer to settle my stomach but other than that, there was little to do. I couldn't take a train home in this state but to be honest, getting sick at David's place with all his roommates there sharing the bathroom sounded equally awful. I couldn't apologize enough and I know that when Chris offered to show me Canterbury he certainly didn't sign up for this. I'm sure he was thinking the same that I was, "I cannot believe this is happening!"
Spent most of yesterday evening and this morning in his bathroom, wishing I was in my own bed. He kept reminding me that this would be funny to tell one day but I just wanted to crawl under a rock. He was sweet to put up with me and though my stomach still has not fully recovered, the worse is behind me.
So where is the silver lining in all this? Where's the insightful comments? If you made it through the accounts that sound like some sort of gross excerpt from "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" (a childhood book my mom used to read me) then you get in on a little secret...I'm even thankful for all this.
In the book, Alexander wakes up with gum in his hair. He gets out of bed to trip on a skateboard and it goes on and on. On the way to school, he doesn't get the window seat in the carpool. At school, his teacher doesn't like his drawing of an invisible castle (which is actually just a blank sheet of paper) and criticizes him for singing too loud. In the end, at bedtime, Alexander's nightlight burns out, he bites his tongue, his brother takes back a pillow, and the family cat chooses to sleep with his other brother. No wonder Alexander wants to move to Australia. The book ends with his mother's assurance that everyone has bad days, even people who live in Australia.
So yeah, England is wonderful but even on vacation, you can have a crummy day. Scratch that, a day that will go down in "crummy sick-day infamy" for me. And though I really wish Ali couldv'e been here to nurse me along the way, tell me it was going to be alright and laugh about it even years from now, I knew in the end that it was going to be fine.
All these years, Ali has been who I turned to - a shoulder to cry on and a ear to share laughs with. And I know she was that for many as she was always giving herself in that regard. I'm just learning that I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by amazing family and friends (new and old) to turn to.
Even though I didn't have Ali to get me through my version of "Karen and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day", I felt so blessed to have all these new friends willing to help me out. You heard all the details on Chris - he totally took care of me. Thank God he didn't dump me at the train station to try and make my way back in that condition. Today I called Hannah in Manchester and recounted my story and shared a good laugh over the phone. When I got back to David's house, he bought ginger and lemon to make me tea to settle my stomach. Even now, Kate has toasted me some pita bread to try and give me something to eat that won't be too agitating for my stomach and has shared some tummy meds to help too. Agnes, David's other roommate, has given me some cold and flu medicine to help with the aches and pains I'm having.
Everyone will agree, being sick sucks, especially when on vacation. But it'll be okay and I'm so thankful for everyone that took care of me. I totally felt Ali's love!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Country Roads in British Bars
10/16/09 - Afternoon
Had a great day yesterday with Hannah and David in London! We took a bus into London and did a tour on the double-decker bus. Got to take in all the London sights with little walking. Which was great, cause my shoe selection was more about looking cute and less about being comfortable. Not great for walking around but perfect for sitting on a tourist bus and taking pics from a seat. Ali and I talked about all the shoes we were going to bring...at one point we considered having one bag, between the two of us, dedicated just to our footwear. My boots are cute, but they weren't made for walking, that's for sure.
After our day long bus tour, we stopped by a pub, Three Tuns, for fish and chips and beer. Good stuff, I even liked the mushy peas. From there we took the tube back to Acton Town to get ready for our night out with local music and friends. Ali had sent me a link to the guy we were going to hear perform, Jayson Norris (http://jaysonnorris.com/main/). He plays at The Chatsworth (a bar David frequents) every Thursday night and it was an incredible show! He has an album, but for the show he plays cover music from Rage Against the Machine to Jason Mraz to Kings of Leon, and everything in between. He's a one man show but records each section of the song with his guitar up on the stage and then loops the sections back and puts it all together to cover the song.
We danced for hours to Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling", Oasis "Champagne Supernova", Prodigy "Breathe"...all incredible. I was drinking a pink beer I swear they were calling the Stinkbutt but learned later they were saying Snakebite. Silly accents! Not sure if we have that in the U.S. or not but it's lager, cider and juice. Yummy. Danced all night long and will have to buy Jayson Norris' CD before I get home.
My favorite part of the night, by far, was when Jayson stopped the show to say he was playing this next song for the Texas girl visiting her friends in England. The singer and David had chatted in between sets and David told him the story and requested he play a song for us. He played "Take Me Home,County Roads" by John Denver and the whole bar sang to the song. It was surreal to be singing that song, in a pub in Acton, hugging Hannah and David, wishing Ali was there.
"Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads"
Today I'm heading to Canterbury and tomorrow will hit up some London sights again with the UT vs. OU game as the highlight for the evening. Hugs and love to everyone!
Had a great day yesterday with Hannah and David in London! We took a bus into London and did a tour on the double-decker bus. Got to take in all the London sights with little walking. Which was great, cause my shoe selection was more about looking cute and less about being comfortable. Not great for walking around but perfect for sitting on a tourist bus and taking pics from a seat. Ali and I talked about all the shoes we were going to bring...at one point we considered having one bag, between the two of us, dedicated just to our footwear. My boots are cute, but they weren't made for walking, that's for sure.
After our day long bus tour, we stopped by a pub, Three Tuns, for fish and chips and beer. Good stuff, I even liked the mushy peas. From there we took the tube back to Acton Town to get ready for our night out with local music and friends. Ali had sent me a link to the guy we were going to hear perform, Jayson Norris (http://jaysonnorris.com/main/). He plays at The Chatsworth (a bar David frequents) every Thursday night and it was an incredible show! He has an album, but for the show he plays cover music from Rage Against the Machine to Jason Mraz to Kings of Leon, and everything in between. He's a one man show but records each section of the song with his guitar up on the stage and then loops the sections back and puts it all together to cover the song.
We danced for hours to Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling", Oasis "Champagne Supernova", Prodigy "Breathe"...all incredible. I was drinking a pink beer I swear they were calling the Stinkbutt but learned later they were saying Snakebite. Silly accents! Not sure if we have that in the U.S. or not but it's lager, cider and juice. Yummy. Danced all night long and will have to buy Jayson Norris' CD before I get home.
My favorite part of the night, by far, was when Jayson stopped the show to say he was playing this next song for the Texas girl visiting her friends in England. The singer and David had chatted in between sets and David told him the story and requested he play a song for us. He played "Take Me Home,County Roads" by John Denver and the whole bar sang to the song. It was surreal to be singing that song, in a pub in Acton, hugging Hannah and David, wishing Ali was there.
"Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads"
Today I'm heading to Canterbury and tomorrow will hit up some London sights again with the UT vs. OU game as the highlight for the evening. Hugs and love to everyone!
A Blessed Day
10/15/09 - Afternoon
As I mentioned in my "interlude", yesterday was incredible with a lot to share. The day was bookended with an incredible morning reflecting about Ali and an evening with Ali's friends (my new friends) celebrating her life with great stories. Meeting up with Hannah at lunch and exploring London was so fun! We had a great time taking goofy "touristy" pictures and the three of us got along like we've known each other for years. We got to take in the standard London sights and later got dressed up for a nice dinner at Gaucho followed by dancing and good times in Soho. The day was full of laughter and new memories that I will forever cherish. Today we'll finish up the London sights and tonight will hit up a local pub for David's favorite live music on Thursday. Ali sent me a video clip of the guy and was quite excited about getting to take in some of the local music. So today, no doubt, will be another great one:)
So that's my lame attempt to cover all that I've done. Leaving a ton off cause I want to focus this entry on my morning in Bath...
Started out yesterday morning in Bath. As I mentioned before, this was one of the highlights of the trip for Ali. Wanted to get in more of the city before heading back to London to meet up with Ali's other friend, Hannah. Went down to the thermal springs along the Parade Gardens around the Pulteney Bridge. It's a beautiful, well-kept area with beautiful Georgian buildings accenting the backdrop. The plan was to spread ashes in this area but sitting there, I just knew this wasn't "Ali" enough. It was a very pretty setting but too...something. Not sure why, but something about it just didn't seem right. Spoke to David and decided to go have an English breakfast and we would try and explore outside of Bath's city to find something that was more what Ali would want.
Breakfast was good with, of course, a great cup of tea. I tried Marmite, a yeast extract, spread on my toast. I hadn't realized how strong it would be so the first bite of toast was a kick to my taste buds. I wiped the majority of the spread off and then was able to enjoy the breakfast. From there, we headed to the outskirts of Bath to see what we found.
We got out on the road toward London but it was only a couple miles out when we saw a beautiful little village on a hill and decided to check it out. To the right there was an expansive, lush green plateau with little cottages sprinkled in the distance. The morning was very quite with no other cars out and about on the cobble roads that twisted and turned around the quaint town. We pulled over in front of a building we liked that was lined by an old stone wall. When we got to the front, we realized it was an old English church. So perfect. I didn't know anything about the location or the church(included that below) but it was so incredibly perfect.
Upon getting back to the house and doing some research, I was able to learn why this location was so perfect for Ali. The town is Swainswick, a quite small village spreading down the old A46 road. The hill is Solsbury Hill, a plateau famous for the Iron Age Hill Fort that occupied it between 300 BC and 100 BC. When you walk around the plateau, you'd see dry stone walls that would enclose the fort. The views are stunning and you can see Bath, Batheaston, Bathhampton and on a really clear day, you'd see the hills of Wales. The hill is also well known because of the song by Peter Gabriel about a spiritual experience he had on top of the hill. "Solsbury Hill" didn't have meaning to me before, but upon hearing the song I immediately recognized it and was so moved by the lyrics. "Son, he said, grab your things, I've come to take you home." Wow...I don't even know how to muster up a way to describe the meaning behind all this so I won't even try. I just know we were meant to come across this church upon the hill.
The church, I learned later, is about 2 miles North East of Bath, England, just off the A46 road that goes up towards the M4 Motorway. For those that want to learn more about the church than what I share, you can visit the following site: http://swainswickchurch.org.uk/#/history/4520260249. The church in Swainswick probably started as a wooded settlement used for worship but the stone church we visited was built toward the end of the 12th century. Here's more from the site:
"Vestiges of this are still to be seen in the south wall, the door entrance with its distinctive Norman pillars supporting a Romanesque zig-zag decorated arch and the simple loophole window to the west of the doorway with its corresponding loophole in the north wall at the base of the tower, the deep inner splay indicating that this was the north wall of the original building."
Right before spreading Ali's ashes, by the church's garden, we were greeted by Noodle, the wiggle-bottom black lab that was with the groundskeeper. The dog was so incredibly sweet and friendly and I could totally feel Alison there with us. He followed us around the church lawn, wagging his tail comically and picking up sticks to show off. Again, just so incredibly "Ali" on so many levels.
Inside the church, I was able to take a great deal of pictures and learn more about the people that attend and pray there. I signed their registry and wrote in their prayer request book that the Friedrich family, Chris and those touched by Alison all find peace and comfort. Right next to the book there was a Psalm handout. I found it so comforting and wanted to end this entry with what was no doubt left for me to find:
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me:
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
As I mentioned in my "interlude", yesterday was incredible with a lot to share. The day was bookended with an incredible morning reflecting about Ali and an evening with Ali's friends (my new friends) celebrating her life with great stories. Meeting up with Hannah at lunch and exploring London was so fun! We had a great time taking goofy "touristy" pictures and the three of us got along like we've known each other for years. We got to take in the standard London sights and later got dressed up for a nice dinner at Gaucho followed by dancing and good times in Soho. The day was full of laughter and new memories that I will forever cherish. Today we'll finish up the London sights and tonight will hit up a local pub for David's favorite live music on Thursday. Ali sent me a video clip of the guy and was quite excited about getting to take in some of the local music. So today, no doubt, will be another great one:)
So that's my lame attempt to cover all that I've done. Leaving a ton off cause I want to focus this entry on my morning in Bath...
Started out yesterday morning in Bath. As I mentioned before, this was one of the highlights of the trip for Ali. Wanted to get in more of the city before heading back to London to meet up with Ali's other friend, Hannah. Went down to the thermal springs along the Parade Gardens around the Pulteney Bridge. It's a beautiful, well-kept area with beautiful Georgian buildings accenting the backdrop. The plan was to spread ashes in this area but sitting there, I just knew this wasn't "Ali" enough. It was a very pretty setting but too...something. Not sure why, but something about it just didn't seem right. Spoke to David and decided to go have an English breakfast and we would try and explore outside of Bath's city to find something that was more what Ali would want.
Breakfast was good with, of course, a great cup of tea. I tried Marmite, a yeast extract, spread on my toast. I hadn't realized how strong it would be so the first bite of toast was a kick to my taste buds. I wiped the majority of the spread off and then was able to enjoy the breakfast. From there, we headed to the outskirts of Bath to see what we found.
We got out on the road toward London but it was only a couple miles out when we saw a beautiful little village on a hill and decided to check it out. To the right there was an expansive, lush green plateau with little cottages sprinkled in the distance. The morning was very quite with no other cars out and about on the cobble roads that twisted and turned around the quaint town. We pulled over in front of a building we liked that was lined by an old stone wall. When we got to the front, we realized it was an old English church. So perfect. I didn't know anything about the location or the church(included that below) but it was so incredibly perfect.
Upon getting back to the house and doing some research, I was able to learn why this location was so perfect for Ali. The town is Swainswick, a quite small village spreading down the old A46 road. The hill is Solsbury Hill, a plateau famous for the Iron Age Hill Fort that occupied it between 300 BC and 100 BC. When you walk around the plateau, you'd see dry stone walls that would enclose the fort. The views are stunning and you can see Bath, Batheaston, Bathhampton and on a really clear day, you'd see the hills of Wales. The hill is also well known because of the song by Peter Gabriel about a spiritual experience he had on top of the hill. "Solsbury Hill" didn't have meaning to me before, but upon hearing the song I immediately recognized it and was so moved by the lyrics. "Son, he said, grab your things, I've come to take you home." Wow...I don't even know how to muster up a way to describe the meaning behind all this so I won't even try. I just know we were meant to come across this church upon the hill.
The church, I learned later, is about 2 miles North East of Bath, England, just off the A46 road that goes up towards the M4 Motorway. For those that want to learn more about the church than what I share, you can visit the following site: http://swainswickchurch.org.uk/#/history/4520260249. The church in Swainswick probably started as a wooded settlement used for worship but the stone church we visited was built toward the end of the 12th century. Here's more from the site:
"Vestiges of this are still to be seen in the south wall, the door entrance with its distinctive Norman pillars supporting a Romanesque zig-zag decorated arch and the simple loophole window to the west of the doorway with its corresponding loophole in the north wall at the base of the tower, the deep inner splay indicating that this was the north wall of the original building."
Right before spreading Ali's ashes, by the church's garden, we were greeted by Noodle, the wiggle-bottom black lab that was with the groundskeeper. The dog was so incredibly sweet and friendly and I could totally feel Alison there with us. He followed us around the church lawn, wagging his tail comically and picking up sticks to show off. Again, just so incredibly "Ali" on so many levels.
Inside the church, I was able to take a great deal of pictures and learn more about the people that attend and pray there. I signed their registry and wrote in their prayer request book that the Friedrich family, Chris and those touched by Alison all find peace and comfort. Right next to the book there was a Psalm handout. I found it so comforting and wanted to end this entry with what was no doubt left for me to find:
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me:
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
My Interlude
10/14/09 - Evening
Wow, today was incredible and we finally have Hannah, one of Ali's friends, with us! She came in town from Manchester and will be here for a couple days. Getting ready to have a fancy dinner in in Soho and then will meet out with Hannah and David's friends. Getting ready to 80's music and Hannah is straightening my hair so I have a little time to blog.
While getting ready, we are having the queso and salsa I brought in town so I'm getting a good taste of home. They think the salsa is SO HOT. Though I have to admit, I did bring pretty hot salsa to try and make a point:) Also had Monster Munch BBQ Beef Flavored chips today. Picture Funyons, only with weirder flavors and packaging. One of Hannah's childhood favorites so I couldn't turn it down. Though the weird monkey hand shapes that the chips had were almost as bizarre as the taste.
I would be cheating the experience to try and write about today without having more time...so stay tuned. More to come in the morning with lots of great stories and adventures to share. Love to you all!
Wow, today was incredible and we finally have Hannah, one of Ali's friends, with us! She came in town from Manchester and will be here for a couple days. Getting ready to have a fancy dinner in in Soho and then will meet out with Hannah and David's friends. Getting ready to 80's music and Hannah is straightening my hair so I have a little time to blog.
While getting ready, we are having the queso and salsa I brought in town so I'm getting a good taste of home. They think the salsa is SO HOT. Though I have to admit, I did bring pretty hot salsa to try and make a point:) Also had Monster Munch BBQ Beef Flavored chips today. Picture Funyons, only with weirder flavors and packaging. One of Hannah's childhood favorites so I couldn't turn it down. Though the weird monkey hand shapes that the chips had were almost as bizarre as the taste.
I would be cheating the experience to try and write about today without having more time...so stay tuned. More to come in the morning with lots of great stories and adventures to share. Love to you all!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Singing with Ali
10/13/09 - Evening
Today was another beautiful day. I have been so incredibly blessed with perfect weather over here. A time of the year full of dreary rain and cold afternoons, it's been unseasonably perfect every day and we are getting some great site seeing in!
This morning I joined David for his work travels to Salisbury, England (a 2 1/2 hour drive from London) with the day ending in Bath (a 1 1/2 hour drive from Salisbury). We spent some time in the car yesterday as well but it wasn't until today that I realized that I was singing aloud to all the songs that came on the radio or our iPods. A habit I usually reserve for friends I know better, I belted out Queen, Dave Matthews, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lady Gaga, etc. like I was alone in the shower...if I knew the words (or even if I didn't) I sang along, and loudly. David didn't seem to mind and joined in on the songs he knew and we had a good old fashioned road trip. Something I did often with Ali growing up and as an adult so it was a great way to bond with her friend. And something she would've joined in on as well.
So, Salisbury...cute town full of little winding roads and shops. I weaved through and saw familiar stores like TKMaxx (anyone know why it's called TJMaxx in the U.S. and TKMaxx in the U.K.? I personally prefer the "K" but us Karen's have an affinity for the letter "K" ). Recognized a few stores, and checked out new ones including many charity shops (a.k.a. Goodwills). Nothing worth mentioning there, but a good morning of just taking in the city. I was dressed ready to run in the afternoon so I was a bit cold and looked strange in a city that doesn't wear workout clothes out on the town. Not sure if I looked like an American, fool, or both, but my "workout skirt get up" got some strange stares.
Met back up with David and we left for Stonehenge. Ali and I were only so-so excited about Stonehenge. We heard from everyone that it's cool to see, cross off your list, but nothing to write home about. Now that I've been there, I can say I agree. Sorry, I know it has an incredible history and what not, but after about 10 minutes of walking around and taking pictures you are just kind of done. I was more intrigued by what I read in books and online than the rocks. Maybe that's because there has to be some stuff in this trip that isn't awe inspiring...or maybe it's cause Ali and I set out to kind of just squeeze-it-in-between-stuff about the whole thing. Whatever it was, the rocks were cool. Been there, done that. Check the checkbox and off to Bath.
From Stonehenge we headed toward Bath, another favorite...I mean "favourite" (when in Rome) off of Ali's itinerary. Historian I am not, so here's the highlights Wikipedia states about Bath:
The city was first established as a spa resort with the Latin name, Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") by the Romans in AD 43 although verbal tradition suggests that Bath was known before then. They built baths and a temple on the surrounding hills of Bath in the valley of the River Avon around hot springs, which are the only ones naturally occurring in the United Kingdom. Edward was crowned king of England at Bath Abbey in 973. Much later, it became popular as a spa resort during the Georgian era, which led to a major expansion that left a heritage of exemplary Georgian architecture crafted from Bath Stone.
Just driving into Bath I could see it was going to make for a beautiful city. It's the gorgeous countryside you hear England is known for...breathtaking. Of course, there was some singing again. Made for a quick and entertaining drive.
When we got into the city, we parked and headed into the town center for our lunch - brie baguettes on a bench in front of the Roman Baths. Again, David went on to another meeting and I had the afternoon to take in the new town.
I got a short run in but when I reached the Bath Botanical Gardens I decided to just lay in the grass out in the sun and just reflect. From my car trips this morning, I had lots of fun Ali stories running through my head:
Like the time Ali, Laura and I did a lip sync video to the B-52's "Love Shack" in middle school. We had on short mini dresses, tons of makeup and danced around to the song like the weirdos that we were. I soooo have to find that video!
Or the time Ali sang solos in our summer church plays. She had a beautiful voice and was a natural at the solo spotlight. As we got older and her voice changed, she claimed to have lost that talent. Though I'm convinced her raspy, mature voice was cooler than her middle school days. Sure she sounded a little "masculine" (her words, not mine!) singing soprano, but she put all her heart into it so that made up for her range. Anyway, like me, she always sang out loud to the radio:)
Or the time Ali, JeanAnn, Laura, Erin and I belted out Clay Walker's "What's It To You" on a long road trip to a church camp. There were some handmotions and dance moves to awesome accompany the song as well...
"Love is the rhythm of two hearts beating
Poundin' out a message steady and true
Talk to me baby tell me what you're feelin'
I know what love is
What's it to you"
And for those of you that learned the movements to M.I.A's "Paper Planes" from Ali, you'll know how great she was for turning a sing along into something so much bigger when it has dance moves to go with it!
After my run in the park, David and I hit up the Thermae Bath Spa (Britain's only and original bath spa). The book informed Ali and I that it's the only place to, "bathe in Britain's only naturally warm, mineral-rich waters as the Celts and Romans did over 2,000 years ago" so we were sold. I don't believe the Celts and Romans had blue pool noodles over 2,000 years ago but it was a very fun trip and enjoyable.
Everyone is in a swimsuit (sorry to disappoint some of you hoping for a juicy turn in my blog) and you move around from an indoor mineral pool to a rooftop mineral pool to the steamrooms infused with aromatic scents from eucalyptus mint and lavender to frankincense. And I have to agree with David, frankincense smells like athlete's foot. But the other steamrooms were quite nice.
Had dinner there and reflected on the day and both agreed, "Ali would've loved this" - a theme I don't grow weary saying and will say time and time again for the rest of my life, I'm sure. Watched the sunset from the rooftop mineral pool. The view of the old churches in the skyline of pink and purple clouds made me feel very Roman...or Celtic. Whatever. Either way, it was just cool.
Spent the evening drinking the fancy wine I bought from Ali's 30th birthday trip to Napa Valley. We were going to save it and uncork the fancy wine (expensive by my standards) after she walked for receiving her doctorate in AuD but since she won't be able to do the walk, I decided to open it tonight in her honor.
Cheers to all of that had he privilege of knowing Ali! Sing aloud and out loud!
Today was another beautiful day. I have been so incredibly blessed with perfect weather over here. A time of the year full of dreary rain and cold afternoons, it's been unseasonably perfect every day and we are getting some great site seeing in!
This morning I joined David for his work travels to Salisbury, England (a 2 1/2 hour drive from London) with the day ending in Bath (a 1 1/2 hour drive from Salisbury). We spent some time in the car yesterday as well but it wasn't until today that I realized that I was singing aloud to all the songs that came on the radio or our iPods. A habit I usually reserve for friends I know better, I belted out Queen, Dave Matthews, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lady Gaga, etc. like I was alone in the shower...if I knew the words (or even if I didn't) I sang along, and loudly. David didn't seem to mind and joined in on the songs he knew and we had a good old fashioned road trip. Something I did often with Ali growing up and as an adult so it was a great way to bond with her friend. And something she would've joined in on as well.
So, Salisbury...cute town full of little winding roads and shops. I weaved through and saw familiar stores like TKMaxx (anyone know why it's called TJMaxx in the U.S. and TKMaxx in the U.K.? I personally prefer the "K" but us Karen's have an affinity for the letter "K" ). Recognized a few stores, and checked out new ones including many charity shops (a.k.a. Goodwills). Nothing worth mentioning there, but a good morning of just taking in the city. I was dressed ready to run in the afternoon so I was a bit cold and looked strange in a city that doesn't wear workout clothes out on the town. Not sure if I looked like an American, fool, or both, but my "workout skirt get up" got some strange stares.
Met back up with David and we left for Stonehenge. Ali and I were only so-so excited about Stonehenge. We heard from everyone that it's cool to see, cross off your list, but nothing to write home about. Now that I've been there, I can say I agree. Sorry, I know it has an incredible history and what not, but after about 10 minutes of walking around and taking pictures you are just kind of done. I was more intrigued by what I read in books and online than the rocks. Maybe that's because there has to be some stuff in this trip that isn't awe inspiring...or maybe it's cause Ali and I set out to kind of just squeeze-it-in-between-stuff about the whole thing. Whatever it was, the rocks were cool. Been there, done that. Check the checkbox and off to Bath.
From Stonehenge we headed toward Bath, another favorite...I mean "favourite" (when in Rome) off of Ali's itinerary. Historian I am not, so here's the highlights Wikipedia states about Bath:
The city was first established as a spa resort with the Latin name, Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") by the Romans in AD 43 although verbal tradition suggests that Bath was known before then. They built baths and a temple on the surrounding hills of Bath in the valley of the River Avon around hot springs, which are the only ones naturally occurring in the United Kingdom. Edward was crowned king of England at Bath Abbey in 973. Much later, it became popular as a spa resort during the Georgian era, which led to a major expansion that left a heritage of exemplary Georgian architecture crafted from Bath Stone.
Just driving into Bath I could see it was going to make for a beautiful city. It's the gorgeous countryside you hear England is known for...breathtaking. Of course, there was some singing again. Made for a quick and entertaining drive.
When we got into the city, we parked and headed into the town center for our lunch - brie baguettes on a bench in front of the Roman Baths. Again, David went on to another meeting and I had the afternoon to take in the new town.
I got a short run in but when I reached the Bath Botanical Gardens I decided to just lay in the grass out in the sun and just reflect. From my car trips this morning, I had lots of fun Ali stories running through my head:
Like the time Ali, Laura and I did a lip sync video to the B-52's "Love Shack" in middle school. We had on short mini dresses, tons of makeup and danced around to the song like the weirdos that we were. I soooo have to find that video!
Or the time Ali sang solos in our summer church plays. She had a beautiful voice and was a natural at the solo spotlight. As we got older and her voice changed, she claimed to have lost that talent. Though I'm convinced her raspy, mature voice was cooler than her middle school days. Sure she sounded a little "masculine" (her words, not mine!) singing soprano, but she put all her heart into it so that made up for her range. Anyway, like me, she always sang out loud to the radio:)
Or the time Ali, JeanAnn, Laura, Erin and I belted out Clay Walker's "What's It To You" on a long road trip to a church camp. There were some handmotions and dance moves to awesome accompany the song as well...
"Love is the rhythm of two hearts beating
Poundin' out a message steady and true
Talk to me baby tell me what you're feelin'
I know what love is
What's it to you"
And for those of you that learned the movements to M.I.A's "Paper Planes" from Ali, you'll know how great she was for turning a sing along into something so much bigger when it has dance moves to go with it!
After my run in the park, David and I hit up the Thermae Bath Spa (Britain's only and original bath spa). The book informed Ali and I that it's the only place to, "bathe in Britain's only naturally warm, mineral-rich waters as the Celts and Romans did over 2,000 years ago" so we were sold. I don't believe the Celts and Romans had blue pool noodles over 2,000 years ago but it was a very fun trip and enjoyable.
Everyone is in a swimsuit (sorry to disappoint some of you hoping for a juicy turn in my blog) and you move around from an indoor mineral pool to a rooftop mineral pool to the steamrooms infused with aromatic scents from eucalyptus mint and lavender to frankincense. And I have to agree with David, frankincense smells like athlete's foot. But the other steamrooms were quite nice.
Had dinner there and reflected on the day and both agreed, "Ali would've loved this" - a theme I don't grow weary saying and will say time and time again for the rest of my life, I'm sure. Watched the sunset from the rooftop mineral pool. The view of the old churches in the skyline of pink and purple clouds made me feel very Roman...or Celtic. Whatever. Either way, it was just cool.
Spent the evening drinking the fancy wine I bought from Ali's 30th birthday trip to Napa Valley. We were going to save it and uncork the fancy wine (expensive by my standards) after she walked for receiving her doctorate in AuD but since she won't be able to do the walk, I decided to open it tonight in her honor.
Cheers to all of that had he privilege of knowing Ali! Sing aloud and out loud!
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