England Extras

Hell again folks,
Here are a few more photos from our trip to England.  Apart from Warwick Castle and Thomasland, we also spent some time in Liverpool, walked around St. Helens a bunch, and spent some great time with family in Rainford.  As I said before, it was an amazing trip.  It reinvigorated the travel bug in me.  I can't wait to go on the next trip.  I've been investigating Peru and an African safari, but either might be a bit much at Shea's age.  Oh, where to go with a 3 or 4 year old?  Is it too early for Disney???  Next year, I think we'll be headed to Georgia to spend a week on a private island with a friend from high school and his family.  He did a photo shoot for the owner and can get a great deal on the house.   Anyone else have any ideas, let us know.
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea 

 The only decent photo from our first day in England walking around Liverpool.  The fatigue on Jess's face says it all.  Liverpool is an interesting city, but seems to have an identity crisis; they're not sure whether to be modern, or traditional and haven't seemed to blend the two styles very well. 

 Cousin Charlotte looking smashing, or smashed?  You decide.

She was amazing.  She took such great care of Shea, while Mike, Uncle Bill and I watched the St. Helens Saints rugby game on TV and Denise and Jess watched the same game from the game itself!

 Shea finally gets to see the family overseas - up close and personal!  I SEE YOU!

 This is one of my most favorite pictures.  It was so great to see Uncle Bill on this trip.  Despite all he's been through this summer, he still has that unmistakable twinkle in his eye and an amazing spirit.  I hope I have as much spark at his age.  I also had a blast hanging out with him and his mates at his favorite pub, the Derby Arms.   I must admit that I couldn't keep up with him and only lasted 2 beers and left the pub before him.  

 Cousins Mike and Denise were fantastic!  It was so much fun to see them again.  They not only got us tickets for the rugby and soccer games, but they also drove us all around Rainford and St. Helens, introduced us to John Smith's Extra Smooth bitter, took us to the Irish Sea, and taught us all about rugby and the Premier League.  We can't wait to go back!

No trip to Liverpool would be complete without experiencing something related to the Beatles.  OK, so I'm not a big fan, but I must admit I warmed up to them a bit while over there.  Who knows, I might just give them a closer listen. 

Constitution Cruise

Hey everyone,
Thanks to Jeremy on the Friendship, I was invited aboard the USS Constitution for one of the yearly turn-around cruises in Boston Harbor.  It was to thank the Friendship volunteers for training the Navy crew how to climb the rigging, haul on the lines, and furl sails aloft.  I helped out this summer, so I was invited.  What an opportunity!  The turn-around was scheduled for the 213th birthday of this ship (the day it was launched).  There was much pomp and formality, with all of the crew dressing in 1812 period clothing, even the Commander, as you will see below.  The dress for us was business casual, meaning they wouldn't be letting me climb the rigging, at least not on this trip.  It was a cold morning, and we had to be at the dock by 7 am.  That meant the 5:45 train into Boston, but that also meant we got to see a great sunrise though.

The trip was great!  They had a fireboat escort us the entire way, they fired a 21-gun salute at Fort Washington in South Boston and a 17-gun salute at the US Coast Guard Station in Boston (hopefully, my future office).  To sucker in people like me enraptured by the moment, they kept raising American flags for a few seconds, saluting them, and then selling them to passengers.  I fell for it and bought one.  I think I'll hang it in my office.  But, it did come with a certificate signed by the Commander that says it officially flew aboard the Constitution.  So, it's a rare souvenir that I will always cherish.  They also served grog laden with rum (supposedly rum "extracts" whatever that means).  We got go go wherever we wanted to go aboard ship, even into the bowels.  Unfortunately, I have been everywhere aboard her, so it wasn't so novel.  I took it for granted and didn't take much pictures.  So, I had to pirate some from others who were more prolific photographers.  I hope you enjoy these pics!
Doug

Me and the Commander of USS Constitution.

 Piping the officers aboard, including 2 former commanders.

 The ship as she looked that morning.  They're still uprigging her following substantial maintenance.

I guess that's why I couldn't climb!

 The Friendship crew with the Comander of the Constitution.

Me, John (1st mate on Friendship), and Gary (volunteer and Fame 1st mate) aboard Constitution.

School Shots

Hey everyone!
September is school picture time, even at the preschool level.  Shea was excited this year, as opposed to last 2 years when he was petrified of the camera.  This year, he wanted to pick out a special outfit and did so the night before.  I wished we would have given him a haircut before, but it turned out to make the pictures all that much more cute.  We were going to enter them into a GAP contest.  However, the contest rules mandated that all entries be wearing jeans and that the photos could not be taken by a professional.  We had a busy weekend and never got around to taking some additional shots at home, so we missed out on the contest.  That's ok though.  I still think these are some of the best pictures of our little man and think he would have won had we been able to enter him in the contest.  Check 'em out! 

We plan on going in for a family portrait soon and we'll post them once they're ready.  If anyone's interested in a print out of these, I'll upload them to Fotki and send you a copy.  Let me know. 
Love,
Doug, Jess, and our most handsome Shea

 If this doesn't scream GAP Kids, I don't know what does.

 Preppie, but with a casual demeanor.

 Look photographer, I can do cute human things with my hands.  

At least the photographer didn't make him take off his shoes for that extra bit of toddler cuteness.

Look at the size of that boy's head.  He's got a huge noggin!  It's a virtual planetoid!

Toddlers in Thomasland

Hey everyone,
Here's another installment depicting our trip to England.  Shea was so excited for this trip.  Every day before we left for England, he'd ask if we were going to Thomasland.  When we got there, he couldn't contain his excitement.  We got there right as the park opened, and he nearly ran right through the gates to get inside.  He immediately saw Thomas and wanted to go on a ride.  After the ride stopped, we tried to get a picture of him with Thomas.  But, Thomas didn't say "Hi" to Shea despite Shea's many attempts to engage the engine in a conversation.  Needless to say, this made him very upset.  Luckily, toddlers can be easily distracted when you highlight that there's a playground and dinosaurs nearby.  That's what makes this park so great.  Just when you think a toddler meltdown is imminent, there's something fun to grab his attention and make him forget what made him upset in the first place.  Thus, playgrounds and animals were, at least in our opinion, strategically placed throughout the park.  We saw reindeer, rabbits, tigers, penguins, and monkeys interspersed with Thomas rides, pirate rides, and the traditional ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds.  We took a tram car above the park and several train rides around the park. 

While Shea loved riding all of the Thomas-themed rides, the family favorite ride was the shooting gallery ride.  You get in a mining car, armed with pistols.  Each person has one and must try to shoot targets throughout the ride, as the car roams through a mining village.  The more difficult the shot, the higher the point value.  Daddy won the day with the highest score, but Jess's pistol prowess took away points that would have otherwise gone to me.  Shea did very well too, I must admit.  Thanks to the minimal crowd, we went on it 3 or 4 times in a row.  Although seemingly minor, just keeping score made the ride much more fun. 

It's owned by the same family for 60 years and was very family friendly.  I equate it to the way Dorney Park was before it became commercialized in the late 1980's.  My family will remember the older portion of the park where the log flume was the most advanced technology on the premises and the tram cable car and rocket ships were the favorite rides of all.  That's what it was like.  We only wished that there was a place like that in the US.  There might be one or two around here (Storyland in NH and Eddaville Railroad south of Boston) but we haven't been there yet.  Another glorious thing about Thomasland, as well as all of England, is that you can get a pint just about anywhere, including at 11:30 am in an amusement park!  So, we sat down to fish and chips, with a milk for Shea and a pint of bitter for me and Jess.  What a country!

Anyway, we stayed until closing time, straggling among the rides until we were nearly the last of the crowd being ushered out.  We all had such a great time, but were really tired.  The comfort of a hotel bed was calling and welcomed us with cushy goodness.  After a good night's rest, we went to Warwick Castle (the subject of our previous posting).  There's more postings in store, as I am reenergized to take more pictures following our vacation.  So, stay tuned.  That's NOT all folks!  For not, enjoy pictures from Thomasland!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea 

Shea sees what he covets, Thomas!  If only this darn fence wasn't in his way.

Shea loves Thomas, but Percy is his favorite.  

He wasn't so keen on riding in his second favorite engine, at least at first.

As always, Shea's mood perked up when he sees a lady.  This time, it's Rosie.

"Hi Thomas!  I said 'HI!'  Why is he not talking, Mamma?"  

Well, bust my buffers, he can't talk afterall!

They had an exhibit of the original model used for the show.  

Here are a few pics of the layout, including Thomas, Rosie, and Bulgy the Bus. 

Another cool attraction at Thomasland was the dinosaur exhibit:

 

"This is such a great place, there's nothing scary around here!"

"Wait.  So, you're telling me there's a HUGE scary dinosaur about to eat me???"  

Luckily, the Flying Dutchman (ironic name, isn't it) swooped down and rescued us.

This ride seemed innocent enough and didn't look too fast for him.

We soon realized that English kids rides are MUCH faster than in the US.  

Shea was scared, but toughed it out, saying it was fun afterwards.  That's my brave pirate!

Here's a knight-themed ride.  It was generic and fun, but made me think of old Dorney Park.

They did have a cool dragon at the end of the ride, however.

This ride is called the "Jolly Buccaneer," but that's a total frickin' misnomer; Shea was no pleased pirate after going on this ride.  It was so fast and the g-forces so great that I was thrown outward toward Shea and he was pushed against the side (he insisted on sitting on the outside though).

The good old merry-go-round brought him back to his old self though.

That, and torturing unassuming helicopter pilots. 

"Live or die?  Wrong answer, HONK!"

Making our way back through Thomasland to play with familiar faces also helped.

Shea liked to turn the knobs on Lady's engine.  Who wouldn't?

Shea's first driving lesson.  Not too shabby, I must say.  Certainly a better driver than Cousin Mike!  ;}

We had to take a tour on with Harold the Helicopter, three times over.

Here, James, the Red Engine, is sleeping.  It was about time for Shea to sleep too, as he threw a fit when we insisted that he share with the other kids. 

There's nothing like Thomas to bring back the smile though.  This was in the gift shop, of course.

We said he could pick out anything he wanted:  He picked an umbrella.  What a practical guy!

We finished the day with a tram ride across the park; what a nice ending.

Of course, we had to take one more spin on the merry-go-round.

Wandering Around Warwick Castle

Hello everyone!

As most of you know, we just got back from out trip across the pond to England.  It was a great experience for everyone.  We all got to do a bunch of stuff we all wanted to do.  We got to see some great museums in Liverpool, visit a castle, meet Thomas and his friends, see both a rugby and soccer game, and spend some great quality time with family.  The weather held out nearly the entire trip, raining only on the last 2 days.  Luckily, it was warm and we were able to avoid most of the rain, as it only came in small spurts.  The beer was great and abundant.  I tasted a bunch of different ones, but was convinced that John Smith's was the best.  Even the fish and chips were tasty (we had that 3 or 4 times).  I never got around to eating a pastie (a calzone-like pocket with meat and sometimes potatoes inside), so I'll have to get one on our next trip down the road.

I took more than 375 pictures.  Obviously, I can't post all of them, so I'll have to post the highlights in batches.  Here's the first batch:  Our trip to Warwick Castle.  What a great place!!!  We spent the entire day there and probably could have spent another few hours checking things out.  They had a princess (and knight) dress-up activities, the sword in the stone, tours of midevil English history, torture chamber, jousting and fighting displays (they didn't have any when we were there), and archery/trebuche shooting (we missed the trebuche demonstration though).  I'd definitely go back.  I hope you can enjoy some of our pictures and videos to get a taste of what we experienced.

Stay tuned for more postings of our other adventures!

Love,

Doug, Jess, and Shea

Warwick Castle includes fortifications that date back to the 11th century, but most of it dates from the 1300s.

If you look closely, you can see the 30' deep and ~60' wide ditch surrounding the castle.  It was pretty impressive at first sight.

These were the towers surrounding one of the gates barely visible at the bottom-center.

Here's the portcullis (main entrance) to the castle that goes over the gully mentioned above.  The entrance leads into a ~80' tunnel before you get into the courtyard.  Behind this is another tower much higher (see picture below). 

Here is looking up at some more of the walled fortifications from the courtyard.

Here's a view of the courtyard and main residence part of the castle from atop the hill in the picture above.  You can see the back of the portcullis at the far left of the picture.  

View of the side gate from atop the righhand tower in the first picture.  The tower dates to 1350.  You need to walk up 535 or so steps to access the 3 main towers of the castle, often climbing up steep spiral staircases not much wider than my shoulders.  It was harrowing, but well worth the efforts for the amazing views!

Here's a view of the portcullis from the same tower.  Note the higher tower behind the first entrance and bridge over the gully mentioned above, with the town of Warwick in the background.  What a view!

Here's a view of the boathouse along the Warwick River that runs along one side of the castle.

Here's the back side of the main residences that borders the river that turns a mill connected to the castle.

Here's Shea, Paka, and I in front of a real working trebuche.  Unfortunately, we missed a demonstration of this, but I could only imagine how impressive it must be to witness - note the man-sized hamster wheels used to crank down the catapult arm.

Here's another instrument of warfare, a balista.  Shea wanted to fire it at the castle. 

Shea next tried to steal a sword he saw sticking out of a stone.

It wouldn't budge and he got caught trying to steal it.

The authorities threw him and his accomplice in the stocks for his attempted larceny.

They released him under his own cognizance, but were forced to put all armaments up on the wall so he couldn't steal them.

A knight stood guard at some within arm's reach though.

A mounted knight stood guard just the same.  Is it me, or is the horse's eye REALLY creepy here.  I'd hate to stumble across this in the dark!

A ghost also prowled the great hall to ensure nothing was misplaced...just for added measure.

As if all that wasn't creepy enough, since the castle is run by Madam Tusseau's, they felt the need to include really lifelike statues throughout the castle illustrating activities in preparation for battle.

Here the Earl of Warwick rallies his forces just before dying in the decisive battle nearby.

Here's a clip of Knight Shea Shea defending the realm from evil forces.