From England to Entebbe....

Amahoro Uganda!

2007-05-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Mukono Uganda!

We are just wrapping up our conference and are leaving for Rwanda in the morning - a 12 hour ride! The conference has been great. We have all made a lot of new friends and discussed important topics such as reconciliation, empowering women, and fundraising. There are people here from all over Africa, Europe, Australia, and the US. Rwanda is a beautiful place but full of poverty. I'll keep this post short since internet connection has been challenging but wanted to let you know that I am here and have been having a great time!

Wales Safari

2007-05-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

This was the dog at the farm house where we stayed in Dolgallau. His name is Tommy and he loved to have a stick thrown.

This pick is for Dena. These chickens were way bigger than the ones at 8331 Beverly Drive!!NoCute......

A Welsh Blessing

2007-05-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to see the coastline of Wales so after spending the night at a small farm we headed West and ended up on the shores of Cardigan Bay. Stone fences, sheep, villages and lots of green, green grass. We met some nice folks as we stopped to take a picture. It was a man named David and his mother Marie. We chatted for a while and they encouraged us to try the honey ice cream in the next town called Tywyn. Marie grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go. Then she kissed it and said "all the best to you". It was a Welsh blessing to top off a very beautiful day.

Dolgallau and other places we can't pronounce

2007-05-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we traveled on to Dolgallau and stopped in Welshpool for some lunch and tea. A traffic "diversion" as they call it sent us though the mountains before we hit the main road again. It was a pleasant detour thought some beautiful countryside.

Is this a Road or a Sidewalk????

2007-05-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

Driving continues to be an adventure - the picture of the narrow alley way with people below became a roadway for me the evening before but we made it though unscathed. Here is a picture of our little Peugeot which has been faithfully taking us around the UK.

Our second evening was spent at the Bull Hotel in Ludlow, England. Our hotel was built in the 1300's. It's hard to believe that anything made out of wood could last that long! I'll have to learn the secret of that before I leave. The castle here is Ludlow Castle which also dates from the 1300's.

Off to Wales

2007-05-01T04:03:00.000-07:00

As we begin another day of driving we have to remind ourselves to watch for parked cars on the right, look out for sheep in the road, and to try not to get too lost. There's a few odd things about right hand drive - you shift on the left and the thing I cannot get used to is having your rear view on your left - I'm so used to glancing to the right! These things are just so automatic so we have to constantly refocus.

Last night, as we tried to get to our hotel, I found myself on a road that became so narrow I looked at Suzanne and said "are we on a road or a sidewalk?" It was so narrow that the tires were rubbing on the curbs and this is a small car. I became particularly concerned when I saw some scaffolding that was set up between the two buildings on each side of the "road". I had to drive under and through the scaffolding. Of course, this episode through me into hysterical laughter. Fortunately, we made it through and found our hotel! I've only had a few people honk their horns so I think we are doing pretty good.

Oxford, Fish N Chips and the Chequered Inn

2007-04-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well, after an 11 hour flight I managed to barely get through the UK immigration. Since I didn't have accommodations booked they threatened to immediately deport me. Fortunately, I had the names and address of friend in London which saved me! The rest of the English people we have encountered have been much nicer.

The first task was to quickly learn how to sit on the right side of the car and drive on the wrong side of the road. It's been tricky but we haven't crashed yet! Suzanne quickly elected me to be the first driver. We have a snazzy Peugeot 600. We headed off to Oxford about an hour outside of London. The photos you see are of a great fish n chips dinner (the English know how to do this best) and of some of the areas around Oxford which is a beautiful city.

We left Oxford after dinner and found an Inn and pub called the Chequered Inn in the village of Cassington (not a town I was told)where Sheila the cat made us feel quite at home.

Blenheim Palace

2007-04-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

On Monday, the weather was spectacular so we decided that it was a fine day to go to the Palace so we headed off to Blenheim, home of the Duke of Marlborough and also the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchhill. The trees - all of which looked several hundred years old - where absolutely beautiful. We took lots of pictures - of trees, and trees and more trees.

The car in the picture (a Range Rover is the Duke's car). I'd park right in front too if that were my palace!

More Oxford Photos

2007-04-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

More photos of beautiful Oxford!