Day 7 – June 30
Thursday was the last day we had anything planned or pre-booked. Today’s adventures were a boat ride to explore the “Jurassic Coast” and then meeting up with Rasa’s colleague Dai and his wife. The boat was leaving from Poole, a little bit further along the coast than Bournemouth (where we had been a few days earlier and where we would be meeting up with Dai) and since it had a precise departure time, so did we.
Day 5 – June 28
Tuesday, after Legoland, was supposed to be a rest day. In our planning, we knew we’d have been going strong for several days, sleeping in four different places in 5 nights, and so we figured that we’d take it easy before heading off to Peppa Pig world on Wednesday.
Except…
Prologue
Back in February or March, Rasa was informed of a conference in her field coming up in Manchester, England at the end of June. We talked it over and decided it would be a good idea to go. It would be her first in-person conference as a PhD student (due to the pandemic) and was scheduled to include a number of big names in her field as participants, including her unofficial supervisor (whom she would be able to meet in person for the first time).
Day OneThis year, our joint birthdays started on Saturday the 10th of July. Since we had booked a trip away to start on the 12th, and since Monki wanted a party of some sort, we decided to do it on the Saturday before. Rasa got a Barbie cake and we invited most everyone Monki knew to come and help her celebrate. Continue reading “Birthdays: 2021 Edition”
Jan 28 – Home I’m Darling
Tuesday morning I was up bright and early. Lin once again made fried egg and bacon sandwiches and we joked about the reviews I would leave regarding her hospitality. Truth be told, she was an amazing host. She took absolutely great care of me and Cecil, her wonderful cat, even slept with me a couple of the nights (and the less said about the hardness of the fold out bed, the better). Continue reading “Home, I’m Darling – Day 7 London 2020”
Jan 27 – The History Boys
Monday was my last full day of this trip and there was still some shopping I wanted to do. To that end, I arranged to meet my friend Tim at Forbidden Planet, just in case there was something I wanted to get. Turns out there was. I ended up picking up a really cool Spider-Man journal for notes and writing and then, when Tim showed up, had a fun time showing him around the place. Continue reading “The History Boys – Day 6 London 2020”
Jan 26 – Vagina Monologues
Sunday was the one day I didn’t have any shows planned. We’d thought about trying to get tickets for something else, but the only things available for Sunday were outrageously (for us at least) expensive. This left us open for other endeavors and without any time constraints.
First up was meeting with friends from Lithuania. Continue reading “The Vagina Monologues – Day 5 London 2020”
Jan 25 – A Delicate Balance
One of the nice things about visiting London is seeing friends. There are a number of folks I know on the Island and whenever I can, it’s always nice to see them. So once I knew the dates and schedules, I began making plans. Continue reading “A Delicate Balance – Day 4 London 2020”
Jan 24 – Death and the Maiden
I get up early. Can’t help it. No matter when I go to bed, I still wake up early. Even if I go back to sleep, waking up early is a bane of my existence. In this case, it was fine, in that I was able to chat with Rasa and Monki before Lin woke up. But when that was over, it also meant I was up for a while until Lin woke up. So I watched some TV and read a bit. It wasn’t an issue, since we had planned for this, having booked the afternoon tour at the Highgate Cemetery. Continue reading “Death and the Maiden – Day 3 London 2020”
Jan 23 – Night of the (Los) Iguana
Of all the days I was going to be in London, this was the only one Lin was actually working. In a practical sense, what this meant was that she was up and out of the house early, leaving me to fend for myself. So since I was on vacation, I lounged around for a bit, made myself some breakfast, and called Rasa and Monki. All of which took me to about 9:30am. When I relax I really relax, huh? Continue reading “Night of the Iguana – Day 2 London 2020”
Jan 22 – Come From Away
A few months back, I was lamenting the lack of theatre in my life. Having grown up in the theatre (I joined The Rainbow Company, a professional children’s theatre group at the age of 9 and was with Las Vegas Little Theatre for a number of years) this was something I missed. Interesting that when I lived in Vegas, I certainly didn’t see all the local theatre open to me, but at the same time, I knew it was always there, so it was okay. Continue reading “Come From Away – Day 1 London 2020”
It’s been a busy few months here at the new house. First, the folks came to visit, then we had to finish the semester and whatnot and then, just a few days ago, my sister, along with my nieces and nephew, came to visit!
Like my folks, the Fulton Clan was coming from Asia (visiting their friends Johnny and Simone in Hong Kong and our cousins Mitch and Wassana in Thailand) and they were arriving very late on Thursday night. So, in order to make things easier, I rented a larger car (four adult size people and their luggage were not going to fit into our little Toyota) with the license plate of JOB418, which became our title for the entire trip. Continue reading “Job 418”
March 12 &13, 2019
Tuesday was my last full day and I had only made one plan for the afternoon to meet a friend and Lin had tickets for me to see a show that night, so I figured this was a day on my own. I was up and out of the house before Lin knew I was gone.
I had arranged to meet my friend Ian near the South Kensington station so I headed that way. I found a place just outside the station called Muriel’s and treated myself to a “Little English” breakfast while I wrote out a few postcards and watched the rain fall outside. This is what my vacation was all about. I wasn’t rushing around to see stuff and take in all the sights and wonders of a new place, instead I was just relaxing, watching the world go by. It was wonderful. Continue reading “Coffee and Rain, Postcards and Plays”
March 11, 2019
Monday morning started off too early for Lin. Naturally, the hazards of living with a small child and having to get up early on a daily basis means no matter what time I go to bed, I get up at what, for some people, is an unreasonable hour. But being the trooper (trouper?) she is, she was up before 9am and ran out to the local bakery to get some fresh bread then fixed us both some eggs (Gordon Ramsey recipe and it was skanu!) and toast for breakfast. Continue reading “Spirits and Giant Squids,Geeks and Shipwrecks”
March 10, 2019
A few weeks back, I was getting pretty ragged. I was exhausted, working on various projects, and hadn’t had a real break from anything in about 8 months. It also turned out that due to a scheduling thing at work, I could have a week off from work. It was at this point Rasa, my ever supportive wife, said, in essence, get the hell out! After debating for a bit, and looking at options, I booked a three-day getaway to London, where I could stay with my sister from another mister, Lin. Continue reading “Cursed Children, EasyBuses, and other adventures”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 