July 11, 2009

While we were with Dave, Sarah, and Daniel Jenkins, we noticed that Daniel H kept watching Daniel J walk around. Daniel H was finding this 'walking' thing to be most intriguing. It wasn't too long that he began to show us his own skills at the game. I suppose he did not want to be out-done by another Daniel. Since then he has mainly been walking. It's is all he appears to want to do. Dave reckons he walks like a duck since he sticks out his belly and pulls up his shoulders and flaps his arms a bit and waddles a little from side to side.

Sunday, July 5, Dave, Amy, Joshua, Daniel, and Rob all went to the church just behind the house together. We had a fun time singing and praising and fellowshipping and hearing the word of the Lord. During the songs Joshua and Amy were called up to help with the motions to a few songs. Daniel, not wanting to be left out, walked up to the front during this time and began to loudly sing and clap his hands and dance around. The congregation found this most enjoyable and asked us to continue with more songs in order for them to watch more of Daniel's celebration. When service was over the leaders made arrangement with Dave for him to preach on the 26th and then we were soon on our way home.

That afternoon we watched Wimbledon for a while and then Rob and Dave went up to the allotment with Gramps for several hours. The plan was for us all to later have a braai there, but the weather looked a bit dubious so the men came back to the house for food. Good thing they did too, because as soon as they walked in the door in started to rain. They did a good job of giving us an 'indoor braai'.

While they were preparing things, Mommy was having to answer a wonderful question. Joshua asked boldly, "Mom, how do babies happen? I mean, what all has to happen for them to be born?". Mommy tried to answer as non-descriptive as possible, "Well, part of the Daddy has to pair up with part of the Mommy and that is how a baby starts". "You mean the DNA?", Joshua knowingly asks. (Obviously, this boy is too clever for the simple answers). Then he goes on to say, "I want you to find me the best doctor in the whole entire world so he can explain everything to me and not leave out even the tiniest bit". YIKES!!!

Monday, July 6, we went first to Prudhoe Castle. It is located just west of Newcastle.

• Begun between 1100 and 1120 to defend a strategic crossing of the River Tyne against Scottish invaders, Prudhoe Castle has been continuously occupied for over nine centuries. After two sieges during the 1170s - the Scots attackers reportedly declaring 'as long as Prudhoe stands, we shall never have peace' - the mighty stone keep and a great hall were added, followed in about 1300 by two strong towers. Passing from its original Umfraville owners to the powerful Percies in 1398, it was again updated with a fashionable new great hall. Even after its last military action against the Scots in 1640, Prudhoe's importance as the centre of a great landed estate continued. Early in the 19th century the Percies restored it, building a fine new manor house within its walls. All these developments are now vividly interpreted in a family-friendly exhibition including site finds, helping visitors to explore and understand the extensive remains of this formidable and long-lived fortress.

We really liked Prudhoe. Hardly any people were there and it was in a quiet, peaceful place. The natural beauty was lovely to behold as were the castle ruins. We had a lot of fun building our own castles. It took much work, but not nearly as much as building a real one!

Joshua was incredibly proud of this one because it had toilets that he is happily showing us.

The red one was a beast and took all of our help, including Daniel's.

We walked out of Prudhoe starving, so we stayed in the car park long enough to have a picnic out of our car boot (trunk).

Our next place of choice was Aydon Castle.

• One of the finest and most unaltered examples of a 13th-century English manor house, Aydon Castle stands in a secluded woodland setting. It was originally built as an undefended residence, but almost immediately fortified on the outbreak of Anglo-Scottish warfare. Nevertheless it was pillaged and burnt by the Scots in 1315, seized by English rebels two years later, and again occupied by Scots in 1346. In the 18th century Aydon became a farmhouse, remaining so until 1966.

One thing Dave and Amy really enjoyed about Aydon was the inner courtyard just off the Lord's private wing.

We read a big book of castles.

It was very big.

Here is an early style cupboard. It is cut out of stone! There are holes indicating at one stage there were doors on it as well.

Next we drove from Aydon Castle over to Chester's Roman Fort. The drive was stunning with passes through several tiny, old villages.

• Chesters Roman Fort in Northumberland was built to guard the Roman bridge which carried Hadrian’s Wall over the River North Tyne. It has the best preserved remains of a cavalry fort in Britain. Explore the foundations of the headquarters building and amble through the well-preserved commandant’s house. Discover the complex of rooms in the bath house which offered customers hot, cold or steam baths. Restored to its Victorian glory, the highly distinctive on-site museum displays an amazing collection of Roman finds retrieved by the local antiquarian John Clayton. These include important early archaeological discoveries relating to the central section of the Wall.

Here is a dedication slab dating October 30, 221 AD.

This is a leather sandle found at the site during excavation. I'm assuming it belonged to a man, yet it looked as if it would fit a woman.

This was the Roman 'locker room' where they would disrobe before entering the baths.

We found an interesting looking slug.

Dave and Joshua sat in one of the baths and tried to imagine they were Roman soldiers from 2000 years ago.

We also got to see a bit of Hadrian's wall. This was ordered to be built by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 122 BC and is 84 miles long; stretching along the north of England.

Daniel had fun directing Daddy to the sites most interesting to a one year old.

As we were driving home, Daniel would occasionally protest about something. As this is not an uncommon occurrence, we didn't really pay much attention to it, but when we got home and opened the door we found that his car seat had slipped and he was close to dumping out of it!

Tuesday, July 7, we went to Washington Old Hall. It is located in the south-east Newcastle area.

As we were approaching our destination we reached the town of Washington. The sign read, "Welcome to the ORIGINAL Washington". I, as an American, found this humorous.

Dave was impressed to find out that even George Washington was a Geordie! =)

We enjoyed a few games of swing-tennis in the garden.

We found it pretty interesting that they had eagles there as well.

It wouldn't have been complete without a cherry tree.

Joshua and Dave found a neat tunnel leading to a fun nook under a huge tree.

This tree was planted in memorial of September 11, 2001.

We weren't allowed to take pics inside, but I wanted to show the size of the fireplace!!!

We left there and ran across a Matalan where we bought my dress and shoes and Joshua's shoes for the upcoming wedding of Ryan and Sally, Liz's daughter.

After another parking lot picnic we headed for home and then lounged around for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, July 8, we went to Warkworth Castle first. We had been there before, but we didn't go in that time, so we thought it would be nice to give it a visit.

This passage went up behind the chimney of the great hall.

The castle was filled with lovely views...

...as well as occupied loos.

This was the kitchen in the keep. Can you imagine cooking in these stoves?!

Joshua rolled down the keep hill.

We had a car picnic and then were soon on our way to Alnwick Castle.

• Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England, and has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309, making this year the 700 year anniversary. The earliest mention of Alnwick Castle in the history books appears soon after 1096 when Yves de Vescy became baron of Alnwick and erected the earliest parts of the Castle. The Castle was first restored, primarily as a fortress, by the 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick in the early 1300's and portions of this restoration remain today, including the Abbot's Tower, the Middle Gateway and the Constable's Tower. Since then generations of Percys have continued to make their mark. During the late 17th century the Castle fell into decay until Elizabeth Seymour and her husband Hugh Smithson, later to become the first Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, took up the challenge and turned it into a family residence of "gothick" style with the help of architects such as Robert Adam and the landscape designer, Capability Brown. Algernon, Fourth Duke later replaced the 18th century "gothick", employing the architect Anthony Salvin. Since then modern comforts have been added, and Alnwick Castle was one of the first homes in the North East to have electricity. Run by a recently restored hydro electric system installed in 1889, there was enough power produced to run 100 electric lamps.

There was a fun children's area, called 'The Knight's Quest', where we saw some really strange characters.

First, we witnessed a young lad becoming knighted.

Then, we ran into a mean looking knight that had captured a nasty scallion.

We saw another poor knight that had his head cut off.

Joshua ran down the keep's hill.

Alnwick is rather big. If it looks familiar, you may be a Harry Potter fan. This was the location used for 'Hogwarts'.

The guns were old.

This is the bridge to the castle with the Alnwick lion on it.

Joshua fought with Harry Hotspur.

Daniel and Mommy enjoyed the flowers.

On our way home, we spotted a truck advertising biltong on the side of the road. We quickly turned around to go get some, but the truck was already gone. We followed the road where the truck had been parked for a VERY LONG way until, finally, we came to a farm.

And there was the truck. So we went in and bought biltong from a British couple who had lived in Kansas for 15 years and learned all the homestyle beef-jerky ways.

That night we went home and had baps for supper and then Amy got a hankering for chocolate cake so Dave and Rob walked up to the store and we all had chocolate molten lava cake with vanilla ice cream.

Thursday, July 9, we went to the good old Mickey D's for lunch. However, they have things that our McDonald's does not. Dave and Amy had a yummy sweet chili chicken sandwich... very spicy... very yummy. After that we were on our way to the Tynemouth Castle and Priory.

• Set in an almost impregnable position on a steep headland between the river and the North Sea, Tynemouth has always been as much a fortress as a religious site. Here stood a 7th-century Anglian monastery, burial place of Oswin, sainted King of Northumbria. After its destruction by Danish raiders, the present Benedictine priory was refounded on its site in c. 1090. The towering east end of the priory church, built in c. 1200 with slender lancet windows and soaring arches, still survives almost to its full height, dominating the headland. Beyond it stands a small but complete and exceptionally well-preserved chapel, with a rose window and an ornately sculpted roof vault. This was built in the mid-15th century as a chantry for the souls of the powerful Percy family, Earls of Northumberland. Enclosing both headland and monastery, and still surviving in part, were the strong walls which once made Tynemouth among the largest fortified areas in England, and an important bastion against the Scots. Probably begun by Edward I in 1296, they were strengthened and updated in the 15th century. Thus when the priory's 19 monks surrendered Tynemouth to Henry VIII in 1539, it was immediately adopted as a royal castle. Thereafter the fortress headland continued to play its centuries-old part in coastal defence, both against Napoleon and during the two World Wars. The restored magazine of its gun battery can be seen at weekends

The chapel was still very much intact. We sang some songs in here... and Joshua yodelled.

The small part on the right is the chapel.

We were able to climb up to other levels in the keep.

Our plan was to go from there to the Souter Lighthouse, but we realized too late that even though it looks close on the map, we would have to go far out of the way to cross the Tyne. Because of this we just decided to go to the Metro Centre in order to purchase Joshua's suit for the wedding. As we were walking through we found a stand selling sweeties; Joshua picked out a huge, pink marshmallow snake. Friday, July 10, we left quite early and went first to Housesteads Roman Fort about 40 minutes west of Newcastle.

• Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland Stands proud on a dramatic escarpment. Nowhere else will you find a sense of what life was like high up on the famous Roman frontier. On the edge of Hadrian’s empire and commanding breathtaking views, it is one of the most complete Roman forts in Britain.

When we got there we had to walk up to the site.

It was a long road... practically straight up!

Joshua didn't seem phased by it, though, and ran up and down the thing more times than I can count.

The view from the top of the road was lovely, but we encounter a fierce Roman soldier.

We knew not to mess with him... his eyes were wild!

We met another Roman soldier guarding the gate.

Here is an example of Roman central heating.

Daddy had to take a Roman soldier to go potty.

Daniel kept Mommy entertained while they waited.

The fort was in a spectacular position.

Another Roman soldier jumped out of a tub and threatened us with our lives if we passed further.

We got to see more of Hadrian's Wall. This time, it was quite a long piece.

This Roman soldier was doing such a good job of guarding Hadrian's Wall.

The whole time we were observing, he was running up and down the hill.

The visitor centre had a small playground where Joshua had a spot of fun while we were leaving.

Our next stop was Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens.

• Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, in Northumberland has something for everyone, with a fine medieval castle, a Greek Revival villa and outstanding, plant-rich gardens to explore. Take in thirty acres of picturesque landscaping, including magnificent rhodedendorons, and see forever changing seasonal delights such as snowdrops, gorgeous summer blooms or golden leafy hues. Enter the magical and romantic Quarry Garden with ravines, pinnacles and sheer rock faces inspired by the quarries of Sicily. The Jacobean mansion ruins of the Castle are sure to impress, make sure you climb right to the top of the tower for spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. Belsay Hall itself is a Classical Greek Revival villa, centred around the amazing central two-storey ‘Pillar Hall’, wander the large unfurnished rooms and discover the stark architecture. Belsay’s Victorian tea room, situated in the old kitchen is the perfect mid-visit stop off.

As soon as we got out of the car, we put Daniel down to have a walk-around. He took that opportunity to fill his diaper with goodies, using the car a leverage.

This was one of carriages used by the family living in Belsay Hall.

Here is the interior.

Here is the front of Belsay Hall.

This is the library combined drawing room.

This was one of the wine cellars. It was so cold down there that one could see their breath.

This was above the great hall.

After walking through the house (my mother would have LOVED to see it), we walked through the extensive gardens.

Just behind Joshua is a deep drop off.

Here is Joshua making a wish on a 'giant dandelion'.

These flowers made me think very much of my Mom and wish that she were able to be there as well.

This is a bowls/croquet green; two games we are very fond of.

This was only the beginning of our journey through the gardens from the Hall to the Castle.

David did a bit of rock climbing.

Joshua and Dave hid under some 'giant lillypads'.

Daniel took a nap while Mommy smelled the Magnolia trees.

We just couldn't believe how big this place was... and really neat and naturally beautiful!!!

There were ferns everywhere.

Finally we came to the castle.

A servant boy was kind enough to put some wood in the stove for tea.

Unfortunately, the fireplace in our guest room was too high for us to be warmed by.

This was an interesting stone feature we found near the wood shed.

This is called Lucky Spot. It is a horse shaped chandelier designed by Stella McCartney made out of over 8000 Swarovski crystals.

Joshua found a secret little nook with a window... we decided that if he lived in the castle that we would find him here regularly with a book in his hand.

This was our view of the castle as we were leaving. There are some people on the roof waving bye-bye to Daniel... can you see them? They look like ants.

We LOVED Belsay! One of our top spots for sure! After leaving here, with flower and chocy in hand, we went home satisfied from a great day.

Saturday, July 11, we lounged all day. By 'lounging' I actually mean that David and Joshua got a hair cut, Daniel slept, Amy blogged, the boys came home, Daniel woke up, Amy did laundry, Joshua and Dave played video games, Daniel slept, Amy blogged, Joshua and Dave watched 'Chariots of Fire', Daniel woke up, Amy did laundry, Daniel went to sleep, Gramps came over for braai, we all watched the end of Gramps' movie and then some cricket while eating chicken, Dave shooed some mouthy girls away from the church, Rob and Gramps went to help, Daniel still slept, Amy blogged, Joshua and Dave played on Facebook, Amy did laundry.... hmmm... writing it down makes it sound like we had no fun.... but we did! Later we plan to go to ASDA to get some last minute items before heading down to the south of England again for a week or so. We leave pretty early in the morning... so good-night.