Nan & Laura's Great Alaskan Adventure-Iditarod 2011

Iditarod Recap: West to Takotna!

2011-03-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

Laura already blogged about Takotna, so I'll just add pictures to supplement her previous post.

In the photos above, we're airborne over McGrath and Laura flashing her dazzling smile as we cruise along in Iditarod Air Force Pilot Jerry Wortley's Cessna 180!

It's only a 10-minute flight over to the Takotna checkpoint, though it takes the mushers a lot longer to cover this 18-mile stretch between McGrath and Takotna. The pilots have skis on their planes so they're able to land on snow and ice. Here we are getting ready to land on the Takotna River. Then we walked up the riverbank and were immersed in Iditarod activities. This little village of 46 people pulls together and really supports the Iditarod. Mushers are greeted with warm water for their dogs, hot showers, fires burning in barrels and world-class homemade cooking and pies. It's no wonder why most all mushers take their mandatory layover in Takotna. This allowed plenty of musher-gawking and photo opportunities for the Llewellyn sisters.

The Takotna River transformed into a runway and aircraft parking area.

Me posing next to a dog team that had just pulled into Takotna, and the resting area for the puppies (Martin Buser and DeeDee Jonrowe's teams)

Laura posing with 2nd place finisher Ramy Smith. He arrived into Takotna in 20-something position. He ended up pushing his way up to 2nd place winner of the Iditarod. Was Laura his good luck charm? I think yes.

This was one of our sneaky strategic photos: Laura pretending to pose for the camera while I pretended to take a picture when really we snuck a photo of famed mushers Dallas Seavey, Mitch Seavey, and Jamacian musher Newton Marshall sitting around shooting the breeze.

I loved this chalkboard - little reminders to wake the mushers up. What a great system! Wake Martin Buser up at 2:00 am (I wonder if he was fussy), and wake Paul Johnson up at 9:00 p.m. - he can be found in the old church, in the front row of the inner room.

Laura and Rosie relaxing in the back of the airplane. Rosie was a dropped dog from one of the teams that we brought back with us in the airplane to the drop dog hub in McGrath. Rosie was a real sweetheart and took a liking to Laura. The pup wasn't feeling well, but was a good sport about the ride in the small airplane.

A beautiful sunset was the perfect ending to the perfect Takotna dinner adventure.

Warning! Sisterly Love Shout-Out

2011-03-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

Iditarod 39 came to a close Sunday, when 50-year old Ellen Halverson and her 9 remaining dogs made their way under the Burled Arch on Front Street in Nome. She recieved the Red Lantern award, given to the last musher to arrive in Nome. Per tradition, Ellen extinguished the Widow's Flame, signifying all mushers and their dogs were safely off the Iditarod Trail. I think she also won some money and other good stuff for getting last place.

This was my 3rd year volunteering at the McGrath checkpoint, and this was by far the most fun I've had yet. Having Laura here played a big part in that. I think back to before the race when I told another volunteers that my sister was coming up to help out. She said, "Really? Is that a good idea? Do you think you might get in a fight? One year there were 2 sisters helping and they fought the whole time. It was just terrible." I replied, "Umm... maybe if we were little kids again we'd get into a fight or 10, but not now. She's my best friend, and we make a good team." Sure enough I proved her wrong! We were a dynamic duo. Laura got off the airplane and jumped right into volunteer duties. She had to learn 1oo people's names along with strange-sounding checkpoints like Nikolai, Shageluk, Takotna, and so on. She handled it all with grace and ease. She was a hard little worker - it's that Montana upbringing.

One of the pilots paid us a very nice compliment that summed it all up nicely. He told me, "You and your sister are a lot of fun to watch. You work really well together. You're obviously close and you respect each other." And he wasn't drinking when he said that, so I know he was sincere.

And in addition to Laura - Nicole, Al, John, and all the Iditarod Air Force Pilots were a lot of fun and hard workers. Team McGrath rocked!

Day 4 (It's never too late)

2011-03-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

By the time you get this, it will be a good morning to you all! Our apologies for the late night blog, but we just got done with a 15 hour day and are now heavily drinking a $37 18-pack of MGD. Game on! What a day! We have had quite a few dogs drop in MCG today, a broken caravan (the plane that takes most, if not all, of the dropped/scratched dogs and various people to other checkpoints or back to Anchorage). In short, the caravan is a very important (only "big") plane that we have to cart people all over The Race. By the afternoon, the plane was back up and running so we were able to get about 40 dogs out. Tomorrow, things are looking up and quite a few more will head out. The dogs are soooo cute!!!!! They are all so excited about life (even with shin splints and other various ailments and hopefully not too serious ailments) and are fun to be around. We have had the opportunity to go down to the "dog drop" and help load the dogs into the caravan. Until their departure, they are rested in straw and have 5 star treatment while they stay in McGrath. The vets and vet techs treat them better than they would treat a human being and that's no joke.

The logistics/comm room was a hopping place again today. After watching Mark Nordman, Stu Nelson, Nan, Wes, etc. sit in a room for two hours last night planning out today, things sure changed and I'm left to wonder if they should just put the day's events in a coffee can on pieces of paper and draw them out instead of writing them on a giant dry erase board. A broken plane can really cramp a person's style. Even at day 4 I'm still blown away at how chipper everyone is. There are certainly times where things can get a little tense between people (Nan and I have managed to not get testy with one another by feeding our angst with red vines when an episode is about to occur), but by the end of the day things are back to normal. Friends and strangers alike are all sitting around like tables drinking a beer, sipping on tea, checking their email or talking about their everyday lives. I love this place!!!! Nan might have a new roommate in McGrath soon....

The last musher is supposed to come through tonight so things will begin to slow down. Then, maybe we will begin to clean things up and catch up on our logs books, and many other fun, misc chores. This is definitely a working vacation (for me, whereas this is now Nan's life) and I wouldn't have it any other way. This has been time well spent.

Nicole and I sneaked away to the checkpoint today to visit Wattie McDonald (the Scottish musher). Nicole is from Newcastle and have a very kindred heart for Scots. Wattie called up on the radio and told her to come down and visit--I tagged along for the ride on the "snowmachine", as those not in the lower 48 call it. Wattie was kind enough to take a picture with us. He was impressed with Nicole and her accent, but not so much by my MT accent.

Nan will hopefully write the next blog tomorrow, as it will probably be much more insightful than my outsider view....

Tiger update:

He slept at the top of my pillow last night. I'm officially convinced he likes me. I'm moving up in the world! Nan had a vet check him out today and he has a clean bill of health. Now Nan can rest easily and hopefully we can finally turn the repeat button off the Brandi Carlsile (sp?) cd that plays repeatedly on the player (per one of the other vet's recommendations).

Well, off to look at the Northern Lights!

Over and out 10-4.

~N & L

Day 3-MCG to TAK

2011-03-09T21:06:00.000-08:00

Full from cheeseburgers, world famous Takotna pie and the high of sitting in a room full of world famous mushers, Nan and I are happy girls! Jerry, one of the Iditarod Air Force pilots, took us over to Takotna for dinner, which is a ten minute plane ride. Yum!

What a day! I can't believe how quickly things have flown by. We watched the first musher, Martin Buser, ride into McGrath yesterday evening. This happened while there was still daylight, which is unheard of. He stayed long enough to drop off a tired dog and take a picture with his trophy.

We hit the ground running this morning at 7:40. Today was a little better, because unlike yesterday morning, we weren't surprised by a flight of incoming vets, trail crew, etc. Imagine not even having your contacts in yet or having brushed teeth and people coming up to you asking where they're supposed to go. I have learned that if I just take a deep breath and remember that we're the luckiest people in the world right now, everything goes smoothly. So far so good!

We have a great little working crew here in our hub out of the cafe. Nicole, Nan, Laura, Bert (being replaced by Wes) tomorrow and Jodie (who left today with Bert for a different post) and Al who does anything and everything that needs to be done here or elsewhere in McGrath. Nicole is from Newcastle and is a ton of fun and she knows her stuff. At first, her accent was a little difficult to understand but it has all evened out because she can't understand why the Llewellyn sisters (or maybe all Yanks in general) are so bad at pool--I'd say we're even.

We had a lot of incoming/outbound volunteers today, so things went by quickly. We have quite a few dropped dogs here right now in McGrath so we went and visited them tonight. They'll head back to Anchorage tomorrow. They're nestled down in their straw tonight keeping warm.
We haven't had much time to head down to the checkpoint to see the mushers come through so rely on the reports from others who can go to see what they look like/how they and their dogs are doing.

Al, a load volunteer, and I went to the dump today! It was nice to get a bigger tour of McGrath. We even saw a moose! I felt much better seeing one, because I had a fake sighting earlier and had asked Al to turn around in a truck that has little brakes and is on its last leg. This time it was for real and was lying down in the snow munching on some grub.

The Chinese auction was fun last night! We were so tired that it was hard to keep our eyes open, but we stayed for a few rounds. A couple times we came close to our change being the last quarter/dollar being dropped but alas we did not win a thing. Some of the prizes we saw were a dinner for two at the McGrath B&B, round-trip tickets from PenAir, a fox fur hat and coat and a jewelry box with a key chain in it (pilot Ed won that).

We are gearing up for day 4 on the trail and are excited for all of the excitement tomorrow will bring. I can't believe how many amazing people we have met!!!! How exciting! Thank you all for following our blog. We will post more as soon as we have a break in the action. For some reason, I can't load pictures so if you're on Facebook we'll try and post more soon!

~Nan and Laura

Tiger update:
He has finally emerged from under the bed and even slept in Laura's sleeping bag last night. Our room is a balmy 50 degrees, so we think he's more desperate for warmth than anything.

Quote of day:
To Nan from a volunteer in TAK:, "Where are you from, MN? You have a funny accent."

Day 2- MCG!

2011-03-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

Greetings from MCG! Well, we are halfway through our working day here and things are going smoothly. However, I hear this is the calm before the storm so we shall see how things pick up. We have a friendly little pool going in the logistics room as to when the first musher will arrive tonight. I think it will be 9:10, but it seems to be the general consensus that it will be sometime this afternoon.

Just to give you a little overview of what we're up to out here...

We have a station set up in a room of the cafe, which is located right across the road from the airstrip. We have a board set up and pilots, media and volunteers (vets, trail crews, etc) coming in and out of McGrath. The pilots haul loads back and forth to the checkpoints. Their loads consist of anything from vinegar (for chili) and M&Ms (the essentials of course) to dropped dogs. Coordinating all of this is actually quite the task, and there's a whole big logistics and communications team behind the scenes. Nan is one of the main coordinators in MCG and I consider myself her assistant extraordinaire.

The weather here has been brisk in the morning (-20 degrees) but warms up to a balmy 20-30 degrees during the day. We are headed to the Chinese auction tonight at the local bar, McGuires, which consists of a coffee can passed around that everyone drops change into. There are various items up for bid and if you are lucky enough to have the pot stop at you, you win the item. The prizes range from PenAir tickets, gold nuggets, to homemade cookies. I'll keep my fingers crossed!!!

Well, back to work! Hope you are all well.

~Nan and Laura

Best quotes so far:

When I met the pilot I had radioed to earlier that day, he asked "So, are you going to be on the radio quite a bit?" I don't think that was a compliment.

Day 1- McGrath!

2011-03-07T16:59:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

Well, we made it...although I am no longer in Tiger's good graces. Poor cat, but at least he's made history, or at least I'm pretty sure he has. How many maine coon cats have traveled to a town on the Iditarod trail to root on hundreds of dogs and mushers? That's right, Tiger, you have made history.

McGrath is amazing. It's kind of like Basin, MT, but much more remote. I have met lots of pilots, many of whom I met the other day but didn't remember, and numerous volunteers. We are staying in the cafe above the Communications/Logistics post. This makes it very convenient to hop out of bed and the morning and head downstairs. I rode on the plane this morning with 12 grade school students from Maine who have been saving up all year to come to McGrath. They are staying in the schoolhouse and are pretty excited.

Tomorrow the action is really supposed to begin. We have been coordinating loads with pilots all day; moving vets, supplies, missing musher bags and even Hans Gatt's headlamp to him on the trail. Good stuff. As of a few hours ago, Lance was in the lead and we think he'll be here maybe tomorrow. Yay!

I went to Willow yesterday for the true kick-off of the Iditarod. Zach, Nan's boyfriend Eric's roommate, was kink enough to cart me up there yesterday. We ate reindeer hot dogs and watched the mushing action. It was so much fun! The race kicks off on Willow Lake, so we moved in close to the middle and hunkered down with some hot cocoas and chairs and watched the action.

Nan is doing a great job of "coordinating/communicating" and seems to really know her stuff, which is good because I don't but people think I do just for the simple fact that I'm related to her. I'm learning a lot very quickly. Well, off we go to the dump! This should be fun....

Anchorage...the beginning of the journey

2011-03-05T18:13:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

After barely making my connection to Anchorage on Thursday night, I stepped off the plane and was instantly hit with a blast of cold Arctic air. Ahhh...how refreshing! Fighting off the overwhelming urge to run as fast as I could to the gate where Nan anxiously awaited my arrival, I merely sped walk at Olympic pace instead. Seeing my sister's gorgeous smile and enthusiastic zest for life is one of my favorite things to see and after such a tedious journey it was the perfect remedy.

Day 1:

Wakey wakey, eggs and bac(k)y! One of the best kept secrets in Anchorage is the Middleway Cafe. Before I return to MT, I must make a mental note to stock up on (non-vegan) banana bread. It is the best!!!! I could eat this morning, noon and night. I had the great pleasure of meeting some of Nan's closest friends, Deela and Shannon for breakfast yesterday morning. These girls, as well as the handful of other wonderfully funny and animated characters, remind me of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood X 100. They make me not want to leave. Well, them and the banana bread, but I digress...

Nan and I proceeded to spend the rest of the day checking in at the Iditarod headquarters, meeting what seemed like a million pilots, vets and volunteers. At first, I tried feverishly to keep everyone's name straight but by the millionth person I gave up. Nan told me I must've said about a hundred times, "I've heard so much about you. It's finally nice to meet you!" Mental note...come up with a new line.

We also bought out most of Sportman's Wharehouse in supplies, warm clothes and anything else we could possibly justify for the cold weather. I'm fairly certain the cashier checking us out thought we were insane, but I long ago gave up the notion that we're not crazy so I didn't mind. Plus, how often do you get to experience something like this?! Justification...a woman's best friend. Eric (Evhoo), Nan's boyfriend, made us moose burgers last night (yum!) and we managed to pass away the hours talking about everything under the sun.

Day 2

We had a delicious breakfast and headed for the ceremonial start. I think this was a good test for me before I head someplace with truly busy streets and sidewalks, because I was like a little kid in a candy store looking at all the mushers, dogs and interesting looking people that I was in the way quite a bit. By the end of the day, I had mastered the art of standing off the beaten path staring at people, which is slightly less creepy but not by much.

Nan leaves tomorrow for McGrath and Eric's roommate, Zach, is kind enough to cart me up to Willow for the official start of the Iditarod. I can't wait! I head out Monday with a 20+ lb Maine Coon cat and a bag of warm clothes. Tiger, the "mangy" coon cat is moving to McGrath thru at least September with his mother. I hope I take good care of him until they're reunited on Monday. We have duct taped his carrier so hopefully it holds him. Over and out 10-4!

Side note: Many people, including myself, thought you could drive to McGrath. Alas, there are no roads. The only year-round transportation is once daily air service on a little plane. During the summer, there is barge service that travels 400 miles up the Kuskokwim River from Bethel.

Back to Reality...

2008-07-08T13:37:00.001-07:00

After a direct flight from London to Seattle yesterday, Laura and I parted ways. She went to Helena, and I headed north to Alaska. I arrived back home in Anchorage about 11:00 p.m. Monday night/8:00 a.m. Tuesday morning England time! I had no trouble falling asleep when my head hit the pillow last night, and even got up and went to work this morning. The proof that I'm back in the office is below in the photo Brandie took of me :-)

As I sit here eating my lunch, I thought I would blog about some things I've observed in the 12 hours I've been back in the States:

1) I am experiencing Laura withdrawals. Help! After spending 2 solid weeks with Laura on a really fun adventure, it was hard to say goodbye yesterday. I miss you Lou Lou and I cannot wait until Christmas! Thanks for putting up with me. I think we make a good travel team and can't wait for our next adventure!

2) I've turned to the dark side and am now a tea drinker rather than a coffee drinker. We'll see how long that lasts...

3) Transitioning back into my normal routine is tough! Thank goodness I'm going away this weekend with Shanna and Mary to Shanna's cabin (accessible only by floatplane) for some relaxing and fishing. Taking a mini-vacation is really the best way to ease back into normal life after a really big vacation.

Super Lamb Bananas, and Much, Much More!

2008-07-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

Yes - that sculpture really is half lamb/half banana - just one of many that can be seen around Liverpool

Tim and Nan getting ready to head out for a tour of Southport on his Honda motorbike

After a quick plane ride from Dublin across the Irish Sea to Liverpool, Tim and his friend Dave greeted us at John Lennon International Airport, and the start of a fun weekend (as well as the last leg of our trip) began. We drove to Southport, where Tim lives, and were immediately treated like royalty. He took Nan for a spin on his motorcyle (Laura did not go, as she is afraid of bikes), and she was able to see the town where we would be living for the next few days. After the bike ride we visited, caught up on life, then ordered Indian food. It was our first experience with 'authentic Indian food', and it was delicious. We then toured downtown Southport, first stopping at the Victoria Bar, then making a pit stop at one which we can't remember the name of, before ending the night at Tim's favorite bar, Owen's. On Saturday we slept in (the first time this whole trip we didn't get up before 7:00!), then took the train into Liverpool. We had a drink at a really nice bar that was formerly a Polish Catholic Church before walking around Liverpool's shopping district. The only time it started really raining hard we happened to be next to a Top Shop store, so it worked out well for Laura and I (Top Shop is the store we fell in love with in London). Tim waited patienly while we browsed for clothes.

We took some pictures next to some of Liverpool's famous Super Lamb Bananas. These crazy half lamb/half banana sculptures located all over Liverpool.

Because Nan loves Italian food, we had a nice dinner at a little restaurant before heading to the Duran Duran concert. The Duran Duran concert was incredible - those boys and the one female member know how to put on a good show. Great music, good seats, and Simon and rest of the Crew kept us entertained for a good hour and a half.

So here we are on our last day in Liverpool, and the last day of our England/Ireland adventure before we head back to the States.

A special thank you to Tim. He has been a wonderful kind host and a great cook. We had all kinds of wonderful meals (scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, black pudding). So if anyone is ever going to Southport and wants a good meal, we'll hook you up with Tim.

It's time to log off and go watch the Wimbledon men's final on t.v. Nan and Laura have a £1 bet on the match. Nan is sure that Federer will win his sixth consecutive title, but Laura has her money on Nadal.

Cheers,
Team Llewellyn

Dublin

2008-07-06T05:09:00.000-07:00

Christ Church

Our last day in Ireland was spent in Dublin. After checking into our hostel, we immediatly headed over to the Guiness storehouse (because we were worried it would close soon...not because we were thirsty for Guiness...well, maybe a little of both). The Storehouse was amazing! It had undergone a major renovation a few years before, and although it was a major tourist destination, it was not tacky or overdone. We toured all the floors, finishing with a pint of Guiness at the Gravity Bar, which overlooks all of Dublin.

To wash away our sins (wink, wink) we visited Christ Church. It was right across the street from where we were staying, so that made it easy! We missed out on the evensong, but toured the church, complete with a visit to the crypt. (Spooky to say the least). It was one of the oldest structures in Dublin. We finished our night off walking around Temple Bar taking in the nightlife. We settled in for some tapas and mojitos (not traditional Irish but still delicious).

The next morning we walked around the city and explored, then hopped on a plane back to Liverpool, where our gracious host, Tim, awaited our arrival.

Erin Go Bragh!

2008-07-06T04:36:00.000-07:00

Dingle Bay, Ireland

We arrived early (around 1am) to Trinity College (where we stayed in a dorm), so a good morning greeting from Ireland for a blog title seemed appropriate! Trinity College is a very old university, wth loads of character and charm. We both are thinking of going back to school there (we knew you'd love to hear that, Mom!).

We woke up Monday morning to traditional Irish weather- grey skies with a slight drizzle. After only a few minutes of exploring Dublin, we knew we would enjoy our time there. People in Dublin are extremely friendly and helpful. Even though it is a large city, it has a very small-town feel. This was later confirmed for us in the Irish Indepedent, as we came across an article titled, 'Ireland is Among Top Happiest Countries in the World.'--We believe it! (Note: The U.S. ranked 16th and Zimbabwe was last, surprise, surprise).

Later in the afternoon, we decided to catch a bus down to Cork, where we had reserved a B & B for two nights. For this portion of our trip, we decided to 'fly by the seats of our pants' and see where the wind took us. Upon arrival in Cork, or Butte II as we dubbed it, we decided time was too short to experience all of our time in Cork. We decided over dinner to travel to the Dingle Peninsula and stay the following night. After a four hour bus trip to Dingle, we wandered around the town for a brief stint trying to find a place to stay for the night. We were lucky to find a place in the heart of town for a very reasonable price. (And to boot, it had an iron, which we were thrilled about!).

WE LOVED DINGLE!!! It was very laid back, and we enjoyed a day of walking around the water, going into a few shops (Nan bought a cute wool hat). Thanks to our Fodor's guide, we found a cute little restaurant called the Chart House, where we were treated to a world-class meal. Nan had Kerry Beef and Laura had rack of lamb. (This made Nan quite upset, considering that we had ooed and awed over the cute little sheep only days earlier! But, when in Dingle....)

We were sad to leave, but wanted to spend one more full day in Dublin before heading to Liverpool.

Things to note:

The music/bar scene in Dingle was small enough for us to hit up all the spots, but with a slightly different flavor of music in every pub. We could have sat there all night listening to the musicians.

Also, we ran into a girl whose mom lives in Great Falls, Montana! Small world.

Day 3: After Dinner Mints

2008-07-06T04:13:00.000-07:00

On our last day in the Cotswolds, our wondeful B & B caretaker, Jill, filled our bellies with a hearty English breakfast and we headed out for the last leg of our biking tour. We biked 20-something miles, relishing in the beauty of the area before catching a train to the Bristol International Airport. Nan wittingly and accurately said, 'If I see one more rose, I think I'm going to be sick!'

Upon the completion of our three-day journey, we had swallowed enough bugs (after dinner mints), to meet our bug eating quota for life!

The beauty of this region, the houses with incredible flower gardens and quaint villages, the rolling countryside dotted with sheep, castles and churches galore, cannot be adequately desribed!

Final thoughts:

If possible, attempt to take a shower at the end of a bike ride before catching a plane to Ireland!

Day 2: Killer Hills and Killer Sheep

2008-07-06T03:39:00.000-07:00

A 'killer sheep' on Dover Hill

Broadway Tower

Attempting to capture even a small percentage of the Cotswold's beauty

The 2nd day of cycling was full of what we nicknamed 'thigh burner hills'. We definitely got a good workout in. We also saw more sheep than we've ever seen in our lives. These were the killer sheep Dave warned us about, so we steered clear :-) Though Nan found one she thought was really cute and she took just as many pictures of him as she did of Federer.

Other highlights from Day 2:

- Snowshill Lavendar Farm: who knew there were 100 different kinds of lavendar! the rows and rows of lavendar were beautiful.

- More cute towns with pubs.

- In Winchcombe, we had our first 'Afternoon Tea' experience since arriving in England.

- We saw lots of other cyclists, so we were not the only sweaty people stopping off at pubs and tea rooms.

- a non-highlight: the hill outside of Broadway. Overgrown with brush, battle-wound inflicting hill.

Day 1: Fancy a Seat in Stinging Nettles, Love?

2008-07-06T02:57:00.000-07:00

Views from atop Dover Hill

Kipscote Gardens....Beautiful!!!!!!!

Nan 'freewheeling'

Mort's homecoming

One of 1,000's of pretty houses!!!!

On Saturday morning (June 28) we hopped on the train at Paddington Station and headed to the Cotswolds, a hilly region in Southwest England (similar to the scenery in the movie 'Babe'). When we arrived at the train station in Moreton-in-Marsh, we were collected by our host, Julia Jones, and whisked away to her farm near Chipping Campden. Julia oufitted us with maps, Dawes touring bicycles, and helmets. Then Team Llewellyn was off! 3 days and 90 some miles ahead of us, cycling from little village to little village.

Note: this blog title is related to something that occured not 7 minutes after we set off on our bikes. It's hard to capture the details of 'The Incident' (as we've named it) in a blog, so next time you see Laura you'll have to ask her to give you a play-by-play. The short version is this: Laura had to go to the bathroom, we THOUGHT we were on a path small enough for just bicycles, Laura squatted by the side of the road, a car came by, and in a mad scramble to finish her business and pull up her pants, she ended up falling in a pile of stinging nettles. All this resulted in her blowing up like a puffball for at least an hour. Not a good start, but it was the worst thing that happened to us that day. And Nan was laughing so hard she had to get off her bike so she didn't tip over and likewise end up covered in stinging nettles.

Day 1: We got a big dose of quaint, charming English villages. We stopped off at little pubs along the way and would cool off with a beer. We concluded the last leg of that day's bike ride with a delicious dinner and some beer at a little restaurant in Ebrington. Then we cycled the last few miles, up a BIG hill on full stomaches, back to Chipping Camden. It was an incredible day, and we were exhausted.

Wimbledon

2008-07-06T01:32:00.000-07:00

Federer warming up

Nan enjoying our Pitcher of Pimms

S. Williams won the coin toss against Mauresmo

Nan's friends from Alaska (Casino and Amy)

Tennis is a big part of our family, and we have many fond memories of at Nan and Jeanne's (our great aunt and cousin, respectively) house in Texas to watch the Wimbledon finals. So, TO ACTUALLY BE AT WIMBLEDON WAS A VERY BIG DEAL! We felt a bit like the paparazzi, stopping to take pictures of famous tennis players (such as Mauresmo and others). We scouted tout our seats at Centre Court, then split a pitcher of Pimms. Pimms is a gin based drink that is like a gin lemonade, roughly.

After an 1 1/2 rain delay, we had the privledge of watching Rodger Federer, the number one player in the world defeat someone!!!!! Nan snapped 9,000 photos of him, and Laura was a little more rational, only snapping 6,000. Then came the CLASH OF THE TITANS, as Nan so fondly dubbed it. Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams battled it out. Though Mauresmo was clearly the crowd favorite (even we were rooting for her, as it will more than likely be her last Wimbledon). That U.S. gal came out on top, winning a VERY CLOSE 1st. set. P.S.: we sat very close to Venus Williams and the girls' dad, Richard. He took as many pictures of Serena as we did of Federer!!!!!! To be given the opportunity to watch, in person, the people we've watched for years on t.v. was a wonderful feeling we find difficult to 'chalk up' into a couple of paragraphs.

After an INCREDIBLE Wimbledon experience, we hopped on our beloved Tube and Headed back into London. Later that night, we met up with Nan's friends Amy and Casino, who just recently moved from Alaska to London. After our mini Alaska reuinion, we moved the party to Leicester square (pronounced Less-ter for all you Americans who have as much difficulty pronouncing British words as we do!), where we met Tim (the friend we'll be staying with in Liverpool) for drinks and loads of interesting people watching. We capped the night off with a memorable 'human-drawn carriage ride' through Green Park, since the Tube was closed.

The only way to take on the next day's events and trick ourselves into thinking 'it would be no big deal to bike 26 miles on 5 hours of sleep', was to go about our London trip as we already had!!!! Denial and cramming a lot into a day and night. And this concluded our week in London.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles (and bikes), oh my!

2008-06-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hello, to all our faithful bloggers!

We are alive, and fresh off a ninety mile bike ride in 72 hours. To most that might not seem like a lot, but throw in numerous steep hills and a whole lot of pub stops and it sure is! We are off to Dublin right now, but will blog soon about our Wimbeldon, Cotswold and other various adventures soon!

Cheers,

Nan and Laura

London Bridge is Falling Down, Falling Down....

2008-06-27T00:34:00.000-07:00

Laura and Nan at Trafalgar Square

Nan using the cool soap, water, and hand dryer machine!

Big Ben and the House of Parliament

Coonie Corn in Front of a Coonie Corn

The London Bridge

Hello, All! Well, here we are on our last full day in London. It has been a whirlwind of a trip so far, and we have 'quite' enjoyed ourselves. Thank you for reading our blog! Let's see....where did we leave off?

Yesterday was a pretty full day for both of us. So much so, that by 8 o'clock, we 'sat down for a second' and didn't wake up until 7 this morning! We started our morning off with an adventure to Knotting Hill to see all those pretty houses and gardens. Then, took a walk through Kensington Park and saw Kensington Palace, but opted not to take a tour as our day was already 99% tours. We had a wonderful breakfast on one of the main drags, and were able to watch all the hustle and bustle of the city.

We then hurried back to the hotel (Laura forgot the tickets!) and headed out for the Tower of London. What an awesome deal! It was easy to imagine ourselves in early days. The Bloody Tower was interesting and eery, and the Crown Jewels were absolutely stunning! Nan wants to know what kind of fur they use on the bottom part of the crown. Anyone know? She said, 'They're so gaudy they're almost pretty!'

After the Tower of London, we took a stroll of the London Bridge (where Laura kept singing London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.) We walked over to the London Eye and had an amazing time. In a very brief nutshell, that was our day!

The day before, we took a bus to Stonehenge and Bath....both very beautiful places. Stonehenge was very mysterious and amazing, and we both almost purposely missed the bus in Bath because we were having such a great time! Not only were the Roman Baths neat to see, but the city itself was a sight to behold.

As mentioned earlier, it is our last day here, and we are headed to Westminster this morning before a full day of Wimbledon. Curious to know who's playing on Centre Court?! Well, we will get to see:

1 Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Rnd.
Roger Federer (SUI) v. Marc Gicquel (FRA)

2 Ladies' Singles - 3rd Rnd.

Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)[29] v. Serena Williams (USA)[6]

3 Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Rnd.
Mario Ancic (CRO) v. David Ferrer (ESP)[5]

We are very, very lucky girls!!!!!!

Country Mice in the City

2008-06-25T01:09:00.000-07:00

Picadilly Circus

'Birthday Cakes' and Cocktails

Outside Her Majesty's Theatre at the Phantom of the Opera

Hello! Yesterday (Tuesday/Laura's Golden Birthday) was a blast - we had a good time running around London. After breakfast we headed to Leicester Square and bought tickets for the 7:30 p.m. Phantom of the Opera Show. Then we found TopShop... weak dollar be damned, we don't care! This shop had excellent cheap clothes (by London standards) so it was like regular shopping in the States. Laura is wearing her pretty new shirt today. Then we stumbled upon Trafalgar Square and saw all kinds of neat historical things. There were giant lion statues that Nan tried to ride on, but she didn't have proper foot gear to climb up on the lion, so she petted it instead.

Then we hit Chinatown and SoHo. Soho was an experience. Now we can say we've seen it. We were deliriously hungry by dinner time (LOTS of walking) and found a cute little restaurant in Covent Garden. Nan keeps trying to call it Covenant Garden. Looks like her Catholicism is paying off.

Nan accused Laura of 'becoming British' when Laura told her to "stop lolligagging in the streets. You're going to get hit." Who says lolligagging?

After dinner we headed to Phantom of the Opera. We had front row seats, it was awesome! Laura was fortunate enough not to get beamed by the flying chandelier. We could peer over the edge and see the orchestra in the pit below us. It was a wonderful performance.

Afterwards, we headed to a little bar and had drinks. Unfortunately, the place was no longer serving 'afters' (desserts). Nan was hell-bent on getting Laura some type of birthday dessert. She found a little Italian place that wrapped up some desserts to go. Nan returned to the bar with the afters and we sat outside at a picnic table and enjoyed them. Some nice Austalians crashed our birthday party. They sang happy birthday to Laura, and called us 'Bloody Yanks.'

Next up: today Stonehenge and Bath!!

Things to note:

Weather: Awesome and sunny so far! Possible rain showers are forecast for Friday, our day we have tickets to Wimbledon!! So say a little prayer that we have good weather and are able to watch Venus and Roger play.

The Tube: We've mastered it! We feel like locals. Almost. No eye contact with anyone, and stick to the right on the escalator unless you're in a hurry so people can pass on the left. And everyone in London is in a hurry. We figure we spend 23% of each day in the Underground system. Everytime we surface from the Tube we high-five for making another successful journey, but then immediately get lost on the streets above ground.

Jet Lag: This is worth noting! We're proud of the fact that we adapted right away to the local time, and didn't waste anytime suffering from the dreaded jet-lag. Laura even got up 4 times during our first night and was raring to go. Nan made her go back to bed.

Tea: the tea at our hotel is really good! But we have yet to experience afternoon, or high, tea.

Off to Stonehenge and Bath!

Love,

Laura and Nan

We Made IT!

2008-06-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

oH MAN..... this British keyboard is tricky and \nan is having a hard time getting oriented with the keys. It's definitely different. Anyways... we made it! After a long journey through the night we arrived yesterday and successfully navigated The Tube. With suitcases. And found our hotel, with time to get a bite to eat at a pub and check out Buckingham Palace, or "the Buck House" (that's what Laura says They call it).

Laura and Mort in Seattle Airport, drinking a mojito and reading the Ireland guide book. For those of you who don't know who Mort is, please wait for a later blog when we'll explain who he is. There's a good story there.

Buckingham Palace in the evening. The guards were fascinating.

HAPPY 24TH BIRTHDAY, ON MONDAY, LAURA!!

This morning, our first full day here, is also Laura's golden birthday. Yay! That's a fake cupcake candle Nan bought for her in Seattle. It'll have to do for now... will go on a mission later for a real cake.

We're off... to explore, try to get tickets to the Phantom of the Opera, and brave the Tube again, sans luggage. "Damn Tube," Laura says....

Maps and Trip Overview

2008-06-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

We will begin our journey in London, where we will spend 5 days. In order to work off all the strawberries and cream and champagne we will more than likely consume, we will bike through the Cotswold area. We have reserved some bicycles and plan on touring the British countryside for 3 days. Then, off to Ireland! During this portion of the journey we plan on "flying by the seats of our pants." With only one night reserved at this point, who knows where we'll end up! After a few days of debauchery (will it be enough?) we will head back to Liverpool where Nan's friend, Tim, has graciously allowed us to stay with him. He's even thrown in a Duran Duran concert to seal the deal! So....buckle up and get ready!