You'll Never Walk Alone

We belong in the forest.  Proof:

Ged and I hiked in Delamere Forest on Tuesday.  It's close to his family home and it was truly beautiful.

There's no snow in those pictures, but when I first arrived in Manchester on Monday, there was snow.

WEDNESDAY

"You'll never walk alone" is the official song of the Liverpool Football Club (soccer team).  It sounded slightly like a love ballad when it was being blasted on the speakers in the stadium last night.  Forty-one thousand fans were singing it together before the game began.

Progression of my thoughts:  "Strange."  "A little cool."  "Magical."

Ged and I headed to Liverpool yesterday to explore the city a bit and then catch a football game in the evening.

Liverpool were playing Wolverhampton, and what a sad game it was...Liverpool lost to a team they shouldn't have lost to..

As the players ran onto the field, the crowd was passing around a large banner.  Felt nice to be a part of a fun tradition.

Ged read articles about the game once we were home...

Earlier in the day, we strolled through the city, walking through Liverpool One (a huge outdoor shopping center), the maritime museum and the old port.

Ged spotted Mont Ventoux while walking...

Liverpool is a nice enough city.  It seemed like a lot of people were there just to shop, though.  The food we had at a nice vegetarian/vegan cafe called The Egg Cafe was nice.

--Amanda

My Bags Are Packed

I'm flying to England today.

In about an hour, I'll be at Gainesville Regional Airport to catch my flight to Atlanta, where I'll board a plane to Manchester, England.

Why, oh, why am I leaving the mild winter of Florida to be in the treacherous terrain of Northern England?


Wish me luck.

--A

Happy Holidays

Party in New Orleans

The last few days have consisted of breakfasts in bed, multiple beers and singing Christmas carols in alleys.

Oh, 'tis a good life.

We stayed at a really nice hotel, Le Pavilion.

The city was so pretty at night.

Lots of breakfasts in bed.

It was a little rainy, but we still managed to have fun.

Looking forward to seeing my catz again.  Not looking forward to the eight-hour drive.

~Amanda

Birthday Update

I'm officially 21.

I've been having a ball traveling with Ged across Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Here are just a few pictures of our travels.
***

We made a trip to the beach in Pensacola (on the panhandle of Florida) to see if the oil spill had affected anything.

We saw a bunch of bulldozers and drills in the distance working in the sand.  Then we saw two women picking up small things from the shoreline and putting them into a bucket.

Ged asked what they were picking up, and the women said they were collecting "oil balls," little pieces of shell or rock that had oil stuck to them.  One of the ladies said she had been doing this for seven months.  Wow.

The little pieces of shell actually smelled like oil.  Pretty disturbing.

After that, we drove to the big naval aviation base in the area.  There was a huge museum we checked out. (the National Naval Aviation Museum)

The base also had a lighthouse and cemetery.  The base was massive.

Was pretty tired after all that...

We're off for more New Orleans adventures...au revoir.

--Amanda

On Turning 21

In two days, I will be 21 years old.  I know, that's pretty old.  That's more than two decades...

To celebrate this occasion, Ged and I have embarked on a little adventure of sorts.  We're currently in Pensacola, Fl. (on the panhandle), but we've been to a couple of cool places already.

Cue pictures.

This is the Wakulla Springs lodge in Wakulla Springs, Fl.  It's a state park out in the middle of nowhere in northwest Florida.

A really neat old lodge that was built in 1937.

I was loving this fireplace.  Such a novelty for me.

The ceiling was covered in paintings of wildlife and American Indian designs.

Ged beat me at checkers...

In back of the lodge, there was a swimming area and tons of wildlife.

Super clear water.

Sea cows (aka manatees) were hanging out.