Surf's Up!

I'm not a control freak, really I'm not! I just prefer to know where I'm going on a trip at least 2-3 days in advance! That way I can read up on the place, look at maps, etc. Well, Jori, Carly and I decided we would go somewhere this weekend together. So last night (at 10PM, mind you) I almost had them talked into York. Then Jori and Carly mentioned that they wanted to go somewhere outdoorsy... beaches, hiking, etc. The Yorkshire Dales were an option, but that would have been a longer trip and more expensive than we liked. So we decided beaches would be good (in February? In England?). We decided that Southport Beach looked promising, so we decided to catch the 9:09AM train. We got to the Rail Station and were told that its actually a bus that would take us there, and we'd have to swich buses at some point. And we couldn't find the bus we wanted anyway. So we made a group decision to go to Blackpool. It was only a 30 minute train ride anyway. I was a little irritated because I had no idea what was in Blackpool, as far as what to see and stuff to do. Carly felt the same way, but she knew there was the beach (obviously) and an amusement park called Pleasure Beach.

We walked down to the beach and of course it is COLD. But we made it all the way down to the water. I got some pretty good pictures.

Blackpool Pier. We wondered why it was closed, but Jori mentioned that they probably closed it for Valentine's Day because single people throw themselves off. hahahaha

The Golden Mile at Blackpool.

Ripples in the sand!

Pier + Blackpool Tower

Carly is from southern California...this was obviously a disappointment.

Pleasure Beach

Note how high the barnacles are on the posts...

Donkeys on the beach! Yes, Jori is smelling them. The little one bit me!

After walking around on the beach for a while, we were popsicles. We decided to go warm up, so we walked along the Golden Mile for a while. If you've ever been to the Western Kentucky State Fair, you'll have a pretty good idea of what the Golden Mile in Blackpool is like. TACKY. Only a lot more raunchy than our county fair. Some of the stuff in there was truly horrifying, so I won't go into detail. Apparently, Blackpool is England's second most visited city, after London. I suppose it is a lot nicer in the summer, but good grief. So we ate some warm food and tea (I've developed a liking for tea, yum) and walked around a little more. By the time we went back down to the beach, the whole thing was gone! The Irish Sea ate it (or the tide came in, whichever version you prefer)!

AH! We had just been walking under that pier earlier!

Jori was smart and wore rain boots (er, Wellingtons).

We were still cold, so we walked back towards the rail station. The walk there was a whole lot less trashy.

Grand Theatre, I think...

Another interesting, non-tacky building in Blackpool.

Aaaaaaand, just because I hadn't done it yet! Me in a legit British phonebooth.

Thankfully, my next two weekends are already planned. Next weekend we ARE going to York, because there is a Viking festival going on, and who doesn't want to see Vikings? The weekend after that, Katie and I are going to....Belgium! We found dirt cheap tickets online (seriously, they were less than $30) so we're going to have waffles and chocolate and beer in Brussels. We're really really really excited. And on one of the two weekends after that Toni (from Wisconsin, not mom!) and I are going to London to do the Harry Potter thing and see a musical called "Spring Awakening" on the West End. And Jori, Carly, and I are planning a weekend trip to Bath, Stonehenge, and Swansea (in Wales). And I want to go to Ireland and some point. Whew, that makes me tired!

All of my pictures are up....www.photobucket.com/eariley