Nott What You'd Expected...

Birthdays, Big Hills, Beautiful Lakes, and Bad Coach Drivers

The last three or four days have been a whirlwind. As usual, the trip was full of long walking, deep talks, and amazing landscapes, but our start was a bit out of the ordinary.

Friday night was the setting of our flat's most dramatic events: Brandon's 21st. While not stereotypical in the sense that we are all already legal, the gang was sure to make up for it in unbridled British fun. It's easy to get trapped in the feeling that a UK21 is less exciting or less fruitful than the 'finally' feelings of exhuastion and pleasure that the US has to offer, and Facebook doesn't help. Looking at pictures of mass gatherings of old Luther buddies to celebrate together is almost depressing. Brandon mentioned it a few times, even while leaving the flat for the night, but it was true--- here, there are only 8 other Lutherites- not the variety or selection that a certain campus in the Midwest might offer, and sometimes it gets a bit daunting. Throw in the fact that everyone our age over here has been drinking and carrying on since 2003, and our excitement at the Holiest of Holeys, the 21st Birthday, is completely lost.
Mark and Carol attempt to play 'Happy Birthday' on their kazoos...unfortunately, they were not kazoos, and any possibility of changing the pitch was completely lost.....hilarity ensues...
Moping aside, the night turned out.....interesting? I think as far as 'bang-for-our-buck', it couldn't get much better....as far as details go, i'll leave the following notes (both to censor the actual happenings, but at the same time act as a reference to myself in later days...)
Quick Notes/Easy Timeline:
-pre-match at flat (a word i invented, and will copywrite in the US, as 'pregame' just doesn't sound right...
-get on tram, take pictures
-go to BAR BZR, meet up with Brandon's friends (serindipity really, his phone had broken earlier, and he was planning on ditching (ok, strong word) us and hanging out with them---aka, divine interventionHere, Brandon apologizes to Mary for telling her that "All the pretty girls left....."-gang leaves BZR, with Ana headed to Ocean just behind rest of group
-Mary, Ems and I walk along tram line all the way from city centre, arrive home to find Ana and later Brandon
-Hil and Ryan show up minutes later, with Ryan sporting a swelled right eye after defending Hil's honor

Whew. More on that in person.....

The next day was magical. Magical in the sense that, while the majority of our group was feeling 'under the weather' (especially Ryan, who was sporting a now slightly oriental right eye and feeling the double effects of dehydration and a flu)....otherwise, i felt great.

The rainy, cloudy day reflected the general mood of the group, and our wet and wild ( the word 'wild' used only because it starts with a w, otherwise the trip was tame as hell) trip had begun. We visited Dove Cottage (Wordsworth's home in the Lake District), and made our way to the Bed and Breakfast.
The B&B was amazing, and according to Mark and Carol, rightfully so...it broke our buget at 32 quid per person per night (about 60 dollars), and despite the amazing accomodations (flatscreen tv, private bathroom), will more or less be the last time we stay in one....
The view from my room on Sunday morning....My quaint country-style room at the B&B
The Lake District is a ( i hate to use the word, but it fits too well) touristy area in the NW part of the country, almost near Scotland. I would liken it to a more chill Boulder or Estes... amazing paths, breathtaking views, and mountaineering shops and B&Bs as far as the eye can see.... What's interesting here is the great integration of outdoorsy culture and actual culture- that is to say, the Romantic period of literature- Coleridge, Wordsworth, etc, and the vast history of tourism and landscape exploration and appreciation in the country....

Sunday was beautiful... a 10 mile hike across the sunny, windswept landscape was breathtaking (both physically and in part because of the amazing views)---it was great to feel so connected with nature after spending so much time in the cramped space in the cities. We talked about everything over the 10 miles- the names of our kids being a favorite topic- and i finally got cell service at the top of the peak! Unfortunately, we were still unable to find out the results of the IIAC Conference Meet until we arrived home 3 hours ago....
(sidenote: LUTHER COLLEGE MEN AND WOMEN SWEEP THE IIAC CONFERENCE MEET, AS COACHES PASCHE SWEEP THE COACH OF THE YEAR CATAGORY AS WELL... in a sidenote to a sidenote, i feel very odd-- i didn't really keep in contact as well as i could or should have this season, and feel altogether disconnected and unattatched. I could not be more proud of the group, but it comes in a jealous 'i wish i could have been there' way.... it was strange to be eating breakfast or hiking up a mountian knowing that thousands of miles away, the team was running in the best meet Luther has seen in a decade....)

Missing the Luther Cafeteria....
After the hike, we made our way to an Italian restaurant that doubles as a movie theatre (wierd, too--- there are four screens, but they are spread around the town...). It took us about 10 minutes into eating our food that we realized the whole place was a Vegitarian restaurant, but the food was decent. (I gave it a 4 out of 10, Mary thinking it was out of 5 shocked us with a dissapointing 3....)

Afterwards, the group stocked up on crap at Spar and went to The Departed (awesome movie, highly reccomended) and The Good Year (or A good year, i have no idea...), both were reccommended, although Kate hated The Departed....too bloody possibly? If LeoDeoCapo doesn't get a best supporting nod, i'll be surprised....you really have to hate Matt Damon in the movie, and JAck Nickelson has a great role....

Finally, today we awoke to slightly sprinkly skies and yet another freshly prepared breakfast at the B&B (their version of American Pancakes is spongy and hole-ridden....kindof funny really), and had 3 hours of freetime to wander the town. Needless to say, Ana dropped a boat of cash on a new purchase (amazing Lowe Alpine pack, about 180 USD), to which Carol responded "Wow, when you go, you go all out"....took the words out of our mouths...

Aaron and Brandon duke it out on a foosball table at House of FootbalL, a photography-gallery/museum located in town....note the huge paper-mache legs behind us.... as far as the game(s) went, Aaron won with a combined score of (about) 17-3....

A traditional Cumberland Sausage dinner in Cumbria (the county we were in), and a visit to Hawkshead (birthplace of Peter Rabbit), we were content to get in the coach and head home.... Again, Roger is the worst driver of all time, and after my ipod flew out of my lap and unplugged itself from my headphones for the 3rd time, i started to get annoyed...
The church in Hawkshead, with some much appreciated foliage....

All in all, the trip was a success.... Brandon and I have begun a novel of sorts, developing our characters (2 so far, but they're losely based on ourselves: the pompous, quick to BS, always ready with a story, wannabe and his friend, the metaphor-searching, literary-obsessed, sentimental counterpart). We'll see where that goes.... we actually had a huge brainstorming session on the muddyasshell walk back from the top of the peak, and even went so far as to develop a storyline in which the character had split personalities, and both were dating the same manipulative girl.... but that's entirely too 'Momento' and 'Identity' for us....so we'll see...

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This week looks pretty tame otherwise- the girls leave for London on a privately-funded and privately-planned trip on Thursday, and Wednesday looks to be like another self-praising, overly-hyped Crosscountry social, this time held on the top floor of a bar called 'Bag of Nails'....I'll have pictures for sure...

posted by Kevin @ 9:07 PM