Ok, I have no idea what happened to my cool typewriter font. There goes conformity.
The following is a photographic journey through our first few days of marriage. After making our escape from the reception, we went to a cute little bed and breakfast in Longmont. I'm pretty sure we were the only guests that night, and the owner took extra-special care of us.
See, she even made a congratulations sign for Mr. and Mrs. Affleck. We stayed in a room called Kitty Korner. One of those themed things. It was very nice, lots of fluffy things like towels and sheets and window hangings, and a creepily realistic stuffed cat. It sat right outside the bathroom door and kept scaring us every time we came out. Finally, after several incidents of jumping backwards and screaming, we wised up and threw a towel over the cat. Problem solved.
The next day was filled with Southern Colorado sight seeing. Here's the world's largest rocking chair.
And probably the world's largest fiberglass beetle. We went to the May Museum and spent a couple of hours looking at exotic bugs. They were very nice. Looking back, it was a weird way to spend our first day as a married couple, but we both really wanted to go to the bug museum. What?
We had a nice little hike in Garden of the Gods. This shot took probably 20 minutes to perfect.
Climbing up a very windy tunnel thing. James got a lot higher than I did.
Here we are. James is wearing the Superman cape I gave him (too bad it's made for a toddler; it looked more like a bib on him) and it gave him super-human strength.
Two weeks after the wedding, we went to London (courtesy of Digicert). Every train platform has a sign and audio recording telling us to "please mind the gap between the train and the platform". There were also signs in the trains telling about the 42 people last year who failed to mind the gap and were injured. They mean business.
We arrived at 7am and had the wrong hotel information. We eventually got to the right place and still couldn't check in until 3pm. So, we left our luggage at the desk and wandered around like starstruck, jetlagged zombies until we could have a nap. Our hotel was near Hyde Park, and that's the first place we went. We found a lovely little folk dance group giving free lessons. Men in kilts, women in pants, we had to be a part of it. So we danced the Virginia Reel with skirted men.
This guy was our favorite, probably because his tie matched his kilt, and he remembered long socks. Very classy.
Double-decker bus! We never did figure out the buses in London. The tube was much easier (not to mention more fun to say). We did ride one, just to say that we did it. I think we got on 2 stops before the end of the route and everyone had to get off.
Telephone booth. Some of them actually have pay phones in them...what a novel idea!
Some genius of a street painter had finally seen enough tourists get mowed over by traffic coming in an unexpected direction. Almost every intersection tells you which way to look to avoid disaster. Some of them even have little eyeballs painted in the O's so you know which way to move your eyeballs.
This was at a Henry VIII exhibit at the Tower of London. It's a medieval blood pressure machine! Actually, I think it's to give you the idea of how hard it is to bend with a suit of armor on.
The Tower Bridge. Some poor Arizona man thought he was buying this when he bought London Bridge. Incorrect. He spent his fortune on a very small, very drab, stone bridge that has luckily done wonders for tourism in Lake Havasu City.
Big Ben (which, we learned is the clock's name, not the tower's) and Parliament. Closed until October. Boo.
This is a real pigeon on the steps of St. Paul's. No Mary Poppins or bird woman in sight, but I think it's proof that they're real.
We went to a Broadway Musical! (I don't know what it's called when it's not in New York. Same thing.) We saw the Lion King and it was awesome. We had some very nice "standing seats" which means you pay much less, but instead of a chair, you get a banister to lean on. The usher hooked us up with some binoculars though, and we saw the whole thing crystal clear. Near the end, some people left and we snagged their seats. We later found out why they had left early, as the metro was so crowded that it took us almost 2 hours to make a normally 15 minute trip.
We flew to Edinburgh on a quest to find Affleck Castle. We had to. You can't go to the UK without a quest. We rented a car, wrong side of the road, wrong side of the car, wrong kind of transmission. I've never been so scared in my entire life. This picture is just after James's first big success: parking without hitting anything.
The next day was filled with Southern Colorado sight seeing. Here's the world's largest rocking chair.
And probably the world's largest fiberglass beetle. We went to the May Museum and spent a couple of hours looking at exotic bugs. They were very nice. Looking back, it was a weird way to spend our first day as a married couple, but we both really wanted to go to the bug museum. What?
We had a nice little hike in Garden of the Gods. This shot took probably 20 minutes to perfect.
Climbing up a very windy tunnel thing. James got a lot higher than I did.
Here we are. James is wearing the Superman cape I gave him (too bad it's made for a toddler; it looked more like a bib on him) and it gave him super-human strength.
Two weeks after the wedding, we went to London (courtesy of Digicert). Every train platform has a sign and audio recording telling us to "please mind the gap between the train and the platform". There were also signs in the trains telling about the 42 people last year who failed to mind the gap and were injured. They mean business.
We arrived at 7am and had the wrong hotel information. We eventually got to the right place and still couldn't check in until 3pm. So, we left our luggage at the desk and wandered around like starstruck, jetlagged zombies until we could have a nap. Our hotel was near Hyde Park, and that's the first place we went. We found a lovely little folk dance group giving free lessons. Men in kilts, women in pants, we had to be a part of it. So we danced the Virginia Reel with skirted men.
This guy was our favorite, probably because his tie matched his kilt, and he remembered long socks. Very classy.
Double-decker bus! We never did figure out the buses in London. The tube was much easier (not to mention more fun to say). We did ride one, just to say that we did it. I think we got on 2 stops before the end of the route and everyone had to get off.
Telephone booth. Some of them actually have pay phones in them...what a novel idea!
It's the Mary Poppins guy!
Some genius of a street painter had finally seen enough tourists get mowed over by traffic coming in an unexpected direction. Almost every intersection tells you which way to look to avoid disaster. Some of them even have little eyeballs painted in the O's so you know which way to move your eyeballs.
This was at a Henry VIII exhibit at the Tower of London. It's a medieval blood pressure machine! Actually, I think it's to give you the idea of how hard it is to bend with a suit of armor on.
Bobbies
The Tower Bridge. Some poor Arizona man thought he was buying this when he bought London Bridge. Incorrect. He spent his fortune on a very small, very drab, stone bridge that has luckily done wonders for tourism in Lake Havasu City.
Big Ben (which, we learned is the clock's name, not the tower's) and Parliament. Closed until October. Boo.
This is a real pigeon on the steps of St. Paul's. No Mary Poppins or bird woman in sight, but I think it's proof that they're real.
We went to a Broadway Musical! (I don't know what it's called when it's not in New York. Same thing.) We saw the Lion King and it was awesome. We had some very nice "standing seats" which means you pay much less, but instead of a chair, you get a banister to lean on. The usher hooked us up with some binoculars though, and we saw the whole thing crystal clear. Near the end, some people left and we snagged their seats. We later found out why they had left early, as the metro was so crowded that it took us almost 2 hours to make a normally 15 minute trip.
We flew to Edinburgh on a quest to find Affleck Castle. We had to. You can't go to the UK without a quest. We rented a car, wrong side of the road, wrong side of the car, wrong kind of transmission. I've never been so scared in my entire life. This picture is just after James's first big success: parking without hitting anything. Then, we went to find an internet cafe to print out a map and make our way out of the city. That was one heck of a wild goose chase. We asked directions from all kinds of people. Everyone seemed to know where one was except for us. One very drunk man (at 1pm) is still quotation material in our house. After giving us directions (slurred and completely useless), the following took place:
James: Thank you, sir.
Drunk guy: Don't call me sir! I hate it when people call me sir.
James: Oh, sorry.
Drunk guy: Well, don't apologize, you didn't know.
James: Thank you, sir.
Drunk guy: Don't call me sir! I hate it when people call me sir.
James: Oh, sorry.
Drunk guy: Well, don't apologize, you didn't know.
Long story considerably shorter, we finally got a map printed out, found the car before we got a parking ticket, drove around Edinburgh for 3 hours trying to get out (the whole place was under construction. Not only were all the main streets blocked, but the open ones weren't labeled until half a block down the street. So you have no idea if you've made a wrong turn until there's no going back). James was a trooper. He only turned into oncoming traffic once.
Once we got out of the city (after consulting a whole pub full of drunk guys...bartender's idea, not ours), things looked up. We found a darling little place to stay where they got us even better maps and even served breakfast.
And what a breakfast it was. Let me explain. From the poached egg, moving clockwise, haggis (mostly lamb lungs), blood pudding (not my favorite), mushrooms, bangers, and bacon (more like ham). Holy high protein breakfast Batman! Usually, I'm all for trying new things, and I did, but I sure didn't get a sticker from the clean plate club that morning.
After a little more driving, we found that streets were no longer labeled at all. We knew we were getting close though because there were signs with the name Affleck on them all over.
We talked to several locals and finally located Affleck Castle. Very well hidden, very much on private property. We got the owner's name and phone number. A Mrs. Fievey, described by her neighbors as "not exactly the most approachable person" and, "Oh, she's a horrible woman". James tried to call her a couple of times with no success. We finally decided that we had not come all this way to turn around and go home, so we did a bit of mild trespassing.
Here it is, Affleck Castle. The grounds were very nice, a few little cottages and outbuildings, peacocks, and a thick layer of dark mud. Someday, we hope to inherit it. At any rate, our quest was a success. We found the Holy Grail, so to speak, and brought home a rock to prove it.
And what a breakfast it was. Let me explain. From the poached egg, moving clockwise, haggis (mostly lamb lungs), blood pudding (not my favorite), mushrooms, bangers, and bacon (more like ham). Holy high protein breakfast Batman! Usually, I'm all for trying new things, and I did, but I sure didn't get a sticker from the clean plate club that morning.
After a little more driving, we found that streets were no longer labeled at all. We knew we were getting close though because there were signs with the name Affleck on them all over.
We talked to several locals and finally located Affleck Castle. Very well hidden, very much on private property. We got the owner's name and phone number. A Mrs. Fievey, described by her neighbors as "not exactly the most approachable person" and, "Oh, she's a horrible woman". James tried to call her a couple of times with no success. We finally decided that we had not come all this way to turn around and go home, so we did a bit of mild trespassing.
Here it is, Affleck Castle. The grounds were very nice, a few little cottages and outbuildings, peacocks, and a thick layer of dark mud. Someday, we hope to inherit it. At any rate, our quest was a success. We found the Holy Grail, so to speak, and brought home a rock to prove it. 
Cool! What an adventure.
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