The New World of Lonnie Mandigo

(2022.09.29, Thursday) I could spend several more weeks here checking out all of the recommendations that I've received for places to see in Cornwall.  It's a beautiful and interesting place.  Today, I decided to actually go inside the castle on Saint Michael's Mount.  Unfortunately, I probably timed it for maximum crowd but it was still interesting. The books are provided at my B&B.  Their selection is impressive!

(2022.09.28, Wednesday) I can tell I'm getting near the end of my stay here.  My desire to adventure is declining.  I did do a bit of shopping in the morning then walked to Newlyn and back in the later afternoon. This seemed like an unusual combination of businesses.

 (2022.09.27, Tuesday) Despite the prospect of terrible weather, I took the train to St. Ives .  It's a beautiful and interestingly picturesque little town on the north side of Cornwall.  Lots of art galleries and tourist shopping.  Came back to Penzance earlier than originally planned due to the wind and rain.  BTW, traveling in England by train is incredibly easy and convenient.  Trains more or less hourly.  I think my round trip ticket cost 5 pounds 30. The front door of the place I'm staying in Penzance.

(2022.09.26, Monday) No big adventures on this day.  I got my laundry done and got a haircut and beard trim.  Wandered around town a bit.  Cream tea at the Honey Pot .  Beers at the White Lion where I met Patsy and talked with Rocky some more. Dinner at the Turk's Head   (a delicious chicken burger, btw). Morning at  Causewayhead

(2022.09.25, Sunday) A leisurely 11.5-mile walk into the interior of Cornwall in search of ancient ruins. I did find a few, but less than I expected.  Lots of great scenery.  The worst part of the day was returning to town during the 4:00 to 6:00 window when no one is serving food.  I was hungry. Route walked.

(2022.09.24, Saturday) No long walks today.  I reasoned that since it was the weekend, anywhere I wanted to go would likely be busy, so I just stayed in Penzance.  Checked out several art galleries. Didn't see anything that really grabbed me. You could tell that it is a coastal town though. Street view in Penzance.

(2022.09.23, Friday) Ate breakfast at the Honey Pot then decided to walk to Saint Michael's Mount . Most of these pictures are from that walk. Got back to Penzance fairly early and had a Cornish cream tea .  In the evening I went to the White Lion for their karaoke night.  It was loud, raucous, and fun.  The people-watching was interesting.  A lot of just folks from the local area having a good time. I guess this is St. Paul's Jubilee Memorial .  It's just up the street from where I'm staying.  It looks like it may be for sale if anyone is interested.

(2022.09.22 Thursday) Spent the morning planning outings a few days ahead.  Went out looking for breakfast and discovered that breakfast isn't usually available until after 10am.  I did find a place that was open a little earlier.  Decided I had time in the day to walk to Mousehole . A pretty easy, generally flat, walk along the edge of the sea.  Paved all the way. A flower in front of the Baptist church near where I'm staying.

(2022.09.21)  The heart of the day was spent on the train from Bristol Parkway to Penzance.  After arriving I wandered around town a bit, ate dinner, and got some groceries before watching an episode of The Sandman and going to bed. Bristol Parkway .

(2022.09.20) Not much sightseeing today; mostly laundry and other forms of catching up. Took a short walk to McColl's, a nearby market.  All the pictures that I took that day are included here. The trip to McColl's was interesting.  I arrived and there was a sign on the door that said "Back at 1:30".  It was after 2:00 when I arrived.  I waited there for another 20 minutes hoping someone would show up.  Probably a dozen people arrived and looked in the door during that time and then left.  It reminded me of a story that Dave, a friend who used to own a restaurant, once told.  "How do you know if one of your employees has quit?" ... dramatic pause ... "They don't show up."  I wondered if McColl's was suffering from that same issue. A suburban street in Thornbury .

 (2022.09.19) We returned to Thornbury, stopping at a few places along the way.  It was a bank holiday, due to the Queen's funeral, so many places weren't open along the way.  We eventually found a garage (gas station) with a convenience store and purchased some coffee and pastries.  We drove on to Erwood Station where we enjoyed our snacks at a nice little picnic area. Artifact at Erwood Station.

 (2022.09.18) Ian wasn't up for another outing so Emma and I went to the island of Anglesey off the northwest corner of Wales. Criccieth Castle and Criccieth .

(2022.09.17) Two batches of photos today.  For the first, Emma and I went for breakfast at Starbucks and then took the long way back to the cabin by way of Penmaenpool with its wonderful bridge and hotel/pub.  For the second part, Ian, Emma, and I visited the area around Lake Vyrnwy and Rhiwager waterfall. The toll bridge at Penmaenpool.

Snowdon from  Glaslyn

 Travel Llyn Tegid , otherwise known as Bala Lake, is a lake in northern Wales.

Today we took the steam train from Porthmadog to Caernarfon . Travel The estuary at Porthmadog.

Went for a walk along the Torrent Walk in the morning.  Went shopping and then drove to the coast in the afternoon.  Listened to a dry run of a talk on organic chemistry in the evening. Travel A few pictures from the Torrent Walk, that I took with Emma in the morning. St. Mark's church in Brithdir.  Interesting because the pulpit and the altar are made of brass.  This church is no longer active but is under the care of The Society of Friends of Churches with No Friends or something similar to that.  This was on the way to the Torrent Walk.

More sightseeing by car beginning with the Claerwen and Elan valleys followed by an ancient lead mine.  We drove along the Dyfi estuary and then up to Snowdonia.  We'll be in Snowdonia for several days. Travel Up with the sheep in Abbeycwmhir.

Continued touring Wales with friends.  Visited a mutual friend in Newport and had a wonderful conversation there on a wide range of topics including various aspects of human survival. Dinner conversation in Rhayader explored some of the implications of energy storage. Travel Old bridge in Cenarth.

Spent the day driving into Wales with an assortment of stops.  Good dinner conversation in Carmarthen. Travel Here are some highlights from the drive... Rhaglan Castle.   Really impressive, really large castle along the way.

Still jet lagging, but got out a bit earlier in the day and saw some interesting sights. Travel Drove across the Severn to Lydney Harbor and took a nice walk along the channel. Lots of interesting sculptures there among other sights.  This was followed by finding a park bench in St. Briavels for some coffee and a snack.  We then went to Symonds Yat for a beautiful view of the River Wye far below.  Ended the outing with a drive home via many back roads through the countryside.  Here are a few pictures. The harbor at Lydney. 

Travel Travel from SFO to Heathrow was uneventful and fairly comfortable.  I slept for a good chunk of the way.  Customs at Heathrow were amazingly seamless.  All done via an electronic kiosk.  The only issue with Heathrow is that you have to hike to France to go through customs.  It's a long walk.

I'm traveling to the UK today. While there I hope to create occasional blog posts, this being the first. Travel Traveling from Eugene to Heathrow.  My friend, Cat, gave me a ride from Corvallis to Eugene. I have a four-hour layover in San Francisco. Out the window at the Eugene airport.