One red wire and one black wire

Sunday, July 10^th, 2016

Salisbury, UK / Hastings, UK

It’s 8:30am BST and I am waking up from a very bad night’s sleep. My hotel is old and charming, but it is also super hot inside. Air conditioning is something that I definitely take for granted.

I have big plans for the day so I get ready and quickly pack my bag. The hotel serves a hot breakfast for £10, so I make quick stop in the dining room. I serve myself a traditional English breakfast from the breakfast bar and it is terrible. Oh well, I have places to go.

I walk back over to the public parking lot to drop my bag in my car. Next I head to the Salisbury Cathedral where one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta will be on display. On the way to the cathedral, I stop off at Starbucks. This is the first Starbucks that I have seen since LA and I am praying that they have half and half. I order a small coffee and am only offered milk and sugar.

When I arrive at the cathedral I learn that it does not open to the public until 11am. It’s okay though, it’s 9:30am and there are a ton of amazing photo opportunities in the area. I spend the next 15 minutes taking photographs of the outside of the cathedral. It turns out that large, immobile buildings make very good subjects. I also take a walk around the courtyard where I find a quaint museum all about Stonehenge. The woman behind the counter sells me an overpriced ticket promising free admission for the rest of the year. Thanks lady.

The Stonehenge museum is adorable. It reminds me of the little museums that you would find in small town America. There is an exhibit on ancient history, a subject on which I clearly need a refresher. There is also an eclectic collection of clothing, art, and dishes. It doesn’t make a whole of sense, but that’s part of the charm. After about 45 minutes of browsing I wander back to the cathedral. They are still closed, but the gift shop has opened. I browse through the shop and purchase a set of coasters. They have little funny British comics on them and will come in handy one day when I actually purchase a coffee table.

At 11am sharp the Cathedral opens to the public and I am one of the first people to enter. The main seating area is gorgeous, complete with stained glass and lots of old art. Eventually, I enter the exhibit area, where there are multiple stations explaining the importance of the Magna Carta. I read everything; my knowledge is embarrassingly limited. Eventually I get to the end of the exhibit, where the 800+ year document is stored in a case, in a tent, guarded by an British docent. I have to duck to enter the tent. Once inside, it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light.  The Magna Carta is much smaller than I imagined. The whole document is written on one piece of paper (it’s written in abbreviated Latin). I am in the tent with a few other tourists and there is an awkward silence. I ask the docent a few polite questions about how the document has been preserved but he really doesn't seem to know anything. Great, I have succeeded in making things more awkward. After a few minutes I leave the tent and head back to the car.

It’s almost noon and I have 8 full hours to get to Stonehenge before it closes. I am feeling good about my odds of success.

Upon examining the map I notice that Old Sarum is on the way from Salisbury to Stonehenge. These are ruins from an old Norman castle. It’s as old as Stonehenge, but not as well preserved. I decide to check it out. As I approach I see a guy in a bright green T-shirt that waves at me to stop. He informs me that a fun run is taking place and the road is closed. I ask for an alternate route and he replies that he is from Whales and he doesn’t know. I spend the next 20 minutes looking for another way into Old Sarum before I finally give up.

On to Stonehenge.

I arrive around 1pm. The line at the ticket booth is enormous. I get in line and immediately start trying to figure out a way to buy tickets on my iPhone. After about 15 minutes of research I give up. 30 minutes later, I acquire my ticket. 

Wow. This is definitely more difficult than I thought.

Before heading over to the ruins I take a quick snack break at the café. I grab a coffee and some brownies and sit down to refuel. The food is not very good. I am not surprised.

There are two options to get to Stonehenge from the ticket booth, either walk or take a bus. I opt to walk. The wind is pretty bad, but the landscape is really amazing. There are small rolling hills of wind-swept grass and teeny tiny trees for as far as the eye can see. The walking path is about a mile long and cuts through a field. I see a few cows and am mildly concerned that they will charge at me. Eventually, I am able to see the ruins on the horizon.

As I approach, I somehow take a wrong turn and end up outside of the fencing around the monument. It’s okay though, I am able to get some great long shots of the ruins and the line of people waiting to see it. I attempt a few selfies but am unsuccessful (For the first time in my life, I wish I had a selfie stick.) Next, I retrace my steps and enter the viewing area with everyone else. There is another security fence around the actual stones, which prevents tourists from trying to push them over (something that I have been imagining for the last week). On the bright side, this set up results in some great photographs.

Stonehenge is definitely big. It’s bigger than it looks in pictures and it is way more popular with tourists than I ever imagined. After a few laps I finally get into line for the bus back to the ticketing area.

Upon arrival I spend a few more minutes in the gift shop and then do a quick swing though of the exhibit area which explains how Stonehenge was made. It turns out it was made with pulleys. I find this information both boring and disappointing. I head back to the Mazda station wagon to make the drive back to Hastings.

I am gaining some confidence in my driving abilities, but am still basically terrified. Also, I am getting very hungry, but there is nowhere to stop.

About 20 minutes outside of Hastings I decide that it's time to make my best attempt at reattaching the passenger side mirror, and pull over into a parking lot near an empty warehouse. I find a cleaning cloth for my sunglasses in my purse and buff the mirror and the mirror enclosure to the best of my abilities. To my surprise most of the scuff marks come off. Next I clean the back of the mirror and re attach two loose wires. One is red and one is black. I have no idea which one goes where, so I make a guess. Nothing blows up. 

From here I squirt half a tube of super glue all over the back of the mirror and the enclosure. I press the mirror back into the enclosure and hold it there for 3 full minutes. I am holding my breath the entire time. When I remove my hands, the mirror stays in place.

I climb back into the car and gently drive back to my flat in Hastings. It feels like I have been gone for a full week. Around 8pm I collapse on the couch. I make an online order for King Kabob and wait patiently for glorious food.

I spend the rest of the evening watching Bloodline on Netflix and profusely thanking the car gods that I did not kill anyone.

Oh crap.

Saturday, July 9^th, 2016

Hastings, UK / Salisbury, UK

It’s 11am BST and I am coming up on 12 hours of blissful sleep. My AirBnB flat is cool, dark, and quiet, three adjectives that do not describe my home in the midst of the LA summer. I’m on day 4 of a 3 week trip to the UK to catch up on recruiting for our office in Battle, UK. This is my first day to sleep in and I feel amazing.

Yesterday I booked a rental car for the weekend with the intention of driving to Stonehenge. I am supposed to pick up the car up at 11am, but I am enjoying sleeping so much that I decide to postpone. 

Around 12noon I finally drag myself out of bed and make a cup of coffee. I drink it black since Europe has yet to discover the joy of half and half. I take some time to watch a few videos on how to drive on roundabouts. I am scared but not willing to abandon my plan.

Before I head out I decide to give the rental company a quick call to let them know I running late. As the phone continues to ring I begin to get a sick feeling in my stomach. I quickly Google Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Bexhill and see that they close at 11am. Oh crap.

I call the main line at Enterprise and explain my situation. The girl in the call center is helpful and lets me know that they have a similar (but more expensive) car in Brighton. They will reserve it, but I have to pick it up by 3pm. Okay, no problem. I quickly Google how to get to Brighton and realize it’s 2 hours away. It's 1pm now. Oh crap.

I decided to make a run for it. I call the Hastings Cab company and beg them to drive me to Brighton, they say no and politely suggest that I take the train like any reasonable person would do in the UK. A very accommodating driver takes me to the train station where I buy a ticket to Brighton and hold my breath the entire ride. Eventually in Brighton, I blot off of the train and into another taxi, which begrudgingly drives me about half a block to Enterprise Rent-a-Car. I fly through the door at 3pm sharp.

The staff at the rental car company are very sweet. It may have something to do with the fact that I am renting an absurdly expensive vehicle (it’s the only car available with an automatic transmission). As it turns out, renting a car in the UK is actually easier than renting one in the US. I show the attendant my California driver's license, sign one form and I am shown to my diesel Mazda station wagon. Ah man, this is going to be fun.

I start off by attempting to get into the “wrong” side of the car. Next, it takes the attendant and me a full 5 minutes to find the ebrake release. She also helps me set up the GPS device.

Okay. I take a deep breath. It’s time to go.

Right out of the gate I turn left onto a one-way street. This is strange, but not terrible since I am also on the “wrong” side of the car. My next turn is underneath a small overpass. BANG. My passenger side mirror has slammed into the side of the bridge. I immediately turn left to get off the main road and pull over. I end up driving up a big hill and onto a narrow road into a residential area. Shit. I keep driving. Eventually I find an open spot and clumsily parallel park.

My passenger’s side mirror is pushed up against the car (it's okay though it has a mechanism to fold inwards when hit). I pull it back out with no harm done. Onto the next problem. The mirror is hanging out of the frame and has been bumping up against the side of the car. It’s hanging on by 2 small wires. I follow my instincts and attempt to push the mirror back into the frame using force. I can see that some plastic parts are broken but there is a lot exposed glue and it seems to be sticking. Thank goodness. I climb back into the car, shut the door, and CRASH. The mirror falls out of the frame again.

I climb back out. 

Upon closer examination I determine that the mirror won’t stick back in its original position. I see that the 2 wires connecting it to the frame are easily disconnected. I disconnect them and place the mirror in the glove box. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about this, but I am going to Stonehenge first. More determined than ever I climb back into the car.

I’m now at least twice as scared as I was this morning, but I am also twice as determined. I turn on the car and begin to drive according to the GPS directions. I am going slowly, but not hitting anything.

The roads in Brighton are narrow and scary but there are also a lot of cars so it’s easy to stay in the correct lane. Eventually I get out of town on onto a small farm road that is heading east. This seems easier. Maybe there won’t be very many roundabouts. Only a few minutes later I hit my first one.

I am ready for this. I enter the roundabout driving in a clockwise direction and stay in the outside lane. That lane automatically exits on the first exit, it's okay though, that’s where I wanted to go.

Whew. I can do this.

I continue down the road and hit a seemingly endless stream of roundabouts. For a lot of them I simply need to take the first exit, which is not a problem. However, for a few I need to take the 2nd or 3rd exit. I know that I am supposed to enter on the inside lane and then move to the outside lane when it's time to exit, but I can’t really bring myself to do this. Instead I continue to enter on the outside lane and exit on the first exit. From there I drive down the street, make a U turn, re-enter the roundabout on the outside, and then exit again on the first exit. It’s a time consuming way of making progress. But it’s progress.

I continue down various country roads. I am gripping the steering wheel with 2 hands and have the radio on silent. Stonehenge closes at 8pm and I should be there by 6pm.

Around 6:15pm I arrive at Stonehenge. I cannot believe that I made it. I go to check in and am surprised that the ticketing windows are closed. There is a sign on the outside stating that the last ticket is sold at 6pm. Crap.

Oh well, I am planning on staying in Salisbury and can see it tomorrow.

Soon I am on the road again. Salisbury is only about 30 minutes away and I have already booked a room at the Red Lion Inn. I spend a ridiculously long time trying to figure out where to park the car in Salisbury and eventually found an overnight lot on the outside of town. I spend another 20 minutes trying to figure out how to pay for parking. It turns out to be free.

I make a quick stop at a store on the way to the hotel. I purchase super glue. I am hoping to repair the car mirror before tomorrow evening. A situation that is still giving me great anxiety. 

Around 7:30pm I finally arrive at my hotel. I drop my bag in my room and immediately start looking for a dinner spot. There is a Nandos across the street and I really want to go there, but instead, I pick an old pub from the 1200s called Haunch of Venison. The pub is adorable and the server is unbelievably nice and charming. I sit quietly and read my book while I wait for my venison stew.

After dinner it is getting dark and the town is eerily empty. I decide to go back to my Inn / Pub for an English Guinness. I spend another hour or so working on my laptop and drinking Guinness on the patio. Around 9:30pm I head up to my room for bed.

The Inn is pretty old and even with my window open, it's terribly hot inside. I try my best to sleep. I have a big day planned for tomorrow. It will be Stonehenge Attempt #2.

Jellyfish

Sunday, April 3rd, 2016.

Portland, OR / Tacoma, WA

It’s 6am and I am tired. I offered Laura a ride to the airport last night and now it’s too late to take it back. I silently curse my past self and begrudgingly get out of bed.

Around 6:15am we approach my rental car and find a parking ticket stuck to the windshield. Ugh. Laura offers to pay for some of the cost but I decline. I am going to let it go and see what happens. After a few wrong turns and a stop for gas I somehow still manage to get Laura to the airport early. She is grateful for the ride and we say our goodbyes.

Now I have about 8 hours to kill before my 4pm flight out of Tacoma, I consider going to brunch in Portland, but instead decide to hightail it to Tacoma and try to hit the zoo before going to the airport. The freeway is gloriously empty and I make it to Tacoma in 2 hours and 45 minutes flat. I now have a comfortable 3 hours to explore the Tacoma zoo and aquarium. I have to stand in line for nearly 20 minutes to get my ticket. I am a solo adult in a sea of small children. I nervously play on my phone and try not to look like a creep. 

Eventually I gain entrance into the zoo and make my first stop in the aquarium. The jellyfish are totally awesome (as always) and I even get to see a few sharks. From here I make a full loop of the zoo and finish up at the polar bears, which are adorably playful.

Around 2pm I am climb back into my Subaru and look for lunch and gas. I end up grabbing Chipotle and gas at a nearby shopping center and then heading to the airport. Around 2:30 I am drop off my rental car. Goodbye blue Subaru; you have served me well. I head into the airport to check in.

Holy Crap. My flight is at 3pm not 4pm! I am instantly resigned to missing my flight but go head and line up at security anyways. I mentioned to one of the guards that I am running late and he insists that I go to the front of the line. I do not argue and waltz right through. From here I break into a full run and make it to my gate with minutes to spare. Ah man, that was scary.

The flight back is uneventful. Eventually I land in Los Angeles and pick up my car in Lot C. 

Visiting Portland was such a great blast from the past; I already want to go back.  

Beer cocktails are the best!

Saturday, April 2nd, 2016.

Portland, OR

It’s 9am and I am slowly crawling out of bed in my Portland motel room. I drove in late last night from a Seattle work trip and booked the cheapest hotel room I could find. It looks even grosser in the harsh morning light. I quickly get dressed, pack my bag and am back in my rental car. It’s a blue Subaru and it’s freaking awesome.  

My first order of business is brunch with Katie, one of my long lost AmeriCorps friends. I have not seen Katie in 10 years, but I am not nervous at all. 

We meet for brunch at a small café in the Northeast part of town. I recognize her immediately and we get right down business. When I last saw Katie she was a recent college grad with a Masters in Biology; now she is a middle school guidance counselor. I am very happy to hear that she absolutely loves her job! I don’t know any teachers, so I have a lot of questions, which she answers calmly and honestly. She is making her career sound very fun and now I am feeling jealous. Soon the conversation turns over to boys. We are both unmarried and dating on Tinder. We are also both having great online dating experiences.

After brunch we make a trip to my old neighborhood, Hawthorne. I haven’t lived in Portland since 2007 but my old neighborhood is exactly as I remember it. We go to Powell’s so that I can buy a new book and then we finally succumb to the bar. It is after noon, so it's okay. 

Katie takes me to a little bar on Morrison where we sit outside (the weather is uncharacteristically awesome) and I order a beer cocktail. I have forgotten how awesome beer cocktails can be and feel sad that I never see them in Los Angeles. After 2 rounds of afternoon drinks we walk back over to my rental, stopping at Powell’s again so that I can buy a copy of Kafka on the Shore, a book that comes highly recommended by Katie. Next I drop her off at her house, vowing to stay in better touch.

My next stop is downtown Portland. My long time travel buddy, Laura, is just finishing up a work conference and is ready to see the town. We are both here on our works’ dime and intend to make the most of it! As I pull up to our hostel/hotel I see Laura sneaking out of the front door and making a beeline for the bar next door. I yell across the street for her to stop. She is happy to see me and turns back around to walk me to the hotel room (To be fair she just completed a 3 day conference on book publishing, so she really needs a beer!).

Unsolicited, I explain to Laura know that the real Portland is located east of the river. She is agreeable so we hop in the Subaru and are off. Katie has suggested that we check out Mississippi Ave, so that’s where we go. We drive around for a few minutes and finally locate a very lively strip of stores, restaurants, and bars with a small brewing district at the end. To the breweries!

As we enter the brewery district, we see a place called Spin; it looks promising. Upon closer inspection it turns out to be a laundromat / bar. We actually consider ordering a beer, but it smells too much like soap. Onward.

We end up at Ecliptic Brewing. We quickly find a table outside and I order a pilsner with some snacks and Laura orders a beer sampler. She gets one sip of my pilsner and I get one sip of each of her 5 tastings. We enjoy the weather and catch up on life. Laura has recently moved in with her boyfriend and I am being super nosy. Laura obliges my curiosity. 

Eventually we continue our tour to a bar called Liberty Glass. It is quintessential Portland and I immediately love it. We finish our tour of Mississippi Ave at one of my personal favorites, the White Eagle. This is the first bar that I ever visited in Portland (a trip that resulted in me living in Portland for almost 3 years).

The sun is starting to set and we are both starving. I decide that Laura has to see the Kennedy School (its an old elementary school that has been converted in a bar-restaurant-pool-movie-theater building. It’s as wonderful as I remember and we both enjoy our dinner. 

Laura is starting to look tired, but I push for one more stop at the Backstage to play shuffleboard. The Backstage is my all time favorite bar and we both rally for one last round. 

Around 11pm we head back to the hotel. We fall asleep immediately. I have committed to taking Laura to the airport at 7am in the morning and we are both beat.