OUR FUN TRIP TO ISLE OF WIGHT JUNE 6,2009

We went to the far  west end of the island and went to the All Saints Church of Freshwaer.  This is where  Beckstroms told us to find our Theobald ancestors.   There were many Theobald and Stevens  gravestones we found . This is the church they attended and the town they lived in.

Along the way we drove by this darling little cottage with the cutest thatched roof we had seen!  It even had a thatched roof little well there on the left.
The Isle of wight is about as big as Bear Lake and so we drove around it to see all the great countryside.  This is part of what we saw looking out to the sea and sailboats in the distance.

Outside our hotel , the Montrene Wight Hotel, in Sandown on the east coast .  Nice little town.  We ate my birthday dinner at a nice chinese restaurant we found.

We drove to South Hampton  and caught the ferry over to Cowles on the Isle of 

Wight.  It was a cloudy  and windy day but we enjoyed the trip.   It took an hour to get there on the slowest ferry ever.  Gneitings, Skinners, Nielsens, Thaynes.

This is a great day for Terrell, since I turned 65 and am now  bringing in money each month for my old age pension!  Happy Birthday to me!

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL JUNE 1,2009

A huge stained glass window that reached from about a mans height to the very top of the building.  My camera wouldn't even get it all in.  Wish I could remember what story it is telling.

This is only one of several side chapels around the main big chapel.  There are several above ground tombs that you can see all carved and decorated and very ornate all around the cathedral and in all the small chapels.   The  stained glass windows are so beautiful and often tell a Bible  story or  a saint. 
The height and detailed work on those ceilings and walls is amazing!
Inside the cathedral  with part of our group.  Joseph,  Quay Simons, Nelsons and us.  It is an amazingly beautiful church built sometime after570AD.  It has been a pilgrimage site since 1170.  We couldn't imagine how they could have built such a structure  in those days  with no modern tools.

Huge and beautiful Canterbury  Cathedral.  Terrell and Joseph Cox and I.

This was a cool fountain in a little stone building called Oberons Palace
in the gardens as well.  This is all behind Arundel Castle.  The town was really interesting, with cobbled streets and  lots of little old  antique shops that were fun to browse in.

The castle gardens were really nice with fountains and beautiful flowers and trees.

The long stairs to the tower  prison in the top of the castle.

Gaylon wantd to know all about his armor and wanted to try it on.  He told us about how it worked and even bent.

ARUNDEL CASTLE , MAY 25,2009

They had  a medieval festival on the grounds and we watched  some jousting skills demonstrations.

Terrell found a traveling  minstrel  and he was also a great storyteller that we enjoyed.

This is a big castle, picture taken  from down below.   There is a medieval  festival on the grass.

Smith and Western, a favorite place to eat

Our gang in front of  Smith and Western where we enjoy  food a little more like home.   Us, Nelsons, Turners, Sharon Nielsen, Cheryl Gonzales, Carol Simons, Dawna Thayne, Holly Hutchings, Cheryl Gneiting.
Two tables of temple missionaries waiting for dessert.

In the garden there was aWisteria tree (behind us)  beautiful hanging purple clusters of flowers I loved.  There was also an aviary with tropical birds in it. 
Part of the stone grotto we had to go thru to get out of the maze.

Leeds has the best maze of any of the castles we have been to.  We all made it to the top and then  had to make our way out via a grotto.
This is the library in Leeds castle.  Great old books and furniture and fresh flowers.  So many lovely rooms.

Leeds Castle May 18th

Our group on front of the castle. Jean and Mike Winstone,Bonnie and Glen Nelson, Skinners, Jo and John Turner,and Gneitings. Leeds was first built in 1278, when it was a Norman stronghold, then later became a royal residence , for 300 years, and had many owners after that, until an American heiress bought and refurbished it in 1926.

Before the castle is an old gate and wall and mill.

May 18, 2009 We visited Leeds Castle. There is a lovely green walk along a stream, called the duckery. Lots of ducks and black and white swans and peacocks, even a rare White one

Terrell was so excited to get to go to Gilwell where Lord Baden Powell started Scouting. This is the scouting store that was there and he picked up a few things for the grandsons.s

This is how the Rhododendrons look all over the temple grounds. Just beautiful.

Temple grounds in May

More Rhododendrons

There are beautiful Rhododendrons all over the grounds in many colors. They are big tall bushes just covered with blossoms.

This is the front gate to the temple grounds, that faces the road. Tulips were almost gone. Our accommodation centre is in the background.

On April 13th, a bank holiday, we went to Chartwell.  There were lovely grounds and we got Terrell and Sharon& Martin by a beautiful  Tulip tree  could have been Magnolia, not sure.  

Nielsens  with Chartwell house above .  It was a  great day for Terrell as he admires Churchill and really enjoyed reading and learning all about him.

Chartwell and Hever Castle

This is not a good picture but it is Chartwell, the home of Winston Churchill where he lived and raised his children. Lloyd Thayne and Nielsens and me out front. Dawna Thayne is on the far right. It was a very interesting place and had beautiful grounds and lakes and pools and a great garden.
Beckstroms and Skinners at the moat bridge at the Hever Castle. We really enjoyed our day and the beautiful surroundings!

cool arbour with vines overtop and little fountain and rocks and plants behind. We would love one of these at home, Denise,Barbara Beckstrom, Terrells cousin, and Josephine Turner.
Terrell in a beautiful rock garden at Hever. We love the hyacinths.

Simons and Gneitings out on the lake for a paddle around
There are these beautiful columns and fountain right in front of the lake.

Part of the Italian garden but not fully in bloom this time of year.
Hever Castle, a small one where Ann Bolyn lived as a girl and Henry 8th came after they were married.  It was originally built in1270 and  lived in in the 15& 16 centuries.  There are beautiful gardens.   We  like the sculptured bushes all along the walk ways.    There is a maze and a lovely Italian garden with a hand dug lake.  It is our favorite castle gardens.

Our group to visit Hever Castle on April 6, 2009.  Gneitings,Rebecca Groves, Jackie Strader, John Turner, Nelsons, Skinersand Joseph Cox.  This is the gate into the castle area.

Hever Castle

Inside the church up behind the alter I found this black marble marker on the floor. It is for Robert Humphreys who was Lord of the Manor of Hever. I was so excited to find our family name and he died in 1736 so I need to research and see if he is an ancestor. Outside there is another grave in a big cement box by the back of the church of a Jane Humphreys. Could we be related or is this just coincidence?

This is the plaque at the entry to the churchyard that tell about the church where Ann Bolyn and her family attended hundreds of years ago.
On April 6th we took a group to Hever Castle. This is the old church near the castle. Terrell and Martin and Sharon Nielsen are standing in the gateway to the church.
Just up the coast a bit is the famous place called Beachy Head. There is a grassy slope up to a total cliff drop off. You have to lay on your stomach and look over as it is straight down white rock. It is a place where a lot of suicides take place. There is a cute red and white lighthouse out in the water just off the cliffs.

Eastbourne and London

On March 16 we took a trip to the coastal town of Eastbourne on the south east coast of England. There is a cool, old fashioned pier jutting out in the water and you can see the beach which is all rocky shale stuff, and the big white hotel strip by the promenade walk all along the beach front. It gave us a feeling of freedom and space as we looked out over the ocean and watched the waves lap up on the shore. Here is all the group we went with in the temple van for our Monday, p-day, trip. Eastbourne on the Pier looking toward the beach and town. Bro. Harris, Denise and Tony Vowels, Terrell, Holly Hutchings, one of our favorite young missionaries here, Bonnie and Glen Nelson and Sister Harris.
Terrell and our cousin Bonnie Nelson. She and I are related thru the Wier Leavitt line we are from different wives. This is the old LDS church in Eastbourne. It was very interesting and we got to see inside.
We are enjoying a big bus tour o f London sitting on the top of a double decker open topped bus! We could see everything and had a really good tour guide narrator as we toured all the main tourist attractions in the city.

This is the National Museum of Art at Trafalgar Square in London. The three musketeers are Cheryl Gneiting, Bonnie Nelson and Denise and we are seeing the sights again.
On one trip to South Croydon, near London, with Morrisons, we visited a Muslim Mosque. It was interesting and they were nice to us even when we told them we were missionaries for the Church of Jesus

Christ!

We found a good Italian Restaurant to eat before we went to the Jersey Boys stage play. The play was a disappointment. The music was good but the language was terrible! We were kind of embarrassed to be seen there. Gneitings, Nelsons and us enjoy our outings!
Our whole group at Lion King. We had the very back row at the top of the balcony but moved up to better seats after a bit. We all loved the show! Great staging and costumes!