Day 2

Well, after an 8 hour flight across the pond, we have a few thoughts on extended air travel:
1. Plane food: not terrible.. but served in portions for babies, "little people", and perhaps a gastric bypass patient.
2. Sleeping isn't exactly comfortable - tried the "lay your face on the tray-table" method for a few hours, until we found out just a little bit of turbulence turns your head into a ping pong ball..

Shortly after our arrival in Manchester, the band loaded the buses and departed for the National Coal Mining Museum.





As we were driving out of the city, our tour guide gave a very detailed history of the city... which was obviously entertaining to Dr. Woods..









Don't get us wrong, visiting a mining museum seemed interesting, but when we stumbled on a nature trail that winded through the English countryside we couldn't pass it up!
Lots of great nature to observe in England. For example, on your left you will see the Long Tailed Tit. Apparently Tits are a very common bird in the UK and there are all kinds, and most commonly are found in pairs. However we are yet to see a vibrant pair of Tits worth mentioning... we will keep you posted..






We came across a beef cattle farm on the trail and jumped the fence for Stew's photo opportunity. Which brings us to our next point. We have eaten steak pie, pork chops, and lamb so far. I was told before I arrived that the grass-fed meat in the UK would be a big change from the corn-fed meat in the US and they were right. It isn't bad, but has a softer flavor, texture, and can be a little bland - which we assume is why they put gravy on EVERYTHING - but overall, the food is good!





This is Finn - Jesse's new best friend. Finn is a Clydesdale who works at the Mining Museum. They also had several Shetland ponies. Prior to the industrial revolution, over 70,000 ponies and horses were "employed" by England's mining industry. Most of these horses spent their entire lives below ground, pulling sleds of coal, opening ventilation shafts, and even generating electricity. Shafts were as deep as 75 meters in the earth, and the horses were lowered with a pulley system.


After enjoying our time at the mining museum, we departed for our stay in Durham. We arrived at the Marriot around 4, and the instrumentalists prepared for their practice at 4:30.


Following dinner with the band, and a quick shower, we had free time to explore Durham. We found out Durham is a "college town" - not exactly what we are used to for a college town though. The best way to describe this the city is quaint. It is interesting to see modern stores, restaurants, and pubs filling the spaces of buildings that have been standing for hundreds of years and still show the architecture of their era.





Of course, we finally discovered the pub scene! Lucky for us, it was karaoke night at the Market Tavern. When we walked in, we heard the locals sing (shout) Cotton-Eyed Joe, The Gambler, and countless other American country songs, and American classic rock. However, they did tell us that they "Really Really Want", when a group of girls sang Spice Girls... The beer was smooth, the company was great, and the locals were friendly. We met many locals who were more than helpful (when we could understand them - stay tuned for our next post on "Jordys"). They all seemed very happy to have Americans in their town, and had as many questions for us as we did for them.

After a few pints of ale, we decided to ask directions from a local homeless man. As he was giving directions, he dropped his cane and when Stew went to pick it up, he decided to give it a few twirls before giving it back. This turned into an impromptu street performance after some prodding (video coming soon)... we thought about coming back the next day to do some street performing and maybe put a few more pounds in our pockets. Unfortunately we found out we need a license...

Thanks for reading!