We got up this morning at 7, packed everything away to leave Scotland. We were told the day before that we would be making a van stop for breakfast, but when we went downstairs and checked with Katy, she closed her eyes and said "Tom didn't tell you." With that, we turned around, ran over to the cafeteria and bought a two pound breakfast before Tom arrived with the van from the far off lot. See? No worries.
We hustled into the van and packed everything away quickly once Tom pulled up. We've kind of got this down to a science now. We drove around town for a bit and Tom had each of us in turn tell what we did yesterday, since the last we had heard or seen from him was the morning before at Edinburgh Castle as he yelled "see you in the van tomorrow at 8am!" So we each sounded off. Only a few people had actually watched any of the little plays. I skipped the part about how much money I had made until the girls told the whole van. Matt said that if I had hidden more of the money once I had a lot, I could have made sixty pounds easily. Crazy huh?
We drove around a country area of northern England for a while and got out a few times as we tried to find a bit of Hadrian's wall, the first wall created to establish the border of 'England.' We got some lovely walking time in, but never did find it.
After a few more hours in the van, we stopped for lunch at a really lovely, really random cafeteria-styled food place. I picked up a small loaf of fresh warm herb bread and a small jar of lemon curd. Oh man, it was good. I know I know, carbs aren't my friend, but I quit trying to lose weight on this trip two weeks ago. :)
I went to eat at the table with the girls, and found that they were sitting right by a giant window-wall that looked out over a big pond and valley below. Holy cow, it was an exquisite sight!
After about an hour (surprisingly) we were summoned back to the van and got in for another multiple hour drive to our next destination: the Preston Temple. I was so excited to see this place, though I knew there was no way we could go inside or do any work. But I was still glad that we were going. While we drove, I did my usual journalling (I promise I'm still working hard at it, even though I'm super behind) and listening to music.
As we moved over to the highway exit, we slowed down and I glanced out the window. From where we were at, I could see the golden angel Moroni atop a great, light-colored granite steeple sticking out above the thick row of trees that engulf this highway.
We pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later and we excitedly jumped from the van; partially because we were super stoked about standing up for the first time in a few hours.
It isn't a big temple, but it is gorgeous. It's very plain, just lots of hard angles and entirely made of only the speckled granite. Tom fortunately was good to remind us of where we were, and many of the rowdier ones settled down almost instantly. The grounds are very small, but they were so immaculate. Two small water ponds were placed on either side of the front courtyard, each filled with a few circles of lily pads. The whole area is surrounded by beautifully shaped trees, each the same size, height, and shape as it's neighbor. And many of the flowers were still in bloom, so it was so colorful too! As we walked around the temple, even the lawns and edges looked absolutely perfect. I was walking near Tom and Katy. They told those who were nearby that the last time they came here, a temple worker showed them around the grounds. They were told that a few years ago, these gardens used to have an even more exquisite collection of plants, flowers, and trees. Interestingly enough though, the Church leaders made a point of asking the gardeners here if they would 'tone it down a bit' and make the gardens more simple, as more people were coming to see the multi-award winning gardens instead of coming to do temple work. I was very surprised to hear this, but hey, it was for the best, I'm sure.
After a few photos, we hopped back in our beloved van and were off again.
I've had way too much time watching Matt and Abbey sit together all day. Matt doesn't have much to do with anyone, not because he's a quiet guy by any means, he just prefers doing his own thing all the time. But Abbey has a special gift, the gift of making anyone she's with feel awesome. So she can get anyone talking, about anything. The last few times she has sat by Matt, he has opened up more and more. As a matter of fact, one of his new favorite things to do now is 'conduct social experiments' on Abs. These include counting the number of seconds he can put his finger on her cheek before she moves away, how long he can massage her head until she ducks out, and how long he can put his hand on her knee before she yelps. Basically, its like Abby acquired a little brother on the trip. She's super good about it though, so it's pretty funny.
Today has been interesting, as Matt seems more comfortable than ever. After three hours of snuggling with her pillow, cradling her journal, playing with her hair, rubbing her shoulders, pretending to smother her with her pillow while forcing a forehead-meet, and grabbing her hand, she began to look a bit weirded out. After her expression slowly grew to one of distress, she threw herself across the aisle where Theresa and asked to switch her spots. Her ever-loving best friend gave her a firm 'no', and after Abbey asked a few more times, sat back up in her seat. It's all just fun, and Matt's really not a creeper, but it was super funny to see even Abbey temporarily reach the end of her rope. I honestly wondered if she had one at all during this trip. Even right now as I look over, they are goofing around and jamming out to music. Every now and then, Matt will mess with her seat belt or play with her hair, and she stiffens up a little, but then they are right back at laughing. Boy, it's great to have the comedy relief during such a long car ride.
Speaking of the long car ride, aside from having a numb rear end, I am savoring every bit of country that I see out my window. This is the last day that we have the van, as we take the final tomorrow and then the trip officially ends. I'll still see a lot more country from bus and train windows during our post-trip travels, but I'm still gonna miss this van...these people...this trip.
But I'm not going to cry when it's over. I'm going to smile because it happened.
It's weird, but even though this is my forty-fifth day out here, this place still looks like a totally new world, like I'm just seeing it for the first time. I just realized today that the highways here are crazy tiny, two lanes either direction. And we have always been in either a thick forest, with absolutely gigantic trees pressing up against the road, or in the middle of either farming or grazing fields for as far as the eye can see. Basically, ITS ALWAYS GREEN and full of plants here!!! Seriously, we have never passed through a single concrete-colored, overflowing city once IN NINE HOURS. I've seen a hundred more cows today than people, and that's just the cows. I'm sure I've seen ten times as many of those than people.
Pine trees. I didn't think it was possible for 25 foot pine trees to grow five feet apart from each other! For MILES!! Ferns, bushes, and a host of other trees I won't pretend to know the name of. Everywhere! Anywhere there isn't asphalt or concrete, there is some sort of green plant growing there! And it's not something that is manicured or kept up by people, it's just naturally like that. It's incredible!
When you do catch a glimpse of a nearby town through the mass of vegetation, its small and neat and old and cute! Okay, usually they're a little dirty too, but that's sometimes forgivable. You just get out of town and sit on some pine filled hill and smile a lot. That's what I would do anyway :)
All in all, we were in the car for almost 10 hours today. We pulled up to our favorite Tesco shop in the evening and picked up a few little things. I knew I wouldn't need anything major, so I mostly bought tea cookies and biscuits to bring home :)
We eventually made it home, unpacked, and started a big shared dinner of mashed potatoes and veggies. I remembered then that I had told one of my potential employers that I would probably be able to do a skype interview that day, so I ran over to the other house with my iPad and got set up in the best spot for the pub's wifi now: outside along the back alley of the house by the trash. Yup! I almost stifled a smile during the whole interview when I thought about where I was skyping from. :)
Shockingly, I was given the job, right then and there. I had two other people who contacted me within the last two days, saying that they wanted to hire me soon after an interview, but I was given a job during the middle of my first interview. I had prayed about it before and hadn't come to a final conclusion about anything, but the more I've considered it, the more I know that this particular job is going to be very good for me right now. So, I sent two emails to my other potential employers for taking the time and effort to figure out how to get a hold of me while I was away and decline their offers before I wandered tiredly back to my house.
Once I got in, I found that the girls hadn't been idle...in a way. Apparently Anders and Courtney taught them how to give Elephant Kisses. One person tilts their head back, and another person blows hard on the bridge of their nose. Don't ask questions, it's unexplainable beyond that, the movies were absolutely hilarious, and I'm extremely glad I wasn't there. :)
Afterwards I munched on the leftover potatoes and veggies while I crammed for our final that's happening TOMORROW. Yeah, it's gonna be great :) I decided not to stay up outrageously late, so I got ready for bed and did scriptures and prayers not too long after, making sure that I set my alarm for 8am the next morning so I could study for a few hours before our final at 10am.
Bring it on.
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