Day 5 - Adventures in Winnats Pass

With the promise of just cold and clouds instead of wind and rain, we ventured out after breakfast. 

Chris wanted to explore more of Winnats Pass, but the promise of no wind and rain DID NOT last. We had started our climb through Winnats Pass (we toted hiking boots all the way to London so we had to wear them at least once), passing sheep, and climbing to the ridge, only to find the ridge continued on.

We had read about Mam Tor "Mother Hill" in our research, and what do you know, we were almost to the trail head as we topped the ridge.

"Mam Tor is 2 km north-west of Castleton in the Peak District, Derbyshire, where it stands between the White Peak and Dark Peak. The summit of Mam Tor is ringed by the remains of the ditch and rampart of a once-great Iron Age hillfort, but it is also famous for its large landslide in the 1970s."

We continued on in the rain. As we climbed higher, the rain and wind increased. Good thing we were wearing gloves, rain jackets, and scarves. Mam Tor was socked in with clouds, so we didn’t get much of a view. And it was cold.

We decided to make our descent following a different path. I’m not sure it was the best route as I slipped and fell in mud twice! Chris slipped a time or two but managed to stay upright. 

Good thing as he was wearing his wool coat. I was grateful when we arrived back at the rental car. I had a plastic bag in the trunk from my hiking boots and I sat on it the rest of the day with my wet and muddy pants. 

We made a stop in Castleton, though with the continued wind and rain, we opted not to hike to Peveril Castle. There were a few cute shops in Castleton and a bakery for some treats. 

We had originally made reservations to visit Chatsworth House Gardens and Christmas Market on Friday afternoon, but due to the storm, we received notification of a cancellation and were able to reschedule for Saturday. The rain was much less crazy, but it was still misting on us throughout the evening. Having a rain jacket that was big enough to fit over my fleece vest and puffy jacket helped me to stay warm for most of the day. At least on my top half. Having landed in a puddle and mud, my pants were rather soaked on my right side. 

We found our way to Chatsworth House and got into the queue for parking. It was crazy busy and apparently one of their parking areas for 600 cars was covered in water and inaccessible. We were lucky to get a parking spot that was fairly close to the Christmas Market. 

The Christmas Market was a proper market instead of like the ones in Manchester. Chris and I perused the booths, enjoyed the band of Santas, and did a little Christmas shopping. We had timed tickets to view the gardens. 

Before entering the gardens, Chris bought a cheese, ham, and pesto crepe along with a very hot hot chocolate for us to eat as we walked in. The crepe was so good I asked if he would go back and get another one for us to share. 

The gardens themselves were underwhelming. I was thinking that trees would be decked out in Christmas lights, but mostly they used laser lights aimed at the trees. The estate house featured a light show, but I wouldn’t recommend the gardens.

There was another ticket option that allowed you to walk through parts of the house, but we had opted not to do that. The Christmas Market closed at 6 pm, so once we finished touring the gardens, we drove back to our hotel in Buxton. We parked at the hotel and walked into town for a late dinner. Chris had a pizza and I ate a garden vegetable dish.

Day 4 - The Peak District and Storm Claudia

We picked up a rental car from Sixt on Friday morning in Manchester. It was nice to sleep in a bit and not have to rush off to a train or work or something. Chris had the day off. 

We had planned a weekend getaway to the Peak District—1.5 hours driving from Manchester. It was already raining on us as we set off. We arrived at the Best Western Plus Lee Wood Hotel early—before check-in—and were able to drop off our luggage before heading out in the wind and rain of Storm Claudia. We drove around for most of the day.

"Storm Claudia brought heavy and persistent rain to England and Wales with 81.8 mm of rain from Thursday to Friday."

On the few times that Chris stopped so I could take a picture, the weather made it pretty impossible to capture anything great. We drove through Winnats Pass and were intrigued, followed a road around Ladybower Reservoir, and turned around when Chris talked to a guy who had tried venturing further only to find the road impassable with over a foot of standing water. Not the best idea with a rental car! 

We stopped for a late lunch at “The Woodyard” in Bakewell. The fireplace was warm, but service was slow. Since we weren’t really in a rush to get back in the wind and rain, we didn’t mind too much. 

We ventured into town where just a few shops were still open. At 4:30, it was mostly dark and the town was shuttered up. 

Look at these adorable reindeer decorations! I wish the store had been open; I would have bought a few.

Arriving back at the hotel, we settled into our room and then enjoyed a lite dinner. The area was famous for Bakewell Tarts so we had to give it a try. It was a tart filled with a custard flavored with almonds and cherries. Meh. I don’t think I would feel as though I “had” to order it again.

Day 3 - Manchester, UK

I woke up at 6:48 am. I could have slept longer, but Chris had to be at his office by 9 and we planned to leave the hotel at 8:30.

I did a short stint on an elliptical machine. That was more effort than I had energy for! 

We quickly got ready and snarfed a hasty breakfast at the buffet in the restaurant. We were out the door to walk across the Blackfriars Bridge in all of the early morning walking traffic with everyone headed to work—with our luggage in tow. 

We would be going directly from Chris’ work to the train to go to Manchester. Chris conducted a training in the London office. I sat in the lobby and worked on a post for my website. After a couple of hours, we were out the door again, this time with his co-worker, Roland, joining us for the train to Manchester. 

Once in Manchester, we took a taxi to the Hyatt Regency where Chris and I checked in. I took everything up to our room so that Chris and Roland could continue on to their afternoon meeting. 

Our first train had been cancelled, so they were already running late. After getting settled, I mapped my way downtown to the 7 to 8 Christmas markets. I walked from one to another to another. They were 90% food stalls with a few Christmas trinkets and sellers mixed in. 

Chris was supposed to be done around 5:30. Around 5:45, the substitute teacher I had arranged for my Pathways class texted that he was unable to login to my Zoom session. I tried for the next half hour to get him in, but I didn't have wifi. Chris arrived at the hotel, and saved the day by being able to login for me and get the class started, though it was about 15 minutes late. 

Chris caught a taxi to one of the Christmas markets, but he was dropped off about 15 minutes away walking. I started walking toward him and he walked toward my location and we missed each other. Again, I did not have great cell service and my messages were taking forever to be sent and received. 

We turned and walked back toward each other and finally met up. Since it was around 6:45 pm at this point, we were both hungry. One of his coworkers had recommended Winsome as a great place to eat and we decided to try it. 

The menu was limited. I order beets and turnips on hummus with cheese curd. It was surprisingly delicious. 

Chris ordered a salad, garden potatoes and then we shared a whole Brixam brill (white fish). We weren’t the best at deboning—I think I swallowed at least one bone. After a bit, we asked our waitress if she could help us and she handily removed the rest of the skeleton for us. 

Chris ordered Madelines and fudge for dessert. The 20 minute walk back to the hotel was just perfect, though cold, for an after-dinner walk.

A Bobcat

Chris pulled this picture from our cameras while we were in the UK.

I have to think twice about venturing out in the dark now.

Day 2 - The London Eye

I picked out a number of landmarks as we flew over London approaching the airport. That's Tower Bridge below.

The airport was so quiet and not busy when we arrived in London. Chris and I got our steps in as we speed walked to Immigration. It was pretty slick with no wait as we used the machines to check our passports. Only a bit of a wait at baggage claim.

We took the Elizabeth Line train into London, with a quick change to another train before we were able to reach our hotel, the Hyatt Regency. 

Chris had a few calls throughout the day. I knew if I stayed at the hotel, I would just sleep. Not helpful to get through jet lag.

After a quick shower, we rushed over to the London Eye to ride the iconic ferris wheel. The views were great. 

We enjoyed an evening without rain and walked a lot. Chris took a call while at Covent Gardens. While he talked, I walked around and stopped to watch a quartet play for about a half an hour. 

Chris finished up his call and we started toward St. Paul’s Cathedral, but made a quick stop at Paul Bakery for beignets.

Christmas was up everywhere. It was fun to see and since it was the day after Remembrance Day, there were a lot of displays and poppies to be seen as well. This cool display was just outside the Tower of London at the Traitor’s Gate. The poppies were brilliant red.

We stopped for dinner at a place called Yacob’s. It was Lebanese food that was mostly similar to Greek or Mediterranean food. Chris had one more call at 8 pm local. I was ready for bed and he sat beside me in bed to talk. I watched Britain’s “Wheel of Fortune” for a bit before drifting off to sleep.

Day 1 Fly to London

I must admit, I do miss the shorter time it took to get to the airport from Firestone. I’m not quite used to the new route to the airport or the hour and fifteen minutes it takes to get there. 

Fortunately, Chris and I were traveling for his work and we were able to park in the garage next to the terminal. The airport is still a mess with construction. I think the routes to check-in and security change every time I arrive.

Chris and I checked our luggage. We were taking extra stuff because we planned to hike a few of the days on our trip, and I had two pairs of hiking boots in my case and a set of hiking poles. Getting through security was pretty smooth. 

We had some time to spare and stopped in the United Lounge for a brief snack before boarding. Even though I had an awesome seat for traveling and sleeping, something woke me up around 11:30 pm and I wasn’t able to go back to sleep after that.

Northern Lights

Twice now Chris and I have missed amazing Northern Lights events in Colorado. The first time, I think we just had the curtains closed and missed it altogether.

While we were in the UK, apparently there was another big event in Colorado. Not only was it splashed all over Facebook, but our neighbor also sent us a picture of the lights above our house.

Kristen's Mission Emails - Week 72

Last Zone Conference😔🥴

Here's my last 2 weeks: 

• Got sick last week (hence why I didn't feel like writing) and you might say, Sister Kline, haven't you been sick a lot on your mission?.......bot tier immune system! I promise I wash my hands😷🤷‍♂️ 
• Ran an escape room for zone P-day and FHE. Sister Cutler did all the work and I scootered down the hallway and distracted people #compunity #dontworry #sightandsound 
• Last zone con😭😭 did I cry? Yuh. Did it eat? Yuh. Did I make other people cry? You better believe it😜😗😏 
• Exchanges!!! We have the best sisters and I love them all to bits. It's cool to see how much they've grown because I watched them all start their missions😭💗 I'M SO OLD 
• Got told I'm not white 2x this week and that I have a believable Spanish accent😁💅 

And of course, my miracle family! The Flores family is my joy and my reason and my why and I love them so much. We taught them the plan of salvation and Kamila just tapped her heart and said, "This feels good." GURL THAT'S RIGHT. 

We had their baptismal interviews last night and were shocked when Kelly came out absolutely cackling. She had offered the District Leader coffee as a joke (lol she was interviewing him for real) BUT THEY ALL PASSED and next Sunday will be the best day of my life. Pray hard for them because you know Satan doesn't want this family to be together forever. But I will do everything I can to make it happen. 

I told President weeks ago, "I see this family in white." And that is still so true. Here's some verses from my favorite chapter in the New Testament! 

Hebrews 12:6-7 "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?" 

God wants us to grow and be the best we can, keep that in mind when you feel like you're going through it!

See y'all in no time! 

Sister Kline

My First Introduction to AI

I have been somewhat reticent to delve into the world of AI, but knowing that it is changing the world around us right now, I figured it was time to learn.

Chris showed me how to begin to set it up and then how I can use it in doing research for my blog posts. 

Apparently he sent this picture of me to the girls with the caption of "Mom learning AI." I didn't see it until we were driving to church and had to laugh. The mouth isn't quite right, so I guess AI isn't perfect.

Guthries

We invited some friends from Firestone to come and visit. Despite the distance—1 hour and 15 minutes in good traffic—they were happy to come. They came a little earlier in the day to do some exploring and arrived at the house around 4 pm.

We enjoyed talking with them, laughing, and then having dinner. They left around 7:15 pm so they could get home and let their dog out. 

Another Trip to Urgent Care

On Monday morning, my face wasn't any better, so I took myself back to Urgent Care. Three times to Urgent Care in the past year. It didn't take the Nurse Practitioner long to diagnose me. She walked into the room and said, "You have cellulitis," and then she quickly cautioned me to NOT touch my eye!

Cellulitis - "Cellulitis is a bacterial infection of your skin and the tissue beneath your skin. Anyone can get cellulitis, but the risk is higher if you have a skin wound that allows bacteria to enter your body easily or a weakened immune system. Treatment includes antibiotics."

So, I have been taking antibiotics 4 times a day all week (total of 10 days). It took about three days for the full benefit of the antibiotics to set in.

Purple Mountain Majesty

In 1893, while visiting Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Katharine Lee Bates first wrote the lines to "America the Beautiful". 

O beautiful for spacious skies 

For amber waves of grain

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America! 

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea 

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam 

Undimmed by human tears 

America! America! 

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea

America! America! 

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea

There are many mornings when I see exactly what she was talking about with the purple mountain majesties out my bathroom window.

Something Crazy with My Face

On Friday afternoon I woke up with a raised red lump on my face. It was painful and hot to the touch.

I talked to Brad, as the redness, swelling, and pain was close to my eye. He said it would probably be fine just to watch if it started moving toward my eye. I tried smoothing the bump away from my eye.

Now, the redness, heat, swelling, and pain is all over one side of my face and down into my lymph nodes under my chin. Crazy.

If it gets any worse, I will go see my doctor tomorrow, as it is, I already have a physical scheduled for Tuesday.

Misha Job Interviews

Misha had two job interviews this past week. I am not sure exactly when they are supposed to get back to her, but hopefully next week sometime.

Yard Work in Monument

Chris and I had a little yard work to do in Monument. Yes, we will still have yard work to do. 

Before mowing, we picked up fallen branches and wood from our front berm under the Ponderosa Pines and then Chris mowed the straggle of grass in the area next to the road out front.