A Trip North

 It's been awhile, and much goodness has happened.. This week we took a trip up North to Preston, Liverpool, the Lake District, Edinburgh, and York. I know I have a bajillion pictures on this post, so instead of writing a bunch of nonsense, I will post a tour of pictures. Here goes.

This is on a bridge at Fountains  Abbey. Manda loves bridges. 

I propsed to Cat at this super romantic spot at Fountains Abbey. She shut. me. down. 

Our little family at some Roman ruins. 

The Lake District. Pictures do not even halfway do this place justice. So beautiful. I was thinking of our lake in Indiana the entire time. 

The fall colors sure make everything pretty amazing. 

One of our last stays at a hostel. We've had a good run, and I can officially say that bed bugs are real and community showers are… interesting. But the late night sleepovers, sketchy breakfasts, not included wifi, and bright green decor provide for so many laughs and memories. And this particular hostel, isn't in a bad location… right on the lake. 

This was taken on a 8 mile walk through Ambleside. My Hunter rain boots are basically my other half. This walk was unforgettable. 

just a quaint little boat on the lake. 

This is a glimpse of what we got to look at during our visit to the Wordsworth Museum. Such a neat experience looking at Wordsworth original manuscripts, the 1st edition of Frankenstein, and gifts from Queen Victoria. One of my favorite school outings and honestly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Not many people in the world get the chance to do what we did. And it turns out, the making of paper is actually a really cool thing to learn about. Holla at the museum curator Jeff for his paper dance. 

Can you tell we're now in Scotland. Kilts on kilts on kilts on bagpipes on bagpipes.

Just a cemetery… we weirdly frequented often. 

After some serious searching in the creepy graveyard at night with phone flashlights and like.. 20 people.. we finally found Tom Riddell's grave. Decided maybe we should come back in the daytime too. 

it was windy. really windy. 

Just another day, another castle. Edinburgh is seriously the coolest place ever. 

We couldn't quite figure out the proper way one should pose at a graveyard. so, we ended up in this awkward pose. RIP Tom Riddell. 

Edinburgh, Scotland. 

pubs and pubs and pubs. livin that Scottish life. 

that one night we spent in a graveyard in Scotland. normal. But really, spending Halloween in Scotland was the coolest. Complete with a trip to the castle, dinner at the Elephant House (birthplace of Harry Potter), a fire dancing parade,  a midnight ghost tour, a trip to the cemetery, and candy. Lots of candy. 

I seriously can't get over this place.

Matching Christmas sweaters from Scotland were a must. 

This is the bathroom at the Elephant House, the cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. Visitors can sign the walls and "join Dumbledore's army." Not quite sure what that means, but I signed it. I'm learning, slowly learning. 

Fountains Abbey

Welcome to Liverpool, folks. 

Home of the Beatles. So, we obviously toured the Beatles Exhibition. 

'Murica loves the Beatles.

All about that stoned life. Well, we tried. 

We all live in a yellow submarine. But really, there was a yellow submarine. 

This was the happiest moment of the trip for sure. I got to meet my roomie and bestie at the Preston temple. She is serving her mission in a nearby area and she got permission to meet me at the temple. It worked out so perfectly. That morning I had the random thought to shoot her an email to see if she was in a nearby area. It just happened to be her P day and she just happened to be transferred to this area a week prior. She was able to come meet me at the perfect time on the perfect day! God sure is good to me. The most incredible 45 minutes of catching up on life. Even though I wanted hours and hours to spend with Steph, I am so thankful that I got to see her. Such a blessing and I miss her dearly already. 

During our Freshman year we would spend hours googling pictures of this MTC and temple in excitement for her mission. And now, we have stood there together in moments of complete happiness.  

Sheep. 

I'm tellin ya, those Hunters.