Hello from Scotland!

[CpuZapper]

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I haven't written sooner, but this is the first chance I've had to use the internet. The place we were at in London didn't have any wireless to leech off of (not even secure ones I could've cracked!) and the train to Edinburgh wanted almost 3 pounds (six bucks) to use the internet for an hour. Our flat here though has free internet, and it's decently fast. So here's the rundown on what happened so far:

Monday morning we hopped on the plane after a very thorough inspection at Portland International. Apparently something customs did broke my laptop - now whenever it successfully boots, it will work for a few then the screen will go bonkers and it locks up. I need to get some screwdrivers and tear it apart to see if something just came loose. Our flight here was long and really boring. We were going to fly through Houston Texas, but massive thunderstorms and tornado warnings closed the airport. Instead we flew to Atlanta Georgia. That place is interesting to say the least. After a long and bumpy flight across the pond we landed in London Gatwick Tuesday morning. We were met by a crazy... I don't know what nationality he was... guy from some company that was to drive us to our hotel. All I've got to say is I'm glad I don't have to drive in London! Holy crap that is scary. We were diving across intersections, clipping people's mirrors, and didn't bother to slow down except for the occasional light that turned red long before we got there. I'm surprised we survived. Our flat was next to Kings Crossing and it wasn't bad. We were pretty beat Tuesday so we didn't do much other than venture out for some dinner.

Wednesday was touring day though. We took one of those fancy smancy tour buses through all the sights, and got off a few places. We briefly got to see the Queen come in with the president of some country to Buckingham Palace. It was completely by accident that we were there and even noticed. The only thing that gave it away was the sudden surge in police officers standing in the crounds, and a line of cars that shot in through the gate and disappeared. It was all very quick. We also made the mistake of taking the London underground during rush hour. Makes the MAX look empty (but lightening fast - and well climate controlled!), granted the underground is really old. There's lots of cool stuff to see between stations. Old collapsed stations, stores, big random open spaces. I'd love to sneak down there and explore. We got stuck for a while cause some guy decided to off himself by diving in front of a circle line, as well as some track signal failures. All sorts of cool stuff to see, though I don't think I could have survived London for much longer.

I like London and all, and I think it would be a great place if you have money coming out your ears. Driving there is hell, and everything is rediculously expensive. I paid four pounds for a 12oz bottle of beer (about 8 bucks). Frankly I was glad to be out after only two days. Most of the people are sorta friendly, though many seemed to avoid us as soon as they heard us talk. We got a lot of sideways glances on the tube. People seemed to mostly avoid us Americans.

Thursday was uneventful. We got up, had breakfast and then got on a GNER from London to Edinburgh, Scotland. Had to take 2 cabs to carry all of our stuff and people to our apartment just off the Royal Mile. Had some funky KFC for dinner since my brother got sick and someone had to stay home with him. Kinda ruled out everyone going to a nice restaurant. We just bought the first thing to go that we saw. Oh, and Scotland is cold. Makes London feel like tanning weather.

This morning has been uneventful as well. Got up, had tea and toast, watched some TV, and now everyone seems to have disappeared to somewhere. Not sure where, but I haven't seen anyone in the living room for a good twenty minutes. Showers maybe. I need to try and locate some screwdrivers soon. I'll try to post again sometime soon to give you some more info.

[PHOENIX]

we all hate you right now

Have a great trip, keep us updated and post some pictures!

(what are you doing there, and how long will you be gone?)

[Mister2.2]

Sounds like fun! Like David says take some pictures for us and keep us up to date.

[mr2greasemonkey]

Hey, nice to see you're having a good time. You gonna bring us back some souvenirs? Haha.

[NIXmx]

I loved London when I went. There is a big MR2 group there.

[d962r]

DUDE.... bring me back a shot glass... I collect them... just let me know how much when you get back.
hope you have a great time there. Are you going to visit any of the Castles while your there?

[CpuZapper]

Well guys, I have lots of pictures, and I'll post them once I get home. Unfortunately, I'm not going to get the chance to meet up with Paul Woods this visit. Pretty much everyone other than myself (I'm traveling with my family if you haven't figured that out yet) has come down with some nasty flu sorta bug. SARS all over again! Just kidding. They've all got cough and sinus stuff going on. They all sound like they've been smoking a couple packs a day for 30 years.

Since we left Edinburgh we've been traveling down the eastern coast of England. We've stayed in a few Bed and Breakfasts, a resort called "Alton Towers" which is a big theme park, and a little room with a crap load of beds over a very noisy pub on St. Patty's day. We just spent an hour or so at Stonehenge. We made special arrangements so that we could actually go inside the circle, and not be made to stay on the path around the outside. Now I'm just waiting for breakfast to be served (it's about 8:30 our time). Tomorrow's plan is to head out to the set of Top Gear and see if we can meet the hosts of the show and maybe get in on a filming. I'll post more when I get a minute.