Karen, Noah, Lynn and I walked into town for coffee and the local scene. I was very excited to tell Darrin, of Jenkins & Sons Fishmongers, that I made it to France in 11 hrs 31 min 7 sec. He told me that if I broke 13 hours, I would get a special fish treat. When I saw him working, I said, "I did it!" Darrin asked if I liked lobster and picked out one fine looking lobster for our dinner. I proudly carried that little lobster throughout town that morning. Cheryl was out running but we went back for them. We bought our pastries at Al's Bakery and coffee at Costa. We picked up Dave and Jeanette and we all drove to Dover to pick up my swim caps from the Channel Swimming Association people. They gave me an orange latex CSA cap and a yellow silicon cap, which are still in their packaging. It started drizzling but we walked over to the Dover Museum and saw all of the bronze age and WWII displays. We saw the huge bronze boat that they put back together, after archeologoists found it in the 1990s in Dover. The Channel swimming awards (trophy case) is displayed on the third floor. It was very nice to see the names, times and various awards. We bought Matthew Webb's book and a new one, written by the second man to swim the Channel in 1911. I got a Dover patch for my swim bag and a flag, with the Olympic sports on it outlined in the shape of England for my classroom.
Then we had fish and chips walking around Dover. We ate the best onion rings ever. We made a quick stop at the outlets so Lynn could repurchase the "Start/Finish" plate, so I could write my start/finish time on it. Karen found a few copies of Gavin Mortimer's The Great Swim. Aunt Lynn found a neat book with their sailboat on the cover.
Next: Dover Castle. I was exhausted. We parked in the grassy lot facing the Castle. A little shuttle bus took us to the top. We went in to show our English Heritage Passes and get a receipt. I saw brochures at the register for the Castle so I picked one up. I opened the brochure and read tiredly while managing to insult the museum clerk, "2000 years ago, yadda yadda yadda." I need to work on my inner voice. He heard me and replied, "Mam, there is more to this Castle than '2000 years ago.'" I apologized and said I was tired after just swimming to France. I don't think he believed me. So that was the joke of the day and remains our quote of the trip when we walk around reading signs.... "yadda yadda yadda." The Castle was magnificant: church, lighthouse and tunnels. We waited in a 30 min line for a tour of the WWII tunnels. Very impressive. It was a great presentation. We had to follow the rules and proceed when we saw the green light. During the War, Operation Dynamo was able to rescue over 338,000 British and allied troops that were trapped at Dunkirk. They predicted they could save 28,000. Dover was bombed for over four years by the Germans. On our way home, we stopped at the market for chicken and soup broth and crunchy bread. Lynn made chicken soup and warmed up that lobster.
Then we had fish and chips walking around Dover. We ate the best onion rings ever. We made a quick stop at the outlets so Lynn could repurchase the "Start/Finish" plate, so I could write my start/finish time on it. Karen found a few copies of Gavin Mortimer's The Great Swim. Aunt Lynn found a neat book with their sailboat on the cover.
Next: Dover Castle. I was exhausted. We parked in the grassy lot facing the Castle. A little shuttle bus took us to the top. We went in to show our English Heritage Passes and get a receipt. I saw brochures at the register for the Castle so I picked one up. I opened the brochure and read tiredly while managing to insult the museum clerk, "2000 years ago, yadda yadda yadda." I need to work on my inner voice. He heard me and replied, "Mam, there is more to this Castle than '2000 years ago.'" I apologized and said I was tired after just swimming to France. I don't think he believed me. So that was the joke of the day and remains our quote of the trip when we walk around reading signs.... "yadda yadda yadda." The Castle was magnificant: church, lighthouse and tunnels. We waited in a 30 min line for a tour of the WWII tunnels. Very impressive. It was a great presentation. We had to follow the rules and proceed when we saw the green light. During the War, Operation Dynamo was able to rescue over 338,000 British and allied troops that were trapped at Dunkirk. They predicted they could save 28,000. Dover was bombed for over four years by the Germans. On our way home, we stopped at the market for chicken and soup broth and crunchy bread. Lynn made chicken soup and warmed up that lobster.