Dover

This past weekend had a very low point and a high point. I'm not going to talk about the low point in this entry... maybe later. The high point was my trip to Dover on Monday, our day off for Columbus Day. I found out on Friday night at OCF that a couple in the group, Mike and Jody, were going down there for the weekend with their 3 kids. I mentioned that I was planning a day trip on Monday, so they suggested we meet up at Dover Castle. The weather was gorgeous, as you can see in the picture below:


This was taken from the outer wall of the castle, looking towards the main gate and the keep. The castle was incredible... it was built by Henry II back in the 1100s, but was still used as a fortress up through WWII! There is a massive complex of tunnels under the castle that were used as military headquarters, a hospital, communications center, lookout points... just amazing. I think the thing that impressed me the most was an anti-aircraft gun along one of the outer walls - you won't find many medieval castles with those! Of course, I took tons of pictures inside and outside the castle, so check out the link at the end. I had a great time hanging out with 5-year-old Marrin and 4-year-old Jacob! :)

After we toured the main parts of the castle, Mike and Jody and the kids left, and I went over to the White Cliffs visitor center. From there, there is a 2-mile walk along the cliff tops to the South Foreland Lighthouse, another historic site. It is supposed to be a 40-min walk, but of course I went much slower due to stopping every few feet to take a picture. I have a lot of pics of the same cliffs, but they are just so incredible to look at... the pictures don't even do them justice. They're just so massive and BRIGHT! Here is my favorite picture that I took of them:

I also found a trail that zig-zagged down the face of one cliff to the beach. Now, let me tell you, this trail was STEEP. It was also uneven and rocky. I felt like a mountain goat going down. Check out my photo album for pics. It was worth it, though, the beach was awesome. Waves crashing on the rocks, salty air blowing in my face, white cliffs stretching as far as I could see. I spent so much time down there that I never even made it to the lighthouse. I had to turn back to get my car before they locked the gate to the parking lot.

I wish I could ramble longer, but the cafe is closing so I must go before I get kicked out. Here is the link to my Dover photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=325895&id=701905001&l=2d6845d2b3

And here is the link to a video I took on the beach, turn up your sound so you can hear the waves crashing! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=318349485001