Family Visit and Rainy Day Wales

If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; . . . He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap . . . Truly is light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.  Ecclesiastes 11:3, 4, 6, 7

The red dragon represents Wales (on their flag/crest)

Mike and Patti came in on Sunday night and we headed for Wales the next day even though it was pouring rain and difficult to see much of the beautiful English and Wales landscape.  The hedge rows this time of year block much of the view unless you are lucky enough to be in a tour bus, which we weren't.  Still, just because it was raining, we didn't let ourselves be disappointed or project we'd have a lousy, wet day because of it.

Our past mission president always said he'd never let the weather dictate what kind of day he was going to have.  

My souvenir.  I really love the red dragon.  He's either really cute like here, or very majestic like on the their flag.

We think that is a great attitude!  If everyone in England decided to wait for no rain to mow grass or get other things done, nothing much would get happen.  If we stayed home and waited for the rain to stop, we wouldn't see anything.

It turned out there were a few short breaks in the rain where we could take some pictures.  The sun actually popped out for a few minutes a couple of times.  All in all, we just stayed bundled against the weather and enjoyed the history of these marvelous structures.  Though Elder Blain and I had been there before, it was fun to explore some places we didn't get to see in Caernarfon and figure out some passages we couldn't get through before.  We love the feel of antiquity.  It surrounds you in these places and there's a feeling of connection, almost like the people of long ago are there as we walk in the footsteps of those who have traipsed these special lands, worked on them, lived on them, and died on them.  This whole land lends itself to that special feeling.

Our adventure in Wales took us to (in Welsh spelling)  Castell Rhuddlan and Castell Conwy first.  Since I've already posted a lot of pictures of these castles, I decided to focus on the ones with things I didn't photograph last time, or had never photographed (except for the few from Caernarfon I couldn't resist.

A tower in Caernarfon with our favorite Welsh flag.

A cute little cottage guard house or something outside the castle walls.

One of hundreds of entryways into chambers, tunnels, and towers

One of the hundreds of scary stairs to go to the towers and rooms on other levels.  Notice the robe to hold on to?

Love the door and these cannon

Another cool door

Castell Criccieth

\Old, old pavement (sidewalks in the U.S.)

Castle Criccieth different view

You can see me taking this picture in the glass reflection

Lots of bed and breakfasts to welcome tourists

Old houses near the castle

Another old house by the castle

An old church turned house.  There's a motorcycle parked inside the house!

Castell Harlech

Closer view of Castell Harlech on the western shores of Northern Wales.

Castell Dolwyddelan

The next day in Accrington, England, the men were looking for food in the market

Patti in the pony tail and the men sticking together

The displays are so pretty.  There's always a great variety of good things to eat in the English outdoor markets.