July 25th, our last full day in England

Our medieval breakfast was in a medieval-decorated restaurant under the castle. Some of our delegates were able to visit with some of their new friends from Maryland and Virginia - another People to People group they met at the castle. After breakfast, we gathered our gear from the tents, loaded them in the coach, and then had till noon to explore the rest of the castle on our own. Some loved this, some were "castled-out" and relaxed on the lawn. Kristin and I took advantage of the time to explore, which you can check out in these photos:BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.



At noon, we had lunch on the lawn overlooking the river and an area where a jousting show was happening. Some went down to get a closer look as they finished their lunch, others went to have some archery lessons, buy a few last souvenirs... and then we were off...for a half hour drive to Stratford-Upon-Avon, best known as William Shakespeares birthplace.

Interestingly, Sam was less than excited about this stop. He said all the stories about Shakespeare are 99% conjecture and 1% fact. He said what is said is that "Shakespeare PROBABLY was born here... Shakespeare PROBABLY ate lunch here, etc." He even said there was question if there even was the person of William Shakespeare! Apparently, there is some speculation that 'William Shakespeare' was a pen name for someone else! I was totally surprised by all this information. I loved the town anyway... and I took plenty of photos of SHAKESPEARE'S HOME... because in my mind, it's all true. But, what if it's not? Um???

It's a beautiful town, with Tudor architecture everywhere.BubbleShare: Share photos - Powered by BubbleShare


Good-bye Stratford...and we were on our way to Sussex...or Woking? Is Woking an area of Sussex? Is Sussex an area of London? I have no idea, and I was so tired by this point, that I really didn't care. I was thinking of hot showers, comfortable beds, and a nice dinner after our evening at Warwick.

Seeing as this was our last night, most of the delegates dressed up for dinner. Ah, what a beautiful group - handsome group... great looking group....! Dinner was delicious - as was the dessert. We were then allowed to use the 7th floor conference room where we filled out evaluations for the program, and then got together for lots...and lots....and lots of photos. Some stayed around for even more photos, as you will see from the ones I post.BubbleShare: Share photos - Powered by BubbleShare


At 11:30 p.m., it was time for our last (sniff, sniff) bed checks. It kind of reminded me of the Walton's. (Does anyone remember the Walton's?) We'd do the bed check, and then a head would pop out of the door to ask another question. It made me smile then, and it still makes me smile today.