Zippy's Foray to the U.K.

I can't believe my luck! Just weeks after being rescued from my tin can prison, I crossed the pond and arrived in England. How cool is that?! I stayed across the street from Clifford's Tower - York Castle's Keep, which sits high atop a man-made hill and was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068.

Right next to Clifford's Tower, is the York Castle Museum. It had historic household items dating back several hundred years. My favorite exhibit was the toys! I wanted to break them out of their glass prison, but didn't have as much luck as the folks who released me.

I also walked the wall that encloses York's city center. I stopped to get a quick picture of myself in front of the York Minster, an amazingly beautiful cathedral.

I had a fabulous time exploring England. I can't wait to see what other adventures I'll have in the future.

Pip pip & cheerio! - Zippy

Rachael & Paul

The reason for our trip to York was to see my friend, Rachael, get married to her bloke, Paul. We all went to an 18th century pub in York, The Black Swan for the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, where I got a great picture of the happy couple.

And a picture of the two exchanging their vows at The King's Manor on Saturday:

And a picture of the former Books/Cole Publishing gals at the reception:

Congratulations, Paul & Rachael Stamper!!

Castle Howard

About 30 minutes northeast of York lies the estate of Castle Howard, ancestral home to the Howard family. This stately home has a centuries-long history as the seat of the Howard family, who have been involved at the top levels of English politics and society. Touring the indoors and the grounds, we found its grandeur to be remniscent of Hearst Castle (I'm sure it's much more proper the other way around) and its history to be richly deep and interesting. The grounds were gorgeous, as you can see:
In addition to fighting slavery, championing Irish causes, and being involved with many other liberal efforts, apparently the Howards like peacocks, too.
This home was also used as the set for the BBC television production and later the Miramax cinema production of "Brideshead Revisited". I'm not personally familiar with either, but Jen says it's in the Netflix queue now...

Jolly Ol' England

After a rather inauspicious start involving a departure change (thunderstorm canceled Monterery - LAX flight; re-booked through San Fransisco requiring a one-way rental car to get to SFO on time), and an "inoperable" plane (requiring deplaning and waiting 5 hours for a new plane & crew), we finally arrived in Manchester, England. Whew!

We met up with friends Stacy & Robert, who took us to Fountains Abbey. Henry VIII had this abbey demolished when the Anne Bolyn troubles were taking place.
They also took us on a drive through the Yorkshire Dales, with a late lunch at the Wensleydale Creamery - Yum!! Here's a picture of the Yorkshire Dales:
We also met up with Rachael & Paul (the soon-to-be-wed happy couple), and the others here from "across the pond" for dinner last night. We packed a lot into our first fun-filled day here in Yorkshire.

Oh! And check out our view of Clifford's Tower from our hotel:
Pretty darned awesome!

Wine & a Fault Line

We took Bev & Barb to the DeRose winery in Hollister for some yummy wine tasting. The DeRose winery has a fine selection of wine to try, but their tasting room / barrel room is also a historic landmark. Not only is it the the oldest in California - dating back to 1851 - but the San Andreas Fault also runs right smack dab through the middle of it.

The picture above is the historic landmark plaque right next to the wall that has crumbled away due to the slow migration of the two tectonic plates. The picture below shows the giant crack through the cement floor of the winery.

"I got to tag along, too!" - Zippy TLM

Zippy the Lego Man is One of Us Now

Hi! I'm Zippy the Lego Man.
I lived for years in a small plastic box called a geocache. It was dark and lonely. I was hidden in a tree, where few people came by to visit. Occasionally, someone would open the box, and reveal the freedom available outside. Finally, some nice people released me from my prison. They have agreed to take me on adventures. Today was the first day of my new life. They took me to the beach, which was beautiful. I haven't seen so many colors in years. Then, I was ready for a tasty beverage.
Maybe I overdid it? Anyway, after this was series of cool tricks!
Not bad for a lego man, huh? I admit to being inspired by the fact that this was Riedel crystal. Nothing like fine acrobatics to match a quality wineglass.

Later, we encountered another geocache, at the home of a weird white tree.
I just can't wait to see what my next adventure will be!

Gettin' Zippy with Mom!

So those of you who know me know I'm a bit crazy in my adventurous hobbies. I got it from my Mom. As a kid, any adventure my father was too scared to do, my Mom needed a partner for. Every scary ride or bizarre circumstance was a bonding moment for us. I've extended the practice perhaps farther than she intended. We have been skydiving, paragliding, and now ziplining together.

So, about this zipline thing - you're 150 feet up in the air, strapped in to some steel cables slung between giant redwood trees. With some friendly encouragement from Phil and Steve (our guides at Mount Hermon, near Santa Cruz, CA), you push away from the platform and zing across the abyss.

The first video is my Mom taking off, and the second is Jennifer arriving at a platform in the trees. This was really a blast - fast, a bit scary, and amidst gorgeous forest scenery.

After zipping down, across, down, and down some more, we ended our high-flying tour of the redwood forest canopy. We learned some great things about the redwood forest, and had a fun time doing it.