England

Scotland

A Beautiful Sunrise

One morning Sandy woke me at 5:00 am to see a sunrise off the balcony of the ship.  It was truly magnificent.  Heavenly Father blesses us with these tender mercies and bits of heaven sometimes to remind us that he loves us, that we will be OK.  There is a peace that I felt as I watched the sun rise that morning.

The beautiful stained glass windows...

There were many beautiful stained glass windows in fabulous cathedrals all over England, Ireland , and Scotland.  One disturbing thing was first there was no spirit in these places.  Some were holding mass while people were going through as tourists.  Others were trying to worship as visitors walked around.  There were souvenir stands inside the cathedrals where you could buy post cards which brought my mind to the money changers that Jesus threw out of the temple.  There were people buried beneath your feet in cement vaults and it was dark and a little creepy as well.  In comparison, our chapels and temples are so bright and inviting and beautiful.  But the biggest difference was certainly in the spirit that exists in our temples.  Our church is one of joy, hope , and light.

Michael Wilcox

Michael Wilcox was aboard our ship to lecture and tell about the places we were to see.  His lectures and knowledge of the British Isles was amazing.  His stories and dialogue made every port come alive.

England

England was wonderful with so much to see.We saw London Bridge, The British Library, double decker busses, The British Museum, Westminster Abbey,The Royal Palace, The Crown Jewels, Runnymede along the River Thames, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespear's home and the pub where he and CS Lewis got together to discuss their works.  The Eagle and the Child was that pub and we went inside and ate fish and chips. In all, it was quite wonderful.