England Day 4

I woke up earlier than usual (as compared to the last 2 days) at about 9:30 AM. I did the whole waiting in bed trying to figure out if I anted to get up or go back to sleep. Since my bed was right to the window, I got a bit disturbed from the rain throughout the night. It stopped by the time I woke up in the morning. I had a quick shower and got dressed for the meeting. Breakfast consisted of a burrito made of eggs, bacon, and potatoes which were quite tasty (especially with hot sauce).

We made it to the bus stop and met a brother along the way who was the bus driver this morning. We bought a day pass and the ride took about 20 minutes. We had to walk to the home for a meeting and had to cross over a bridge over the road to get there. We were about an hour late so we had a front row center seat. After singing hymns, I started to fall asleep during the meeting. It was great to hear what everyone was speaking and I got to introduce myself. Everyone went on their way to their separate conversations so I helped moved the chairs.

Lunch consisted of leftovers from last night and canned soup cooked over the stove. I accidentally ate an unwashed apple from Belgium. I took a nap while Jon and Mary figured out/learn to drive a stick shift car. It was one of those where I drifted in and out of sleep. We took the bus back and looked around the local mall. One of the department stores had some interesting stuff for bad girls. They ranged from heart shaped egg skillets to pinching devices to I love you! toast stamp to other indecent phrases on other objects.

We went by the food court which consisted of "traditional favorites" and a Burger King. Next door was a movie theater and there was the British Version of $ store. They had 14 AA batteries for £1 which seemed to be a good deal if they lasted a while. We headed back to the house since it was getting late. We took off and went to dinner at Charlie Chang's (local Chinese restaurant) as suggested by my London Guide book. It was a short brisk walk as we passed a make shift ice skating rink and carousel on the way. The front of the restaurant was under repair. The food was good but pricey. We order 3 dishes: beef/scallions, tofu/chili sauce, and sizzling chicken with bean sauce/green peppers. I was surprised that we had to pay for plain white rice. The food was tasty but under salted/MSG'd... it was good though. We managed to eat all of the food which came out to $48 for everything. That's pretty steep for a casual dinner and that was considered inexpensive by my guidebook. I learned that most people do not go out to eat in England unless it is a very special occasion.

We headed off to McDonald's for dessert of mint chocolate McFlurry and Minced Meat/custard pie. Mary was yearning for fries that we all got to share. We strolled around town and a gift shop for a bit. We we got back, we drank tea/played Scrabble and I beat Mary... something that I thought would not happen.