Sunday 4/25

Day two!

I woke up nice and early so I could catch my early bus, but being the brilliant person that I am I stood at the wrong stop and assumed that the bus driving by was not the one I needed. Five minutes after it left I realized how dumb that was. Oy vey. I had already been hit on and kissed by a group of guys who were still out partying the morning after, and then I missed the bus, and then I had to sit and wait for a taxi with some girl doing a walk of shame. It was really not a good morning. The only taxi that finally came by was stolen by the other girl, who promised to have them send another one for me...lies. By 7:20 I was beginning to panic, since I had to be at the ferry port by 8 and it was 30 minutes away, so I found some nice guy in a convenience store who helped me find the taxi station. To make things even more awkward that morning, it was the first taxi I'd ever taken by myself, so I had no idea whether to tip or what to say or anything. Ugh. I finally made it, though, and the ferry ride to Fishguard was pretty uneventful. I just sat in my own little corner and played cards and portable hangman.

When the ferry docked in Fishguard, I happened to be standing right next to the exit, so I was one of the first people to disembark. Martha and Jack were waiting for me with a "Jessica Watson" sign. I recognized them even without that, though, because I'd seen pictures...and Jack's fluffy sideburns are hard to miss. We went up the cliff to the Fishguard Hotel for lunch, then up to the top to get to their house there. The view from their front yard looks right over the ferry port and across the bay to Lower Fishguard. I have pictures of it later, don't worry. Martha--or Ann, as most everyone else calls her--gave me a tour of the house before her daughter Mandy came over for tea.

After a little Poirot on TV, we walked up behind the houses to see Mandy's new farm plot, filled with chickens and potato plants. She lives right down the road from them, so it wasn't far at all. On the way there, Jack pointed out all of the gorse that was growing this year. I've never seen it in the U.S., and there wasn't much in England, so it was surprising how much was growing in Wales.

The rest of the night was pretty easygoing--more Poirot, a little supper, the new Andrew Lloyd Weber show to find a Dorothy, Top Gear, the news, etc. It was nice to finally be done traveling for a while, so I turned in pretty early. However, I was mad excited to start exploring!

But wait, there's more...