Road Trip!

We are off to Liverpool and Glasgow. It was a long drive but beautiful countryside and loads of sheep. We drove by the Lake District, beautiful hills, lakes, and quaint villages abound. We toured the inner connect labs at Liverpool and like any civilized people had tea before going into the clean room.

Master of wirebonding, Mike! 

 For lunch we went to the top of the cathedral and had a view of the whole city and seaboard. 

View of Liverpool waterfront from top of cathedral. 

Made our way to Moffet and stayed in a quaint Best Western. And yes Kirk was along for the ride.

The three boys at Liverpool.

Then off to Carlisle for the night and a tour of Roman castle and Hadrians wall. No wall here but remnants of the trail. 

Off to Steventon with a stop for civilized latte in the wilds of the Lake District. 

Great trip. 

Preparing for Travel

Now to do it right there are a few things that need to be thought of before hand, but like most causal travels the memory kicks in when it is to late or almost to late. Following is the critical list for maximum comfort. 

1. When booking a flight from Heathrow and you live in Steventon, book it no sooner than 1:00pm, or you will never make it to the airport on time. thank you Daniela for letting me stay at your house so I could make my flight. I will do better next time. 

2. Power up all electronics or you will be sitting on the floor, praying to the power gods that you will get a turn at the plug before your flight leaves. When will the airports figure this out!!!!

3. Buy your water bottle after security or you get to have a chugging contest. 

4. Don't forget to take out hair barrette before security or you get a free message, full body!

5. Now if you are traveling with a smoker this complicates things...... I swear that if smokers and a certain religious group got together they could take over the world and demand 5 breaks a day. I do not see how these people ever get anything done. But then again I would like to institute naps at 2:00.

6. Don't forget your coffee, yogurt, and fruit helps digestion. 

I think I am ready, yes off and running to new adventures. Stay tuned for a week at Fort Meyers with the kids and Gramps! 

San Diego to the Solent

San Diego that is not in the EU is it?

So I move to England to experience a new cultural, country side and travel the EU. What do they do, send me to San Diego for 10 days, yippee! Downside.... This is the 2nd new wire bonder I have had to learn how to operate since I got here. The good news is that I learned my title is not technician but project manager. So there is hope I will not be an operator. But there is so much to learn. Just getting up to speed with everything is spinning me in circles.   

So a week in San Diego would seem welcoming. Only I could make it depressing but I am not going to go there. We met our goals. ANd it was 80 degrees and sunny every day. Dream land!


Then was the good time, spa day with Jennifer, picnic, sleep over, and beach walks. It was like being a kid again. I was well prepared for the 15 hour flight home. 

Picnic at Jennifers

Jennifer and Gale on San Diego Boardwalk

Back in England, first event was into the tub goes the stinky dogs and Kirk, they were having a real lazy day when I got home. Kirk made dinner and I promptly feel asleep. Good to be home, even if it is cold and rainy. 

Made plans for a Wednesday at the Old Toms Pub with sailing friends in Oxford. Great Thai food and they invited us sailing on Saturday. 

Headed out Saturday morning, overcast and rainy. If you waited for sunshine you may never do anything. Headed out to the Solent, wind blowing a good 15mph. Kirk managed to find a sand bar and owned it,  like he said, " if you ain't been aground, you ain't been around".  We were right next to a bunch or rescue boats that were practicing rescues, they were excited. They came over and budged us off the bar. 

Sailing on the Solent

Kirks Sand Bar

Capt. Kirk saluting his sand bar

Got out to the Solent and there were squalls puffing to 25, decided not to put kite up. I dare say there would not have been much left of it if we did. Great fun, now our wet gear is down to £500 a wear. Great day sailing.