Why does it always rain on me?

Street in Lancaster. For some reason, I kept expecting Dick Van Dyke to pop out of the chimney and start singing "Chim Chiminey, Chim Chiminey, Chim Chim Cheroo"

I set out this morning, somewhat worse for the wear having drank too much cider last night, with the intentions of taking the 9:42 train to Lancaster. However, due to the fuzzy feeling in my head, I somehow missed a turn and wound up God knows where in Ulverston. I frantically searched for a street I recognized as I now only had 10 minutes to make my train and I had no idea how far away I was. When I finally found the train station, I was sweaty, out of breath and had exactly 1 minute to buy tickets and get to the other platform. I managed this feat by yelling at the ticket machine, shouting "Come on, Come ON! Bloody Hell, hurry up" which apparently worked since I made it exactly 5 seconds before the train pulled up.

Minor setback aside, I arrived in Lancaster and decided to do a little shopping and grab some lunch before I checked out Lancaster Castle. I found a bookstore, stocking up on some books to read next time I come to visit Kevin (just in case I can't get to the bookstore right away), and then wandered down one of the side streets, following the scent of coffee. I wound up finding a coffee roaster/tea importer in buisness since 1837 where I bought some delicious smelling tea for my mom. I was also pleased to see that they import loose leaf Rooibos Tea from South Africa. Good to know since, like the Peri Peri sauce, I have been hording my South African stash for fear of using it all up and having none left.

I then managed to find a record store that had the Daniel Merriweather Cailin and I have been coveting but unable to get in the US. I am listening to it right now and it is just as good as I expected. Think Male Amy Winehouse (without the crazy behavior and beehive) 60's sound meets the old school sounds of Michael Buble meets the new bluesy sounds of James Morrison. I think I'm in love. Why do the Brits get all the good music first? I've posted the video for his UK hit Red below in the hopes of getting him a few more US fans.

For the fashion concious, Lancaster has a ton of shops that are in the mid-price range (not as expensive as Edinburgh, but not as cheap as you can find in the US). As a whole, I find British fashion very strange (lots of leggings and strange layers). However, most of the shops had a great selection of retro inspired dresses, which suits me just fine. I picked up another dress to add to my collection.

Shopping done, I was prepared to head up to Lancaster Castle when the skies opened up and rain came pouring down. Since I had no umbrella, I decided to duck into the closest shop, which turned out to be McDonalds. Figuring it was fate, I decided to grab some lunch and wait out the storm. After the rain had passed, I set out towards the castle, first stopping at the Judges House, built as the residence for the court judge in the 1700's when the first courtroom was set up in the castle.

Right up the hill from the Judge's lodgings was the quaint little Priory Church of Saint Mary.

As I finished walking around the priory, I saw a sign with an arrow stating "Roman Bath House". Since I can never turn down an old pile of rocks, I decided to visit. This is when I discovered that Converse are not proper walking shoes in the rain. I slipped and slid all down the hill, nearly tumbling into the bath house. It was kind of a let down after the expensive ruins that Kevin and I visited on our quest for Hadrian's Wall, but still interesting to see.

Finally, it was time for the castle. As I am sure I have mentioned before, I LOVE castles. This castle was originally built in the 12th century on top of what used to be a Roman fort (which is pretty common in England). It was successively added to over the centuries. During the Witch Fever period of the 1600's, the tower housed all the local women accused of witchcraft while they awaited trial. In the 18th century, a courtroom was built and since that point, the castle has been used as a court. Today, it now houses two court rooms and a prison. Unfortunately, both courts were in session today, so I couldn't tour the castle. I was a bit bummed until the skies once again opened up on me. Figuring it was a sign, I ran to the train station (cursing my Converse the whole time) and managed to catch a train a few minutes later home. Hopefully I can get back on a day that Lancaster isn't overrun with criminals and tour the castle. I am still having a hard time figuring out what people would be charged with around here. In Ulverston, they had a "crime spree" back when we first visited on our househunting trip where several sheep were stolen.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZsmLls0cMmL1I&emid=sharshar&linkid=link5&cid=EMsharshar