Prior Incantato

I suppose it's time to post some pictures from my trip! I flew into Heathrow, then immediately went to London, to King's Cross Station. And where does one travel from King's Cross Station? To Hogwarts, of course -- and that's exactly where I went! Well, I didn't find Platform 9 ¾, but the train from Platform 2 started me on the way to my destination of the day -- Alnwick Castle, a film site for the Harry Potter movies. After my visit to the castle (which is definitely worth a visit!) I went to Alnmouth for the night.

And for those of you who want to study at Hogwarts, check out the St. Cloud State University site...

Pictures...

A statue of Harry Hotspur:
A view of Alnwick Castle:

Another view of Alnwick Castle:

Nearby the castle:

A rainy morning in Alnmouth:

Boats generally require water:

Some of the many, many, many birds of Alnmouth:

Blocks on the beach:

Spiderwebs in the rain:

L33t Street

At some point I'll have time to go on and on about my recent vacation to the UK and Ireland. For now, here is an amuse-bouche for my travel writeup. And it is all about l33tness.

A camera + a bus near Newcastle Upon Tyne + some fabulous timing resulted in this priceless picture:


That's right, kids. The moral of today's story: B1337.

off with their heads!

On Saturday, Emily and I made our annual pilgrimage to Crownsville, Maryland for the Renaissance Festival. As usual, it was a great people watching opportunity. Apparently the Food Network was filming there all day. I saw some girl getting some guy's autograph, but who he was, forsooth, I knoweth not.

Here is my summary of the day in pictures... pictures of Emily, mostly. Behold:

Ye olde sword swallower:

Fair Maid Emily getteth her haire done:

Thine faire maide in a flattering pose:

Alas, poor Yorrick. I can't see thee:

Ye olde construction workers:

Emily falleth into love with ye olde blond guy while gettething henna applied to her foot:

Ye olde fancy henna application that turned out better than the henna we got in Marrakesh:

Ye olde vikings in an ancient mode of communication. And elephants, which we didn't ride (because of ye olde long line):

Ye olde sideways picture:

Henna update:

Ye olde hypnotist, leading ye olde crowde in their dramatic death scenes:

Ye olde high schooler a little bit too into this activity. Where'd his shirt go??

Ye olde Food Network person signing an autograph:

The joust:

It was very, very dusty, which looked kinda nice in the light of the setting sun:

One last henna picture:

A nearby haunted looking building. Initially we thought it was called the "Hung Young Building" (appropriate for a haunted hospital). Nay, it was just "Hugh Young." Actually, it's "Hvgh Yovng":

After the Renaissance Festival we went to Baltimore for an AMAZING Andrew Bird concert. But that's a story for another blog entry...