Entry 12- Pillaged Pictures

Oi Again!
   As promised I pilfered some pictures that Becca took during her stay in England. This is mainly a photo post, so here are some little goodies to tie you over until next time...

This picture makes me uncomfortable.

Yes Becca, this is the real you.

Welcome to the future of awesome!

Becca's first night in Norwich!

Sensational Form!

Tower Bridge

Rock n' Sole Plaice
Best Fish n' Chips in London!

Main Mates: Andy, Mat, Cleatus

Barclay's Bikes... Always a good time!

This is England at its finest.

Completing the costume...  a Budweiser.

A maxim about my jeans.

First full day together!

Being a Gargoyle on top of St. Paul's Cathedral 

Is that a Jungle Cat?

My dance moves were so hot, my stache burned off.

First mate, we are going here for sure.

Well, I am off to go see the San Francisco 49'ers take on the Denver Broncos at Wembley Stadium. There is an American Football game here every year, and the Voge's invited me to go along. Happy Halloween!

Under Skull and Bones,
The Pirate Crew

Entry 11- London Calling, Miss Space Cadet, and The Mustache N' Mullet Show

Oi Oi!
   For the past week, my wonderful girlfriend Becca and I had a wonderful time in England. I took her to see all the sites and many of our days revolved around getting food. Seeing a city this way is not a bad thing. You pick a place of nutritional consumption, and then see the sights around said place. This way, you don't spend half your day looking for a place to eat, and can actually enjoy the sights. On the first day I took Becca to what may now be my favorite restaurant in England. It is a little fish and chips spot called Rock and Sole Plaice (get it... they are all types of fish. Clever people). The batter they use tastes amazing, and their chips are perfect. The food is always hot, and it always comes out quick. If you are ever in London, go here, and tell them Paul sent you. They'll know what to do after that. For reasons unknown, I did not bring my camera with me, so Becca has most of the pictures from our trip, and I will pilfer some from her, and post them shortly.
    After a few days in London, eating glorious food and touring around, we grabbed a train, and headed back for Norwich. In London, and Norwich, Becca brought the blessing of nice weather, so Norwich looked extra enticing, the kind of weather when they take all the brochure photos that convince you that you will be going to school in the sunniest and warmest place in the world. To all you college hopefulls out there, most of the time they are lying. Becca came to a couple classes with me, the ones where I get to watch movies, and other than that she chilled in my room until I got back.
   Thursday was the big day though, as the morning was filled with delicious waffles and the night was filled with immaculate dance moves whilst being dressed in Halloween costumes, or as they call it over here "fancy dress". It is interesting because back in the States, we dress up in what we think will get the most wows or laughs, and dressing scary isn't really something we do unless we are, for some God forsaken reason, working as door man in the neighborhood haunted house. However, over here, they love to dress up scary, or at least wear normal clothes and spatter fake blood all over themselves. Pretty dodgy if you ask me. You may also feel the need to ask me "But Paul, you went out on Thursday night, and Halloween isn't until Sunday?". That is the other thing, the night of Halloween is not that big over here, and the "holiday" itself did not catch on over here until about 8 or 10 years ago, so they are still working out the kinks.
   The second question you may be dying to ask (get it... dying... Halloween... lame joke), is "Paul, what were you and Becca during this dancing extravaganza?". I'm ever so glad you asked. Becca decided to take things into the future and dress as a Space Cadet, metallic dress and pink hair rounded out her "fancy dress" perfectly. I decided to represent my culture back home, and dress as someone who might make reservations for one at the local Cracker Barrel on a Tuesday night. So here you have it Miss Space Cadet, and The Mustache N' Mullet Show...

Not even Hasslehoff could hassle my hoff!

Anybody Know Which Way To The Beach?

I'm just kidding, I didn't get anywhere near the outside world wearing this outfit. Becca and I both felt that this would just reinforce the idea of the ugly American, and it may draw some unwanted interest and attention. I'm still working on creating a certain image for myself here in Norwich, and this would absolutely demolish any reputation as a decent person I may have. However, upon my return stateside, Laguna Beach may not be so safe... hello summer on Main Beach!

Here however, are the real "fancy dress" outcomes of the night...

Think lazer beams and x-ray guns.

Obviously we wanted to do matching costumes this year...

The Year: 3020.
The Outfit: Still way ahead of its time!

Anybody know where I set my PBR down?

Lookin's for free... the rest is gonna cost you.

You can click on any of the above images to enjoy them in a larger, and truly more breathtaking size. If you'd like to order prints, just let Becca or I know, and this can be arranged. Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes that is a jungle cat tattoo on my arm. Only the classiest for a night out on the town. I hope all ye who sail with me are well, and you are enjoying life. I will post again soon... real soon. Until then,

Sailing On Calmer Seas,

The Pirate Crew

Entry 10- Clear and Cold

    I promised to update this more frequently, with shorter posts, so here you all go. I have said a lot in these past entries about the wetness and dampness of England, but as claimed by those who live here, it does get sunny and stay relatively dry in Norwich. The sun is a different sun, not like the warm sun of southern California, but more a sun that sheds light on the ant like inhabitants that roam the expanse of the earth beneath the celestial bodies of the heavens. Needless to say, jeans and a t-shirt do not cut it on sunny days here, thus a sweatshirt and a beanie are needed to keep my pink body from looking like a chunk of chicken breast in the meat aisle of your local supermarket. The other day before I had lectures on why Germany was not really Germany in the late 1800's (even after the German states were unified, they had nothing to nationally identify with (a flag, anthem, common enemy) until just before the turn of the 20th century (Look, you just learned something today. Go ahead, share that one at the dinner table)), I grabbed my camera and snapped some photos of the field nearest to my living accommodation.

I'd say it's fairly picturesque on a nice day...

The Road to Narnia

Lion King Tree

Well, I hope the days like this outweigh the days that don't.  I am making the promise now though, of using this field for a legit Narnia photoshoot when it snows... lamp post and all shall be included. This is just one of the large open expanses around campus, so I will be sure to post some photos of the others as well. Until our next crossing...

Tried and True,

The Pirate Crew

Entry 9- The Crew Tastes Saltwater Again...

Oi Mates!

   I pray that you have all found smooth sailing and favorable winds since my last post. I must become more regular with these posts, but life has a way of getting in the way sometimes. Forgive me, as this post may prove to be a rather long one. I have much to say, and enough time to say it, so drop anchor, and feast your eyes on a bit of a literary treasure chest for a while.
    I had the wonderful pleasure of being invited to spend a weekend in Cornwall with Jami and Paul Voge. For those of you who are not too keen on England's geography, Cornwall is the southern-most county in England, and reside on the south west coast. It is home to a range of wonderful things, the most being... great surf. Cornwall houses Newquay, which in turn houses Fistral Beach, where England has its International Surf Headquarters... I don't even think we have one of those back home. Needless to say, it felt a bit like home. I believe that 99.99% of surfboards in England are sold, and stay in Cornwall. The vibe was definitely trying to emulate Southern California, and the beaches were more like that of the Central Coast. When I say they emulate Southern California culture, I mean that in a good way, not the Norwich way where guys where overtly too much Holister and Abercrombie, touting "Laguna Surf Shop... Venice Beach". I've been to that surf shop too, I'll also take you to see the "Laguna Bay Surf Championships". It hurts my soul a little when I see that, but California sells over here.

(Click to Enlarge)

   Anyhoooooo, to turn around and see sheep grazing on a hill while you surf, is something that just blew my mind. I kept turning to Paul Voge and saying "Paul, we're surfing in England right now! Can you believe it!" Then I went and skipped up and down the beach for an hour. (For anyone who just got the Endless Summer reference, props to ya). I didn't bring my own boards with me this time, as I was unsure of what we were going to encounter, but we made out just fine with the rented gear. Turns out if you know what you're talking about, and they trust you, they'll let you ride their shop boards, or "proper boards" as they call them, for a minimal extra fee. So there I was, my first full day in Cornwall, in a little town called Trevon, with some decent surf, crazy off-shore winds, and a proper board beneath my feet. We got on the surf a little late, but still had a great time. I am going to track a swell coming into Cornwall sometime soon, because I have a hunch that when this place goes off, it goes OFF! Not to mention the locals are some of the nicest people I've ever met, and due to the fact that surfing in England isn't all that popular (minus Fistral Beach and Newquay), the crowds never get to bad here. And like I mentioned before, it is like Central California, or Northern California. If one place is too crowded, you drive 15 minutes down the road, and have a wave all to yourself. I'm sure you've had enough of my blathering, so take a moment and enjoy these photos and then scroll down to continue your Literary Expedition Through The Life and Times of Paul E. Hester...

They All Look Like This

Supposedly It Gets Good Like This All The Time

Where The Land Met The Sea

  

Not A Bad Place To Surf

  After surfing each day we decided to go discover the surrounding territory. You are never really farther than 5 hours from anywhere in England, so when you get to a specific county, things may look far on a map, but they are actually really close. The first day we decided to go to King Arthur's Castle. You know the Sword in The Stone guy, Knights of The Round Table, Camelot, yeah that guy. Well, we weren't anywhere near Camelot, or the Round Table, and as a student of history I must interject here to state that all of those things may truly be just English myth. But, what is left of the castle in Cornwall is attributed to that of King Arthur. It is an amazing site, built right on a cliff, and some of it out on a massive rock. The stone of which he was said to have pulled the sword out of is kept a few minutes inland, so we just checked out the castle ruins. It is amazing to think how they constructed things back then, and how much man power and money it must have taken to build an enormous castle on a cliff side. Yet, at the end of the day, King Arthur might have been a few knights short of a full round table, as  the stairs built hundreds of years ago to get one to and from the castle are ridiculous. Obviously there have been some improvements made over the years for safety, but those are the actual stairs used. Merlin wasn't a magician, he was a fitness guru. Even with the psycho steps, it was an amazing place.
    The second day, we decided to go to a town called St. Ives. It was an incredibly picturesque town, and had some incredible ice cream to top it off. I must say that the dairy products are really top notch down in Cornwall. After the cows are done making delicious dairy, they generously offer themselves to be made into top notch steaks. Such humble and gracious Cornwall cows. I have come to discover during my time in England is that where most kids binge drink on the weekends, I am usually traveling and end up binge eating. The food has just been so excellent! But here are some pictures from St. Ives...

This Isn't A Joke

Pretty Sweet Place

Well, that does it for now. I hope you all enjoyed, and I promise the post will get shorter. I realize I write novellas and it takes half a day to read my blog sometimes. However, I pride myself in sending my loyal crew on literary pilgrimages through my time and space. Now, I am just keeping you here by writing more.

Sailing True North,
The Pirate Crew