Last day in Wales

Saturday 6/13/09
Today started bright and foggy, like the sun was hiding just behind the clouds that were hanging over the valley where we’re staying. We wanted to get an early start because we were trying to see two castles this morning. We had planned to eat our breakfast while traveling to Beaumaris Castle, but Morgan got sidetracked by a few things along the way. We stopped at Conwy Falls which is located only a few minutes from where we are staying. The falls were lovely, but the hike down to them and back was much more then I ever want to do before breakfast. Morgan has this annoying habit of not wanting to eat breakfast as the start of his day, he’d rather work up an appetite, I on the other hand get very grumpy if I’m being forced to do something requiring energy while I’m hungry, so he’s bright and energetic, and I’m grumpy and ill tempered not a good mix. After breakfast we stopped at a place called the Ugly House. It is described as such because the stones that make it are much larger and more ill fitting then they should be… it didn’t look that ugly to me, but what do I know? Beaumaris Castle was a lot of fun because Morgan and I discovered what felt like endless passage ways within the walls which had hidden rooms, and all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore. Next we went to Caernafon Castle which is the biggest castle in Wales. We climbed to the top of each of their 6 watch towers (rather Morgan climbed all 6, I managed 5 out of 6, and was too tired for the last one). After more then 500 stairs (at which point I lost count) my calves were hurting, and I just wasn’t motivated for the last tower. The castle was really amazing, but I have to say I like many of the other castles we have toured more, I think it’s because they are partially in ruins, somehow it makes it feel more romantic, and exciting… Caernafon was still well kept, and occasionally used for functions. Recent history has Prince Charles being crowned Prince of Wales there. We had lunch in a quaint little café a couple blocks from the castle, then took a drive over to Snowdon Mountain, where we were going to take a steam train to the summit. Unfortunately the train was sold out, being that it was the first sunny Saturday Wales has had in several weeks. So we took a drive exploring other smaller mountains, and found some really stunning views. We sat for a little while by a babbling stream, Morgan wrote a few postcards and I read in the sun, it was lovely. We then went out to dinner at a nice restaurant to celebrate our last meal in Wales. It has been quite an adventure, not always what I expected, and quite challenging at times, but really quite wonderful over all. Tomorrow we wake early to drive to Keswick, should be interesting.