Cheddar Gorge and Stonehenge

Today we travelled to Cheddar Gorge. It was amazing. We toured 3 caves, seeing where "Cheddar Man" lived and bones were found. We also saw a lot of stalctites and stalagmites. The entire area was under water many, many eons ago, like during Panacea times. Cheddar man's DNA has been linked to living people in the area. Cheddar cheese is made in the village and is stored in the caves for aging. We hiked to the top and got really close to some wild mountain goats. I took a lot of pictures. Again I am sorry I can't see to post them to this blog as they are stored on my iPad which the blog site does not seem to recognize as a computer. Jim had to drive a long way today as we then went to Stonehenge. Talk about incredible! They brought those rocks all the way from South Wales and they wave several hundred tons. Further 1/3 of the rock is beneath the ground which really makes you realize that this had to mean something to someone 3000 yrs ago! It was raining with gale force winds when we were there, so I am not sure how my pictures will turn out. Between the rain and my shaking hands...it was hard to focus. We drove nearly 3 hours down to Brighton, which is a chic beach resort town directly south of London. The weather is amazing, with winds whipping at 41 mph and gusts much higher. At home, this would be a tropical storm, just waiting for a name! The temp is 13 degrees Celsius, but feels much colder. It's not the temperature but the wind that makes you so cold. Our hotel room over looks the English Channel which is quite rough tonight. Tomorrow it should be a lot nicer. Jim has done an incredible job driving in the UK. Not only driving on the wrong side of the road, but from the wrong side of the car with the shift by his left hand! He tends to run over the left curb now and then, so I keep my window rolled up. We are often driving down very narrow roads with hedges right on the edge of the road. I could easily end up with bushes whacking me in the face! LOL. We ate our first meal in a really nice restaurant tonight and it was surprising good. We had quail, rabbit, and Dover Sole. I have found the food in general to be surprisingly good across England. We have been eating mainly in Pubs, which I would equate to TGI Fridays, Chili's etc. I have enjoyed the Guiness so much that I had my first glass of wine tonight at dinner. Well, time to batten down the hatches, it's been quite a day.