Coconut Crusted Chicken

So, with the days off and in the spirit of living up to some New Year's resolutions, I've been cooking again.

I found a recipe for Skinny Coconut Shrimp, but I modified it to fit with chicken:

Ingredients:

*4 chicken breasts (cut into 3 sections each)

*1/2 cup + 1 tbspn panko crumbs

*1/2 cup + 1 tbspn shredded sweetened coconut

*Flour

*1/4 cup milk

*pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425˚F and spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine coconut, panko crumbs, and salt in a bowl. Put milk in another bowl. 

Dip chicken into flour, then into milk, then into crumbs/coconut mixture.

Bake 10 minutes on one side and then flip over and bake 10 minutes on the other side.

The results just came out of the oven and I can't wait to try it. 

Happy Christmas

This year, Christmas has felt different from every other year. 
In November, there were possibilities. And wishes. And the hope of change.

December brought me back to reality. 

There was a final project to do (creating an entire website is HARD work)... and the need to get an "A" so that I could earn that reimbursement. (Which I did get, by the way. Monday I can submit my paperwork to get that reimbursement back!)

There was a Relief Society Christmas party at which I had to play the guitar. And my nimble little fingers have stopped working correctly when it comes to the guitar (AKA I'm rusty).

There was a Relief Society Christmas lesson to prepare (and how I tried to prepare. I wish I had spent time at the temple, that might have made the difference). 

There was a Christmas concert to get prepared for, get tickets for, sit in meetings for, and then invite my family to so that maybe I could capture some of that Christmas spirit back, even though we weren't going to be in California. Unfortunately, those kinds of events bring out the worst in my family and show me how opinionated, argumentative, and frustrated I can be. No Christmas Spirit.

There was a Ward Talent Show to help my friend with. I happily volunteer to accompany when I'm not the one in the spotlight. 

There is now a guy in my life (I went to write "boy" but I realized that it's not appropriate since he's older than me). I'm not sure how long he's staying. We're on a trial run. I'm confused, bewildered, and generally over-analyzing every day my feelings towards him as well as his feelings towards me (and really... I'm looking at his feelings based on how I analyze his actions towards me so they're already a bit skewed). It's a ridiculous situation that makes me laugh if I actually consider only looking at the situation itself, but for now, I'm grateful that there IS a possibility in my life. Some guy wants to be a part of my story. I'll take it.

See... different. There's no plane to catch. No time off to just sleep. In fact, there have been late nights full of escapades of the Argyle Brigade that included my first experience toilet papering someone's house (Yes... I admit that at a month and a week shy of 29, I finally teepee'd someone's house). Christmas is just different.

And now I'm sitting here in my empty apartment, having opened the three presents under my tree, having read Luke 2 again, and thinking back on the conversation I had with the Guy on our last date about how Christmas isn't about the gifts. Maybe I have been more focused on the being with family part of Christmas--having fun with the people I see maybe once or twice a year. Worried about the little traditions that I have--reading the advent book that my sister-in-law made us a few years ago--or reading the Christmas stories I read on my mission. Maybe I never really understood Christmas at all. And maybe my lesson from a week ago has finally made its' mark. Maybe it's finally time for me to bring the Savior back into Christmas and to my year. 

Happy Christmas! (Yes... I'm still trying to be a bit British. It's only been three and a half months since I left!)

Recipes

With my final project being turned in on Saturday, I had some time on Sunday to do some serious cooking. First time in awhile since I've been able to do that (let's not mention the fact that I could've spent that time working on my lesson for next week... oh well!)

I'm pretty pleased with my recipes... so I thought I'd share them.

For dinner (and my lunches for this week):

Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

1 cup milk

1 cup Italian bread crums

4 chicken breast cut into halves (8 pieces)

1/4 cup butter

1 cup chicken broth

2 cups whipping cream

1 tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp pepper

1 cup grated parmesan cheese.

Place milk and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in milk, then coat with crumbs. In a skillet over medium heat cook chicken in butter until browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skilled and keep in a 9x13 pan in the oven on warm.

Add chicken broth to skillet and stir to loosen up browned bits from pan. Stir in cream, basil, and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and whisk in parmesan cheese. Pour suace over the chicken and serve.

That with this:

Lemon Rice

4 Tbspn butter

1/3 cup green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups white rice, uncooke

3/4 cup celery, diced

2 1/4 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 Tbspn fresh lemon juice

1 Tbspn lemon zest

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 bay leaf

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add green onion until softened. Add rice and stir to coat. Add celery, chicken broth, lemon juice, zest, pepper, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Once rice is boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Toss rice and let stand for 5 minutes.

Maybe Not The Best Idea Ever...

Someone put a gun in my hand on Friday night.

I'm dead serious.

Apparently, I need to learn how to shoot. It's something that everyone living in Utah should know how to do (or so I've been told). Let's not mention the fact that I still have a California Driver's License and will be returning to said state in January to renew my driver's license. (I'm a little sad because I'm finally going to have to get a glasses restriction on my license. Dang!)

But Friday night found me in between two boys as they showed me handguns, bolt action rifles, and two other kind of rifles. All were unloaded. They made me practice "unloading the shell" in the bolt action (again... nothing was in there) and then they had me hold a handgun.

Have I ever mentioned that I've never held a gun before in my life?

I squirmed. I made excuses... I TRIED to not have to hold that gun. But those boys were persistent. One said that it was all in my head. I'm still in recovery mode. 

I'm still trying to decide which was more ridiculous: being terrified to hold an empty gun or the fact that someone actually gave ME a gun to hold.

The result: Apparently the next lesson involves me and a shooting range.

Luckily, we're waiting until it gets warmer.

Oh, dear.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

It may not be a white Christmas yet, but I still convinced a bunch of my girl friends to trek down to BYU and see White Christmas at the HFAC down there.

First we went to Malawi's Pizza and got some delicious pizza. And then we went to the play. We all agreed to dress up and make a night of it. 

The play was amazing. Made me want to sing and dance... both of which we all know are disastrous. And I may have fallen in love with the lead male-meant-to-be-Bing character. It happens every single time. 

But now, NOW, I'm ready for Christmas. December is going to be good.

Some Time Away...

It seems that I'm not chained at my desk. 

For the first time since England in September, I was able to skip out of some work and fly to Arizona. Actually, I'm sitting at my brother, B's kitchen table, avoiding doing homework and thinking about doing once last run this morning before I go for a hike with the nephews, and a couple of my sisters-in-law. 

It's warm outside. 

And to be honest, I needed a break. I needed to be away to be able to breathe. 

It's amazing how quickly things can change. 

One minute you're just trying to survive until the weekend, only having enough energy to go to work, come home and do schoolwork, and then crawl into bed. Everything else is a chore. The big "end" goals aren't important because you're having a difficult enough time trying to meet the every-day goals.

And then, then... something completely unexpected happens. And to be honest, I'm perplexed at what to do next. I'm not sure where to go from here. That anxiety is making me sick to my stomach every time I spend a lot of time processing--which seems to be often because my mind is still trying to wrap itself around the situation. 

I can only describe it as the same anxiety I felt whenever I was transferred on my mission. I knew it was coming, my mission president and I always discussed and agreed that it was time, but from the moment I got my transfer call until a week after being in the area, I would not want to eat, I would have trouble sleeping and my mind would be going 26,000 miles per hour. Apparently, not much has changed in 6 years.

So I ran away to my brother's house... grateful for the distraction. Although I check my phone every so often just to see, and quietly wonder to myself if I'm still as crazy as I thought I was three weeks ago. But then one of my nephews calls my name and I can forget for a little while longer. 

Those adorable nephews who show me that they edit their own books...

Or we go to the park and set off rockets...

I am dreading Monday morning when I head back to reality. And I have to deal with taking the next step. 

But I'll admit it... even with the wanting to puke, and the not wanting to eat (when have I ever NOT wanted to eat... as my friend said, it's the best diet anyone could ask for... before leaving on Wednesday I was down 6 pounds... and I still have eaten minimally while here)... I like it. I like that my frustration and boldness finally took over, that I demanded something, and for once... I got an answer that wasn't the same as the others. 

And now... I bid you "cheers" so I can go for a run and then work on some homework. Because goodness knows I need to finish my homework assignment and get to my final project since December is already getting pretty jammed packed.

Good. Better. Best. And Wishes.

I know I've said that I love praise. 

But sometimes I wish I wasn't the best. Or better.

Sometimes I wish that being just good or even "okay" was enough.

And that seems to start off with all of things that I'm wishing about.

There's something magical about this time of year for me... the fir trees in the house with glittering lights, the frost on my car in the morning, the glistening snow covered ground when I head out first thing in the morning, the gingerbread hot chocolate that I get. The magic seems to tell me that anything is possible. Wishes do come true. There will be a "happily ever after."

But with all that possibility filling the air, my mind seems to think that I need to recommit to all of my goals from years' past. But I have changed. My life circumstance has changed. These are not excuses. It is simply fact. Things just aren't as easy to fit in when you work 45 hours a week and do 10 hours of school a week, and want to get sleep, and see friends, and read books. But that wish list keeps growing:

*Losing weight

*getting tickets to the Christmas concert and maybe having enough for everyone who wants them.

*finishing my novel

*playing the guitar

*finishing my books

*finishing school

*finishing sewing, crocheting projects

*learning to knit

*going on a date (yep... we're back into a lull... March was the last time I was on a date.)

*living my love story (whether cute or uninteresting... I wish I just had a story...)

*laughing more often

*crying a little less

*enjoying the winter season (Co-worker Dave is planning a ski day. He means for me to practice before that day...)

*wanting a trip to the beach (it's almost been a year since I had a VG donut and walked along So. Carlsbad State Beach)

*making plans for trips to Disneyland, DC, and Boston next year (I want to go. I'm tired of waiting for an opportunity to see the things I'm dying to see)

Maybe one day soon I'll have a minute to stop and think about these wishes and make some serious plans so that they happen. But for now, I'll curl up tonight with my laptop, my homework, and a cup of hot chocolate, and be grateful that this is the time of year that fills me with the sweet whisperings that "Anything is possible", and that "I will get what I wish for". 

A bouquet of newly sharpened pencils...

So it seems that after an AMAZING trip to England (yep... that IS a link to my sister-in-law's blog so you can get the recap from her because she is one of the most entertaining people I know... but I digress), my life has been pretty bland. Let's review what's happened:

*headed back down to Provo a few times to work on the New Testament project. Here's a video they created at work:
I didn't get to be on set this particular day for shooting, but I got to go down to watch the filming twice and I had some significant moments. I feel blessed to have been able to provide such a small contribution.

*Have been working overtime to not only catch up but also get working. End of the year means everyone wants to close their projects. It's quite the change from last year when I had almost no work.

*Struggling through my class. If only there were more hours in the day and I was more dedicated. I'm working at it and I think I'm finding the balance.

*Back to running. My pace is slow. I'm horribly behind, but I keep trying. That and adding in some Jillian Michaels DVDs, hopefully I can get back on track. 

So, just a few odds and ends. But on to the best things about the month:

J-dawgs

For my friend's birthday, one of my friends had the brilliant idea to get j-dawgs and bring them up to the Church Office Building. What are j-dawgs? They're hot dogs with a special sauce and they are SOOO good! LOVE THEM! 

Football games!!!

My friend, Heidi, was kind of enough to ask her dad for his pair of tickets to the Idaho State game, which he graciously gave up. We (well, when I say "We" I mean "I"... I can't really speak for Heidi) had a FANTASTIC time. It was warm! The sun was shining. Heidi made friends with the guys who sat behind us. She was fine while I dragged her around the stadium to meet up with friends who were in attendance. 

I love that I get to work with this girl every day... and now we're outside-of-work-friends too!

And that's basically my current life situation. Trying to survive my class, the end of the year project load, and keep my feel above water. So if you call me and I'm crying, don't worry. Give me a few hours. I'll eventually turn right side out!

Some thing I have learned about myself

So, I've learned that I'm a natural flirt. However, when I attempt to flirt intentionally, it becomes awkward and maybe even a little on this side of ridiculous. So it's better if I stay ignorant of what I'm trying to accomplish.

This poses a major problem because just as I'm ignorant as to my intentions when I flirt well, I'm also apparently ignorant to the guy's intentions until he makes a blatant gesture. Then, I'm not really sure what to do. And it becomes awkward. And I move into an analyzing the situation mode and that leads to an intentional type of flirting and it always turns south.

I know you all want to hear details. Believe me, I think my most popular posts are the ones about my dating life. The vague details are these:

*There's a boy who I've been flirting with off/on since January. But it wasn't really flirting because I had no intentions and was ignorant.
*Recently, boy stepped up and started to make some blatant gestures. I start questioning the situation. (And when I say question I mean more like What is going on? Should I prepare for the apocalypse now or in a month? I'm confused...)
*Boy hasn't really moved past our flirting stage (because of which I'm slowly moving back into the ignorant/non-caring stage so that makes things more natural.)

I'm not sure what this all means, but I do know that I'm not really sure how to play the game. But I do know that this time around is on my terms. No more seeking advice from tons of people. Because as my friend, Heidi, tells me, "Time is not your enemy."

And I have to admit, it makes for a really good story.

Currently, Vol. 3

Current need: my eyelashes to be redone. They look awful. Good thing I'm going tomorrow to get them done.

Current music: Christmas! Got the MoTab's CD and DVD from last year and I can't stop listening . . .

Current obsession: nail polish. I found polishes that I actually love, that I don't want to scrap off. And now my nails are getting ridiculous long and look kind of feminine. Perhaps I should pick the guitar or piano back up. That'll show these nails!

Current frustration: Either finding a date to my friend's costume murder mystery party (which is pretty much impossible these days since the only men I speak to are married or old. Okay, there are a couple of single guys but we are currently in fights or they don't even know my name. Not exactly "friend"/date material . . . I may not be looking for Prince Charming here, but a girl has to have standards . . .) or figuring out how to tell all of my friends that I won't be attending. Either way, I'm rather sick to my stomach about it.

Current bane of my existence: CSS. Hands down. I spend hours trying to figure this stuff out. I may need to start praying harder.

Current tender mercy: Being released from my "Communications Chair" calling (aka Bishop's Secretary) and getting called as a Relief Society teacher. It feels so good to be back in Relief Society and able to participate. And a huge burden off of my shoulders. Now if only I wasn't working until 5 or 6pm every night and could stay awake past 10:30 pm . . . whoops. i need to get to bed before I turn into a pumpkin.

Day 11: Return Home

Finally, we've come to the end of the trip that happened a month ago!! And I can get back to blogging about my adventures, mis-adventures, and whatever else happens in my life!

Day 11 began as the rest. Waking up. Seeing Lil' H. We all got ready and headed down to the French Bakery to get croissants and eclairs. Then we went to Starbucks to get hot chocolate and sat in the square eating breakfast. We trucked back up to the house, packed the car with my suitcase and headed to the airport. 

J was kind enough to check my flight status and became a little concerned about the fact that it said I was going to arrive in Detroit late. I had a two-hour layover in Detroit, but my plane was now supposed to land after that. He said that he would text my phone when they got home so I would have the information I needed. But that set me in a panic. 

I bid them farewell as I headed to the security line. I'm so grateful to the three and a half of them that allowed me to come visit them and spend some time. It was a treat for me and they were such good hosts! (SIL H would probably disagree since I spent a lot of time wandering by myself, but it was nice to just have someone to talk to that could set me straight on a lot of my silliness.)

As I started to go through security, I realized I had about an hour and a half before my plane left. Unfortunately, my backpack was chosen as one with "suspicious items". Now, I realize that the British might be more conservative about precautions, but I noticed that almost every single person that went through this screener, had one bag chosen to be examined. The process was lengthy with every item having to be taken out and then the whole bag run through the machine again. I was third in line and the clock was ticking. But I tried to remain calm. What good would freaking out do? And apparently, according to an old bishopric counselor, I seem to have a lot of grace under pressure.

Sure enough, 30 minutes later, my turn came to have my bag checked. The security guard and I struck up a lovely conversation while he went through my bag and he seemed to be understanding that I was probably not a terrorist. He got me on my way as soon as he could, and I arrived at the gate as they were starting to board. 

The flight to Detroit was uneventful. I watched a couple of movies (Jane Eyre, Water for Elephants), and had 2 meals. 

In Detroit, I checked emails and called my friend, H, to chat. She updated me on all of the happenings while I waited in the airport for an hour. (Yep . . . my flight was not delayed, I arrived in Detroit with plenty of time).

The best part? I arrived in Salt Lake City an hour earlier than planned. My friend, J, picked me up from the airport and brought me home where I promptly wanted to start unpacking and showing off souvenirs. Around 10 I finally retired only to wake up at 3 AM. The process of getting over jet lag was awful and only now do I think I'm back to a good routine. 

And there it is. My trip to the Motherland with all the juicy details. And now I'm back. For the time being. Although, there are current rumblings that my annual Christmas trip to San Diego may be cancelled in lieu of having Christmas in Utah (not in favor of a white Christmas. I prefer my annual picture by the pool, with 60˚F weather, and palm trees swaying). In such a case, a trip may be in order to less hostile weather. Perhaps Disneyland? (I'm really considering it for January. It WILL be my golden birthday after all . . . might as well do something I haven't done for awhile!)

Well, until next time my friends . . . (which will probably be soon. I have some fantastically good stories to share!)

Day 10: London . . . Again

Oh dear... 

It was nerve wracking, I'll tell you. To venture into London by myself. To be honest, my greatest fear was the lack of company to take pictures of me (since goodness knows that I hate getting my picture taken!). 

But can I say I loved it?

And I had 4 people ask ME for directions. Apparently, I looked like I knew where I was going. 

I had big plans to roam around the city for the day, but in the end I made three stops and was extremely exhausted. It was humid, and warm, and all that walking just tuckered me out.

Now, this is where I become named Queen of Geeks as they are now calling me at work. Because the first thing I went to see in London was, the Doctor Who exhibit.

Doctor Who? What in the world is that?

Well, it's a British Sci-Fi television show that has been going on since the 60s but got a reboot in 2005. I started watching it back in 2009 (you know, when I didn't have a life, or friends outside of work, and I spent my life being fat and crocheting . . . *sigh* it's sad when I see my life going in a circle again). 

Anyways, in London there was an exhibit, so I went and took the little tour.

 This is a Dalek. The Doctor's oldest enemy.

 That would be a mannequin of the 11th doctor (the current doctor) and his Tardis.

 A poster of the 10th incarnation of the Doctor (and my personal favorite)

The inside of the 10th Doctor's Tardis. Only cool to those who know about Doctor Who . . .

And took pictures of myself.

See . . . Queen of the Geeks. And the angle is awful. I realize that . . .

Afterwards, I looked at my map and decided to head to Covent Gardens. I thought it wouldn't be so bad to walk through Kensington Gardens and see the palace (home of Kate and William) and then catch the Tube over to Covent Gardens.

It was a long walk. But it was lovely to walk through that area of London and feel like I was living in London.

At Covent Gardens, I had a waffle and then strolled through the shop purchasing little souvenirs. It was around 2:30 when I became exhausted and decided to return to Henley. I was spent.

On the way back up the hill to the house in Henley, I stopped and snapped some pictures of Friar Park, home of the late George Harrison (of Beatles' fame) where his wife now lives. 

It's now been a month and I can't remember what we did that night, but I know that I went to bed and half of me was ready to go home, the other half . . . not so much. *sigh* It was a win/lose situation.

Day 9: Returning to Henley

Day 9 was rather uneventful. Arising early, catching the train, and heading back to Henley. 

I was glad to arrive back to my brother's home to discover that lil' H did miss me. And it was nice to be missed. 

Day 9 was also when I became concerned with making sure I had enough room for all of the souvenirs I had purchased, as I had only one more day.

And it was also the day that I started to get a little homesick. 

It's true.

I must live my life with a routine. And playing all day every day can be exhausting. I guess I have to accept the fact that I'm much more responsible than most people are in real life.

Day 8: Hill Top Farm

So for some reason, it seems like this portion of the trip was my adventurous one. We decided it would be fun to rent mountain bikes and take a ferry across the lake and then ride our bikes up to Hill Top Farm (aka Home of Beatrix Potter).

Yes . . . I realize how messy my hair looks. It was in a french braid for the whole excursion.

Here's the thing about England: Not only do they drive on the opposite side of the road, but the brakes are also on the opposite handle bars. It took a little getting used to. Luckily I didn't fly over the handle bars. And yes, Mom, I wore a helmet.

Once we got across the lake, we started riding. It was flat and beautiful, although a little wet. But then, we hit the first hill. Yep. 10% incline. So we walked that. At the top, I felt confident that I could ride the rest of the way, and I did. It was BEAUTIFUL to ride through English farm country. Green hills. Sheep. Cows. And rock walls. 

Once we got to Hill Top farm we bought out tickets and then went to the hotel next door to warm ourselves with hot chocolate. Then we went into Hill Top. It was beautiful. They had relics from Beatrix Potter and they showed us different objects from her house that appeared in her illustrations.

Yes, that is a real rabbit that lives on her farm.

After that, we headed back down to the dock. I rode down the entire 10% incline hill. That was a rush! We crossed the lake, returned our bikes, got some dinner, then headed back to pack and relax. 

Day 7: Grasmere, Windermere

Tuesday morning found us getting ready to go hiking. We decided to head up to Grasmere and take in a hike and check out William Wordsworth's home, Dove Cottage. 

The weather looked ominous, so we decided to hike first and go to the cottage later. That way, we wouldn't be deterred by the weather. My friend had exchanged emails with a local and found a reasonable hike and after a bus ride to Grasmere, we were off to hike "Alcock Tarn".

 That's the hill that we hiked.

At first, it was nice. Not too steep. I enjoyed it and took lots of pictures.

But the higher we went, the steeper it was and the more I was wondering if it was a good idea. Luckily, it didn't rain too hard. It just kind of drizzled.

We passed flowers and streams, and we may have made a few new friends in our travels . . .

Yep. It was a beautiful hike. Just being up there where it was green. Oh, it felt good. Though I did run into lots of mud. That was my least favorite part.

Afterwards, we went to Dove Cottage. It's a beautiful little house 

And the gardens out back were gorgeous.

Oh, look! The sun came out!

After that, we headed back to Windermere and went to the "World of Beatrix Potter" attraction. Such a kitchy little place but for someone who LOVES Beatrix Potter, I didn't mind the kitchy factor! 

In fact, I spent some time in the gift shop trying to find the perfect souvenir. Finally I settled on some Christmas ornaments. I wish I could skip right to Thanksgiving so that I could set up the tree and see my ornaments!

After that we got some fish and chips and then settled in for the night (it gets dark early up there!). Plus, we needed our rest for the biking we were going to do the next day!

Day 6: Travel to Windermere

My poor sister-in-law, being pregnant, decided that it was probably not wise to head 6 hours north to Windermere. Windermere is in the lake district, towards Scotland. Luckily, a friend from my singles ward (pre-change) has been living in England for a year and so we decided to travel up there together. 

Because it's a 6 hour train ride with multiple train stops, it took most of the day to arrive and then everything closes around 6pm. So we checked into our bed & breakfast, went out for some dinner, walked around for a bit and then headed back in to just relax and get ready for the next few days.

So, the next few posts will be about the Lake district and the outdoorsy adventures I had there!

Day 5: Salisbury

Sunday began early as we had stake conference in Reading. Not only was it stake conference but Elder David A. Bednar was going to be there. And a couple of guys from work were going to be there. We had made some jokes that I would help them out since I just happened to be there, but deep down, I hope that I wouldn't be asked. It was my vacation after all. But I also couldn't deny that it was too coincidental that I was in the same place that they were going to be, when I had made plans 3 months before they had.

After stake conference, I ran down, discovered they didn't need me, and we drove back to Henley. J and I changed clothes and then started off (poor H gets car sick because of the pregnancy so she and Lil' H decided to not to join us). 

We went to the Wilton House in Salisbury. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Pembrook. It was also the headquarters for the Allies when they had to move out of London and the D-day invasion was planned in that house. The interiors were used as Pemberley in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice and in The Young Victoria. The house was okay. I mean, it's big, and there are lots of paintings, but I wasn't a huge fan of the house. But the grounds?

A river running through the grounds.

Huge trees that provide lots of shade and a good back rest.

Flowers.

Yep. I could live there.

After we finished there, Stonehenge was only 20 minutes back toward Henley, so we went. We had to pay 3 GBP to park and then we got it repaid if we went in. So, instead of taking pictures from the fence, we got tickets and walked around.

And a shot of the English countryside with a tractor (perhaps my nephews will at least enjoy it.)

Then we drove back to Henley and I tucked in for a good night's rest in preparation of my next adventure.