December 11, 1999
Solihull, England to Woodstock, England

Good morning from the crew. Today's journal entry is for December 11, covering our day from Solihull to Woodstock, England. We left Solihull, where all Landrovers are born (or Mecca in certain circles) on a small highway heading South. We weren't due in Southhampton for three days so we decided to take our time and check out Stratford-upon-Avon, Bill Shakespeare's hometown. The English countryside was beautiful and exactly how we pictured it, thanks to National Geographic magazine. Huge elaborate estates surrounded by green pastures that were separated by hedgerows. Every so often we would catch sight of a farmer wearing a turtlenecked wool sweater with his trousers tucked into his knee high black rubber boots.

We arrived in Stratford after an hour or so of pleasant driving, found a parking spot and set off to explore the town. It was alive with people, tourists and locals alike. It's a fairly upscale little town geared primarily to separate tourists from their money, and to mixed degrees we did our part to contribute to the local economy. Nick and Chanda wanted to see the Shakespeare museum and Willy's birthplace, but Toddo, Jeff, and I figured we couldn't handle that much excitement so we struck out on our own. We agreed to meet up later at a predetermined spot.

We cruised up and down the river, checked out an old cathedral and graveyard, and visited quite a few shops before we decided to get some lunch. As usual we opted for fish and chips. The Brits fry just about anything and everything and we ate just about most of it during our short stay in England. The deep-fryatorium was being manned by a teenage boy and girl and we all got to talking. The main subject of the conversation, in what would turn out to be a recurring theme, was the Jerry Springer show, which caused us tremendous embarrassment. We explained that we were deeply ashamed of the show (similar to the shame that Bruce Springsteen harbors for his Nebraska album) and that everyone in America ridicules it and nobody admits to watching it. I get the feeling that they were a tad surprised by our response. It's a pity that the rest of the world learns about our county by watching that hideous show. WORLD: WE ARE SORRY!!!

After a pleasant afternoon, we hooked up with Nick and Chanda. Nick's assessment of the museum confirmed that the three of us had made the right decision by passing on it. Then we hit the road in search of a place to crash for the night and get some dinner.

We settled on the town of Woodstock, found a pub, and grabbed a table next to the roaring fireplace. Mistake. We were bundled up for the cold weather and within minutes we had all broken out in a feverish sweat. The fire was too damn hot, our beers would become undrinkable after a few minutes. We solved this problem not by moving away from the fire but by drinking faster. It seemed to work, or so they told me the next day. It was in this small pub that Todd decided to do some detective work and tried to figure out the significance of the famous people on the British currency. The Queen was a no-brainer, and so was Michael Faraday, the English scientist noted for his work with electricity and magnetism but nobody could tell him why George Stephenson was on the money. Todd vowed to get to the bottom of the mystery and divulge the secret in one of his journal entries. We left the pub following a great dinner of fried something or other and headed up the road to find a place to camp for the night. We settled on the parking lot of another roadside pub, but sort of went offroad in order to hide the Dormobiles a bit. After popping the tops, we fired up the Espars and settled off to sleep, well fed and content.

Editor's Note: George Stephenson (English, 1781 - 1848) is generally credited with establishing the steam railway, which dominated inland transportation for almost a century. He built the first practical steam locomotives, the first general freight and passenger railroad and, with his son, designed many tracks and bridges for his trains. His face appears on the reverse side of the British five-pound note, opposite a rendering of one of his locomotives.